The Spark That Started AOAM
AOAM really started as a way for me to express myself and connect with people at music festivals. After I graduated college in 2009 with a degree in Journalism – Documentary Film, I felt this strong urge to explore the world and push the boundaries of my personal growth. That curiosity led me into the jam band and electronic music festival scenes, and those experiences completely changed how I viewed the world and my relationship to it.
Late at night at festivals, I always found myself drawn to light toys and interactive installations. I started bringing light toys and lasers with me to festivals to engage and interact during those late hours. I’ve often had a hard time communicating through words, so discovering light as a medium gave me a new way to connect with people—without needing to say anything at all.
From there, I kept experimenting—building light toys, sharing them with people, and watching how those glowing moments sparked real connection. That curiosity and creativity kept growing until one day, it led to something totally new.
Pictured here: Master Toymaker Joel holding the first version of the Simrat Fiber Optic Umbrella at What The Festival, 2010.
The Birth of Simrat the Umbrella
The inspiration to start Ants on a Melon really began after I made my first fiber optic jellyfish, which I named Simrat—after my Kundalini Yoga teacher.
In the summer of 2011, I was back home in Oregon, sitting in my living room when I looked up at a rainbow-colored umbrella I had hanging from the ceiling, with beads draped over it. That’s when the idea hit me: what if I strung fiber optics from the umbrella and lit it up with color-changing lights?
At the time, I had just discovered the amazing effect of end-glow fiber optics when connected to an RGB LED light source. I took down the umbrella, wove fiber optics into the bottom, and lit it up—and just like that, Simrat the Umbrella was born.
The first time I brought Simrat out was at STS9’s Regeneration Festival at Horning’s Hideout near Portland. Walking around the festival late at night with this glowing jellyfish above me was pure magic. People kept coming up underneath it—laughing, smiling, soaking in the experience. It was such a beautiful way to connect.
I brought Simrat to a few more festivals that summer, and the last one I hit was Shambhala in Canada. After flowing with Simrat all week, my friends—seeing how much people loved it—started encouraging me to turn this into something more. That’s when the idea for AOAM really took root.
There are way too many Simrat stories to share, but one of my favorites was when we brought a whole bloom of fiber optic jellyfish to Chela Mela Meadow at Oregon Country Fair. Shout out to anyone who was there and got to be part of that glowing swarm.
Pictured here: Master Toymaker Joel holding Simrat and connecting with festival-goers at Shambhala Music Festival, 2010.
Pictured here: The bloom of Simrat the Jellyfish, glowing for Bassnectar at Kaleidoscope Music Festival in, 2013.
Pictured here: The bloom of Simrat the Jellyfish during The String Cheese Incident at Electric Forest Festival, 2013.
