Ken Martin’s done a lot of things in his life. He was a truck driver, owned a janitorial services company, and ran a successful self-storage company in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Residents of Santa Maria may remember Martin from Stardust Cruises Limousine Service, carting customers around the Central Coast in pimped-out shuttle buses. He sold the company some years ago and eventually retired. Then, in 2012, he started buying saws and woodworking materials and stashing them in his garage, satisfying a compulsion he’s had for years.
“I’ve always wanted to do it but never had the time,” Martin said, laughing. “I didn’t know how to turn the equipment on, how to sand, how to paint, but I had a shop and didn’t know what to do with it.”
The equipment sat around for a year. In 2013, a friend from Fresno asked him to fix a wooden chopping man whirligig (an object that spins or whirls, like a pinwheel). He fixed it, but it was the birth of his grandson a short time later that inspired him to build toys.
Martin turned his garage into a one-man, makeshift toy factory. His desk is cluttered with design templates, pieces of wood, unfinished toys, and a lot of sawdust.
Dozens of hand tools hang from the wall. Outside, next to his garage, used spray paint cans are stacked in a small tower. There’s barely any room to walk as multiple scroll saws take up nearly every square inch of usable space. His living room is decorated with the toys he’s made.
At first, it was all trial and error. But his skills developed quickly, and soon, Martin was crafting cars, animal puzzles, helicopters, and highly detailed dioramas—all made from various cuts of wood and other materials. He uses templates downloaded from toymakingplans.com.
He builds three classes of toys: ones that can be played with, toys that are also models, and just models.
Martin builds scaled models of landscapes, like the Bates Motel. It took him months to build and looks like a miniature movie set. He’s not obsessed, but calls himself a perfectionist, the evidence of which lies in the extraordinarily detailed models.
“I’m not that good yet,” Martin said, but his wife, Susie, thinks he’s just being modest.
Most recently, a customer in Sweden contacted Martin for an order of 30 toy airplanes for a birthday party. Martin felt the pressure on him was rather high.
“That’s a big freaking deal for me!” Martin said. “Sweden is the toy capital of the world.”
With his toy-making operation in place, Martin wants to pass along his skills. Every Monday, Martin wants to invite kids to his shop and teach them how to make toys. All he asks from parents is to notify him in advance.
Martin is also working to establish a community service effort called Smiles For Miles. According to Martin, this would be a local coalition of craftsmen (and women) of various skills—like sewing or woodworking—who want to donate their products to sick children or elderly patients.
“Toys make people smile,” Martin said.
So far, Martin said there’s some initial interest in Santa Maria and has even had materials donated to him. He hopes to become the neighborhood toy maker.
“It’s validating what we’re doing,” Martin said.
To place an order for handmade, wooden toys or find out more about toy-making class, contact Ken Martin at 868-8868 or visit his website, fuzzyduckcreations.com.
Biz Highlights
• On April 27, the Marian Regional Medical Center Foundation announced that it raised $135,000 during the second annual Day of Hope on April 16. The money was raised with the help of 400 volunteers who sold special edition copies of the Santa Maria Times. All contributions will be donated to the Mission Hope Cancer Center in Santa Maria.
• The Santa Maria Library announced on May 1 that the Community Bank of Santa Maria presented a check in the amount of $560.08 to Santa Maria City Librarian Mary Housel. The money will fund two scanner/copier/printer machines at the Santa Maria and Orcutt libraries. With these machines, library patrons will be able to scan documents to or from a USB drive.
• The Manufacturer’s Association is hosting a May 26 tour of factories and manufacturers in Santa Maria—the specific location will be announced later this month. The purpose of the tour is to bring awareness to the manufacturing industry in the city. Special events and timely topics will be discussed as well. The tour is free and runs from 7:30 to 9 a.m. RSVP to register@santamaria.com to join the tour. For more information, call Dave Cross at 925-2403, Ext. 817, or email him at edc@santamaria.com.
Staff Writer David Minsky wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, email, or mail.
This article appears in May 7-14, 2015.