Lalchumi is finally putting to good use a quarter century's worth of doodling and illustrating stories for her children. When her oldest child was still a baby, his therapist strongly recommended wooden toys for their weight, warmth and texture. So she has spent many years thinking how much fun it would be to design her own. It has been very exciting to be able to turn a drawing into a three dimensional toy, while discovering the amazing qualities of different types of wood and the marvelous effects of stains and dyes on the grain. It seems as though there is no end to the possibilities, as long as one has a pencil, an imagination, a sense of humor and a patient friend with a band saw.

Robert is an expert craftsman who has been designing and making fine custom furniure and cabinetry since 1976. His work has been featured in "Along Bungalow Lines" by Duchscherer & Svendsen, 2006, as well as in San Diego Home and Garden, Home, and San Diego Magazine, and can be found in homes all over San Diego County. He has been voted Best Cabinet Maker in the Reader polls for the last three years. Recently he was persuaded to use his expertise to help Lalchumi make push/pull toys, puppets, and puzzles, lending his left-brain skills and intimate knowledge of wood and its quirks and possibilities to her imagination and artwork.