The People Behind Geotoys: Amanda Schwarz

This month we wish a fond farewell to Amanda Schwarz, who has been creating content for Geotoys for the past two years. In this post she’ll talk about her favorite blog posts, travel spots, and where her own GeoCuriosity has led her during her time with us.

Our team members live throughout the country. Where are you based?

I live in the suburbs of Cincinnati Ohio. My family moved here during the pandemic, and though it’s very different from our previous home city of Baltimore MD, we’ve settled in fairly well. I’ve also lived in Northern NJ and am originally from Long Island, NY. I’m fortunate that writing and content creation can be done from just about anywhere, which gives me the ability to move about when needed.

I've included a pic of myself here at Kings Island, which is just down the road from where I live. Cincinnati is one of a handful of cities that were at one time referred to as "the Paris of the Midwest." Can't say I agree, but Kings Island's Eiffel Tower fits with the theme pretty well.

What were your favorite toys when you were young?

I remember loving my Mork from Ork Radio (it was egg shaped - if you watched the show Mork and Mindy you’d know), Smurf figurines and Barbie dolls. I was a real 80’s kid in that regard. You’d also often find me in my family’s wooded back yard poking under leaf piles looking for worms and other critters. My pride and joy was a purple Sharp QT-50 radio cassette player (if you watched Stranger Things, this is the same model that appears in El’s bedroom), which allowed me to listen to whatever radio station I wanted to. Music and all things radio were an obsession for me, and still are to this day. Yes, I still own my Sharp QT-50. I don’t have the Mork from Ork radio anymore, but I saw one at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis in an exhibit about The 80’s. Seeing a favorite item from childhood as a historical artifact was a bit unsettling!

How about games?

I’m a big Clue fan. My family loves card games like Uno and (eek) Cards Against Humanity. Geotoys World Complete has become a favorite too - we’re working on being a more geographically-literate family, and the cards have been very helpful in growing our thinking beyond our borders.

Are you a big puzzler?

Yes and no. I live with a very busy family in a smaller house so keeping a larger puzzle out can be a bit tricky - some take up a good deal of space! But last November we decided to purchase a huge kitchen table that gives me room to build out smaller puzzles (100-500 pieces). They don’t take too long and I find them to be very relaxing.

Do you have any favorite Geotoys puzzles?

YES! I had the opportunity to build out all of the Geo Fact pages for all seven of the Geotoys Regional Puzzles, and have assembled (and documented the assembly of) every one of them. I even took a couple of them to a writing residency I took part in last February in Bloomington Indiana. With some builds I created stop-motion animations, which I really enjoyed. If anyone’s interested in checking those out, we posted them on our Instagram. I was inspired by @puzzledabouteverything, a fantastic puzzling account that features Monica and Rae - a lovely couple who travel just about everywhere and never leave without a puzzle to assemble and share.

Have you brought a Geotoys puzzle anywhere else besides Indiana?

I have! I assembled a Minnesota Mini Puzzle at the Minnesota State Fair and a Colorado Mini Puzzle at Denver International Airport. It might sound crazy to some, but Mini Puzzles pack really easily and are great to assemble when there’s some downtime - like waiting for a delayed flight!

You’re responsible for one of our most visited site pages - a blog about US Tri-State areas. Where did you get the idea to write that post?

Saturday Morning Cartoons were a ritual for me, and to this day kids cartoon series still capture my attention. Favorites include Gravity Falls, Animaniacs, the 2013-19 Mickey Mouse Cartoon shorts series, as well as Phineas and Ferb (my kids loved it during its original run). In P&F, they always refer to their location as “The Tri-State Area.” Having grown up on Long Island, I had a feeling their tri-state couldn’t have been mine (it’s far from the New York City Metro vibe). So I had to assume their Tri-State was similar to The Simpson’s “Springfield,” which isn’t specific but is also pretty much everywhere. But when I looked up “where are the US’s Tri-State areas,” I realized the web didn’t have much of an answer. So I pulled a series together on Insta that became a blog post. Based on the traffic it’s generated, I’m not the only one who was asking the question!

Do you have any favorite blog posts?

I’m obsessed with Cryptids (I’ve attended the Frogman Festival in Loveland OH the last two years), and I had a blast writing about them (Cryptids Across Continents: Global Legends of Mystery and Myth, Oct 2024) as well as overlaying creatures of the land, sea and air in a graphic over an assembled Geopuzzle World puzzle. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve assembled that puzzle for content! But each time I get faster, and it’s so interesting when a project gives additional insight into the cultures of the people living in each of the countries represented in that map. Our stories tell us so much about ourselves, and the tales of Cryptids are no exception.

Another piece close to my heart is Puzzle Frustration: Helping Kids Build Problem-Solving Skills. I was inspired to write it after the experience of assembling our Signature Solar System puzzle. It’s deceptively challenging! I asked my kids to help me build, and the experience expanded my appreciation for the lessons Geotoys puzzles teach: in this case not just the understanding of the universe’s geography but the experience of frustration as a part of play. I wrote the post mostly about my youngest kid - his hands are in the photo! I hope the piece is helpful to other parents and caretakers.

What are you most proud of during your time creating content for Geotoys?

GeoCurious! I don’t remember if it came up while I was talking to Div or Jana, but “GeoCurious” became a frequently used hashtag and tag-line/sign-off, and ultimately the name of our monthly newsletter. I’ve loved creating this monthly resource with Jana, and appreciate that it’s useful in its own right while also being a vehicle to promote Geotoys products. I’ll miss producing it every month, but who knows - maybe I can come back as a guest contributor from time to time? 

I also have to say it’s been a delight to work with the Geotoys brand. The rebrand of Geotoys began right as I came on, and it’s been lovely to work with this beautiful logo and color palate. It was a thrill to build out the brand voice as well as develop the look and feel of the messaging throughout blog posts and social media. It’s something customers don’t think too much about, but a lot of thought and effort go into these initiatives.

What’s next for you?

I’m continuing my focus on writing and content creation while building up my own platform. With that I’m doubling-down on my Substack, working on a novel and relaunching my podcast. I’ve spent a lot of time creating for others. Now it’s time to do it for myself.

Lastly, any travel plans this summer?

Keeping it simple this year - a trek to Florida to visit family and a jaunt to Sandusky OH, passing through Columbus on the way. This girl misses the water, and Lake Erie - though saltless - provides just the respite I need. Yes, my Ohio Mini Puzzle is already packed!