The Book. The Moment. The Meaning.

There’s a photo I want to share with you today. It’s not a fancy promo image. No filters, no fanfare. Just me, sitting with the very first printed copy of Toys Are Totems, opened to the dedication page.

That page… it hit different.

Maybe it’s the light, the weight of the paper, or just the feeling of finally holding it in my hands—but this one brought a quiet kind of emotion I wasn’t expecting. Not the loud “we did it!” vibe. Not even pride, really. More like… peace. Completion. A chapter closed, and a new one quietly opening.

The dedications on that page are more than acknowledgments. They’re markers. Each one represents part of the why this book exists at all. Alicia. Kaitlynn. Tom. Alex. Every collector, creator, and co-dreamer I’ve met over the years. You’re all in there—because the stories in this book were never just mine.

They’re ours.

This book was born from a lifetime of loving toys—but what it became was something much deeper: a map back to the spark. That inner part of us that never forgot how to imagine. To believe. To play.

And this moment right here—this photo—is a reminder that the most important audience isn’t the algorithm. It’s not the masses. It’s you. The people who’ve been here, who’ve followed, who’ve resonated, who’ve remembered alongside me.

Thank you for walking this road with me. Thank you for caring about stories that matter. Thank you for seeing magic in things the world calls “just toys.”

More to come. But tonight, I just wanted to share this quiet, beautiful little moment with you.

Now, Go Play!

Jim 06/24/2023

I won’t stop you if you’re ready to order yours. 🙂