Zoom in for a close look at Vermont’s best wooden toy brands — Made in Vermont, for Vermonters by Vermonters.
But first a quick fact! Vermont’s official state tree is the sugar maple (acer saccharum). Great for maple syrup — and as a hardwood material for toys — Vermont shares its official affinity for the sugar maple with New York, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Vermont’s most highly recognized wooden toy company is none other than the appropriately named Maple Landmark.
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Vermont’s Top 5 Wooden Toy Companies
- (01) Maple Landmark – Middlebury, VT
- (02) Vermont Wooden Toy Factory – Charlotte, VT
- (03) Real Good Toys – Montpelier, VT
- (04) Manchester Woodcraft – Manchester Center, VT
- (05) Vermont Woodshop – Rutland, VT
(01) Maple Landmark
Maple trees grow in almost every U.S. state, but Maple Landmark puts maples in Vermont’s map. Committed to quality since 1979, Maple Landmark is Vermont’s haughtiest wooden toy brand with the very deepest Middlebury, VT roots.
Their NameTrains — perfected wooden letter railcars purchased together to spell your name — are Maple Landmark’s claim to fame, and their freshest eco-friendly School House Naturals line stays spotless stain-free — unfinished, all-natural, play-safe, sustainably-harvested maple, cherry, and other hardwood toys. Keep browsing — Maple Landmark makes The Green Mountain State’s best variety of wooden toys, games, and gifts.
Visit the Maple Landmark official website.
(02) Vermont Wooden Toy Factory
“How did they get the marbles in here?” The answer can be found in Charlotte, VT.
The “Marbelous Wooden Spiral” is the Vermont Wooden Toy Factory’s claim to fame — a mesmerizing toy for all ages that spins marbles round-and-round from down a wooden spiral track in a calm whimsy whirl. Two upgraded versions even include hand-cranks to lift marbles back to the top — like a moving assembly line automation yielding endless sooth with spinning marbles.
By now, we’re certain — that certain wooden toys offer meditative relaxation. Besides marbles, the Vermont Wooden Toy Factory also makes fidget toys made with contrasting woods to tinker with — dark-and-light — like tumi ishi balancing blocks and a curious cube with nuts and bolts.
See Vermont Wooden Toy on Etsy.
Visit the Vermont Wooden Toy Factory official website.
(03) Real Good Toys
With a nation-wide reputation in the miniatures community, the Real Good Toys brand conscientiously constructs wooden dollhouses to house the minis! Higher tier than Hobby Lobby dollhouses — on-par with Greenleaf — and not to be confused with “Real WOOD Toys” dollhouses — Real Good Toys a verifiable Vermont minis housing powerhouse.
Less-crafty parents go with their ready-made dollhouses, but Real Good Toys leave the door open to DIY’ers with both unfinished and lesser-finished dollhouse options. The truth is their dollhouses and accessories are designed in Vermont and made in Vietnam — Vis-a-Vis — but they make good with organizations running charitable fundraisers with their “Dollhouses For A Cause” discounts.
Visit the Real Good Toys official website.
(04) Manchester Woodcraft
Among their other wooden treasures — Manchester Woodcraft’s tri-grain hardwood toy figurine sets are undeniably eye-catching. With three-toned wood in each piece (Maple, Cherry, & Walnut), it’s kind of attention-to-detail is rare in the industry — a unique surprise you’ll only find with handmade toys!
See Manchester Woodcraft on Etsy.
Visit the Manchester Woodcraft official website.
(05) Vermont Woodshop
The Vermont Woodshop is toymakers of two kinds only — The Vermont Maple Leaf and the Vermont Apple — tick-cut puzzles combining two tones of darker and lighter wood. Simple. Beautiful. Vermont.
A Vermont Wooden Toy Time Capsule
- Vermont Wooden Block Company — Until some years before 2025, the Vermont Wooden Block Company sold builders like Lincoln Logs but much larger. The big-thinking woodworkers made thick and sturdy wooden construction blocks open-ended to upbuild houses, bridges, barriers and more. They even make extended sets for entire classrooms to collaborate on.
- Somewhere Strange — Until the year 2022, there was something strange happening in Proctor, VT. They sold one thing — and that was a wooden laptop computer toy with a nifty chalkboard monitor. Sombering in a fast-paced, ultra-connected digital world — I wish their digital-less laptops were still around.
- Kind Shape — Until the year 2021, Kind Shapes was a one-stop-shop in Burlington, VT for cleanly cubed wooden blocks of specific types — alphabet blocks, number blocks, and name blocks. Purposed to spell out baby’s name, pick out his or her age, or learn those math and reading basics.
