It began with a classic story of humble beginnings. Sixteen year-old Antonio Pasin came to America in 1914 from a small town near Venice, Italy in search of a better life in Chicago. Young Antonio found work alongside other immigrants in a variety of “day labor” jobs including working on construction crews, washing celery, and carrying water.

Eventually, he was able to save up enough money to rent a one-room workshop on Chicago’s west side. Antonio’s father & grandfather were cabinet makers and he was able to put his design skills to work by building phonograph cabinets. He called his first company the Venetian Furniture Company after his hometown.

Antonio loved to tinker and create and he made other products as well. One of them was a wooden coaster wagon he named the Liberty Coaster for the statue that had welcomed him to America. Soon he was selling more wagons than phonograph cabinets. He made wagons at night and peddled them during the day, carrying a battered suitcase of small samples that he would sell to local hardware stores. It was 1917 and our company was born.

Just like our original red wagon, the Radio Flyer brand has become an American Icon. Antonio Pasin created a legacy of toys that continue to spark the imagination, as Radio Flyer is rediscovered with each new generation.