Family owned and operated, local toy manufacturer BEKA Inc. makes wooden toys that inspire creativity and imagination. Just like the good old days!

This morning I was watching WCCO when Angela Davis profiled BEKA Inc. I was thrilled to learn about this company and it's dedication to quality, durable, wooden toys. In her artile she mentions that the owner, Jamie Kreisman, is "very picky about which toy stores they sell to... In fact over the years they have turned down offers to sell to some large toy retailers because it would have required them to make their toys differently."

Kudos to you Jamie. Kudos also to your brother and your employees!

It's great to see that in this era companys still have this kind of attitude. I still have the wooden block set my parents gave me, and my 2 year old son plays with it almost every day. It's painted in bright colours though I don't think that matters to him. As a parent, knowing that the toy was made 30 years ago, I'm even a bit concerned that the paint might have lead in it. Unpainted is probably better anyway!

I'm sure I'll be stopping by the distributor mentioned in the article, Peapods Toy Store, to pick up some more blocks for him this Christmas. You can never have enough. In fact maybe I'll buy two sets!

Who else is "Going Old School" for toys this year?