.jpg)
I found this wonderful handmade toy shop on Etsy. Wow - well-made, safe, colorful toys. Jim kindly agreed to be interviewed. Enjoy meeting this creative family and do check out their excellent site! I especially like this dragon pull toy and this cute as can be pig. Goodness - I'd play with these myself. What a great gift for the kids, grandkids, neices, nephews...
Thanks, Jim! Keep up the amazing work!
Tell us a little about yourself - your name, where you live, your work.
My name is Jim Harmon and I grew up and live in central Ohio. During the day I work as a Computer Analyst for The Ohio State University. I'm married and have three children, two boys ages 11 and 9 and a 2 year old daughter.
Tell us about your Etsy shop and products
Our etsy shop is HappySquashToys and we sell painted and natural finish wooden toys, wooden ships, play aprons and games. My wife Jenise and I work together to create our toys, I do all the wood work and detail painting and she does all the sewing and paints as well. I also love games and game design and have a few of my original games in our shop.
How did you get into your creating? Do you have a favorite item you've made? Tell us the story!
I started making toys in late 2007 when the lead in toys stories were in the news. At that time we had a lot of made in China plastic toys in our house. We cleared out the plastic toys and started looking for safe alternative wooden toys. Having difficulty finding affordable locally made toys, a co-worker planted the seed when he said "Why don't you try to make your own?". That weekend I made my first toy, I duck pull toy. It was rough and I only and used the tools I had at the time. My daughter loved it and she would pull it all around the house. I was asked to make them for friends and that is when we decided to start happy squash toys. We invested in the proper tools and I started making cars and animals on wheels and it just kept expanding from there. My favorite item is probably the Pirate Ship because I spent a lot of time thinking about the design prior to starting it and I was very pleased with the end result.
What advice would you give a creative entrepreneur on starting a small artistic business?
Create a quality product and have excellent customer service. Don't get discourage when you first start out, it will take time and hard work to make a business successful.
Do you have a book or movie that makes you feel creative? Tell us about it!
I just started reading the Frog and Toad series of books by Arnold Lobel to my daughter. I loved these books as a child and to watch my daughter experience them for the first time is a true joy. I had always loved the wonderful artwork and the simple, pure, uncomplicated tone of the stories. When I finish reading to her and she has gone to bed for the night, I am motivated to make toys that capture the same sense of childhood.
Do you have a person that inspires you (living or historical)? Tell us about her or him!
My daughter definitely inspires me! She is so much fun and I love to watch her play. I often get ideas for new toys from seeing what she is interested in and how she likes to play.
My name is Jim Harmon and I grew up and live in central Ohio. During the day I work as a Computer Analyst for The Ohio State University. I'm married and have three children, two boys ages 11 and 9 and a 2 year old daughter.
Tell us about your Etsy shop and products
Our etsy shop is HappySquashToys and we sell painted and natural finish wooden toys, wooden ships, play aprons and games. My wife Jenise and I work together to create our toys, I do all the wood work and detail painting and she does all the sewing and paints as well. I also love games and game design and have a few of my original games in our shop.
How did you get into your creating? Do you have a favorite item you've made? Tell us the story!
I started making toys in late 2007 when the lead in toys stories were in the news. At that time we had a lot of made in China plastic toys in our house. We cleared out the plastic toys and started looking for safe alternative wooden toys. Having difficulty finding affordable locally made toys, a co-worker planted the seed when he said "Why don't you try to make your own?". That weekend I made my first toy, I duck pull toy. It was rough and I only and used the tools I had at the time. My daughter loved it and she would pull it all around the house. I was asked to make them for friends and that is when we decided to start happy squash toys. We invested in the proper tools and I started making cars and animals on wheels and it just kept expanding from there. My favorite item is probably the Pirate Ship because I spent a lot of time thinking about the design prior to starting it and I was very pleased with the end result.
What advice would you give a creative entrepreneur on starting a small artistic business?
Create a quality product and have excellent customer service. Don't get discourage when you first start out, it will take time and hard work to make a business successful.
Do you have a book or movie that makes you feel creative? Tell us about it!
I just started reading the Frog and Toad series of books by Arnold Lobel to my daughter. I loved these books as a child and to watch my daughter experience them for the first time is a true joy. I had always loved the wonderful artwork and the simple, pure, uncomplicated tone of the stories. When I finish reading to her and she has gone to bed for the night, I am motivated to make toys that capture the same sense of childhood.
Do you have a person that inspires you (living or historical)? Tell us about her or him!
My daughter definitely inspires me! She is so much fun and I love to watch her play. I often get ideas for new toys from seeing what she is interested in and how she likes to play.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment