A clip from "Plastic Bags"

All Rights Reserved © 2009 Magic Drawer Workshop/Charles Parker,
"Dawg's Groove" written by Tracy Bigelow-Grisman,
Preformed by David Grisman Quintet, Courtesy Acoustic Disc

Eco Beeps With Skip & Molly

Eco Beeps are short eco-stories designed exclusively for
internet download and small device delivery
(but they also look great on a TV). These 5 minute episodes
allow Toy Rescue characters Skip and Molly to introduce
young children to the world of green as they play in their room
atop the village recycle center.

Once we finish with the first four episodes, we will
release them through Amazon.com and they will be available to rent
online, download to own, or you can purchase a traditional DVD.

Puppeteers for this shoot were Reese Ramirez, Cheryl Wagner, Tonya Marie of Gypsy Cat Studios, Anastasia Schuster, and Marilyn Jaffe and Olivia Schuster as the grocery pullers. Another cat, was Cat Smith, vocals. Marcus Wardell as camera operator.
Elaine Smith and Jeana Efroymson as script advisors.

An introduction.

•

Welcome to the Magic Drawer Workshop. We offer innovative and wholesome children's programming with a twist- all the sets, props, and puppets are made from reused & recycled materials. Founded by Charles Parker as a model shop to build the sets and props for Toy Rescue With Skip & Molly, we quickly grew into a production facility where Toy Rescue, Kids Recycle TV, and Eco Beeps are created and produced. We have a commitment to the environment that is reflected in our program content and our production process.

Magic Drawer Workshop’s first production, Toy Rescue with Skip & Molly introduces the basic concept of reuse to preschool children through something near and dear to their hearts, TOYS! While the focus is on reuse of toys and objects, they also explore recycling and gardening concepts. The seven minute episodes are a combination of puppets and Storybook Animation.

A few clips from Toy Rescue with Skip & Molly (or scroll down to view the entire pilot episode):


All Rights Reserved © 2008 Magic Drawer Workshop/Charles Parker,
"Dawg's Groove" written by Tracy Bigelow-Grisman,
Preformed by David Grisman Quintet, Courtesy Acoustic Disc

Toy Rescue with Skip & Molly is a safe & wholesome program for preschoolers and parents. Our stories incorporate empathy & compassion, learning, social skills, sharing, no unsafe behavior; in essence, all positive attributes you want your children exposed to.

Our Pilot Is Complete and ready to show.

Toy Rescue with Skip & Molly (the world's first preschool TV show made from garbage) makes it's debut! A great sense of relief and accomplishment has settled in at the Magic Drawer Workshop, as we can now announce that our pilot episode is complete and ready to show. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed and been a part of the program thus far. My hat is off to each and every one of you!

Of course, our celebratory mood is somewhat dampened by the state of the economy, However, we have a silver lining or two within our program that we feel will help to overcome that hurdle. The first is that Toy Rescue with Skip & Molly champions the the reuse of materials and promotes awareness of the concept of recycling through toys. With parents, grand parents, and caregivers scaling back on purchases, Toy Rescue with Skip & Molly sets the mood for preschoolers to become aware of ways in which they can "help out" the family and takes the emphasis off of constantly having to have, brand new toys. Toy Rescue puts that problem within the scope of a preschooler and lets them participate. We do have a full range of toys we are working on that cause minimal harm to the planet. Please feel free to look over the archived posts and send us an email with any questions. You can access the email through the Profile link to the right.

Like a good story, we want every single thing we do at Magic Drawer Workshop to take us forward as we spread the green message through media to young children. To this end, all merchandising, toys and packaging to be offered with our programs will conform to the highest environmental standards with strict attention to paint and materials safety as well as eco-friendly packaging, shipping and the use of recycled/recyclable materials.


Our second production, Kids Recycle TV picks up where Toy Rescue leaves off and offers children ages 4-7, the opportunity to learn about recycling, ecology, alternative power sources, alternatives to food production and just about anything that shines the light on a less harmful way to interact with the planet. A combination of puppets and live footage allow children to see how all of this will touch their lives as they grow. 13 x 11 min. (completion scheduled 2010)

"I love your theme song... who is that?"

Here is a bit of exciting news concerning our Toy Rescue with Skip & Molly theme song heard in the clip above. We are so fortunate to have permission to use a tune written by Tracy Bigelow-Grisman called Dawg's Groove for our theme music. It is a playful, upbeat and jazzy tune with acoustic mandolin, flute, guitar & bass, and, it is the perfect match to go along with the Toy Rescue eco-friendly, save the planet, green message for preschoolers. Dawg's Groove is preformed by Tracy's husband David Grisman, and his band The David Grisman Quintet. :) A big thank you to Tracy & Dave, and Elaine Smith, our assistant producer/head writer for making this happen.

Important Updates!

We've been busy! We recently held an audition for the narrative voice for The Toy Rescue Show which is the vintage TV show that Skip & Molly watch. Over 140 applicants made for a very difficult decision. The quality of voice talent was incredible but there was one voice that came in right at the very end of the process that made us say "That's our voice!"


We're pleased to announce that Phil Sheridan is on board as the narrative voice for The Toy Rescue Show. Here is a link to Phil's site and, if you take a moment to listen to his reading of "Goodnight Moon", you'll see why we chose him. Phil Sheridan.

And a big thank you to John A at Little Buddha Studio!

Charles turning pages.

Images In Motion (IIM) is handling the edit for the pilot and it looks incredible. Now that we have the narrative, the only thing that needs to be added is a bit of foley and music.

Stay tuned for some very important news regarding the Toy Rescue with Skip & Molly music. I think you'll be pleased.

Our TR logo has been through a few changes and we've just added the logo that has received the most favorable response. See above.

Happy Holidays!

Our Interview on Jumping Monkeys/TWIT.TV

Toy Rescue with Skip and Molly had it's first interview recently. It was fun, and terrifying, and exciting all rolled into one. We were invited by Megan Marrone founder of Jumping Monkeys which is a site dedicated to parenting in the digital age. Megan does a weekly podcast in conjunction with Leo LaPorte at TWIT.TV We are interview #57.


When we (Charles Parker and head writer Elaine Smith) arrived at the studio, we thought it was to be an audio only interview. Imagine our surprise when we walked in to find it was a LIVE TV broadcast (on the internet) while recording for Jumping Monkeys. Four cameras rolling, a still photographer, lights, monitors, etc, and of course... jumping monkeys everywhere! An assistant brought out water and even a complimentary Brain Toniq to soothe the sensory overload. Can we say deer in the headlights time? Actually, Megan and Leo made the experience wonderful with their easygoing manner. It was more like a conversation with interested friends than an interview. I was still nervous but managed to get through it. Leo's (The Tech Guy) studio is incredible. I have to get some of those nifty LED lights. I've listened to his tech reports for quite a while and it was nice to meet him. Nice to meet Megan and her mom too!

What was revealing were Megan & Leo's thoughts on delivery systems for content. When I first started this, television was the end goal to head towards after production, and other methods of delivery were back burner thoughts. Now, there are so many options available, we are seriously taking a look at doing special content for release on pod/videocasts after we complete the DVD. To get Toy Rescue with Skip & Molly and Kids Recycle TV on TV is still our primary goal but we intend to take what we just learned from our visit to Megan & Leo World and incorporate that into our thinking.

So, here is the audio (an intro at two minutes and the body of the interview about 12 minutes in). Be sure and listen to all the other things they are talking about too. A great program.

Toys and Packaging and China, oh my!

When you state that your program is about reuse and recycling, and that your sets and props are made from 95% reused materials, you had better have your ducks in a row on all of the decisions that impact the sales, distribution, packaging, and manufacturing of any products associated with your show. We are busy researching and formulating a master plan to honestly address and abide by, all of these points. This is a new way of doing business for the toy industry and I am thankful that there are already some companies in place who are blazing the trail as we enter the marketplace.

We want parents to be able to put their trust not only in our programs, but in the products that are associated with them as well. I had an interesting meeting with a manufacturing executive regarding Toy Rescue with Skip and Molly last year. It was right about the time the news of the massive recalls on Chinese made toys were getting started. As a parent, my immediate concern was that children were getting sick or might get sick, or worse. I had great concern over the lack of oversight and shortcuts in the Chinese production processes that were being reported. I posed a question about all of this during our meeting and almost fell out of my chair at their response: "It seems that it will be a lot more work for the toy companies and the toys will be more expensive, thus harder to sell." That was it. No compassion or empathy, just business. A shocking and candid answer about the inner workings of the toy business that reinforced the direction we are headed with Toy Rescue, and with Kids Recycle TV.

Since that time some progress has been made on this issue. As we go forward, our aim is to align ourselves with like minded companies and do business with them. I designed a complete line of toys and accessories for Toy Rescue with the underlying thought that they could be made from safe recycled materials or be totally recyclable, and be decorated with water based non-toxic paints & coatings. We'll see if it works!