WALLINGFORD, Vt. (AP) - After a career of making music with people like P!nk, Marc Anthony and Biggie Smalls, Jonnie Davis is all about crafting wooden toy cars.
“I never worked with wood before,” Davis said Friday at Handmade in Vermont, a shop along Route 7 where Davis’ sells his work. “I started making things at my house. I was living in a construction zone, and at night I’d stop working on the house, and I’d make stuff, like I made a stool for my shower, and I called it a crying stool because everybody needs a private place to cry. Everything always has a hook to it. I’m a songwriter, a pop song writer. There’s always a hook, man.”
He bought his house in South Wallingford three years ago but has only lived there for two. A personal tragedy and some time in rehab left him wanting to step away from the intense world of music production for something a little quieter.
“I bought the stereotypical little old red schoolhouse, the quintessential Vermont old red schoolhouse, and I’ve been making it into a home,” he said.
He’s made many a toy car since he began the hobby and has been selling them at the Vermont Farmers Market, Handmade in Vermont and online through his Etsy.com account, DavisToyCo.etsy.com.
The toys he makes are a blend of different woods. Every wooden piece is handmade, except some use inline skate wheels. He draws them first, cuts out the pieces, sticks them together, then comes a great deal of sanding and finishing to get their distinctive shine. Davis said their durability makes them ideal for kids to play with, but they can also serve as attractive desk pieces.
His pieces sell for between $86 and $210.
“I’m making these so you can hand them down from generation to generation, that’s how it should be,” he said. Davis didn’t begin his woodworking with cars, however. After his shower stool, he set his sights higher.
“Then I built a kitchen island made out of pallet wood, and it came out great,” he said. “And then I built a fence gate and made it look like an American flag, and Christopher (Dunigan) saw the island and the flag gate, and he said if you make stuff, I can carry it in my shop.”
His first attempt at a toy car, Davis said, was overly complicated. After some advice from a friend he simplified the general designs. Later feedback would see him shorten the axles, so they’re covered by the wheels, preventing damage to any surrounding furniture while they’re played with.
Davis’ musical background is extensive and varied. He’s been a producer, songwriter and mixing engineer. He was the senior vice president, A&R, and head of label services at Round Hill Music. He said he still does some work with music, but not as much as he used to.
“I get calls a lot, but I’m very selective with what I choose to do with music,” Davis said. “I’m really bored with music at the moment. When you go back in time and you listen to what Quincy Jones did with the Michael Jackson ’Thriller’ album, it really never got better than that.”
For Davis, woodworking serves as a form of therapy. He likens it to fly fishing.
“When you’re on the river, it’s so technical, you just don’t think about anything else while you’re on the river. All your problems just vanish until you come back to the bank and walk up. I find it very similar with this,” he said.
He said he’ll probably keep his toymaking to cars for now.
“When something else comes around, I’ll know it. I like the idea of toys, I like the idea of being in Vermont making toys. I think it’s cool. Might not be a lot of money in it, but it’s fun, it’s skilled and it’s something cool to do at home,” he said.
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Information from: Rutland Herald, http://www.rutlandherald.com/
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