History
Little Whittle was founded in 1999 by my mom, Kim and her co-leader, Daryl. I was in cub scouts at the time, and to get Whittling Chip Certification (a card that allows a cub scout to carry and use a pocket knife) you need to demonstrate your ability to use a knife by making a carving. While most of the Bear Dens had the boys make carvings out of bars of soap, it’s hard, especially as a kid, to make something you can be proud of with just soap. We could whittle sticks but (at least in California) they were not an easy-to-carve wood either.
My mom and her co-leader came up with another idea, they used a bandsaw to pre-cut a basic critter shape into easily carved wood, and success was almost guaranteed. Suddenly whittling was fun and exciting for the boys and other scout leaders became interested in the ‘kits’ too. The Little Whittle Company was created as a side hobby, one that was successful for a few years. The kits were sold to other local Cub packs, at scouting events and by word-of-mouth. The internet was still young so spreading the word about the kits was challenging. In 2003 Daryl moved on so I stepped in to help my mom by cutting out the blanks. Our bandsaw was old and slow and I wasn’t very patient yielding inconsistent results. With so many other demands for time we also moved on by the end of 2004.
In 2017 I began discussing the idea of starting Little Whittle again. For the next few years, my mom and I discussed it off-and-on and came up with designs for a few more critters. Life is always too busy though and between living in Japan for a year, switching roles at Toyota, then changing jobs entirely and moving back to California it kept getting pushed off. Finally in 2021 I decided it was now or never and thus Little Whittle LLC was reborn. I now cut the critters with a CNC router ensuring consistent quality and speeding up the process greatly.
Philosophy and Promise
Our goal is to bring smiles to the faces of people of all ages. Our promise is to always do the right thing. We love all things outdoors and want to do our part to protect and preserve it. Our packaging is recycled and recyclable. Our wood is sustainably harvested to help ensure we are leaving things better for the next generation. To this end our workshop includes 16 kW of Solar and our goal is to be as efficient as possible with all our resources. We will try to keep our prices as low as possible to ensure they are accessible to everyone, but we will never cut corners to do so. We are American made.
We work hard to ensure you are 100% satisfied with your purchase. If you have questions please feel free to ask, and if something is wrong with your purchase please let us know so we can make it right. Our products are natural wood, so there will inevitably be differences between each critter. We work hard to ensure there aren’t major defects in them but sometimes we miss something.
About Me
My name is Brian and I’ve been involved in scouts for my entire childhood and early adult life. Scouting was a big part of growing up; with the outings, activities, and volunteering helping to shape who I am today. I love the outdoors; camping, hiking, and exploring. I got my eagle award in 2004, shortly before leaving for college. I got a BS in Mechanical Engineering from University of California Davis, where I did a study abroad program at the University of Melbourne during which time I met my now-wife (conveniently we grew up less than an hour apart). I then went to Clemson University for a Masters in Automotive Engineering. Upon graduating I worked for Toyota for nearly 10 years including a year in Japan. I was a design engineer for most of that time before switching to Cooling and Aerodynamics where I did testing and simulation. In 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit my wife and I both accepted great jobs in California, driven largely by the desire to be closer to family, and mountains! We now live just outside the Bay Area, near our families and just a few hours from some of the best mountains and natural areas in the world.