From Eric of Wildwood:
“In June 2022, I turned my first yo-yo after being inspired by the “Show some wooden yoyos you’ve made” thread on the YoYoExpert forums. Glen Kempster (Spinworthy) and Rob Cooley (RC yo-yo) were particular inspirations. Here’s the post that led down the rabbit hole.
Subsequent posts show the evolution of things I tried, with the generous input of more experienced woodworkers on the forum. I spent my entire summer teacher break making as many yoyos as I could.
Toward the end of summer 2022, I released my first model, the Mother T under the Wildwood Yoyos brand. It was a chunky, rim-weighted fixie named after my grandmother. Here’s the first BST post and the origin story of the name.
In November 2022, I released the Gnomad fixed-axle yoyo. The Gnomad shape has evolved over time and is still in production. All of the Gnomad iterations feature a modified butterfly profile with a slightly more tapered inner wall. In December 2022, Dan at arc1.eu designed the signature engravings that became standard going forward.
In 2023 I started the Wildwood Yoyos website, mostly to help manage sales because it was getting tough to juggle the various YoYoExpert forum BST posts, messages, and discord requests.
In 2023 I also released the Crop Circle yoyo, including its jr. and mini variations. This yoyo has pull-start dimple and uses a more modified shape compared to the Gnomad.
In 2024 I released the Druid yoyo, a wood responsive yoyo with an MR85 bearing. The bearing kit is based on the MK1 x SW RBC. Mark Diehr (MK1 Yoyos) generously offered input on the design specs of the bearing seat and posts. Ryan Spahr created the signature druid and stag art. The shape of this yoyo varies (shape shifts?) according to my whims, but consistently features a pull-start hub and the MR85 bearing kit.”