The Toymaker Is In
-The following first appeared at Floyd Times on July 22, 2026
Tuggles Gap Wooden Toy Company and Tinkering Studio celebrated a Grand Opening and Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting on July 11. Located downstairs in the Winter Sun Building at 302 Locust Street, the storefront offers handcrafted wooden wheeled toys, rattles, puzzles, rocking horses and more. The shop also hosts hands-on painting parties and rents out their unique event space for private events that include birthdays, workshops, baby showers and more.
Wooden toys are crafted on site by master toymaker Enone (ah noah nay) Mellowspring and at the family’s homestead, Mellowspring Family Farms, located on Tuggles Gap Road, the namesake of the new shop and where much of the creative woodworking has taken place. Mellowspring’s wife Amanda Mellowspring helps with cutting and sanding toys, but she focuses primarily on managing the legal requirements of running the business. The couple’s son Enso (13) has worked by his father’s side since he was little. He has provided a child’s insight and inspiration for many of the toy designs.
Mellowspring, who grew up in Seattle, Washington, comes from a family of artists and has been part of the Pacific Northwest art circuit. Along with making wooden toys and furniture for over two decades, he has worked in a variety of art mediums that have included making clothing, making musical instruments and creating stage sets and costumes for a theater troupe circus.
The Mellowsprings came to Floyd County 12 years ago, drawn by Floyd’s agriculture and artisan communities. “After traveling and living all over the country, we settled into our dream of homesteading here in Floyd, Virginia in 2013,” the toy shop’s Facebook page reads. After their sheep flock on their working farm was lost to bear attacks, the way opened for making more toys and for launching the Tuggles Gap Wooden Toy Company in downtown Floyd.
Mellowspring’s toys have been featured at Winterfest and the Floyd Artisan Trail. When asked about the reception to the storefront after being open for just over two months, Mellowspring said, “It’s slowly picking up. Every week gets a little better. We just went live with our webpage (where customers can place orders).” Puzzles are popular he reported, noting that they have sold out but that he has been working on a new inventory.
There is a wooden Floyd train set on display in the shop and Mellowspring’s rocking horses are eye-catching. They rock, but they’re not all horses and include a unicorn and a moose. Back at the family farm’s artisan barn, where Mellowspring creates larger toys, he has a red-nose reindeer and a buffalo. “We’ve had folks of all ages rocking on these,” he said.
Monthly Tinkering paint parties have included a Mothers Day theme in May and a Father’s Day theme in June. The next Tinkering event is scheduled for August 8th 10-2 pm and will have a back-to-school theme with “Buffalo pencil holders” to paint, Mellowspring said.
At the recent Small Town Summer in the park adjacent to the storefront, Mellowspring opened the back entrance. There was a rocking horse for event visitors to try and a bubble machine that blew a stream of cascading bubbles. Mellowspring hasn’t lost his childlike imagination and is full of ideas for the store, taking it one step at a time.
The Toy Company’s events and offerings are posted on its Facebook page and have recently included a series on Meet the Team and Gratitude. Mellowspring summed up his take on being a new artisan business in downtown Floyd. “We found our home in Floyd, Virginia. We got here as soon as we could,” he said. – Colleen Redman
1. Enso Mellowspring cut the ribbon during the Floyd Chamber of Commerce welcoming ceremony. Enso is pictured (center) with his parents, Enone (left) and Amanda (right) Mellowspring. 2. Enone Mellowspring’s store workshop is filled with the tools and equipment that he has collected over many years. 3. Tuggles Gap Wooden Toy Company’s front door features an image of MP 165 (Milepost 165), the shop’s mascot in the tradition of R2D2 and other droids. 4. A store display features a Floyd toy train set and other wooden toys. 5. The Tinkering Studio is where toy painting parties are held. 6. Floyd Chamber of Commerce director Kathy Fett enjoys the toy store bubbles at a recent Small Town Summer.