What began as some self-imposed therapy following a heart attack, became a passion for Kaleidoscope Factory founder Leonard Olson.
He found that kaleidoscopes provided a valuable metaphor for life. Just when you think you’ve encountered the most beautiful image possible in a kaleidoscope, a slight shift will change everything. At first, you may feel very disappointed as, theoretically, that image will never appear again. However, while different, the new image is also beautiful, and you discover that more changes will produce still more beautiful images. Soon you learn to let yourself go and just look forward to what will happen next.
In 2000, Leonard’s studio and showroom, then known as the Palmer Kaleidoscope and Gavel Mfg. Co., was located in the old Palmer school building in Palmer, Iowa.
In 2006, after 30 years as mostly a computer programmer in the health insurance industry, he made this his full-time occupation. In April, of 2004, Leonard moved his business to an 1890’s drugstore building in Pomeroy, Iowa. He then changed the name to “The Kaleidoscope Factory.” In 2014, he made the move to downtown Pocahontas. After Leonard’s passing in 2019, his family has taken up his passion to continue his kaleidoscope legacy, becoming the Kaleidoscope Family. They keep the business busy in several different aspects of the community, across Iowa, and welcome visitors from across the nation.