Tumbleweed: Playthings for the Whimsical Shopper

To watch Lynn Rovida demonstrate the whimsical selection of handcrafted toys, finely cut puzzles, inlaid puzzle boxes, and animated sculptures available in her little shop in the Marais, you’d think that she was more intent on playing with her wares than on selling them.

You might also think that she was off her rocker. She’ll laugh wildly as she turns the handle of a wooden automaton whose mechanism causes the blue elephant to jump when the mouse appears. She’ll study your expression like a maniacal scientist as you try to figure out how to open a highly crafted Japanese puzzle box, before she reveals the precise 7 (or 12 or 27!) manipulations.

You may actually have to be a bit nutty and maniacal yourself to appreciate the unique offerings at Tumbleweed.

To call Tumbleweed a toy shop would be to miss the beauty and cleverness of the articles that Lynn Rovida has gathered from around the world. These aren’t children’s toys so much as playthings and decorative toys for big kids, ages 9 to 99.

The colorful wooden tops from Austria are intended for collecting as much as for spinning. The cardboard animated cutouts require delicate assembly before the (British) humor is revealed in the form of a flying pig, a surfing dog, a ewe boat.

You might offer a bright child a three-layered jigsaw puzzle from Wales, but the finely cut puzzle paintings from Prague have an artful sophistication that you’ll want to keep for yourself. A bright teenager could enjoy one of the brainteasers, though he probably won’t figure it out until he finishes college. Even the tin wind-up circus figures that were created as children’s toys in the 1930s now come with an obligatory safety warning, “Only for decoration, not for children.”

Lynn defines the spirit of Tumbleweed as “quirky, playful, and beautiful.” She is in continual search for finely handcrafted articles that fulfill those criteria. As to the zoomorphic baby slippers she sells, she confesses that they’ve earned a home at Tumbleweed simply because “they’re so cute and funny.” They also make for great gifts for infants.

Lynn likes to think of her finds as bits of poetry, and she has a special affection for people who share that point of view. Handing back and forth the poetry from her meticulously organized display cases, she treats such individuals not simply as customers, but as playmates as well. On the other hand, she can be visibly frustrated when someone enters her 160-square-foot shop looking for a quick fix of cheap mass-market humor, pulling apart 3-D puzzles with appreciation for neither the workmanship nor the challenge of putting them back together. Like a child giving away puppies, Lynn wants to be sure her merchandise find a good home.

As poetic handcrafted goods, the articles available at Tumbleweed don’t come at mass-produced prices.

In keeping with its name, Tumbleweed, created in 1989, is an uprooted concept in constant evolution. Lynn, who hails from Western Pennsylvania and has lived in France since 1977, initially promoted traditional and contemporary American crafts. The focus of her store has since evolved, yet the emphasis on natural materials and good craftsmanship remains.

In 1993, Lynn moved Tumbleweed into the Marais, around the corner from Place des Vosges. Since then, the Marais, following in the multinational footsteps of its Left Bank cousin the Saint Germain Quarter, has witnessed the arrival of chains, international brands, and shops emphasizing fashion over originality.

Tumbleweed, meanwhile, follows the beat of a different drummer.

Tumbleweed
19 rue de Turenne
75004 Paris.
Tel 01 42 78 06 10.

Open daily 11am-7pm.
Lynn Rovida is typically in the shop on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, othewise her assistant is on hand.

© 2004, 2005, 2008, 2011 by Gary Lee Kraut