November 2011: Chason McClelland, Heartwood Natural Toys

Chason, Rosie and children

Like many resourceful Eugene teenagers, Chason McClelland and Rosemary Campbell both decided Saturday Market would be a great place to make some money. At fourteen, Chason started selling corn necklaces, bracelets and other crafty things. At sixteen, Rosemary started working behind the counter at Dana’s Cheesecake. At twenty-one, on her birthday, Colleen at Dana’s prompted Rosemary to wear an “I’m 21!” sign on her head. And that was the spark that prompted Chason to introduce himself...

Fast forward a few years. Chason and Rosy have four beautiful kids, and the housing bust strands Chason, now an accomplished carpenter, without income. Like many resourceful Eugene folks, Chason headed back to the Market to make some money to support his family. He made a scouting trip through the Holiday Market to see if there was a niche waiting to be filled. He found that there weren’t a lot of toys available, and he set to work developing his Heartwood Natural Toys, introducing them at Market at the beginning of the 2010 season.

booth Since then, his business has grown by leaps and bounds at Market and on the internet. He offers a wide variety of sturdy and beautifully finished toys, from traditional blocks and cars to wonderful kid sized kitchens, doll houses, peg hammering benches, and even nice wooden potty chairs. Tongue drums are a particular favorite at the Market. There’s always something new in the booth, which makes it fun to check out every week. Chason uses a reclaimed wood from pallets and other sources, and buys mill ends as well, to keep his business nice and “green”. All of the toys are finished with kid and earth friendly finishes such as linseed oil.

When I stopped by on Saturday to snap some photos, there were only three kids in the booth. Their son was busily sanding more toys. I bet that means yet another resourceful Eugene teen will someday be heading off to Market to ply his wares and make some money!

You can find Heartwood Natural Toys nearly every Saturday at Market, just ask the Info Booth where they are located. You can also find them at Holiday Market in booth #163 on Spruce. If you can’t make it to Market, check out their website, www.heartwoodnaturaltoys.com.

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