Holiday Magick (49 page)

I had never been to Toronto before, and enjoyed watching the view out of the shuttle windows as it took me from the airport to the conference center.

The conference space was impressive; it was a large room with areas for posters about toy design, manufacturing, quality assurance, and safety standards in the center, and partitioned-off “rooms” along the sides for small-group gatherings. I spent the remainder of the morning looking at the exhibits and reviewing the conference schedule. The variety and quality of the other attendees' work was amazing! While wandering around, I was surprised to notice that there weren't any presentations about marketing, a necessary evil of the toy business and one of my least favorite things about my job.

There were only about a hundred people at the conference and I wondered why attendance was so low. Maybe they shouldn't have made it by invitation only. Jane certainly would have joined me, if it had been open to the public.

At lunch, I sat down at a table with three people who looked as young as me. I met Anna, a German designer who specialized in using environmentally friendly products for toy production; Steve, an Australian designer who focused on creating toys to engage kids in exploring the outdoors; and Liza, another German designer who had started a line of classic dolls and accessories. The lunch was an amazing international buffet with traditional foods from around the world. It was much better than typical conference food.

After lunch, instead of going to sessions and just listening to presenters, the conference organizers gave us detailed schedules with sessions where we could debate with each other. The sessions were surprisingly informative, as far as conference roundtables go. Anna and I were scheduled to go to the first session together, entitled, “Batteries?”

As we walked into the designated room, I was surprised to see that the moderator was one of my design professors from the University of Massachusetts. I hadn't seen Dr. Frommer since I had finished my master's degree two years earlier.

Dr. Frommer started speaking in the deep, grandfatherly voice I remembered so well. “In this roundtable, we are going to discuss the merits and downfalls of toys using batteries. You are welcome to share your personal feelings on the topic, examples of stellar toys that either do or do not use them, and their effects on child development. I will start. Batteries should not be allowed in toys that are designed for children under the age of five. Responses?”

A guy whose name tag read “Mitch—Fisher-Price” immediately argued against that idea. “Are you serious? Children will lose out on so many educational experiences if you mandate that.”

My new friend Anna jumped in, “But by including batteries, you are also robbing children of experiencing the
real
physical world and how it functions. If you bang on a pan with a wooden spoon, it will make a sound. The harder you bang, the louder the sound. With batteries, the sound is always the same, until the batteries die. Children don't
need
batteries in their toys.”

It was a fascinating hour-long debate. I don't think either side “won,” but it appeared that Dr. Frommer took detailed notes and seemed satisfied that so many points were discussed and that some people's minds seemed to be opened and broadened.

After the discussion, as everyone else left, I went up to Dr. Frommer. “I don't know if you remember me, Dr. Frommer—”

He cut me off, “Ryan, I remember you well. You were always such an engaged and thoughtful student, and I saw in today's discussion that you haven't changed much. Congratulations on your Super Racer Ball Ramp. My grandson got one for Christmas and it is fabulous! He builds a different ramp every time. Well done.”

I was startled that he knew about my ball ramp and wondered how his grandson had gotten one. But I simply responded, “Thank you! Are you still teaching at UMass?”

“Oh, yes. Every spring semester. I love seeing the new students coming through the school, all full of ideas. I need to get ready for my next discussion now, but I hope to talk with you more this weekend.” As I turned to leave the room, I saw Dr. Frommer tap his closed notebook, and I thought I saw it sparkle and disappear. I blinked my eyes and decided that I needed to get a snack.

Throughout the weekend, I went to discussions on ensuring safety standards in toys, looking at ways to safely use recycled materials in manufacturing toys, how to include children in the design process, and creating toys that boost creativity. The amount of thinking involved reminded me of an intense semester at grad school, but I learned a lot, met some very interesting people, and enjoyed the whole experience.

At the end of the weekend, we each had personal interviews with some of the organizing members of the conference. My schedule said that it was to give conference feedback, so I was surprised that they didn't just have us fill out a questionnaire. They asked a lot about my personal background, my ambitions for the future, and how I liked my job. Very odd, but nothing about this conference had been “usual.”

I returned home and got back to work. I was designing some new shapes of wooden blocks that would help encourage imaginative play. I decided to see if I could convince the other members of my team to use some of Anna's suppliers for spent rubber trees.

About a month later, while preparing dinner, I received the most curious phone call from Dr. Frommer. “Hello, Ryan, it was so good to see you last month. In addition to teaching, I work for a company that designs new toys. It is called SWI and we would like to offer you a position.”

I could barely stammer out, “You also work for a toy company? I didn't know that.” I felt surprised and a little hurt that Dr. Frommer had never shared that, even at the conference.

Dr. Frommer responded in that deep, confident, calm tone of his, “It is why I only teach for the spring semester. I spend the rest of the year working with designers like yourself. I know this offer is a surprise, but I hope you will consider this opportunity. I think it would be a great fit for you.”

I responded, “Well, I'd like to hear more about it, though you should know that I'm very happy where I am.” Since it was Dr. Frommer, I was willing to listen, though I didn't really think I would leave my current job.

Dr. Frommer continued, “You needn't leave your current position. This is a contract job for three years. I am friends with the president of your company, and he is already aware that we are offering you this opportunity. You would join our design team at SWI's headquarters in Canada. At the end of your contract, you
may
be offered a renewal, or you may choose to return to your current position, which will be held for you, so you really wouldn't be taking any risks.”

I didn't know how to respond. It sounded too good to be true, though I had never heard of SWI before.

Dr. Frommer continued, “I wouldn't expect you to make such an important decision immediately. I am emailing you the link to our webpage now, and a packet of information with a contract is already in your mailbox. This is a unique experience where you would be able to work with other highly talented designers on new toys, and continue some of those conversations we started at the conference.

“However, I must caution you that our work is extremely sensitive and, if you choose to join us, you will have to agree to a background check and sign many secrecy documents. We provide you with housing and food, and give you ample vacation and sick time, but outside of that, travel to and from headquarters is very limited.”

I was both curious and uncertain about this opportunity, so I decided to look over the information before making a decision. I figured that I owed Dr. Frommer that much anyway. I had gotten my mail an hour earlier and knew that I didn't have a packet of information from a toy company, but I decided to check my mailbox again while we talked. I was surprised to see that a very large envelope
was
actually there! It certainly had not been there before. Strangely, it seemed to be sparkling, just a little bit.

Still bewildered, I asked Dr. Frommer, “Do you enjoy working there?” He was a very reasonable man and I thought I could trust his opinion.

I could hear the smile in his voice, “I joined the company fifteen years ago, and I couldn't be happier.”

What had I gotten myself into? There I was, sitting in a quiet, tiny airport in who-knows-where Northern Canada, waiting to be picked up and shuttled to my new job and home. It had been three months since that phone call with Dr. Frommer. I had been through interviews, a physical, and a background check, before being cleared as an SWI employee. Now, I was waiting with my two suitcases and one backpack full of belongings. They claimed to have a fully furnished apartment waiting for me, though I was skeptical about that. I decided to review my contract one more time, in case I needed to back out.

While my nose was deep in the contract, I heard someone approach. I looked up and saw Anna, whom I had met at the conference.

“Hello, Ryan.”

“Hi, Anna! What a happy surprise! What are you doing here?”

“Nice to see you. I see that you have a contract from SWI, too—are you a little confused as well?” The look on my face must have been evidence enough that I didn't know what was going on, either, and she started to laugh that tiny, delicate laugh of hers. “Yes, I am going to SWI. Oh, I feel so much better knowing someone else here! Do you know just where we're going?”

“No, I don't, just northern Canada,” I said with an eye-roll, trying to mask my frustration. “And I've been waiting here for two hours.”

“Oh, I just arrived five minutes ago. I wonder if they made you wait for my plane,” Anna said, looking worried.

I felt embarrassed at having complained, so I assured her, “Well, now that I know I was waiting for you to join me, I'm not so grumpy.” I tried to hide just how happy I was to see her.

Before Anna could respond, Dr. Frommer came around a corner with a big smile. “Welcome, Ryan and Anna! It is so good to see you both! I'm so glad that you are joining SWI! Come with me. We're taking a private jet up north from here. Put your bags on this luggage cart and Tom will take them to the plane.”

As we loaded the cart, I wanted to ask Dr. Frommer more about SWI, but he was already on his way down the hall. Starting after him, I whispered to Anna, “Did you know about another plane?”

“No, I didn't. Just how much farther north can we possibly be going? There can't be much civilization, let alone a populated area for developing and testing new toys.”