Tinker's Bio

Whether it's called "women's intuition", a "gut feeling", or one's "spirit", people should know that their feelings should not be ignored. My name is Wendy Martin, and my spirit has always been my Tinkerbell. It was my Tinker that told me I could make 800 lbs of English Toffee, 1 1/2 lbs at a time, to help pay for my son's college tuition. I turned my toffee into a business and named it "Tinker's Toffee".

Once upon a time, I was listening to a cooking show on the radio while driving in San Francisco. They announced a recipe for English Toffee, so I quickly pulled over and copied the recipe on the back of an envelope. I made the recipe and my family loved it so much, it quickly became a Christmas tradition.

Then one year my sister was looking for employee Christmas gifts. I needed extra money for my son's college tuition, so I suggested my toffee would make a nice gift. Little did I know she would order 800 lbs! I thought, no problem. I'll just empty out my freezer. Well, my freezer only held 75 lbs. I had no idea what 800 lbs of toffee even looked like!

After a long search I found a huge freezer warehouse in the middle of the artichoke fields. Each Friday I would drive up to the loading dock, where the back of my van didn't even reach the loading platform. Two men would come with a forklift and laugh as they saw my two boxes of toffee. As they carried them into the cavernous warehouse I prayed I would get my toffee back, and not boxes of broccoli or artichokes.

While I was making those 800 lbs of toffee, a little voice, Tinker, my alter ego, was sitting on my shoulder and telling me, "You can do this, you can do this!" I was also trying to choose a name for my toffee - Mommie's Munchies, or Wendy's Wonders, and then that same little voice said "Tinker's Toffee!"

So with 800 lbs under my belt and a name for my new business, I left California for Virginia with the goal of making Tinker's Toffee a year-round enterprise. I found a new pot for $6 in an antique store in Scotland that increased my production from 1 1/2 lbs to 9 lbs at a time. I joined the local Chamber of Commerce and I just kept handing out free samples. Lots of free samples. And that's what brought me here.

I would share my recipe with you, but it wouldn't be much use without my Tinker's wand. But please contact me so you can enjoy a taste of Tinker's Toffee, too!

Thank You,
Wendy Martin, aka Tinker