nukkah Party
Sister Act
Twins Susan and Sandra Magsamen
great-granddaughters of the Ouija Board inventor
channel creative energies into their own
brands of winning whimsy: Curiosity Kits and
Table Tiles.
MARYALICE YAKUTCHIK SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
I
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t's not like ceramicist San-
dra Magsamen created her
newest product, "The Still
Small Voice," out of any per-
sonal need. In fact, the prototype
of her ceramic "talking board"—
emblazoned with angels and al-
phabet letters and complete
with a planchette— is likely to
grow dusty from disuse in her
busy pottery studio. "It's about
getting in touch with the self
and finding answers," says the
artist about her Ouija-like cre-
ation. As it happens, Sandra is
a great-granddaughter of the in-
ventor of the Ouija Board. But
she has always had an expedi-
ent way of getting in touch with
the self: She simply consults fra-
ternal twin Susan Magsamen,
an almost mirror-image in ap-
pearance, voice, philosophy, and
lifestyle.
"I call Susan for feedback
about life, about business," says
Sandra, whose popular Table
Tiles pottery line premiered six
years ago and surfaced this fall
at the 'Ibkyo Gift Show. "We talk
every day on the phone. Friends
will censor what they say: We
are absolutely, honestly direct.
She's so essential in my life."
Susan, not surprisingly,
echoes the sentiment. Her brain-
child, Curiosity Kits, has
quadrupled in business every
year since 1988, when, with no
retail experience, she started the
company with $7,000 on a cred-
it card. Now sold throughout the
United States, Canada and Aus-
tralia, the award-winning line
has mushroomed from a hand-
ful of original kits into about 50
different children's crafts and
activities exploring the arts, sci-
ences, and world cultures — in-
cluding the "Ghoul and Monster
Making Kit" designed two years
ago by 7-year-old son Sam. Also
on the payroll: husband Scott
Garrett, two other sisters and a
brother-in-law. And baby Ben,
3, supplies inspiration.
"Our great grandfather's in-
tent was to connect people with
people, not people to spirits,"
says Susan, whose kits are as
-
614
Hours: Mon.-Sat. 10-6:30, Thurs. 'til 8, Sun. 12-5 'til 12-24
family friendly as her business,
bringing parents and children
together in the act of creating
something by hand.
"The Ouija Board was creat-
ed as a parlor game so people
could touch hands and knees
while asking questions they
couldn't dare ask each other in
the early 1900s," elaborates San-
dra. "It embraced romance."
Rife with hearts and flowers,
lovers and verse, her hand-
carved and painted earthenware
embraces romance — as well as
gardens, dreams, angels and as-
pirations. And Table Tiles, too,
is a family affair: Mom is office
manager; 88-year-old Granny
helps with clerical and account-
ing work. Husband Mark Bar-
ry, a painter who helped start
the business, now pitches in be-
hind the scenes, sharing par-
enting of 7-year-old Hannah,
and house care. "We're com-
pletely interchangeable in all of
the roles," says Sandra.
mil I= ow I= ■ imi —
4
A
..
T
hese twins
have a
mirror-image
in lifestyle and
creativity.
4
"We (Susan and I) are best
friends, but it's more than that,"
she says. "We married guys who
are the same age; their birth-
days are a day apart. We got
married within three weeks of
each other; started businesses
when we were pregnant; had
children within three months of
each other. Sometimes we say
the exact same things. That hap-
pens ..."
"A lot," Susan says simulta-
neously. We often don't have to
finish sentences."
Table Tiles are available at
Ilona and Gallery. Curiosity
Kits are available at Elizabeth
Green Boutique. ❑
11.
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