When Art Ritchie and Dan Jones decided in 1986 to form a company to recover the dying art of building wooden carousels, there was never a question of “if” they would succeed: it was always a question of “when.”
“Art always says it was never a doubt in his mind; he always knew they would do it and build a carousel,” said Art’s daughter Kate Blakley, Director of Marketing and Operations for Carousel Works, the brainchild of Ritchie and Jones and the world’s largest manufacturer of wooden carousels.
“If you don’t believe that, you’re never going to get there. You have to believe you can do it,” Blakely said.
Ritchie realized there was a market for wooden carousels in the 1970s during his work as a professional wood carver. At the time, fiberglass carousels were on the market for around $200,000 and antique carousels available for restoration cost more than a million dollars.
“There was a big gap in between for a market for hand-carved, customized wooden carousels,” explained Blakley. “During The Great Depression the desire for carousels completely stopped; and when it got reinvigorated back in the 1950s, there wasn’t the plethora of wood carvers there were at the turn of the century.”
With Ritchie’s work as a professional wood carver and Jones’ background in construction, the duo achieved their dream of building a brand-new wooden carousel in 1991 with the completion of the wooden carousel that now sits in downtown Mansfield. Since then, Carousel Works has completed more than 50 wooden carousels in locations from Ohio to Florida to California, and now South Korea.
Blakley took over marketing and human resources for Carousel Works about seven years ago, around the time the company almost doubled in size. She said while Carousel Works does attend various amusement park conventions and follow up with certain clients, marketing their product can prove to be a challenge.
“It’s not like you can cold call someone and ask if they want a carousel,” said Blakley. “When I worked in insurance in marketing, you could talk to your peers and see what they were doing, but here there are no peers. I’m always trying to come up with new ideas to promote us.”
However, business is booming with Blakley booking the company for work through the spring of 2015, largely thanks to clients for Carousel Works generally making the first contact. Blakley added being well known in the carousel community, keeping up with the company’s website carouselworks.com, and far-reaching word of mouth helps to keep them in business.
“Our clients are so supportive; they’ll sell a carousel for us sometimes,” said Blakley. “And all we do is do what we say we’re going to do: put together a good quality product and guarantee it. And we try to make it a fun experience for people. It should be fun: you’re getting to design a carousel. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing for most people.”
Prices for a completely handcrafted wooden carousel from Carousel Works range from about $300,000 for a 24-foot carousel with eight sections, two rows and 14 figurines, to more than $1 million for the largest model, a 60-foot carousel with 20 sections, five rows and 90 figurines. Carousel Works also offers restoration services that vary in price depending on the project, as each carousel is completely unique.
Recently, Carousel Works’ business has gone global thanks to their website, where an outlet mall chain found the company during their research for an attraction in the mall. The company, Premium Outlets, came to Carousel Works wanting a customizable carousel for their outlet mall in Busan, South Korea, the country’s second largest metropolis. Blakley explained the mall in Busan is Tuscan-themed, therefore the carousel is designed to match.
“They wanted an attraction that would be just for kids just for fun as parents are shopping; and when they researched into what was available, it was just cookie-cutter fiberglass carousels,” said Blakley.
“We’re even talking to other people in South Korea now because they’ve seen this and really liked it. They love the idea that it can be customized. It’s a unique feature of our carousels; (the client) can have what they want,” she added.
The customizable aspect of a Carousel Works carousel comes from the skill and craftsmanship of Carousel Works’ eight wood carvers and seven painters along with a staff of wood and metal workers trained to build a carousel’s façade and frame, bringing Carousel Works’ total staff to 25. Blakley said part of the company’s successful business model is honing the craftwork of creative art.
“It is art, but it’s craftsmanship,” she said. “It’s production art; it has to be good but you have to do it in five days.”
Blakley explained that each carousel figure has a set deadline for completion, whether three days or ten, which is vital to the company’s production schedule. Depending on the size, each carousel can take anywhere from six months to two years to complete and the staff is always working on multiple projects at once.
“Even though it’s very artistic, you still have to look at time management and getting things done at a certain time,” said Blakley. “Planning is key to making sure we don’t overextend ourselves.”
Besides perfecting the business of craftwork, Blakley said another key element of Carousel Works’ business is the teamwork of the staff.
“They work to their strengths as opposed to it being a competition,” said Blakley. “We have an amazing group of artists that are very talented in their own right. Nothing is beneath anybody. It’s all a team effort: what can we get out the door as a team, and not as an individual.”
Wooden carousels generally appreciate in value and are expected to last over the years, with some carousels dating more than 100 years old. Blakley said some Carousel Works carousels are more than 25 years old, with all carousels still in their original places. Carousel Works as a company expects to last through the years as well.
“Our philosophy is, no one needs what we sell, and we’re totally unique in this business,” said Blakley. “It really is a lasting art.”
“Our clients are so supportive; they’ll sell a carousel for us sometimes,” said Kate Blakley. “And all we do is do what we say we’re going to do: put together a good quality product and guarantee it.
