At a workshop in Crestwood, board games are being sanded, hammered and painted. These aren't made out of flimsy cardboard. These are made out of wood.
Kim McDaniel said, “Our experience has been most board games are made overseas, made out of cardboard, they don’t last a long time. So when we started this company 9 years ago, our whole concept was to bring families back around the kitchen table where they were not playing electronics, not games with batteries, and having conversations again.”
The company across the board has 8 employees but it didn’t start this way.
She said, “It started in our garage in our home. My husband and I started the company. We made games for friends and family and we did it just for fun.”
Her husband Ryan always had an interest in woodworking and came up with this horseracing game.
“We had an idea to do a craft fair and they sold awesome, we sold out the first day,” she said.
He designed 9 more wooden board games after that, including a baseball game, that's now sold in Busch Stadium.
“These are going to last for generations, you won’t need to buy this game again in 5 years,” she said.
There is one product they make that's not a board game.
She said, “The drawing island is made at our Crestwood location also. Ryan designed it. It is filled with paper so you can color on it and we also have accessory that goes over top that's chalkboard or dry erase.”
Kim describes her husband as a creative, talented, and loving man.
“Sadly, my husband did pass away in 2015 and we have three small children. So it is just my goal to carry on his dream and the mission we had together.”
Tyan was 44 years old when he lost his battle to colon cancer.
“It was Ryan's dream to have the horseracing game licensed by Churchill Downs, Kentucky Derby,” Kims aid.
Kim was determined to make his dream come true and went to Churchill Downs after he passed away.
“And they licensed it and it is now the official horseracing game of Kentucky Derby,” she said.
Ryan's legacy lives on through every board game made with love in this Crestwood workshop.
“This is a legacy I am determined to carry on for him and our three children.” She said.
For more information, visit facebook.com/acrosstheboardgame or acrosstheboardgame.com.
Call (314) 961-9663 or visit 9300 Watson Industrial Park, Crestwood.
