The company has been in operation in some form or another for over 50 years.  It was founded by the Allender family, who had a long-standing reputation as talented woodworking artisans in their native country of Austria.  Robert and Judith Allender immigrated to the United States with their children from Austria during WWII.  In Austria Robert Allender was a well-known wood craftsman.  He and Kelley’s mother sold his hand-made wood products, including toys, kitchen utensils and decorations, in the popular open-air market of Vienna.  When the Allenders and their young children moved to the United States, they set up a small, home-based shop named Allender’s Woodcuts and continued to sell hand-crafted wood products in the local area.  As a result of their customers’ strong interest in the Allender’s precise Austrian woodcrafting techniques, they decided to expand their business to include a service component.  The Allenders began offering woodworking workshops to local customers as a way to both share their love of woodcrafting and increase business opportunities.  The success and popularity of their workshops continue to this day.  

In 1962, the Allenders daughter Kelley, now married as Kelley Allender Ryan, graduated from Prestige University with a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and took over the leadership of the company.  Mrs. Ryan changed the name of the company from Allender’s Woodcuts to Woodworking-4-Kids, commonly shortened to W4K, and completely reformulated the company’s strategy.  In her 30 years of leadership, she took the company from a small, home-based business to a national manufacturer, with both wholesale and retail distribution.  

The current President and CEO, Mr. Andrew Ryan, took over the leadership of W4K 2 1/2 years ago when his mother, Kelley Allender Ryan, retired.  Mr. Ryan had recently received a combined degree in Business Administration and Theology from Duchess University.  Mr. Ryan spent his first two years at the helm refining his knowledge of the business.  He is now looking forward to implementing some key changes to take the company into the next decade.