Our Story

It started during the 1970s in Hong Kong. Life was very different back then, and there wasn't enough food to go around. After going through bankruptcy, my father, Patrick, scraped together every penny of savings with the support of my mother to start the factory in 1985.

He sold paintings for a living, specifically paintings of the iconic 'Junk Boats' of Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor. His first shop was a small space underneath a staircase in Stanley. He painted for celebrities such as Lady Maclehose, pop singer Danny Chan Pak Keung, Brian Slevin (who was then the Police Commissioner of Hong Kong), and property tycoon Nina Wang Kung Yu-Sum.

 

Meeting with Lady Maclehose, 1970

Cast iron toys were completely new to him and were introduced by his great friend and mentor, Fred Burkholder, and Dottie. Uncle Fred changed our family's destiny forever by teaching and mentoring my dad about business and cast iron.

 

In Memory of our Mentor and Friend, Uncle Fred Burkholder

The factory was built in Zhaoqing, Guangdong, China, back in the 1980s during the period when China were opening up its trade.

The first cast iron toy Patrick ever saw was an antique ‘sailor bank’ of the 1900s

‘CI-00001’ was also the first item in the factory in 1985, a sailor bank which was a direct replica of the antique piece.

It was heavy and old, with chipping paint. He had never seen anything like this as he felt Bizzare and strange. He learn about Antiques and Business while spending time with Uncle Fred through antiques and flea markets of Pennsylvania. Uncle Fred treated him like a father he never had. Patrick was Hungry and desperate to make money for his family, he learnt everything he could and worked tirelessly.

Be persistent, grid and hard work is quality that I must inherit.

To produce good quality, it was hard enough for him to understand, let alone teach the painters and workers. The only way was to teach the team himself. Running a factory is not easy; there are new challenges every day. Working in China was a new journey for me. Patrick's motto to the factory team is:

'Solve a small problem daily, and eventually, there will be big changes.'

I could never forget his attention to detail. The 'Tin tin doorstop' went through over 15 revisions to 'get it right.' After staring at it for a few hours, I still can't notice the difference.

 

Casting furnace, 1997.

To this day, Stanley has developed over 3500 models of cast iron toys and ornaments, including categories such as hooks, bottle openers, penny banks, decorative brackets, signs, benches, and more. Yet, we strive to retain the quality as close to the original as possible.

Uncle Fred taught him not only about antiques and cast iron but also about business, perseverance in life, and the love of hard work.

Since my grandfather passed away before I was born, Patrick once mentioned in a mellow tone:

'Fred was like a father to me.'

After giving up a corporate career, I joined the family business and mostly organized backend work. Eventually, I made gradual appropriate changes to the business, but the most important thing was to retain the unique quality and aesthetic value that Patrick had developed over the past 20 years.

However, Dad was reluctant to changes, and conflicts arose between Dad and myself.

Working with my father was difficult as he was often stubborn. His high standards in work ethics and integrity in his line of work eventually led me to understand and appreciate the reasons behind his perseverance. He often tells me:

'You must be persistent, humble, and honest with integrity.'

These qualities will eventually teach my children as well. My father is my best partner. We have experienced ups and downs throughout the past 10 years, surviving the economic downturns in 2008 and 2013. Cast iron involves a high level of manual labor, and even in this day and age, a vast amount of procedures still need to be done by hand.

Our mission is to integrate our love and integrity into our products, making each one unique and inspiring—one procedure at a time, one item at a time.

Thank you for sharing this incredible journey with us.

Mike