The light bulb moment
From humble beginnings in 2013, a Show & Tell at our daughter's Kindergarten planted the seed of what would later become Little Woodworkers®. 🌱
Our daughter's teacher knew that Jim was a Furniture Maker with a teaching background. She approached him to ask if he could make a workbench for the kindergarten. Jim thought it would be great to involve all 22 children in the making process.
He took it as an opportunity to teach them WHERE wood comes from, WHY we need it and HOW everything is connected to our environment.
A big task. Jim couldn’t wait.
We even made up little "Wombat Woodworker" badges for each child. Jim got stuck into preparing for it all and had so much fun. (This might have been an inkling on what’s to come. 😊)
The date for the SHOW & TELL was set for Friday, 9th August 2013 (much to the delight of Jim’s daughter.) Jim brought in all the wooden material, tools and whatever else he needed to show the kids. Oh, the EXCITEMENT!
Jim was AMAZED at how much the children enjoyed the making process and IMPRESSED at how much they were capable of at such a young age.
The kids were SO PROUD and admired what they had accomplished.
THAT pride on their little faces sparked the idea of giving this memorable experience to more children.
Jim couldn't stop thinking about it.
Fast forward a year, he took a leap of faith, resigned from his day job (making designer furniture at Jardan Furniture) so that both he and his wife, Kerstin, could focus on turning this idea into a business.
Things started happening…
We had a meeting in our kitchen, with two of our favourite kindergarten teachers (from Hampton Community Kinder) and Jim presented his initial concept to see what they think.
They LOVED it!
Next, Kerstin came up with the name Little Woodworkers®. A logo and brand was created, flyers were printed, a website was built.
And off Jim went to his first Teacher Network Meeting on 14th October 2014.
Little Woodworkers® was introduced to the world.
MILESTONE TIMELINE
1.
9TH AUG 2013
Jim facilitated a Show & Tell at our daughter’s Kindergarten, making a workbench with 22 four-year-old children helping him.
2.
5TH AUG 2014
Jim took a leap of faith and resigned from his day job (making designer furniture at JARDAN) so that both he and his wife, Kerstin, could focus on turning this idea into reality.
3.
14TH OCT 2014 🚀
Jim attended a Teacher Network Meeting and Little Woodworkers® was introduced to the world.
4.
8TH DEC 2014
We received our FIRST booking. Five more bookings arrive for the START of 2015.
Little Woodworkers® was born, had taken root and was beginning to grow.
5.
6 MTHS ON
We had 115 bookings in our calendar, covering 11 councils!
7.
JUL 2015
We were voted as one of the THREE BEST BIRTHDAY PARTIES in THE WEEKLY REVIEW Bayside & Port Phillip.
8.
SEP 2015
We were featured in the Community News LEADER after faciliating a woodwork incursion at St James Kindergarten in Box Hill South. (Fun fact: It was our 93rd incursion.)
10.
30TH JUN 2017
Almost 10,000 children have experienced our Little Woodworkers® incursions and wooden toy making experience all over Melbourne.
11.
1ST JUL 2019
Well over 20,000 children have now participated in our woodwork incursions, learned about sustainability and made their own wooden toys.
12.
19TH DEC 2019
We facilitated ONE THOUSAND Little Woodworkers® incursions.
(Translating into 25,000 children making their OWN wooden toys, learning about the importance of trees & taking care of their environment!)
13.
13TH MAR 2020 😷
The Lockdown Saga begins for Victoria. On 16TH MAR a State of Emergency was declared in VIC to combat COVID-19.
Everything stopped. All bookings were cancelled.
The Pandemic had well and truly hit Australia.
15.
23RD SEP 2020
We launched our Woodwork Apprentice EXPERIENCE for 6 to 12-year-olds.
A choice of various Woodwork Projects for PARENTS to purchase ONLINE for their little woodworkers at HOME.
16.
OCT 2020 📦
We started offering our Contactless Incursion Packs to selected teachers, who had asked if we had ANY KITS to send them.
(The lockdown kept being extended and they needed to keep their groups entertained and learning.)
17.
5TH NOV 2020 📦📦
We officially launched the Contactless Incursion Packs in VIC and Australia-wide. 🇦🇺
The feedback from teachers has been absolutely amazing right from the start.
We were soon inundated with email orders and quickly implemented a specific ORDER FORM for a smoother ordering process.
EDIT: The PACK option has since become a well-integrated part of our services.
18.
20TH AUG 2022
Little Woodworkers® is NOMINATED for the SHE-Com Awards 2022 Eco & Sustainability Products for Kids.
19.
22ND AUG 2022
We were approved as AUSTRALIAN MADE & OWNED LICENSEE 2022 for all our products.
(We were always Australian Made & Owned, but it was nice to make it official! 😉)
20.
14TH SEP 2022
We are announced FINALIST in the SHE-Com Awards 2022 Eco & Sustainability Products for Kids.
21.
14TH OCT 2022
We won the HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Award in the SHE-Com Awards 2022 Eco & Sustainability Products for Kids.
22.
19TH OCT 2022 🏆
We won of the Mornington Peninsula Business Excellence Award in the Creative Industry!
It’s the highest award a business can receive on our Peninsula.
23.
2ND DEC 2022
We were featured on mpbusiness.com.au (Mornington Peninsula Shire Business Website) in their article Creative Champions Celebrated.
“Winning the Award felt like an official stamp of validation for what we worked so hard for over the last 8 years. As any small business owner knows, building a business can be a 24/7 task and can feel lonely and isolating. The award was a huge boost and helped us get to know and connect with like-minded business owners living right here on the Peninsula.” - Jim & Kerstin
24.
26TH JULY 2023
We were invited to a Radio Interview with 3MP Music to talk about winning the Creative Award in 2022. 🎙
Little did we know we would win again in 2023. 😮
You can listen to the 4-min interview here 👉 littlewoodworkers.com.au/radio
25.
15th November 2023
For the second year in a row won the Mornington Peninsula Business Excellence Creative AWARD! 🏆
“On Wednesday 15th November, the 2023 Mornington Peninsula Business Excellence Awards recognised outstanding performances in the local business community where businesses were showcased for sustainability, innovation and business excellence. Congratulations [for continuing] to contribute to the development of our region through their hard work and passion.”
“The Business Excellence Awards honoured the achievements in innovation, sustainability, and outstanding performance within our local business sector. This year, participating businesses showcased their unique attributes, underscoring their impactful role through dedicated effort and commitment.”
It's a long way from where we started in 2013.
Thank you to everyone who has booked us, referred us, recommended us and believed in us. (Or even just liked our Facebook page. Or followed us on Instagram.)
This wouldn’t have been possible without you! 🙏
