Behind the Scenes in the Toyshop

by Edurne Rodriguez

We all have seen, touched or even played with the toys made in  the Newton Dee Toyshop. You see them everywhere - in the café, the medical practice and in almost every house, But what we don´t know is the long process that goes into making those toys.

Every toy, from the first cutting of the wood till it’s ready to be sold, goes through a process that lasts more or less one month. The toys are made in batches - one kind of toy is chosen and 150 of them are made. But not all of them end up in the store; approximately 10 from each batch are ruled out due to their imperfections.

The wood that is being used in the toyshop comes directly from Newton Dee’s own estate or from Murtle estate. Before the wood can be used in the toyshop it need to be seasoned for a number of years. After the seasoning, the big wooden slaps get cut down and thinned to the right size according to what toy is being made. The toyshop works as a team to create the toys.  From trunk to toy is a proses that everyone in the toyshop in participates. Some help with drilling, others with sanding, others with oiling and as a final touch the toys get polished before they are ready to be packed. 

Apart from toys the toyshop makes a big variety of other products. The candle holders and snuffers are made in a collaboration with the metal workshop. But the toyshop also makes, toast tongs, bread board, book ends, book stands, singes, puzzles, napkin rings, benches and even once a rocking zebra. The Toyshop also produces doorhandles for the Camphill Architects.

The toys are mostly sold in the Newton Dee Gift Shop and in the Toyshop itself, but there are also orders made for Botton Village, where the Central Distribution of Camphill Products is,  there have even been orders send to Japan. 

Now that we know  a bit more about the long and laborious process that  takes place in de Toyshop before we get those smooth, detailed toys. So the next time you see one of the toys do appreciate  all the hard work and love that has gone into the proces of making it.