WOOD making the most of our

Jalu Wood Creations Jalutoys.com Makes • Handcrafted wood toy figurines in animal and human shapes Where • Plummer Creek Road, near Lund Wood • Local alder

You’ll recognize their work at • Ecossentials; Filberg Festival; Waldorf schools; Vancouver Circle Craft Christmas Market; ETSY Government money • Started on the local EI Community Futures program

PAGE 16 • FERNS & FALLERS 2015

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hen their kids were small, Eric Renken and Gabriele Shaub ran out of patience with plastic toys, and started making an alternative: their own, high-quality colourful wood figures. Eric was an avionics electrician with Pacific Coastal, and Gabriele, an artist. When the airline moved its shop to Vancouver, the family elected to stay in Powell River, and start a toy company. “The first five years were really hard,” says Gabriele. But now, the duo are at their maximum capacity. He carves the toys in his garage workshop, she paints them in a loft studio overlooking the fat chickens in their lush garden. African animals; Little Red Riding Hood; rolling beavers that toddlers can pull on a string; Rainforest animals; stacking rainbows – each piece is non-toxic and finished with beeswax. “From August until Christmas we’re working 12-hour days, seven days a week,” said Eric. He also notes that the business is about lifestyle; the pair have no interest in expanding beyond the two of them, and they like that they can be independent and make their own schedule.