Handmade Portraits #3: Handmade Portraits: Woodmouse

Toymaker Amber Dusick aka woodmouse her wood shop in her garage in downtown LA. After the birth of her son, this one time farm girl from Wisconsin became nostalgic for the toys from her past: simple, natural toys that would inspire creativity and imaginative play, made from materials that wouldn’t stick around in a landfill for thousands of years.

After years of silver smithing, throwing pottery and drawing with pen and ink, Amber finally found her medium in wood. Using sustainably harvested woods, non toxic paints and beeswax along with her wood burning tool, Amber was able to transfer the look and feel of her previous pen and ink drawings to wooden toys. Woodmouse, founder of the Natural Kids Team, is an ardent advocate of sustainable toys. The materials used are all natural and her toys are 100% compostable. Her imagery is reminiscent of of a child’s crayon drawing come to life in wood.

Check out the rest of the Handmade Portraits series on Etsy’s blog.