Dowlings roots reach back to the 40s, but things really snapped into place in 1986. Some of Dowlings employees had teachers for spouses, and those teachers, being resourceful as teachers are (wink, wink), gave Dowlings line an A+ for educational potential. Marriage being what it is, the employees cobbled together various parts and pieces to create the magnetic teaching tools their spouses sought. The spouses and their students used them with great success; other teachers saw them and wanted them; and so on. You know how that goes. Needless to say, making engaging, educational magnetic products for students and teachers was far more attractive than selling stock screw starters and nail drivers...Voila, modern-day Dowling was born! Have we come a long way since those early days! Now we encourage lots of tinkering and innovation. And we do our homework to make sure that our products are in compliance with the latest educational standards. In fact, Dowling is led by a former teacher...so weve come full circle, and you can be positive that when you purchase a Dowling product, youre buying the highest quality magnets available for your classroom!