Tinker with Tatro

Will Barrios has been tinkering with the same toy since he was ten years old, but when Tatro launches  to the public on May 22, it still won’t be finished. The creation, a mix-and-match magnetic playset, needs a creative kid to complete the story of … a superhero averting the apocalypse, a narwhal ruling her sea queendom, or a dino darting among volcanoes. Sound effects and plot-twists won’t be included either.

Barrios, a Baton Rouge native, has rarely lost sight of this imaginative platform since he first crudely fashioned it. “I always had mix-and-match toys,” he said, “but something was missing.”  His creation, that of a small stage with shifting backdrops whose characters move when a magnet is drawn underneath, was included in his portfolio for Fordham University’s Design Program. (He was accepted.) But it wasn’t until December 2016 that Barrios immersed himself in plans to make Tatro a full-fledged product for a wider, and now younger, audience.

The materials have matured—instead of cardboard and beads, he now uses kid-safe foam and plant-based plastic—and the toy has evolved with a new generation’s feedback, which he hopes to keep receiving through pop-up shops, or “experiences,” rather than a brick and mortar. “I’d approached everything from a scene standpoint with an emphasis on fairytales,” said Barrios, who proudly cites a childhood whirling through summer camps and productions with Theatre Baton Rouge, Swine Palace, and Playmakers Baton Rouge. “They wanted characters. They wanted mermaids, unicorns, and superheroes.” Barrios delivered, and he expects to debut backdrops that will be familiar to Louisiana kids (and parents) down the line too. 

Coming home to the Bayou State has been crucial for production, he said. Time spent with family reconnects him with the kid who first created Tatro, and in his new audience he still feels the need his toy was designed to fill. “There’s so much opportunity in Louisiana to serve creative kids,” said Barrios. He plans to donate a portion of the toy’s proceeds to organizations with this goal, too. The toy will launch online on May 22, at Pottery Barn Kids in Metairie’s Lakeside Mall on June 8, and at Pottery Barn at the Mall of Louisiana in July. Details and updates at tatrotoy.com.

Creativity doesn’t end at age ten. Louisiana adults with a flair for drama will be intrigued by Big Easy Busking, a new board game from Weird Giraffe Games. The rules of engagement—which involve several sets of cards, tokens, and an ability to work the crowd to make a proper living as a New Orleans street musician—may be more complicated than simply singing on a street corner, but the comfort of one’s own home is an invaluable asset for the tin-eared tenor or shrill soprano. Toss a few dimes into the Kickstarter and the game may be yours after June 6.