Polaris / Knowledge Center

Ideas behind the objects.

Design judgment, material knowledge and a clearer path to your next project.

Explore practical guides and perspectives on custom deal toys, financial tombstones and recognition. Start with the essentials, then go deeper into the decisions that shape the finished piece.

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Slate-gray-blue and gold architectural facade model on a stepped natural wood base.

Start with the question on your desk.

Planning a project

Design, prototypes, pricing and delivery.

Process, timeline and budget →

Choosing a material

What different materials make possible.

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Finding the idea

How a specific detail becomes a meaningful object.

Explore the design approach →

From the studio

Articles & perspectives

Browse the latest writing below. For current project estimates, use our planning guide; dated market commentary reflects its publication period.

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How Lucite Changed Everything

Lucite was never made for Wall Street—but it turned out to be the perfect medium for capturing the spirit of a deal. This is how one wartime material laid the foundation for the modern deal toy.

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The Origins of Deal Toys

Long before modern finance, people were already marking deals with meaningful objects—silver plates, tokens, clocks. This impulse to make success tangible is centuries old. Today, we call them deal toys.

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