The two founders of Ambosstoys, Elisha Ruesch and Nguyen Nguyen, are passionate about classic motorcycles and classic cars. Both are convinced that the designs of the classic vehicles prior to the 70ties are simply timeless and mostly unmatched thereafter. Thus after E. Ruesch and N. Nguyen met in the year 2000; they started a common hobby of collecting, restoring and trading classic cars and motorbikes. The size of their collection changed over time with a peak of over 100 motorbikes and a dozen cars. They had their own workshop in Vietnam with several employees where the vehicles were restored. A showroom in Zurich – Switzerland was used to display the imported and restored classic beauties. The fame of the two founders and their unusual business model (restore classic vehicles in Vietnam and sell them in Switzerland and EU) made news stories in several local newspapers.

Having restored and traded over hundreds of classic vehicles, the founders became very familiar with their ingenious design and the required very solid metal work.

In the subsequent years both founders became parents and thereby natural spectators of growing children. As every parent, E. Ruesch and N. Nguyen observed and enjoyed the playful behaviors of their kids. At the same time they discovered that most of the commonly used toys in these days are made out of plastic and last for just one season, if at all. Children are getting used to these properties and adapt their behavior to it. Objects break easily, are irreparable and thus have to be thrown away. Short-lived, fast and valueless characterize many today’s toys.

These unsustainable trends of many present-day toys and the passion for classic vehicles sparked the idea of Ambosstoys in the minds of E. Ruesch and N. Nguyen. The founders had the vision of creating toys in timeless designs similar to the classic vehicles and made of metal sheets that hold for a lifetime. ‘Amboss’ means anvil in German, hence Ambosstoys as the anvil is synonym for handcraft, metal and longevity.  In other words, the vision of Ambosstoys is to offer quality, meaningful and valuable toys made of metal in a classic timeless design. The customers must have the feeling of buying value when purchasing toys from Ambosstoys.

Over the years E. Ruesch and N. Nguyen worked on several prototypes and came out with their first product: Primo! A ride-on toy in the design of a classic Italian scooter.