Amber Dusick - Artist of the Week

Amber Dusick is the creative force behind Woodmouse.  Amber creates her wooden toys out of her Los Angeles studio where she lives with her husband and two children.  She uses sustainably harvested domestic woods and beeswax from a local beekeeper to make her colorful toys.  This type of wood is more expensive than "normal" wood, but Amber is very passionate about trees and feels strongly about protecting our forests and the animals within them.

Babywearing Mama Figure

All the wooden toys and figures in her Etsy shop woodmouse are designed, cut, woodburned and sanded by Amber.  The toys are simple, creative and safe for children to play with.  Each figure is sealed with beeswax and organic jojoba oil and all edges are sanded buttery smooth.  The water based paints that Amber uses have been independently third-party tested and are non-toxic.

Autumn Leaf Child Toy Children of Nature Series

Amber adds interesting woodburning details to her toys that make woodmouse products truly unique. She developed this unique style in 2006 because she wanted the toys to look similar to the black ink and watercolor paintings she had created many years ago.

I asked Amber what her favorite part of creating her toys is and she replied, "My favorite part about creating my toys changes on any given day. I love to sketch and come up with new designs. I love to stand at my saw and cut wood as I find it very meditative. I also love to paint them because they really come to life. I also love to photograph them. At each step I say to myself, "Yeah, this is my favorite part" but then I'm onto the next step. "

Her toys are perfect gift ideas for children and adults too.  I love her Nativiy Toy Set with the soft colors and woodburning details. 

Natural Wooden Nativity Toy Set 12 Piece Set

Amber was featured in an Etsy Handmade Portrait Video in December 2008.  Take a few minutes and watch her video to be further inspired by her work and find out more about the behind the scenes life of Amber.  She also has a great blog, Amber Dusick where you can follow Amber and learn about her family and work day to days.

Thank you so much for joining me for the Artist of the Week post. I hope you have a wonderful day! Stacie