- Craft
- Personalized wooden toys
Damhorst Toys started in a basement workshop in 1971, when Don and Carol Damhorst invented a personalized name puzzle stool for their children. They watched it teach the kids perception, problem solving and patience, and it gave them a boost at the bathroom sink too. Friends soon wanted stools of their own.
The Damhorsts sold their stools and puzzles in St. Louis specialty shops and at art and craft fairs around the country, and went full time in 1976. In 1998 they moved the business from their home to a larger shop in Hermann, Missouri, and in 2004 their children, Kris Damhorst and Megin Cassimatis, took it over. Don and Carol have since passed away, and their kids and a dedicated crew carry on the work.
For Jewish families, that craft comes in Hebrew: personalized Hebrew name puzzles and stools, a rocking chair and a coat rack in wood, plus stuffed animals embroidered with a child's Hebrew name.
Good to know
- Family businesssecond generation since 2004
