Lark Toys in Kellogg, Minnesota: The world-class toy store built on love and wood

Lark Toys: World-famous toy shop made with love and wood

A toy shop in southeast Minnesota is helping families create life-long memories with thousands of handmade toys, a wooden carousel and an antique toy museum. FOX 9's Maury Glover has the full story. 

KELLOGG, Minn. (FOX 9) - A toy store just south of Kellogg is turning childhood play into a destination experience for families from across the globe.

A Minnesota toy store with global appeal

What we know:

Lark Toys sits along Highway 61 and welcomes visitors year-round, though most come during the summer.  

Inside the 20,000 square foot space, shelves are packed with thousands of toys that spark creativity and imagination for children of all ages. 

"There's something for everybody we hope," said Miranda Gray-Burlingame, co-owner of Lark Toys.

Visitors can explore a maze of rooms, stroll through the antique toy museum or ride the hand-carved wooden carousel. The store also features a children's bookstore, an 18-hole mini-golf course and two llamas named Gloria and Irving.

Gray-Burlingame said, "I think that Lark Toys is this amazing place that holds so much." She added, "It is a live energy. I think there's a lot of wonder alive here."

Lark Toys is known for its handmade, battery-free toys

Why you should care:

Lark Toys stands out for its commitment to making toys by hand, without batteries or machines. 

"We don't make toys with batteries and we don't make toys using machines," said Gray-Burlingame.

Head toymaker Tim Monson has worked at Lark Toys for nearly 40 years, crafting wooden toys alongside fellow woodworker Cam Norton. 

"I mean it's an amazing thing to be able to do something that you love doing and do it for that many years and still have that passion," said Monson.

Monson described the workshop as Minnesota's version of Santa's workshop, where every toy is made to last. 

"Everything's plastic. Everything's throw away now. And to be able to do what we do and have toys that'll last for generations, you know, is special," said Monson. He added, "There's a lot of love that goes into everything that we do, you know, I mean, every Woodburn line, every Dremel, everything. There is a lot of love in that."

A family story and a place for memories

The backstory:

Lark Toys began in the mid-1980s when two teachers started making wood pull toys and puzzles in their garage. 

Gray-Burlingame and her husband, along with her parents, bought the store from Donn and Sarah Kreofsky in 2008. 

The purchase came after Gray-Burlingame survived a life-threatening medical emergency. 

"I had an amniotic fluid embolism, which meant that my heart stopped in the middle of giving birth. It was sort of a miracle to get through this thing and it shook our whole family up in the way that, oh my gosh, we realized life is so precious and fragile and being together in it is really what we want. So how can we make that happen?" said Gray-Burlingame.

The store has become a place where families come together and create lasting memories. 

"Meeting people from all over the world and seeing them love their children and think about how they can gift something someone with play is so amazing," said Gray-Burlingame.

Customer Collin Winters shared, "It's a fun store to stop at with a kid. A day trip for us. It's close. You can do anything here. You can get ice cream. You can get fudge. You can look at toys. You can go mini golfing. It's just a fun roadside stop for us."

Gray-Burlingame said, "That's the hope for Lark Toys to continue and to reach people and the continued family connections of people coming back. I brought my grandkid here and now they've got kids or it's just deeply, deeply touching to let this place happen through us."