Charles Thompson, woodcrafter is a new member of the Arkansas Craft Guild. His juried acceptance to the Guild was during the 44th Annual Arkansas Craft Guild Christmas Showcase, Dec. 2-4 in Little Rock. Since he retired and his children grown up, he knew it was his opportunity to light the fire again, pursue his dream of making hand crafted toys and renamed his business Charlie’s Dream.
"I was born and raised in Little Rock, AR. I graduated from Central High School in 1972. After graduation I sought work wherever I could. When the economy plummeted in the 70s I moved to the Ozarks for a simpler life living off the land. With a new wife and child, I needed a way to provide for my family. I came across the Ozark Folk Center that was looking for crafts to sell in their store. Thus began Blue Mountain Toys. I started making rainbows, Noah's arks, wooden trucks and puzzles to sell around the Ozarks. But this dream came to an end when my child started growing up and the Blue Mountain Toys wasn’t making ends meet. For the next 25 years, I moved back to the city and found a job in a factory to provide for my family and children, but I never forgot about my passion making hand crafted toys." Charles once again has been selling his woodcrafts at the Ozark Folk Center Gift Shop in Mountain View during the season April 15 to Nov. 1.