Small Town Toys, Middletown, NY

Since NYCity Mama began staying home with the kids, she has had the opportunity of meeting and speaking to a few women who, like herself, have also decided to make theirs the job of homemaker.  She has found in her many conversations that for these women, many of them leaving a profession or steady job behind, the decision to become Full Time Mom is often also an opportunity to discover something new in and about themselves.  For Mama it has been her photography, her writing, her cooking; things she has always enjoyed, but never had as much time to perfect.  For other women, the discovery is their ability to do something they never even thought of, never even considered, until an occurrence, a loving push, or both, lead them on that path.

On this cold and beautiful sunny morning, Mama was getting ready to visit a long time friend who had such an opportunity placed before her, and her husband, with whom’s support her friend was able to discover a new love and start on a new venture.  Mama and family travelled North, to Middletown, NY, an hour and half drive past tall trees and low valleys, and the ever popular Bear Mountain State Park to visit her friends Neeka and Rob, and meet their 2.5 year old.

They arrive to their friends’ home and Mama’s youngest boys are immediately distracted by the toys and warm greetings from Neeka and Rob’s little boy.  Mama’s husband is delighted to enter a home similar to theirs; full of toys and signs that a child lives there, and he immediately relaxes as he is comforted with the realization that he will be able to let his boys “play”.  And “play” is very important in this home, for Neeka’s newly discovered talent is that of toy maker.  

Last Winter, shortly after Neeka and Rob bought their beautiful fixer upper, their son’s doctor found high levels of lead in his system.  They had addressed lead problems throughout the house, but were unsure if these results were do to continuing problems in the home, or to the toys their son was playing with.

“You should make toys,” Neeka recalls her husband telling her.

“What?” she responded with self doubt. “I don’t know anything about that.  I wouldn’t even know how to get started!”

“It’s easy, ” he reassured her. “All you need is a scroll saw.”

Neeka had always thought about starting a business from home, hopefully one that would be a reflection of their green lifestyle.  She had experience working in public relations, and in editing, gardening and sewing.  But handling heavy machinery in a homebased woodshop?  ”No,” she replies.  ”Never.”

On Christmas Day, which is also her birthday, Neeka got a scroll saw as a gift.  They found a place to set up shop in their basement and she starting working on toys the next day.

No soon did she start carving wood that ideas began to flow from her mind.  She began to jot them down and place them in a folder.

“The first few toys were very rudimentary,” Neeka recalls. “They were uneven, rough around the edges, not very good.  But I continued to work on them until they reached perfection.”

By June, Neeka had not only managed to perfect many of her toys, but had enough ideas to increase her line, and through advertising and self promotion online, and in fairs, she had found an growing interest for her products.

Her husband then further encouraged her by suggesting she establish a store.  So they opened Small Town Toys.

She started out with only a scroll saw, expecting to slowly grow the business and purchase more tools as needed in time.  However, to her surprise word of her products spread quickly and she was soon able to expand the workshop sooner than she had originally thought and include more equipment to help her meet the increasing demand and the innovating designs she came up with.

She is most proud of her Rainbow Stacker, Tree Stacker, and Flower Stacker.  ”They are my most original design and though they are time consuming, and a bit more difficult then the rest, they were the first pieces that came out really perfect,” she says.

 

Mama couldn’t wait to visit Neeka’s workshop. It was full of wooden pieces in the process of being converted to little cars, and bears, and other wonderful toys.  

She saw the heavy machinery that made up the wood shop and couldn’t help but be in awe as she saw her petite framed friend easily and confidently maneuver the thick wood pieces into her envisioned toy design.

“How did you learn to work these machines?” Mama asked her as her friend wiped the dust off of her goggles.

“Well, I just read the manuals and figured it out,” Neeka said proudly. “Rob tried to explain it to me, but that was more confusing, so I just played around with them until I got comfortable with them and learned how they worked.”  Mama thought she had learned rather quickly.

“It may not be how professional wood workers do it,” she stated humbly, “but it works for me.”

Mama was very impressed.  But the toys are also impressive.  Prior to her visit, Mama had ordered a couple of cars, in part to support her friend, but also to see if they would withstand being playthings for her boys.  And resist they have.  Mama’s boys love the cars and play with them often. Not only are the cars durable, they are light in weight, and very colorful and pretty, every single step taken in making the toy had a child in mind.  From the quality and durability of every wooden piece, to the painting with food coloring, and finishing with the same finish used to coat and glaze candies and pills.

As a matter of fact Small Town Toys has an official in-house Toy Tester.  ”Our son is given any new toy design I finish before I market it, ” says Neeka.  ”If the toy can resist his chewing, or throwing, or playing with it like an child would, especially a little boy like him, then I know it can resist pretty much anything.” He is also involved in painting many of the puzzle pieces.

“But what compensation does he get for his work?” Mama asked laughing.

“His compensation is that he gets to keep the toy and add it to his collection,” smiled Neeka.

Neeka admits that managing the time needed for her store and her baby is her biggest challenge. Due to the growing demands of the business, she has relied on help from a local daycare for two hours a day and family.  But it is clear where her priorities lie and why she started her business in the first place.

And as obvious as her dedication and love for her beautiful little boy is, her excitement and pride for her new found ambition is also quite visible.  Before leaving the workshop she pointed to the drill press on her work station.

“This is the first machine I bought on my own, without Rob,” she said proudly.  ”I used to hate Home Depot.  I saw it as such a ‘man store’, and I didn’t know anything about the tools they sold there.”  She recalled how she had seen it on sale and became very excited because she had been wanting one for some time.

“I walked over to the sales clerk and asked him to help me with it,” she said.  ”He looked at me and asked me if I was buying a gift for my husband.”

She giggled as she remembered the exchange. ”No,” she told him smiling, “this is for me.”

Small Town Toys

845-342-3788

neeka@smalltowntoysny.com

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