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Make your own wooden toy at the Ludik regional wooden toy workshop
Try your hand at making a wooden toy in a very unusual toy workshop!
Ludik is the only workshop of its kind in France, and for keen wooden toy collector and designer Dominique Bébin, it's the best possible place to share his enthusiasm. Here, wooden toys take pride of place over Playstations and the like... In just a few hours, you will see a plank of natural wood turn into a toy from your own imagination – for you or the lucky recipient to treasure. The workshop is open to everyone, for groups of 6 to 8 'playmates' aged 7 to 77 (or more!).
You get the picture straight away when you see the big multicoloured wooden letters on the Ludik regional wood workshop sign at the Port du Légué in Saint-Brieuc. And as soon as you cross the threshold you realise you are in a temple dedicated to wooden toys: mobiles, puppets, imaginary creatures with moveable arms and legs, they're all here, alongside dozens of prototypes and hundreds of wooden figures hanging from the ceiling. The sweet scent of sawdust and resin floats in the air.
Welcome to the world of woodwork
Decked out in aprons bearing the workshop colours, a smiling Dominique Bébin and his team welcome their young apprentices. The children, all aged 7 or over, have come to spend three hours at the workshop with their friends. Some have already been before, whilst for others this is their first visit, and they are all looking forward to using woodworking tools to make their dream toy. "What's really good about the workshop is that at the end you go home with something you've made yourself," says Mathéo, already a regular visitor. No need to bring any materials, as everything you need is provided. Our fledgling carpenters start off with a little introduction to the world of wood – how to tell how old the wood is, and which local species are best suited to toy-making.
Once upon a time, there was....a piece of wood
Everything is included at this workshop, right down to the good-humoured atmosphere! Dominique Bébin is so good at communicating his enthusiasm that he soon fires the children's imagination: Justine thinks she might make a jigsaw puzzle, Arthur is busy designing a yacht, Lucas plans to create a grasshopper with jointed legs, Mathéo rather fancies trying his hand at a lorry towing a crane...and what about an elephant pencil holder? "Nothing teaches the right techniques as well as practical experience!" is our leader's motto. Everyone decides what their project is going to look like and then it's all down to drawing it. So far so good. Next comes the bit they've all been waiting for – using the machines: cutting, drilling, and sanding, all closely supervised by the team members, who work alongside the children as they learn to use the tools.
A handful of sawdust
Clearly, these machines require thoughtful, accurate handling, carefully following the design drawn on the wood so as to make sure we cut out the shapes properly, and the resulting concentration on the faces of our little classmates is a joy to behold! Finally, a thorough sanding down, to give the toys a nice finish – and to smooth out any little mistakes that might have occurred during the cutting out phase! Depending on the final toy, the next stages might involve assembly, painting, pyrography, varnishing, or making the joints...Just like Gepetto, Dominique Bébin brings his creations to life with a few house secrets, known to him alone, that make these toys quite ingenious.
Time for mums and dads to have a go...
We can hardly believe the morning is nearly at an end! For some, there's still a fair bit of work to do, whilst others will be leaving with a finished object. It's time for the mums and dads to collect their budding artists, and this morning's crop of creations is already being eyed enviously by some! In fact, some of the parents are making their own appointments to come and have a go, as Dominique also specialises in decorative items for the home. Wood, that most noble of materials, is becoming increasingly popular down here on the quayside – and all thanks to Dominique Bébin's little happiness factory!
Text: Marielle Yeurc'h
This Experience includes
- A 2 x 3 hour discovery lesson about wood and woodwork
- Make your own wooden toy at the "Ludik" regional wood workshop
Languages spoken :
Price from 50 € per child
To book your Brittany Experience, click here
Or phone us on + 33 (0)2 96 60 83 50
