Seventh grader Nathan VanDeVelde is the inventor of Shape the World, an award-winning game that involves making pictures out of shapes.
photo: Regina Chayer, 1000 Words Photography

SHAPING THE WORLD WITH HIS IDEAS
Nathan VanDeVelde’s game comes to life

by Jennifer Gregory

When his game, Shape the World, debuted at the 2009 International Toy Fair in New York City last winter, Nathan VanDeVelde — who was 12 at the time — did not attend per convention rules. So to make sure he was included in the adults-only event, his mother, Nancy, posted a large sign that said “Game Inventor” along with a photograph of Nathan at the booth.

A year earlier, Nathan — who’s currently a seventh grade honor student at Wakefield Middle School — told his family about his idea for a game that involved making pictures out of shapes. The next morning, the VanDeVeldes bought some playing cards at a drugstore. Nancy printed out shape stickers, and Nathan and his two brothers then created a prototype. Shape the World quickly became a family affair.

Since that time, Nathan has earned various awards for his invention, as well as for his other artistic talents.

Game on
The VanDeVeldes currently are in negotiations with major toy retailers to sell Shape the World, which is available in several Triangle area toy stores and on Amazon. A portion of proceeds from game sales go toward the Shape the World Fund, which Nathan created to support charities and make the world a better place.

One of the expected lessons he has learned from his experience is how business — and the toy industry in particular — works.

“We try to use the business part as a teaching moment with the boys,” Nancy says.

“Sometimes it’s disappointing because a business buys another business, and a promise to sell the game turns into open-ended waiting,” she adds. “They’ve learned that you don’t just go into a store and hand them your game and they sell it. Selling a product is not easy. It’s hard work.”

Fortunately, his hard work has paid off so far. In 2009, Nathan was invited to present Shape the World at game giant FAO Schwarz’s headquarters. He spent two hours talking with the company’s president and answering questions about the game.

“It was very exciting to get selected to present,” he recalls.

The game also received six awards from the toy industry last year, including the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal Award and the Dr. Toy Award.

“One of the great things about Shape the World is that it is a very simple game,” Nancy says.

“Young kids can actually beat their teenage siblings.”

A creative talent
Nathan’s already set his career sights on the field of architecture.

“Designing something would be good,” he says.

“I build cities out of paper and on the computer,” Nathan adds. “Give me materials and tools to work with, and I can create something.”

In school, his critical-thinking skills are helping to shape his future as well.

“Math is probably my favorite subject because it has an exact answer. I like that,” he says.

When not at school or spending time with friends, Nathan typically can be found painting in his art studio at home. His family recently turned a sunlit room in the front of their home into Nathan’s studio to give him a dedicated space.

“When I’m inspired and something is in my mind or already done on paper, I can paint for at least two hours under the right conditions,” he says.

In 2008, one of his pictures was selected to be the 2009 All Occasion Gift Card for Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center in Durham. He attended a press conference with Duke head basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski to celebrate the honor.

And when he recently became inundated with requests for his paintings, Nathan’s mother began printing his artwork on note cards to distribute to friends and family.

Adding to the creative bug, Nathan also enjoys reading and is especially fond of mystery books. Like many kids his age, he’s an avid Harry Potter fan, and he even won an award for a drawing at a recent Barnes & Noble Harry Potter-themed contest.

“I like books that take you to a different world,” he says. “I like to see how authors create a different world in their minds.”

It appears that this talented, knowledge-thirsty young man will be shaping the world with his ideas for years to come.

Jennifer Gregory is a freelance writer based in Youngsville.

READER ESSAY:
MY FATHER'S LEGACY
How his Lochmere and MacGregor Park developments helped shape Cary

by Elaine Buxton

When my father, Russell Buxton III, passed away last June, he left behind a legacy. He was known for developing some of Cary’s most significant developments, including Lochmere and MacGregor Park.

I still vividly remember sitting in his Chevy Impala as he drove my brother Russ and me through the woods and old farm paths in 1979. He would point out different areas and say, “We’ll put the lake here,” or “That’s where the golf course will be.”

He had been city manager in Rocky Mount when we moved to Cary in 1972. I was 12, and Cary seemed like a big town to me even though it had dirt roads and only a few restaurants. The town had begun to grow because of nearby Research Triangle Park, but all the development in those years was residential.

When a town’s tax base is primarily supported by homeowners, it often becomes an expensive place to live. As vice president of MacGregor Development Co., my father worked to bring a mix of businesses to Cary. When he saw that Cary’s tax base was becoming uneven, he secured the land across U.S. Highway 64 from MacGregor Downs and developed MacGregor Park in an effort to recruit businesses to Cary, improve the tax base, and provide jobs.

After he purchased the MacGregor Development business, he assembled land off of Kildaire Farm Road and developed Lochmere. He had quite a vision for the community, and today I am one of the lucky residents who enjoy its beauty. He also was an active Cary Rotary Club member and was always doing good things for the community behind the scenes, such as finding land for the Cary YMCA building or helping St. Paul’s Episcopal Church grow.

Making Cary a larger community without making it a better community would have meant failure in my dad’s eyes. I think of him every time I take my second-grade son to YMCA day camp, and on Sundays when my family attends service at St. Paul’s.

Today, Cary is vibrant, with a downtown area that feels like a small town while providing the services of a sophisticated city. But back in 1972, we had to drive quite a bit just to get to a grocery store. Now, everything in Cary is convenient and within a few minutes’ drive. People can live and work here. WakeMed Cary Hospital is here, and you can bring a baby into the world without leaving town. There are retirement homes as well, so you can live your entire life in Cary.

Both of my parents were entrepreneurs in Cary at the same time. In 1986, my mother, JoAnn, launched a marketing research business, which I took over in 1999. After my father retired, he became the chief consultant in my business. He was not a shareholder and had no specific title, but he always offered a wealth of advice. He provided tremendous insight into running a business and being a business owner in Cary. I keep his advice in mind every day as I work to grow my business in a community in which he played a large role in developing. My dad made his mark on my heart and in my town. Thanks, Dad, for helping develop Cary into such a fine place to live.

Elaine Buxton is president of Confero Inc., a national customer experience measurement firm that offers mystery shopping evaluations, brand support services, customer satisfaction research, and employee incentive and recognition programs.