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uniform you ever saw,” Donlon says, with a chuckle.
“The first time I saw his toys I was just amazed,” Donlon
says. “They’re definitely undervalued, considering the quality
and the time he puts into them. He makes big toys for
little hands. Kids can just play with them for hours.”
Donlon included some of Reynolds’ handmade toys in
last summer’s exhibit called Florida Girls and Boys and
Their Toys.
Reynolds retired to Fort Pierce in 1993, and he spends
most of his time now in his workshop.
“I make toys seven days a week, unless I have to go to the
store,” he says.
He buys Elmer’s wood glue by the gallon, and shellacs the
finished toys rather than painting them.
“There was that thing about lead in paint a while back,
you know,” he explains.
The rich wood tones of the toys also make them appealing
to adult collectors, who line them up on shelves and put
them off-limits to little hands.
“I don’t like it when mothers come by looking at my stuff
and tell their children, ‘Don’t touch that,’ ” he says. “Children
always want to touch things. They want to feel things.
It’s what they do.”
Moreover, it’s why Ken Reynolds makes the toys in the
first place.
“I love seeing children happy,” he says. “That’s my niche. I
love to see kids laugh.”
This custom-built Ken Reynolds doll house features the hardwood floors
and crown molding of every little girl’s dream house.
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