On Industriestraße in Leipzig has opened a new store, that is led by two young guys who are crazy for toys. Matthias Meister, born in Munich, and Tony Ramenda, from Bischofswerda. They sell their toys which they like to play the most and which they either invented themselves or at least developed further. It all started with a toy from South America.
We have been living together in Chemnitz, and Tony brought this toy with him. The aim is to pull up this ball on the string and catch it, that was the toy of our shared apartment in these days, and that is what we have created from it. It is called Ticayo, it is also a cup and ball game, but you can do a lot more with it, you have more options. That is the first toy that we have developed, and that was when it all really started.
Matthias Meister, game developer
In the meantime they have in a long process created a completely new construction toy with endless possibilities, the Binabo ball, from the first idea to the finished product, it took them 4 years. It was particularly important to them both to use sustainable materials.
This is the material we use for our Binabo, the special thing about it is, one could think it is a plastic, but it consists of sugar! It was developed in Fraunhofer Institute, and it is really something special, a complete natural product. Another idea of the two is a seesaw, that is working both for children and adults.
Matthias
I built a rocker board for my children, and I felt that I also want to have fun with it, and I had the idea to really bring in the properties of a skateboard, so that it is bouncy and that is wonderful for adults, too. Adults can do cardio and strength exercises, stretching exercises. A tool for fitness and a toy!
Tony Ramenda, game developer
The production is made in Germany, a big amount of work is done a few streets further in their workshop. The same applies here: sustainabilitythe quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources, and thereby supporting long-term ecological balance. More and naturalness come first. The wood comes from Weserbergland, the boards are then made ready for sale in Leipzig.
Here we practically do the finishing. Now I’m just oiling a board with a wonderful countertop oil, and this countertop oil is completely solvent-free, dermatologically tested, and we can actually work without protective gloves, and of course always have a pleasant fragrant in our workshop.
Tony
The two deliver their products in the meantime to the USA as well as to Asia. Toys that come from Leipzig, that are produced and packed here, the Binabo ball, for example, is bagged in workshops for disabled.
It often happens that coincidence plays a role. I was on a street festival with my daughter, and TicToys had a stand there, and my daughter really liked their toys. This is how we started talking, and I thought that would be a nice thing for our workshop!
Katja Bellmann, deaconry
From a shared company to a real toy company needs one thing above all: staying power. For 8 years these toy crazy guys have been fiddling about, and now all their products are available on Industriestraße in Leipzig in their showroom.
