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A maker to know · Handmade wooden toys

The Toy Factory

New Glasgow, Prince Edward Island

Wooden toys from a workshop that also explains how they are made.

Dan and Kathy Viau’s Toy Factory makes traditional wooden toys in its Prince Edward Island workshop. Its own product listings distinguish those toys from the other brands carried in the wider store and give useful age guidance.

Explore the official shop
— this week

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Original Upvote concept of plain wooden tops, loose wooden rings, sanding tools and wood shavings; not the maker’s actual products or studio.
Upvote concept illustration · About the art
THE PERSON BEHIND THE WORK

Dan and Kathy Viau

Toy makers

The official history names the Viaus as the makers who took over the PEI workshop and store in 1990.

The story & the craft.

The Toy Factory’s story follows Alexis Shumate’s toy-making beginnings in 1972 and Dan and Kathy Viau’s takeover in 1990 after making wooden toys for their own family. Its Prince Edward Island workshop produces traditional wooden toys, while the wider store also carries other brands. The workshop’s Spinning Top and Ring Toss Game are two specific ways to explore its own work.

The top uses a handle and pull string and comes with instructions; the maker recommends it for ages four and up. The handheld stick-and-ring game has a recommendation of ages six and up. Those differences make the child’s age and the kind of play the useful starting points for a gift. Read the supplied instructions, and ask the business if exact size or colour matters. The workshop story supports these toys, without proving the manufacture of every item sold in the store.

EXPLORE THE WORK

What they make & offer.

product

Spinning Top

The workshop’s top has a handle and pull string, with instructions included and a maker recommendation of ages four and up.

Confirm the current colour and order status. The narrative and additional-dimensions fields conflict; ask if exact size matters.

View product details
product

Ring Toss Game

A handheld wooden stick-and-ring game, with a maker recommendation of ages six and up.

Colour requests are handled on a best-effort basis. Read the supplied instructions and confirm current availability.

View product details

Before you buy or go.

Follow each toy’s age guidance and instructions. Colour requests are preferences, not guaranteed fulfilment. Some product-page footers conflict with current-season hours, so confirm a visit through the business contact page; checkout stock has not been tested.

The Canadian connection.

The official history describes making its traditional wooden toys by hand in New Glasgow, PEI. The shop also sells other brands; do not transfer the workshop manufacture claim to everything in the store. Material origins vary or remain unproved.

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