Why 84 Charing Cross Road Feels Like an ArT Toy in Disguise

Subject: This One Wasn’t Planned. But It Hit Me.
Title: A Small Book. A Glass Cabinet. And the Reason I Still Care.
Subtitle: How 84 Charing Cross Road Took Over My Day (and My Heart)

Apologies in advance for starting this email in the first person. But sometimes, to speak to You truthfully, I have to start with “I”—so I can get to “You.”

I admire a lot of people.
And I try to learn from even more.
I read. I underline. I scribble.
I fold corners like I’m marking treasure maps.

These days, one of the things I’m most excited about isn’t an ArT Toy or a launch.
It’s our new Studio-Gallery we’ve been working on since March 2024.
A large former carpentry shop, where my father worked for over 20 years.

Before that, he had a smaller workshop.
Just like us, who worked for 10 years in a 20-square-meter Studio.
Bright. Big windows on two sides. But tight. Very tight.
And still, full of dreams.

Now, here we are… back in my father's old place.
180 square meters. Two floors.
Still adapting it. Still fixing it.
He’s alive. We’re renting it from him. So yes, technically, still his.
But now, we’re giving it new life.

#####

At the back of the Studio, upstairs, there’s a modest glass cabinet.
Just two doors.
But to me, it’s pure gold.

It’s becoming my book corner. A growing library.
Biographies, essays, out-of-print gems…
Books that teach, provoke, and remind me to stay curious.

Elsewhere, we’ve stacked magazines and books about ArT Toys, Pop Art, Lowbrow Art…
All the artists who inspire us.
But we’ll show You that another day.

My partner Cristina who cares a lot about my integrity…

placed a cushion right in front of the book cabinet.
I sit there often. On the floor.
Surrounded by pencils, sticky notes, and two thick notebooks filled with stolen thoughts.

#####

I learn from what I read.
From the Newsletters I subscribe to.
From Podcasts, videos, YouTube rabbit holes…
From the Stories people tell.

Some Stories reflect who I am.
Others push me to become someone I hadn’t considered yet.
But the best ones?
They stop everything.

#####

Today, that happened.
I discovered 84 Charing Cross Road.
A small book I’d never heard of.

I discovered it from reading another book indeed...
And it wrecked me.

A real Story.
A woman in New York. A bookseller in London.

Middle of the last century
They never met.
But they wrote letters for 20 years.
Because of a Book.

Not an expensive Book.
Not a rare one.
Just one that mattered to both of them.

#####

No marketing. No algorithms. No hype.
Just two humans connecting...because of an object.

And suddenly, I saw it.

In our world, the one Cristina and I try to make sense of,
that object isn’t a Book.
It’s an ArT Toy.
A Fine Art Print.
A Painting.

But what really matters…
Isn’t the piece itself.
It’s the invisible message inside it.
It’s the thing You can’t quite name, but You feel.

#####

That’s what stuck with me today.
I had another email written. Ready to send at 16:12.
Like clockwork.

But this story grabbed me by the collar.
And I had to follow it.

So here it is.
A Story that took over my day.
And maybe, if You’ve ever collected something that made You feel more human,
You’ll get why.

#####

👉 In the next email, I’ll tell You the full story of Helene Hanff and Frank Doel.
We’re sure You’ll love it.
How a lifetime of letters built something stronger than distance.
And how it can explains the real reason all of us collect ArT Toys…

I promise, You won’t want to miss it.

With ink-stained fingers and an open cabinet,
—ArT Toy Gama

By the way!!...

📦 Want to hold a story in Your hands?
Explore the latest ArT Toys, Fine Art Prints & Paintings that speak louder than words:
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This email was originally sent to the Newsletter subscriber list on July 8, 2025

Tuesdays 16:12. Thursdays 17:47. Sundays 18:32.
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We didn’t lose our inner child. We turned it into Art.

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