Date: Fri 17-Jan-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Illustration: C

Location: A9

Quick Words:

Little-Toymaker-Makowicki

Full Text:

(feature on Sandy Hook toymaker Jim Makowicki, 1/17/97)

A Sandy Hook Toymaker Shares Some Of His Secrets

(with photos)

BY SHANNON HICKS

According to tradition, it is Santa who brings toys to children around the

world on Christmas Eve, after his workshop of elves has spent the previous

year making all the toys that fill the sleigh.

So what would you call someone who not only plays Santa, but also makes wooden

toys just like those that come out of Santa's shop at the North Pole?

You would call him Jim Makowicki.

The 65-year old "Little Toymaker," as he refers to himself, makes wonderful

wooden toys in his Sandy Hook workshop that are loved by all ages. He does not

have much free time, but during the Christmas season, Jim Makowicki could also

be found at Danbury Fair Mall, playing the part of Santa in the mall's

Christmas Court. Santa and an elf, all wrapped up in one charming man.

He works in his workshop on a near-daily basis, but says he has to make time

to get out of the house, too.

"When you're working in your house, you gotta get out. You can't stay in those

four walls all day - you've got to get out!

"That's one of the reasons I did the Santa Claus job, because it gets me out

of the house and I get to see my kids."

An avid woodworker who has been making wooden toys for "more years than I care

to remember," Jim comes from a family of 13 children. He was the only one

really interested in woodworking, he says, and built up his own workshop at

home.

The toy that launched his career was a wooden grasshopper with bobbing

antennae, and legs on wheels so that when a child pulled the grasshopper along

behind him or her, the legs appeared to be "jumping" up and down.

Years ago, a patron at Fairfield Wood Branch Library saw one of Jim's

grasshoppers and asked if he would make one for her. A friend of that lady's

saw the toy and also asked Jim for one of her own, and "like a snowball going

downhill," Jim says, he was off and running. The library asked if he would be

interested in teaching workshops, so he began teaching six-week toymaking

programs on Saturday mornings in the early to mid 1970s.

The workshops continued for almost eight years. After the first four years of

classes, the programs extended to 12 weeks in length, held twice yearly. The

classes did not take place solely at the Fairfield Library, either. Jim

traveled all over, within a 50-mile radius of his home in Sandy Hook. Because

they were always free workshops, he kept within that distance to minimize his

own expenses.

"It just got bigger and bigger and bigger," the toymaker says, with a smile.

He always seems to be smiling. Whether it is because of his love of this job

he has, the anticipation of the smiles his toys will bring, or both, The

Little Toymaker is a very endearing person.

Jim worked for a number of years at Curtis Packaging in Sandy Hook, as package

design manager. After he left Curtis, he opened his own business, Packaging

Concepts, designing packages in boxboard and thermoplastics. Customers give

Jim their products to have him design packaging for them.

Constantly working to improve packaging, Jim says most projects now are based

on reducing cost and using recyclable materials. He does a lot of work these

days for Stanley Tool, his major client, developing packaging for the tool

conglomerate. That business is being phased out these days, as he devotes more

time to his toymaking.

What he would like to do is return to his classes; "I really miss it," he

said. He had to give up teaching when he went into business for himself; time

did not allow him to devote enough energy to both projects.

He says he may go back to lecturing on a regular basis, too. In December, he

offered a program on wooden toys at the Newtown Senior Center that was very

well attended. One of the most popular toys he showed at the end of the

program was his grasshopper, the same toy that launched his career nearly two

decades ago.

The grasshopper is the first project, in fact, in Making Heirloom Toys , a

book Jim spent 2« years working on which was printed in 1996 by Taunton Press

of Newtown. Making Heirloom Toys opens with a dedication to Jim's wife,

Priscilla.

The book is a collection of Jim's transportation toys, educational toys and

even a game or two. The relatively simple Walk The Ball (simple by comparison

to the more intricate toys on the remainder of the projects list...) results

in a stimulating and challenging contest for all ages.

The volume is a collection of toy building techniques, safety guidelines and

complete instructions for 22 wooden toy projects. Each project opens with a

clear photo of the finished project, and includes sections on parts

preparation, clear assembly instructions and full-size line drawings showing a

toy's front, top and side views.

The comprehensive parts list accompanying each project lists every part

needed, quantity of each part you will need, dimensions of each part, and, of

course, the material used for each part (whether the type of wood - Jim

prefers cherry and walnut - or steel or nylon; while the toys are wooden in

essence, a few contain metal couplings or joiners).

Projects may appear simple, but "some of them can take as long to build as a

piece of furniture," Jim writes in his introduction. Many of the toys have

over 50 pieces, he continues. The ferry boat with vehicles, for example, has

well over 100 parts.

Included also are Jim's thoughts on transferring patterns ("another

challenge," he calls the step of moving patterns one way or another from paper

to wood), tools, safe work habits and safety precautions, strategies ("work

from the inside out") and techniques ("I never throw anything away," he told

the rapt seniors during his December presentation. "Scrap pieces help you

finish every project.")... anything a novice could need to begin.

Woodworkers of all levels can find a number of hints and tips for their own

workshop. Making Heirloom Toys is an enjoyable, easy read. What it is not is a

book overrun with technical jargon where the enjoyability of the final project

is lost along the way.

There is a chapter called "A Gallery of Heirloom Toys" which is just that: A

collection of color photos showing every toy project found in Jim's book. Some

toys, he explains, are shown more than once, "to illustrate material,

finishing and design options."

The book closes with a "Sources of Supply" listing, with everything from books

("ideal for inspiration") and toy parts suppliers (for headlight buttons,

dowels, and the like) to woodworking supplies and safe finishes suggestions.

Jim is thrilled with his book.

"I think it's an excellent book," he admitted recently. "It's beautifully

done. No complaints at all." Between the quality of the paper the softcover

edition is printed on, the layout, the photography and type styles of the

print, Jim says he has heard very positive comments from readers and has even

received letters complimenting him on the book.

Already in the works is Jim's next book, which features a different approach

to toymaking. Publication is planned for 1998.

"Toys worth making are worth making well," says Jim Makowicki. He has story on

top of story of the children he has met through his classes. The workshops

aren't all fun and games, either. While everyone enjoys themselves, it isn't

just goofing around with the kids; it is time to learn, and time to teach

safety. Safe tools, and safe techniques, are something you are never too young

to start learning how to use.

"Never work with dull tools, and don't ever buy a toy tool set for a child,"

Jim told the seniors during his December presentation. At the suggestion of

children's tool kits, he shakes he head: No way.

"Toy tool sets are not made with quality metal, and if [kids] try harder to do

something, that's how they're going to get hurt. Buy them real tools on a

small scale," he says.

Safety, safety, safety! - It is a key point emphasized repeatedly in Jim's

programs and in his book.

"A screwdriver is a weapon if it's not properly made," he elaborated recently.

"You can exert yourself trying too hard to make it work. Knives must be sharp;

they are safe when they're sharp. Hammers should have a slightly arched head.

"Ultimately, in any fabrication technique, you want to minimize the resistance

between the tool and the material. You're better off buying the Handiman tools

from Stanley. I'm sure Craftsman has some low-line tools, too," he says,

referring to lower cost, but better quality tools parents can find for their

children.

In his own workshop it is the same thing: Quality and safety. Jim says he buys

most of his tools second hand, because older tools are made out of cast iron,

which stands up to the test of time.

"A lot of the tools today are made of stamped metal, and you can't convince me

to go with those," he stated.

With the coldest part of the year ahead of us for the next few months and

people spending more time indoors, one wonders what magical toys Jim Makowicki

is working on in his workshop. What wonderful things will come out of his bag

of toys next?

Only Santa and The Little Toymaker know.

Jim Makowicki's book, Making Heirloom Toys ($17.95 softcover), can be

purchased in Newtown at The Book Review in Sand Hill Plaza and Newtown

Hardware.