Terra Pill encapsulates the kendama experience at Toy Fair

Kristin Olinyk and Alex Smith at the Terra Pill Toy Fair booth

As the kendama craze continues, Terra Kendama has come up with a cool variant in its Terra Pill, on display at last week's Toy Fair.

The brain child of Kendama USA pro Alex Smith, the Terra Pill, like the kendama, is a skill toy, but distinguishable from the kendama by its capsule pill-like look.

"It's a simple shape, but there are a lot of different ways to play," said Smith at the Terra Pill exhibition hall booth. "It uses the same skill set as kendama, but with a different form that offers a whole new world of tricks."

Available in big and small sizes, the Terra Pill does indeed encourage novel string, balance and aerial tricks and maneuvers. The idea for it popped into Smith's head while he was hand-turning fancy kendama's on a wood lathe.

"I put a few online and people loved them and they sold out," he said. In order to keep up with demand he partnered with Kendama USA for production and distribution.

The Terra Pill name, by the way, reflects both its capsule shape and the "land" definition of "terra."

"We wanted to be conscious of the product—from where the wood is sourced through its production," said Kristin Olinyk, co-owner of Terra Pill with Smith. "We understand the ground where it comes from."