Brio History
THE RISE OF THE UNDERDOG:

Long before the start of Toys R Us or FAO Schwartz, there lived a Swedish boy named Ivar Bengtsson in the 1860’s. He came from a financially unstable family who looked to him as one of their main breadwinners. Forced to work at the early age of ten, Ivar obtained a job as an operator for farming machinery. However, as he did his manual labor, he nourished a dream deep within himself. One day in the future, he was going to be a carpenter working wonders with scraps of wood.

Despite his desire to begin working toward his dream, his wishful thinking had to be put on the back burner. Like a responsible adult, with every wage he received, Ivar sent the majority of it to his family. Yet he kept a small amount for himself and saved his money so his dream could one day be realized.

The Rise of an Empire

Eventually, Ivar decided that one day was going to be a day too late. He decided to act on his daydream. In 1884, he married his beloved wife Sissa Persdotter and they moved to a humble farm. However, this farm was no ordinary farm. It was this small farm that allowed Ivar to fulfill his dream. There on his land lay a little basket workshop silently waiting for Ivar to begin his empire. At last, Ivar began to work on making woodchip baskets.

Ivar’s empire grew as his woodchip basket business grew. He began importing baskets and oleographs to other countries like Denmark and parts of old Germany. Ivar was even able to create his first catalogue in 1890. Besides baskets being sold, wooden toys began making their appearance in these catalogues.

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A Dream Realized

As Ivar grew older, so did his sons. The day came when he decided to leave his basket company under the control of his three sons Victor, Anton, and Emil. The name of the Ivar’s basket factory soon changed to the name Brothers Ivarsson Osby. (This is where the shortened BRIO came from.)

Ivar’s sons expanded the company to involve international trips and at least hired ten employees. In 1912, the number of products expanded to 2,700. They sold a variety of toothbrushes, baskets, ceramics, and wooden toys. Even now their wooden toys are still one of the best in the world. The enjoyment from playing with the toys still has not vanished. In a time of electronic toys and television, BRIO’s high quality wooden toys still brings a smile to a child’s heart.

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