A Cardkits workshop with Anther Kiley .
Cardkits
Anther Kiley grew up in an artistic
family with a mother who is a children ’ s book illustrator and sculptor , and his parents encouraged him to use his own creativity when it came to playtime . He constructed his own toys out of paper , and now he ’ s turned his talents into a business : build-it-yourself Cardkits , which encourage kids to veer away from technology and use their imaginations .
“ They are directly inspired by these toys that I made for myself when I was a kid ,” he says . “ I grew up without many commercial toys and no television . I was always inspired by the world around me , particularly infrastructure and transportation .”
The idea for Cardkits started when he was nine and he went on a business trip with his mother to the opening of an aquarium , where she had been commissioned to do some sculptures . “ It was my first flight and my first visit to an aquarium , so of course this resulted in a miniature paper airport for my collection of toy fish ,” Kiley says . “ That was the beginning of this idea of all of my creations fitting together to create one cohesive world called Fish World . It eventually had multiple cities , railways , shipping lanes , a political structure and currency with miniature money .”
Anther Kiley ’ s interactive build-it-yourself paper toys encourage imaginative play . By Jamie Coelho
In 2019 , Kiley launched a Kickstarter campaign that raised more than $ 12,000 for the first production run of twenty-seven different Cardkit designs , which involved printing the kits using a high-quality digital printing press . A modern interpretation of his childhood concept , Cardkits are printed and precut on sturdy card stock that can be punched out , built and turned into playsets like a dollhouse with furniture , transportation vehicles like cars and trains , fish characters , trees and more . The kits can be assembled together to create miniature cityscapes so kids can construct their own imaginative worlds .
Kiley achieved his M . F . A . in graphic design at Rhode Island School of Design , and he continues to teach design at the school . He
also earned a Providence Design Catalyst grant and took part in a six-month business development program through DESIGNxRI to help him learn more about the business and marketing side of design . He was paired up with a mentor , Susan Mocarsky , founder of Cleverhood rain gear , which is made locally . The grant enabled him to purchase an industrial digital cutting plotter that can die-cut kits more precisely , and with more flexibility , than traditional die-cutting . The small-batch kits are made locally out of sustainable paper , and the entire product , including packaging , is recyclable .
Kiley says he is excited to share his childhood inventions with other children and their families around the world . Recent features in the Boston Globe Magazine and in Martha Stewart have helped boost sales through his website .
Cardkits are especially useful right now to help kids take a break from technology and escape the stress of living in a challenging environment due to the pandemic . “ I am hoping Cardkits can create this same kind of safe space , where kids can play out and explore various challenges in the world around them ,” Kiley says . cardkitstoys . com �
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l MARCH 2021 19