About Us

At The Wooden Wagon, we are all about the simple, the natural, the safe, and most of all the fun.

The Wooden Wagon was founded by a stay-at-home dad in 2003, and we continue to be a family business. From the very beginning we have sought out the highest quality natural toys, such as we would want our own three boys to have–predominantly from Europe and the USA. We pay attention to the play value, safety, workmanship, materials used and timelessness of each of our items. Simply put: we offer nothing that we would not want in our own home.

Most of our manufacturers are family-owned as well, and all of them share our values. They use the best materials, whether it is FSC wood, or organic cotton, wool or fabric, or non-toxic stains, paints and finishes. They oversee every step of production, and their toys are for the most part made in small batches. A great many of our toys are handmade, whether cut, turned on a lathe or carefully sewn and detailed by hand. Our manufacturers’ work environments are of the highest quality, safe and environmentally conscious.

But just as important to our selection is the play value of each toy. We love open-ended toys that spark the imagination and lead children to find their own individual ways to play and tell a story. We have chosen toys that can be interpreted by the child in many ways, and that will be re-invented over many years as the child grows. We like toys that work in conjunction with other toys and thereby extend the play value even further.

And we believe that less can often be more. Simple toys–without noise or flashing lights and batteries–can inspire. We love wood for that reason: the simple, natural beauty of wood fosters a quieter, slower type of play, which we advocate in this busy, fast-paced modern world. We feel that this type of play allows the child the peace to develop imagination, creativity and originality.

But at the end of the day our toys need to be fun, and that remains our final criteria. Regardless of age, we strive to offer the best, natural toys available today and we hope that they will bring joy and many hours of happiness to the children in your life.

We have gathered together in these pages some of the finest wooden toys to come out of Europe, and especially Germany. These include wooden, trucks trains, and airplanes, block sets, and wooden games and puzzles. All of these products were designed with the child in mind: They are durable, natural, and just plain fun. All of The Wooden Wagon's toys comply with the rigorous European testing standards.

Why Choose Wood?
When we first started The Wooden Wagon, we were frequently asked why we had chosen to "limit" ourselves to wooden toys. Wasn't there much more selection if we included plastic trucks, or rubber baby rattles, or any number of other items?

My answer to that remains, "No." There is an astounding diversity to the wooden toys produced today. Classic toys—the spinning top, or toy truck, or baby rattle—continue to be well represented: It is solely a matter of choosing one's favorite design. And our selection constantly grows as we discover toymakers who use the material in unique ways, or approach a familiar subject with a fresh eye.

But our choice of wooden toys is more than just a matter of preference for wood over plastic. Wooden toys have a wonderful power to awaken the child's imagination. They may not beep or speak or flash lights, but watch them in use, and you will see a child's imagination flourishing. With these toys, life is given by the child, not by a battery or computer chip. The simplicity of their design frees rather than restricts the imagination.

Aesthetically wood is the perfect material for toymaking. Just as each piece of wood has its individual grain, so each wooden toy has its individual character. The child's senses are awoken to the natural world and stimulated by the variations in grain, texture, and smell of different woods. And wood has its own temperature, making it pleasurable to the touch.

Finally, there are environmental reasons to choose a wooden toy: Wood is a renewable resource, whereas petroleum-based products are not. Our manufacturers use local woods where possible, frequently from the annual fell from European forests, and promote regrowth. The by-products of production can be recycled. Vegetable dyes and natural varnishes ensure that the toys are not only non-toxic, but natural as well. And a wooden toy can be easily repaired if necessary, or as a last resort recycled.

Limited? Hardly. I would say instead that a wooden toy is the natural choice.