The workshop
Two rooms in a courtyard near the old town — one for the press and the printing, one for the clockwork and assembly, with the tinplate stacked by the window.
We work in thin steel plated with tin, cut from the sheet by hand. It takes litho ink well, folds without cracking and, kept dry, lasts for generations.
Colours are printed on the flat sheet before it is shaped, one colour at a time, so the pattern lands exactly where the folds and curves will be. The old stones and plates are kept and reused.
Shapes are pressed in steel dies, then cut free and folded. Tabs are bent through slots to lock the parts together — the join you can see on the underside of any old tin toy.
Motors are built up from a mainspring, a train of brass gears and a simple governor, wound by a key. Each one is set so the toy runs at a gentle, watchable speed.
The last bench is the quiet one: fitting the motor, truing the wheels, testing each toy by winding and running it until it behaves.