The idea
James R. Herzog
Turned magnet dust into a drawing tool and patented it.
Our history · Since 1955Seventy years.
Seventy years.
One magnetic personality.
A bald, grinning face. A pinch of magnetic dust. A little wand. Kids have been giving Willy beards, mustaches and wild hairdos since 1955. Now, with ArtCreativity, his story is growing again.
- Made in Smethport, PA
- 100M+ sold
- Now with ArtCreativity
The original · 1955
Chapter 1It started
It started
with dust.
In the early 1950s, brothers James and Donald Herzog worked at their father Ralph’s toy factory, the Smethport Specialty Company, in Smethport, Pennsylvania. Grinding magnets flat left piles of fine magnetic dust. One day James sprinkled some on cardboard, pushed it around with a magnet, and saw a toy.
Donald found the missing piece: vacuum-formed plastic, a new technique the Army was using for 3-D maps. A sealed clear bubble would keep the “hair” in and moisture out. Bradford artist Leonard Mackowski drew the face, and in 1955 Wooly Willy went on sale for 29 cents.
“I put a pile of dust on a piece of cardboard…”
Chapter 2
Three people. One face.
The bubble
Donald Herzog
Sealed the “hair” under vacuum-formed plastic.
The face
Leonard Mackowski
The Bradford artist who drew Willy.
Chapter 3
The toy nobody wanted.
Buyers kept saying no, until a G.C. Murphy buyer tested six dozen in one Indianapolis store to prove they wouldn’t sell. They sold out in about two days.
72Test order
12,000Reorder
Timeline
Willy through the years.
- 1955 Willy is born. Invented in Smethport. Price: 29¢.
- 1956 Patent filed. James Herzog files for a U.S. patent on March 28. It’s granted in 1958.
- 1965 Bigger home. Production moves from downtown Fulton Street to a new plant in Smethport.
- 2003 Toy legend. Named to the Century of Toys list.
- 2009 Hometown festival. The first National Wooly Willy Wonderdaze takes over Smethport, June 18–21.
- 2026 New chapter. ArtCreativity acquires the brand.
The family of faces
Willy never styled alone.
Willy’s success brought a whole cast of magnetic personalities out of Smethport over the decades.
1955 – today
The Original Wooly Willy
The bald, grinning original that started it all.
1960s
Dapper Dan the Magnetic Man
Willy’s bigger sibling: a larger set that sold for a dollar.
After 1965
Colored-Hair Editions
Magnetic “hair” in color, made at the Magnetic Avenue plant.
[YEAR]
Hair-Do Harriet
A magnetic salon of her own: bobs, beehives and beyond.
1960s
Patti Petite
A magnetic beauty parlor from Smethport Specialty: style her hair with the wand, no scissors needed.
[YEAR]
Sock Monkey, Buddy Beagle & Wanted!
Newer faces: a sock monkey, a beagle pup and an Old West wanted poster.
Look closely.
Artist Leonard Mackowski liked to hide his name in his art. Flip a Wooly Willy over and search the illustration on the back: his signature is tucked in near the mushroom, and it has appeared on the card ever since.
Proudly from Smethport.
Willy’s birthplace at 304 Fulton Street was added to the Smethport Historic Registry in 2008, and the town has thrown Willy his very own festival: National Wooly Willy Wonderdaze.
Chapter 4 · 2026 and beyondA new home.
A new home.
A bigger future.
In February 2026, ArtCreativity acquired Wooly Willy from PlayMonster Group, becoming the next caretaker of one of the longest-running toys on the shelf. The mission: protect the simple, screen-free play that has worked for seventy years, and help a new generation of families discover it.
…build on that legacy with thoughtful innovation…
President, ArtCreativity
New for 2026
The team
Toy Fair 2026
Seven decades of caretakers
1955 – 2008Smethport Specialty Co.
2008 – 2026Patch Products / PlayMonster
2026 – todayArtCreativity
How we’re building on Willy
Same grin, same red nose, same magnetic personality. Here’s what the new chapter looks like.
Protect
Keep the original, original.
The card, the bubble, the wand. The classic stays true to what made it a classic.
Extend
New faces and ways to play.
Thoughtful new designs built on the same magnetic magic.
Grow
Easier to find, easier to love.
Putting Willy on more shelves and screens so a new generation of families can find him.
Meet Willy
Meet Wooly Willy
Check out Wooly Willy! The character behind the famous face.
Be part of
the next chapter.
Grab the classic today, and be the first to hear when new Wooly Willy faces arrive.