Wooden Toys Need to Stay Fresh

“We keep it fresh by updating the artwork and colors and packaging.” — Pamela Drake, Pamela Drake Inc.

It’s understood that when people look for a wooden toy, they have nostalgic tastes and seek classic designs. Yet, wooden toy makers know they can’t just reproduce the same products year in and year out and still keep customers coming back for more. So how do they keep the look fresh but the feel timeless?

Pamela Drake, president of Pamela Drake Inc., said, “We make it ‘classic’ by its intrinsic nature of being wood (no bells, whistles), quality (so it will last, and hopefully be an heirloom toy) and simple (which my experience has shown is a winner). We keep it fresh by updating the artwork and colors and packaging.”

For HABA USA (ToyShow), quite a process is involved. “In Europe, we have a team of 12 to 15 designers who look at how they want to grow a particular category — infant rattles, for example,” explained Lea Culliton, vice president of sales and marketing. Then, to keep the look modern but the feel classic, “they look at trends in colors, clothing, fashion in the home and then use new fabrics with the wood to keep it from being boring,” she said.

Along those lines, “Ostheimer toys are constantly, but subtlety, redesigned to keep them fresh while retaining the classic grace and beauty that they are known for,” said James Mathews of Meadow View Imports (ToyDirectory). “Soft finishes allow the texture of the natural wood to be enjoyed, while subtle colors and details promote imaginative play.”

Marilyn Chalais, representative for Holztiger(ToyDirectory) of Germany, said that the company "decided to add something new and a bit of a departure for them, a line of heirloom quality wooden vehicles, including trucks and tractors, forklifts and cranes. In this category of high-end vehicles, the products have been predominantly natural wood color only, but this new line gives several color choices which are stained and show the beautiful wood grain. Of course, they also continue with their well known regular line of wooden toys."

Bruce Hawke, president of The Toycrafter, said usually his company comes up with new designs “under great duress” just prior to a trade show. However, this time around, an old employee is interning as part of an industrial design program at the Rochester University of Technology. Hawke asked him to “put a new spin” on the string-launched spinning top or to provide another variation on Skittles, a game wherein a top knocks over wooden pegs in an enclosed space. Hawke would like the Skittles enclosure to “not always be a rectangle” and for it to be collapsible into a smaller unit.

Michael Rainville, president of Maple Landmark Woodcraft Co. (ToyDirectory), said his company listens to what its customers want when creating new designs. “Often it’s not something dramatically new or different; it’s usually something they can’t get anymore.” He noted that in today’s fast-changing world, old products get pulled off store shelves to make room for newer models with increasing rapidity. “Maybe there’s not mass demand (for a product), but there’s still some demand,” he said.