Made in America: The Search for Toy Boxes
Image credit: Melody White
Melody White and her husband Joel from Fort Collins, Colo., were in search of toy boxes for their four nieces and one nephew, but what they found did not impress them.
"For $250 to $300 you can find a toy box in almost any catalog," Melody White said. "However, they are pretty low quality and not made in the U.S. So we took it upon ourselves to find a better way to do this."
The Whites did some searching and discovered Mark Birmingham, a local carpenter who has been in business since 1976. Birmingham offered to make the toy boxes by hand, using American wood for the same price as the foreign competitors.
The Whites could not have been more pleased with the result.
"So for $250 he made us a solid maple toy box that was of much better quality," Melody White said.
"Everything that ends up being made in Mexico, China or Korea is something that's not going to come back to America for year and years," Birmingham told ABC News. "We need to get more stuff made by Americans. … Sometimes you end up paying a little more, but you're creating jobs and we definitely need them."
Birmingham's business relationship with the Whites didn't stop with the toy boxes. The couple has had him make furniture for their house and have become focused on buying American.
"As far as trying to find American made, maybe it takes five more minutes than walking into Walmart," Melody White told ABC News. "You have to get into the phone book or on the Internet. It's not that difficult if you choose to make that lifestyle change."
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If you are interested in purchasing a toy box, you can contact Mark Birmingham's company Birmingham Productions at 970-224-5191.