Rick Hartman is a professional toy designer, teacher and performer whose interactive programs and whimsical, patented inventions have gained widespread recognition in America for more than a decade.

He is the inventor of popular toys like Professional Thumb Wrestling, The Motorized Ice Cream Cone, and Crazy Cords Friendship Bracelet Factory and the creator of The Toymaker's Workshop, a series of performances, workshops, and videos aimed at sparking creativity and interest in the inventive arts among young people.

Nicknamed "The Teaching Toymaker," Rick makes hundreds of public appearances each year, bringing his wholly original brand of "Hands-on, Minds-on Entertainment " to venues around the U.S..

Formerly a journalist and public school teacher, Rick has been called “a uniquely inspiring and creative educator” by the Smithsonian Institution’s Michael Judd, who termed Rick’s presentations at the National Museum of American History in September 2000 “some of the most successful events we have sponsored.”

With broad audience appeal, Rick has also appeared as a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Discovery Channel, “Evening Magazine,” National Public Radio's "Weekday," MTV Canada, The Fox News Network, and ABC's “A.M. Northwest."

Ross Atkin of The Christian Science Monitor described Rick as “a Pied Piper of sorts… Wherever Mr. Hartman goes, whether to community centers, schools, folk festivals, or fairs, a trail of children follow.” And in a nine-page cover story on Rick, Pacific Northwest Magazine staff writer Paula Bock called the reaction of young audiences to his programs "astonishing."

Rick's first video workshop on toymaking, released in 2002, has been warmly received in Canada and the U.S.. "Charming and captivating," wrote Susan Price of School Library Journal."In a world where computer labs have replaced the tactile and creative opportunities of shop classes, this video is very welcome."

A graduate of Brown University and Pacific Oaks College of Education, Rick lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife, Lee, and their two children.