Tom Littledeer

Tom Littledeer is an inventor and designer who learned woodworking and building by apprenticing to his father, a machinist and craftsman. Growing up in a family of good cooks, he also prepared food creatively from a very young age. He discovered a passion for fluid dynamics while simultaneously studying Pure and Applied Science and taking flying lessons. Pulling these skills and interests together, in 1991 he invented the Pot Scoop, the first fluid dynamic cooking utensil.

Mapleware

In 1984, Tom Littledeer hypothesized that a non-flat, scoop-shaped paddle would make canoeing easier. He designed and tested a variety of different models with canoeists and at the National Research Council. When a Vermont canoe company decided to produce his original paddle, Tom made a series of miniature promotional paddles for the launch. Some of these found their way into the kitchen, where his mother and wife agreed they were "naj bolje za kuhati" -- "great for cooking". These first Scoop Paddles evolved into the Pot Scoop. In 1992, Tom gave left-handed pot scoops as Christmas presents to friends who found his specifically right-handed cooking tools "backward". Handwritten and telephone orders from left-handers began to come in due to word of mouth. Right-handed orders followed.

In Spring 1995, the Pot Scoop, and four other Mapleware^® cooking paddles, handmade by Tom Littledeer, were introduced at the One Of A Kind Show in Toronto. Sales to gourmet stores and kitchen boutiques began the following year. The Mapleware line has since expanded to include an extensive selection of comfortable, multi-purpose cooking, serving and eating utensils, all made of heat-enduring, beautiful, hard maple. Littledeer has also created Slat Bags, household cleaning tools, sporting equipment, greenhouses, and industrial shelters; however, Mapleware is his best-known product.

Littledeer team 2009