Rhody artists ~ Chris and Hannah Blackburn
Artist’s name: Chris and Hannah Blackburn
Shop name: Seven Acre Toys
Location: Providence, Rhode Island
Etsy shop: www.etsy.com/shop/sevenacretoys
Website: www.SevenAcreToys.com
Twitter: @seveacretoys
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sevenacretoys
1. Tell us about your work
We make really fun high quality wooden toys. We are looking to make toys that are well designed, safe, natural and eco friendly.
2. How did you come to be a professional artist/crafter?
Chris and I met at RISD, he was in sculpture and I was in Furniture Design and we both love wood. I think our work reflects both of our ideas and backgrounds well. Chris originally thought he would be a painter, but fell in love with the 3rd dimension freshman year. I grew up surrounded by artists, and didn’t ever seriously consider doing anything else. I started working in wood in middle school and have never stopped.
3. Where do you draw your inspiration?
We find ideas and inspiration everywhere. If we’re not in the shop we are outside, so nature is a big one, but also pop culture, and of course our 1 year old son. We refer to him as the R&D department.
4. What’s your favorite item to make?
Prototyping new items is the best. Working through our design issues and problem solving is a favorite part of projects for both of us. Pull toys are fun to make because when you are done with a batch you have a small army of really awesome little things on wheels.
5. What’s your best seller?
The Mustache pull toy is up there, we sell that to a lot of people who don’t necessarily have kids. The mobiles do well on Etsy and blocks do really well at craft shows, but I think our 2 part teethers are the #1 seller. Do you know how hard it is to find a teething toy made in America? I also think new parents are reluctant to give their babies plastics because there is new info all the time about chemicals, child development and safety.
6. How long have you been in Rhode Island?
Chris has been here 13 years, I’ve been here 11. We both came here to go to school and decided to stick around. We (heart) Rhody too!
7. What do you {heart} about Rhode Island?
The sense of community that you can only get in a state this small. We belong to ArtsinRI, an Etsy based team, and I think we are the only team that actually gets together in person each month. That kind of relationship makes us stronger. Also, the people here seem to really appreciate craft. That of course is huge to us.
8. Please include anything else you’d like to add:
I would urge everyone who values hand made to tell his or her representatives to support HR 1939. That’s a bill that revises the CPSIA laws of 2008. It doesn’t lighten safety standards in any way, but it calls for clearer language and fairer testing practices. CPSIA put into effect some important changes in toy standards, but it was written primarily to police very large companies and make it very hard for us little guys.
Shop name: Seven Acre Toys
Location: Providence, Rhode Island
Etsy shop: www.etsy.com/shop/sevenacretoys
Website: www.SevenAcreToys.com
Twitter: @seveacretoys
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sevenacretoys
1. Tell us about your work
We make really fun high quality wooden toys. We are looking to make toys that are well designed, safe, natural and eco friendly.
 |
| image: etsy |
Chris and I met at RISD, he was in sculpture and I was in Furniture Design and we both love wood. I think our work reflects both of our ideas and backgrounds well. Chris originally thought he would be a painter, but fell in love with the 3rd dimension freshman year. I grew up surrounded by artists, and didn’t ever seriously consider doing anything else. I started working in wood in middle school and have never stopped.
3. Where do you draw your inspiration?
We find ideas and inspiration everywhere. If we’re not in the shop we are outside, so nature is a big one, but also pop culture, and of course our 1 year old son. We refer to him as the R&D department.
4. What’s your favorite item to make?
Prototyping new items is the best. Working through our design issues and problem solving is a favorite part of projects for both of us. Pull toys are fun to make because when you are done with a batch you have a small army of really awesome little things on wheels.
 |
| image: etsy |
The Mustache pull toy is up there, we sell that to a lot of people who don’t necessarily have kids. The mobiles do well on Etsy and blocks do really well at craft shows, but I think our 2 part teethers are the #1 seller. Do you know how hard it is to find a teething toy made in America? I also think new parents are reluctant to give their babies plastics because there is new info all the time about chemicals, child development and safety.
 |
| image: etsy |
Chris has been here 13 years, I’ve been here 11. We both came here to go to school and decided to stick around. We (heart) Rhody too!
7. What do you {heart} about Rhode Island?
The sense of community that you can only get in a state this small. We belong to ArtsinRI, an Etsy based team, and I think we are the only team that actually gets together in person each month. That kind of relationship makes us stronger. Also, the people here seem to really appreciate craft. That of course is huge to us.
8. Please include anything else you’d like to add:
I would urge everyone who values hand made to tell his or her representatives to support HR 1939. That’s a bill that revises the CPSIA laws of 2008. It doesn’t lighten safety standards in any way, but it calls for clearer language and fairer testing practices. CPSIA put into effect some important changes in toy standards, but it was written primarily to police very large companies and make it very hard for us little guys.
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