TicToys History | From Shared-Flat Idea to Toy Maker

Our History

From a Playful Idea to a Toy Company

2010: Our First Toy Invention

In Tony and Matthias’ shared flat, everything suddenly revolves around a ball-catching game from Mexico – the “ball-catching fever” has begun! The two start developing the idea further, and with the new double handle, the game opens up many more possibilities and tricks.

The Ticayo ball-catching skilltoy is no longer just a game of skill – it becomes a real juggling and trick toy.

2011: TicToys Is Founded

The idea catches on – and the shared-flat project turns into a company. On May 13, 2011, Ticayo officially goes on sale, marking the beginning of TicToys.

From the very start, one thing is clear: we do not want to simply recreate toys that already exist. We want to develop our own play ideas that bring something genuinely new to the game.

tictoys-spielzeug-startup-designer-leipzig

2012–2014: We Take Off!

Ticayo receives its first awards and starts attracting media attention – including a feature on ZDF heute journal. Tony and Matthias travel to markets, trade fairs and events and realise that people are excited by the idea of original toys that get you moving.

In 2013, Tualoop outdoor game becomes the second TicToys product. For the throwing ring, we already use Arboblend®, a biobased plastic that was still rarely used in the toy industry at the time.

2015–2016: Paper Learns to Fly

Boomerangs and throwing discs fascinate us – but traditional versions can be quite challenging for children and beginners. So we develop our own versions designed for short distances and quick first successes.

With myFibo – my first Boomerang and myRoodi – my room disc, we create lightweight indoor toys made from cardboard that can also be coloured and customised. Throwing and catching now moves straight into the kids’ room.

2017–2019: Brett & Ball in the Box

“Quality over quantity” remains our motto. With das.Brett, we add a flexible wooden balance board to our range – while our own small woodworking workshop continues to grow on site.

We spend more than four years developing the Binabo construction toy before finally patenting and launching it in 2018. We also open a small toy shop in Leipzig and become increasingly visible internationally, presenting our products at events including the Tokyo Gift Show and the New York Toy Fair.

2020-2022: Stay in balance!

Despite all the crises, it's important not to bury our heads in the sand! While we learn to deal with video conferencing, many adults discover das.Brett for their daily yoga practice. We also use the time to make our products even more sustainable and fine-tune the design. The next active toys are already being planned!

2023: corkolores Arrives!

With the help of the crowd, we finance our next product line. With corkolores, we explore how materials such as cork textile, cotton and millet can be combined in products made in Germany.

Since then, corkolores has been available exclusively in our webshop – as premium juggling balls and our own special take on the classic game of boules.

2023–2025: Shops Come and Go

In 2023, we had to close our Leipzig toy shop. Later that year, we opened a Christmas pop-up store in Specks Hof, right in the heart of Leipzig.

Since 2025, we have once again had a small toy shop – or rather a factory outlet directly connected to our workshop at Erich-Zeigner-Allee 64.

Photo: @Jacob Schröter

2026–2027: New Directions with flup

With flup, we enter new territory in 2026 – even for TicToys. For the first time, we develop a game in which textiles play a central role. The throwing cloths are made from rescued bed linen, marking our first major step into upcycling.

At the same time, we bring new production steps directly into our Leipzig workshop: selecting fabrics, dyeing, cutting, sewing and assembling by hand. flup therefore stands not only for a new play idea, but also for new materials, new manufacturing processes and new experience that we want to build on in the future.