If you collect Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars or have a child who does, then you might appreciate the idea behind the Etsy store Cool Wheels Display. The shop sells handmade racks that are perfect for organizing and displaying miniature car collections, and the coolest part is that the racks use a real bike tire as the frame.
According to the store description on Etsy, the shop’s owner and designer, Tony, came up with the idea from his personal experience of trying to organize his children’s large collection of toy cars.
“I’m a tinkerer. I like making stuff. And like a lot of parents, my kids are into Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars. At $1 each, it was easy to amass an enormous pile of them, and there was just no place to put them all. So I created a solution which turned a mess of cars strewn all over the bedroom into a cool piece of wall art. I made one for one of my kids, and then one for the other one, and then I decided that I might try to make more and sell them. And here I am,” he wrote.
The display racks are available in three sizes (16, 20, or 26 inches), and while a black tire is the default, you can request a custom color if you’d prefer. You can also customize the color of the shelves inside the rack, opting for a bold color like red or blue, or you can stick with a natural wood finish.
The shelves start at $89.50 for the smallest rack and range to $159.50 for 26-inch shelves in a custom color.
Since the Portland, Oregon-based shop launched on Etsy in 2020, it’s sold over 200 display racks, and customers seem to love them, leaving Cool Wheels Displays enthusiastic reviews.
“Beautiful craftsmanship!” wrote one reviewer. Another customer added: “High quality construction and looks great. I cannot think of a better way to display my vintage matchbox cars.”
Cool Wheels Displays is on a temporary hiatus to catch up on orders, but a note on Etsy mentions that the store plans to re-open for new orders in early February.
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for additional stories.
