Frank Ridley
Different Drummer Workshop
Toymaker (Solon, ME)
“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”
- Henry David Thoreau
“In 1973 our family fled the ‘big city industrial rat race’ to live in the small town of Solon, Maine, where we started the Different Drummer Workshop. We have always remained a small family woodcraft business, aimed at making traditional wooden toys for kids using native Maine resources.
“Our wooden toys are best known for the quality of their craftsmanship. The primary material is white pine, and every board of wood is carefully selected to show off its natural beauty and grain. The completed wooden toy is finely sanded to a satin smooth natural finish.
“In designing and building our toys, safety, simplicity, and durability are the main considerations. In manufacturing we make sure that all joints are solidly glued, that corners and edges are well rounded, and all surfaces are sanded smooth and feel soft and pleasant to touch. No artificial finishes are applied to our wooden toys, except for the sailboat and the ‘executive desk toys’ and games, thus reducing concern about toxic substances going into a child’s mouth. [The sailboat is given a thin coat of lead-free varnish and then sanded when dry to give it a little water protection.]
“We believe that toys intended for children should be non-violent and simple in design, leaving the child to use his or her own imagination (instead of a battery) to fill in whatever details are needed at the time of play.”