Last year over a couple mugs of hot chocolate in their Worthington home, a husband and wife decided to make wooden toys for their two young sons and friends with children. The British master carpenter husband and marketing firecracker wife sourced all-natural local wood, designed kid-friendly shapes, and lovingly finished each piece. The buzz surrounding their charming hand-hewn playthings began to spread and they realized they might be onto something. So Amy Turn Sharp and her husband Joe founded Little Alouette, and now they process orders from around the world.
If you think about it, wooden baby toys have been around for hundreds of years. Wood is about as natural as it gets. “I believe kids need very basic, simple things,” Amy said. “They require so little, but we give them so much crap. Parents are realizing that less is more, quality is everything, and handmade really means something.”
Parents are recognizing the benefits of investing in natural children’s products. With recent Chinese lead recalls and issues surrounding plastic sippy cups, they want peace of mind about what they’re giving their children. “People are getting tired of not being able to trust that things are safe and durable,” Amy said. Little Alouette toys are made of 100% natural maple wood sourced from a farm in Newark and are finished with organic flaxseed oil.
Amy and Joe create each toy at their rented Idea Foundry workshop in the southeast side of Columbus. They began selling toys online through Etsy last January and launched an e-commerce website shortly thereafter. Their toys can be purchased in person at Collier West in the Short North, Fritzy Jacobs in Olde Worthington, and Whole Foods in Dublin. Prices range from $12 to $20 for teethers and rattles, and up to $28 for five-piece block playsets.
In the future Amy and Joe plan to expand their product line with puzzles and life-size rocking horses. For now they have one thing on their minds: Christmas. Last holiday season they worked fiendishly trying to fulfill all of their orders. “We got so busy that it was insane,” Amy said. This year they increased production early to begin stockpiling for the holiday rush. That doesn’t mean that every last toy doesn’t get the handmade attention it deserves. “Not to sound all ridiculous and hippie,” Amy laughed, “but we really believe that each of our toys comes infused with love.”
Visit littlealouette.com and littlealouette.etsy.com for more information.
Alexandra Kelley is a featured writer for Columbus Underground and can be reached at alexandra477.com.