Sensory Sand Play to Support Stress Relief: Ammonite Circles Sand Patterning Technique

Many of you have interacted with our mini zen gardens in person, but for those of you that haven't, we'll be posting some videos here to show you different ways to create beautiful sand patterns. Our handmade sand spheres are all made in our Portland studio and the cement sand spheres are an original concept and design created by Andrew Lonnquist in 2008. Andrew maintains a booth most weekends at Portland Saturday Market from March to December 24th and we maintain a wide selection of zen garden sizes and options in our online store. 

Many therapists have mentioned that they utilize our spheres as a sensory tool to support stress relief and reduce anxiety. We also hear from a number of occupational therapists who use our spheres to improve fine motor skill development. We look forward to delving deeper into this community in the coming years and hope to pass along some of their expertise and knowledge to you. 

In the meantime, enjoy this series of sensory videos made by Winona Hwang, a student at Oregon College of Art & Craft. Visit our Youtube Channel & subscribe if you want to see when a new video is uploaded. 

We look forward to sharing these videos with you, whether you want to learn new sand-patterning techniques, see how our spheres are used before deciding which ones you want to buy, or maybe you just enjoy watching these tactile, sensory videos. In any case, enjoy!