From her earliest days, creativity and imagination were a big part of Melissa’s life. Outgoing Doug made friends easily thanks to his playful sense of humor and infectious energy. Raised by educators, the young couple knew in their early 20's they wanted to create meaningful products for children.

At age 24, Doug made his first proposal to Melissa when he asked, “Will you go into business with me?” Melissa said yes! A few years later, when Doug proposed another kind of partnership (MARRIAGE!), Melissa was so busy crafting she had no idea what Doug just asked and unwittingly responded YES! The rest is history!

After pooling their life savings together, Melissa and Doug worked night and day out of Doug's parents' garage to develop their first product. They borrowed Doug's father's stick-shift station wagon (see photo!) to make deliveries up and down the East Coast.

Listening to feedback from their customers is so important that the couple emblazoned their names and phone number on the back of every product. They took calls at all hours from a phone that rested between them in bed.

Both big fans of puzzles, Melissa and Doug asked themselves, how can we take puzzles to another level? They decided to make the pieces textured, and "voila!," the Fuzzy Farm Puzzle was launched. It’s the first instance of what will become a major part of their approach, putting a new twist on a classic play pattern. It also sparked a generation of kids to wonder, are pigs really FUZZY?

Child Testing

As the business grows, so does the couple’s family. Their oldest son, Brendan, is soon joined by Ilana. In addition to rigorous safety testing, every toy must pass their uncompromising child testing before production begins. No soccer for these kids!

Chugging Along

For more than a decade, Melissa and Doug focus solely on creating wooden puzzles, over 1,000 styles in all! They decide it's time to reinvent wooden toys and make them more creative and fun. Toys that don’t just look pretty on a shelf, but also give young children countless ways to play!