Episode #180: Trailblazing Toy Creators Share The Mission and Story Behind Their Brands [2 of 2]
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What happens when you’ve got a great idea for a toy, you have inventory, and you want to break into a major toy show or media event but you just simply don’t have the funds left to make it happen? Well, in the past there wasn’t an option, but now for NEW creators there is The Toy Coach Showcase. Listen to this Part 2 Episode where we explain what The Toy Coach Showcase is and how you can get involved. This showcase has become an industry game-changer as it provides a more affordable entry point for aspiring creators.
In this episode, hear brief yet powerful interviews from showcase participants who are the creators of social emotional MESH toys, construction sets, dolls, and more, as they open up about their toy journeys. Listen closely to how their everyday lives inspired entire toy lines that would be loved by hundreds to thousands of families. These creators have not only turned their struggles into triumphs but have also built vibrant communities around their brand missions.
EPISODE CLIFF NOTES
Find out how one doll line is battling colorism.
Samantha Ong's daughter is not only the inspiration behind the Joey Dolls brand but also the namesake.
The name "Joey Dolls" is derived from Samantha Ong's daughter's nickname and pays homage to her Australian heritage, where "Joey" refers to baby kangaroos and is slang for a young child.
Find out why living in a rural area inspired one creator to develop her toy Sunny The Mail Snail.
Learn how one plush toy can send your kids’ REAL mail.
Find out about Dealing in Feelings, a card game developed by a child psychologist to help children understand and express their emotions.
Learn about DardaCats, a family game that encourages emotional openness and communication between parents and children.
Hear heartwarming stories from families who have played DardaCats and experienced improved emotional connections.
Connect with the creators of NEW toy and game brands and learn more about their products on their websites and social media platforms.
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This episode is brought to you by www.thetoycoach.com
Joey Dolls
Order wholesale contact info@joeydolls.com
Website: https://joeydolls.com/
Dealing In Feelings
Order wholesale contact hello@dealinginfeelings.comf
Website: https://dealinginfeelings.com/
DardaCats
Order wholesale contact sales@dardacats.com
Website: https://get.dardacats.com/ -
fYou are listening to making it in the toy industry episode number 180. Hey there toy people Azhelle. Wade here and welcome back to another episode of the toy coach podcast, Making It In The Toy Industry. This is a weekly podcast brought to you by the toy coach. This episode is a continuation apart too, from our previous part one episode. Where I shared what the. The Toy Coach Showcase is and how you could get involved in. It, whether you are an organization putting on an event or you are a creator who. I was looking to be in the showcase itself. But most importantly, in last week's episode, I started highlighting
the creators that did showcase their products. And today we are going to continue on that train. So. So just as a quick recap, The Toy Coach Showcase was created as an answer to how new creators. With limited funds and resources. Can really get their first step into the toy industry in a big way to make a
so in that first year of launching, so they can be seen and have a chance to make it big, to get those retail orders.
I was lucky enough to work with Astra to make this thing. Happen. And if you are the organizer of an industry trade show, or even a media event that you. You think would benefit from the toy coach's pink carpet experience? Well, message me at info@thetoycoach.com. I would love to chat. If you are an aspiring creator who wants to be a part of the next toy code showcase.
You should. Head over to toy creator's academy.com to learn more about how you can join our larger community. Okay. Let's dive back. Back in. As I said, in the last episode, these are resilient with a capital R and fearless with a capital F toy and game. Game creators. They have overcome things like colorism, brain tumors, and so much more to create.
The products that they have and fill white space in the market. Just like last week, there is a video. Component of this podcast episodes. Head over to our YouTube channel, youtube.com. Slash the toy coach, subscribe and click the bell for notifications. So you'll be notified.
As soon as the video of this podcast, episode airs,
Let's resume our last episode, we wrapped up with Karen Villar the founder of Cubo. Toys. Let's dive into our next interview.
I'm Wendy Lattimore and I'm the founder and creator of Mailbox Mutts.
The mission
to
of Mailbox
Mut
feeling important and learning about the world, in, in a really unique way through real mail from their plush toys.
Now, I know that Mailbox Mutts was founded on something sunny the snail mail. But tell me what was the main inspiration for
Mailbox Mutts or maybe for its predecessor sunny the snail mail
our kids and I was really trying to fit a need that my son had. We lived in a really rural area he was a little guy and he had no friends. You know, we were really far. From a city, and he was a struggling reader,
I was like, this can't be happening. This kid has gotta read somehow. I had to really figure out what's gonna help him read and, you know, feel important. the one thing he did love were his stuffed animal. So that was my aha moment. So I, I started sending him letters, stories from his stuffed animals about their adventures around the world.
So, oh my goodness. He loved it so much that he literally waited on the porch for the mailman to show up every day. And he read and reread those letters, and I did it for a really long time. I sent him one every week until his older brother told him it was me. You know, kind of like Santa they E. They eventually figure it out.
by that time, I mean he had, you know, Just learned about places around the world and, and really his reading skills just went through the roof and he felt so important. I mean, just getting his own letter with his name on it. And then I was doing a lot of soul searching a couple years after that and I'm like, I really want my own business.
You know, what am I good at? What can I do? And I opened a drawer and I found all those letters and that was it. I said, I've gotta share that experience with kids around the world. So that's when Sunny the mails now was created and I started a subscription box for kids where they get their little sunny stuffed animal and a letter every week.
I have hundreds and hundreds of kids, thousands now that have received Sonny's letters. really wanted to, you know, I figure out a way, how can I get this to more kids?
So I just thought, well, how can I pivot this to turn it into a retail product? And so I just created this new character, new brand, mailbox and turned it into more of a retail product where it's really unique cuz it's the only stuffed animal that comes with the redemption card. to get four letters. Parents drop it in the mail and then next week a letter shows up. So it's a really unique experience.
So what's been, what's been the biggest difference in launching mailbox
months versus Sunny the snail mail or mail snail.
a lot of parents now are familiar with subscription products. There's so many subscription box out there for kids, so they're familiar with that in that sense, when it's called kind of a subscription box, but they're not that familiar with it and. You know, buying it in the store as a retail product, a stuffed animal that actually comes with something after the purchase.
So it's getting kind of making sure, you know, they realize, you know, Hey, just drop this in the mail you buy it in the store and you're gonna get more, you know, more, more comes with this
get
real mail. I, exactly. So I really always,
real mail
You know, kids, we all know that kids love their stuffed animals. I mean, that, I don't, they're never gonna go away. That's never gonna change. But
there's a problem with kids and mental health and loneliness and isolation. So I think there's, there's an awareness that we need to create toys that can bridge that gap some way. And so I really feel like this is gonna gonna ring true when people hear about it as a way not only to get kids reading.
But to make them feel important and have a friend and just bridge that gap for that mental health or that lonely kid that needs that toy that's gonna be interactive, but maybe not in an electronic sense.
it's great that you have two angles that this toy is beneficial on. The one mesh mental and emotional social health, right? That side. and then on the reading and education side, so there's parents that might have two completely different issues with their kids that can both benefit from this toy.
How has it elt it felt getting that feedback from parents that love your product?
Yeah I can really say it's tried and true now, because I've been doing The subscription box for, gosh, going on five years now. we've literally had kids all over the world getting the letters every week, and the feedback is amazing. I mean, . It's just, it's, it is bridging that gap, you know, for those kids that, that need that extra special friend.
And then, you know, I mean, the pleasures are, you know, the mailbox muts are as cute as can be too. So and you know, the mailbox mutts come with a pretend play mailbox. And as a third element, it's also really helping kids just learn about
writing letters and receiving letters and just kind of that, that connection too, as the joy of sending mail.
So that's another aspect.
Okay, my last question for you is my favorite question of all time, What toy or game blew your mind as a kid?
Operation for some reason. Just the, you know, operation was a big one.
Thank you so much, Wendy.
Next up Joey dolls, this line was founded to celebrate Asian diversity through the creation of beautiful plush dolls. Each doll retails for $55. They've already had a super successful pre-launch and you're about to learn all about it in this interview.
📍 hi, I'm Samantha Ong, and I'm the founder and CEO of Joey Dolls.
Tell me, what is the mission of Joey Dolls?
Our mission at Joy Dolls is to provide Asian cultural dolls to promote inclusivity and representation for every child. We believe that each child should see themselves represented to feel valid in society and really celebrate the richness and diversity of Asian cultures. and we want to raise awareness about Asian diversity, combat racism. Colorism. And just really simply help children feel proud of their heritage and feel loved in being who they are.
What inspired you to create Joey Dolls? What was it? Was it your daughter?
It was definitely my daughter. It was during the pandemic. I was sitting at home. I couldn't work at the time being a wedding photographer, so I was watching the news unfold and really watching the rise in anti-Asian hate. And so it was during the time that we couldn't really go out and Play with other children. And so I really wanted her to feel proud of who she is as she's and you know, during that time I tried to look for dolls out there. And I just really couldn't find anything out there that I felt comfortable and felt like really represented our cultures. in our Asian household, you know, we're. Chinese, Malaysian, and Korean. So we have these diverse cultures and I really wanted her to be proud of those individual cultures and not just, you know, call herself Asian to really celebrate those, like, those, the, those different cultures within our household that we so proudly celebrate.
And does your doll line have each of the cultures that you have in your household?
Yeah, so we have the Chinese doll and we have the Korean doll, Malaysian doll. I really hope to do someday. That's something that I really wanna do is to create more of the southeast. I really provide representation to the southeast just because it's been so underrepresented for so long. Again, going back to colorism you know, when I was pregnant I was even told that I that people hoped that my daughter would have fair skin like my husband. And, and I just didn't want, like, if she was born in a certain way, that she could, should feel proud of who she is and, feel comfortable in her own skin color and that, you know, that is something to be really. about. And so that's why I really wanted to emphasize and celebrate those different skin tones within the Asian diaspora. And highlight that there are so many differences amongst our community, that really should be more awareness about, but also just really have fun and celebrate them.
I love that. That's so sad. I'm so sorry you had to deal with that with . awful.
Thank you. Yeah.
Are you considered not fair skin?
You know what? I could be darker like in, if I'm in the, in the summertime,
okay.
a lot darker
Okay.
But even still, even, yeah, even still, you know, like that porcelain, like beauty
like type, you
I mean?
yes.
so in that case, I def like there's still that ideal to reach that. glass skin look
the Asian com.
Yeah. Yeah. So growing up, I always felt proud to have my own skin tone
only when I was Yeah. Pregnant that, you know, I started to see these sorts of.
really project. Yeah. And I don't want that to be projected among my daughter and the future generation. We're born the way we are and we're all amazing the way we are, and I just want her to not feel. The way that I did growing up not with my skin tone, but more so like not being like blonde blue-eyed when I was playing with you know, blonde blue-eyed dolls and really feeling that envy, envy with my classmates who were blonde and blue-eyed.
Oh yeah, I remember hair commercials. I was so envious of like long flowing hair. So yeah, I, I understand that envy and confusion and you wanting to prevent that for your daughter. It's beautiful.
Mm-hmm.
So I wanna know, what are you most excited for being a part of this Toy Coat Showcase at Astra with your doll line.
Yeah, so this is our first time being at a toy show. we just launched our dolls online and so this was a really good opportunity for us to like get in front and connect directly with toy buyers and really. Show the world proud we are to have all these diverse cultures within Asia just yeah, really sh really want people to see like the love and dedication we've put into these dolls, to, you know, I've. I made a strong commitment to make them culturally accurate,
yeah. So that's where I'm really excited to share with the world, and one of my missions is to really deconstruct that monolith myth that Asians are just this whole monolithic group.
just seeing like. I've only had these six dolls and I really hope that I can make more in the future. But even just showing these six, you can just really see how, colorful and vibrant Our cultures really are like, there's so many languages and traditions and, you know, foods, there's so much behind us that we, we don't see when we just have this idea of like, monolithic group. And so I'm truly excited about about that and, and how it can promote more awareness and education with that.
Yes. And I, I do wanna ask this question. I don't think I've ever asked you this. Where did the, the name of your doll line come from? Joey Dolls.
Yeah, so it really is because it was inspired by my daughter. So I named it after my daughter who her, her full name is Josephine. But we call her Joey as like a, a play like, like a short name. And Joey actually is a little short like a little homage to my, my home. I grew up in Australia
so it's, Joey is another name for
Baby kangaroo. Baby koala. But also like in a slang it could also mean like a young child. So I really wanted yeah, I wanted these dolls to really be, because is where I started Joey Dolls, was to find like a playmate for my daughter during the pandemic. So I really wanted these dolls to be a lifetime playmate for. Young children. so it's like a little friend that you can take around and play with.
And that's also why quality has been so important to you on your journey. That's why you keep saying like The quality. The quality, cause you want it to last.
Exactly that. And also I just feel that, you know, this mission to represent these different ethnicities and cultures within Asia is so important because they haven't been done before. So they have so much meaning to people. And I just didn't wanna do them, like half-heartedly. I wanted to do them. I wanted when people get them, feel proud to really sh show other people to really look at the, and, you know, connect with the dolls feel that that's, you know, representative of their family through, through the, these little details. So that was really important to me. That's why I kept going back and saying, Should we put this in?
Should we, should we do it like this? Just because I really wanted all these little little thing, little details to really tell that story about our, our heritage.
You had a Kickstarter like launch, but you did it on your own website. What was your launch goal?
My goal was to sell like 500 dolls. And in the end, we sold $1,700 within 24 hours, and then and then in 48 hours despite website crashing and the emails not reaching people. And we, I didn't reach out to anyone and like, I just re like, I was just jumping on Facebook at late at night and it was just what, like reading some threads and people. Complaining, like how hard it was to buy the dolls and, but they still stuck it out and bought it anyway. Like they, they kept like refreshing the page and, but I could just sense that even though it was like really painful for people to buy them on my website,
Yeah.
could just sense this like real excitement about
Yeah.
And that's just a testament to, how important these dolls are that they, like the power of these dolls will make in people's lives and what they really mean for people that they're just, they're more than just dolls. They're reflection of who we are, our, our families, our, you know, our backgrounds, our stories and. I really think that just, although we have these six dolls, that is really just the beginning. So I'm, I'm very excited and hopeful.
Before tca, I remember seeing your name pop up, in my likes in my photos, and I had looked at your stuff before and I was like, wow, she's great. And then when I saw you were considering tca, I was like, oh, you better join.
Because I, I. See, I could see it. It was honestly, I thought you had already launched the quality of what you had created on your website. The detail of your samples. I could see this massive potential.
Thank you. Thank you so much,
I'm so glad have joined tca,
to make sure that we finalized that dollars in the way that I was happy with them
Yeah.
and like could take it, like you said to the finish line.
Yeah. I remember where I was like texting you cuz I hate, I, I am good at marketing and I'm good at selling, but I hate pressuring people that can't, can't afford it or like just isn't the right time. So I'm like constantly walking this fine line when somebody's like, I wanna join, but I don't know.
So I remember trying to choose my words to you so carefully. Cause I was like, I really think you should join, but like if you don't want to, it's okay. , like I was just so unsure of how to phrase it, but Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
the thing, that's something that I've struggled with along my journey is that because I really did start this company during the pandemic when I couldn't work. So, and that's where like budget has been such a constraint, especially with making these dolls. But at the same time, I really I feel passionate about the mission that we
Yeah. Yeah.
and so I really wanna take it to the finish line. but it's just like, how can I balance all these things? So of course I wanted to,
Yeah.
But I just, like, it is just being a single entre entrepreneur. It's, it
Yeah.
Making these decisions, but I'm really, I don't have no regrets about it now.
Yay. I'm so glad. Well, I made it my mission. I was like, I cannot let her regret this. I was thinking about you from day one. So anyway, my final question for you today is what toy or game blew your mind as a kid?
Yeah, I was thinking about this because there, there's so many toys in my childhood, but I really, I really think that poll pocket was what really loved
Me too,
Yeah, I mean this was back in like before Game Boy, before phones. My parents used to take me everywhere and I didn't have anything to play with like all the time.
So Polly Pocket was something that I could just pick up, take with me, take my, my story, my make believe wherever I wanted.
remember I wanted so badly to have a dog, and then I had like a little Polly pocket dog
Like, that's enough. That's all I needed.
yeah. So all I actually remember. My Bruno.
Samantha, thank you so much for this interview. Can't wait to see you in person. See you at the Toy Coat Showcase at Astra
absolutely. Yes. All right. Thanks so much for having me.
our next brand is Dealing in Feelings, Dealing in Feelings is a card game developed by a child psychologist.
And if there ever was a product that fulfills the needs or traits of a mesh toy, I think this is it. I mean, based on the name alone. Dealing in Feelings offers an emotion card, set that retails for $21.99. Let's dive into the interview
hi, I'm Julie Dini and I'm the creator of my brand Dealing In Feelings.
Oh, Julie, it's so wonderful to talk to you again, and I'm excited to have you at the Toy Coach Showcase. First question I've gotta ask you, what is the essence of your brand?
Well, my brand is all about helping children understand and talk about their emotions. and providing products that help parents and teachers and other people that work with children to assist them to do that.
And what inspired you to create dealing in feelings?
Well, I'm a child psychologist, educational psychologist, and I think after 30 years, I, I just believe so much that if we invest early in children's emotional development, when they're young, just teach them some basic emotional literacy. It can make such a difference to their lifelong mental health.
If they're able to express their emotions, seek help, and learn some basic emotional regulation skills that can just make such a huge difference to their lives.
Have you seen kids get that benefit from your card game?
Yeah, definitely. I see it all the time. When parents share with me that their child has now told them how they're feeling rather than having a tantrum. You know, or they've learned some skills in, you know, expressing what they're feeling and, and then being able to act on that and walk away or, or say, mommy, I need some help, or, yeah. And I, I see it all the time. Yep.
What are you most excited for being a part of the Toy Code Showcase at Astra?
I just think it's such a wonderful opportunity to be able to be involved with your showcase. To be able to perhaps get my cards out there and perhaps just get a little bit of visibility to this whole area. the mesh area, mental and social, emotional social health is really a very, very important area that. Is parents are looking, they're looking for support, they're looking for Teachers are needing resources. So I just think it's a great opportunity to promote my brand and the products that I'm developing.
Awesome. And I'm sure I saw on your website that your brand has won a few awards.
very excited. I was shortlisted for the speech pathology. Book of the year award in 2021 for my, one of my books feelings of Me. It's a little book for toddlers. And then that also won an Eric Hoffer pitch Book of the year award. I've won a couple of awards and accolades. So it does, it reinforces that I think, yeah, that the, what I try and do is really high quality.
And how does all, how does getting that recognition for something that you're creating feel, and even the reviews, you have incredible reviews online. How does that all feel?
Oh, it's just very it's just very rewarding to think that people recognize you know, what I do and that they, they value it. And yeah, it, it always, it always just makes such a, a difference to me personally, to think, yep, this is something that people are really looking for. And I know, I know that I'm, you know, what I do is informed by my experience, which I think makes a big difference in providing something that, you know, is, is really sound quality and based on child developmental theory.
So the last question is my favorite question, and it's What toy or game blew your mind as a kid?
Well, I'm gonna show my age, but I, this board game when I was little, I just loved, it was called Masterpiece. know if you know it. It's one where you buy and trade paintings, you're very expensive. Paintings from around the world and I love art. So yeah. Masterpiece, I think it was Parker Brothers bought it out and Oh, I loved it as a kid.
Where can people connect with you and find out about what product you're working on next?
Yes, and I am walking on a new product too. It's very, very soon to be released.
Can you say anything about it?
I guess I can. It's a, it's a series of cards again, for kids, but it's about teaching them emotional regulations of like the next step of, of what you need to do. You need to recognize your feelings, but then you need to know what to do about them. So I have some some cards coming out called Cool Tools. Yeah, that's my next release in the next couple of months hopefully. So you can find me on my website, which is dealing in feelings.com. also on Facebook and Instagram under dealing and Feelings.
Thank you so much for being here with us today, Julie. Excited to have your product at the
you so much for the opportunity as Elle. I'm so excited too.
📍 Our last, but certainly not least creator that was featured at the toy code showcase is DardaCats. Now DardaCats was.
DardaCats offers two games. One that is called DardaCats DARTA cats at home. And the other that is called DardaCats in the city, darter cats at home retails for $45. And DardaCats in the city retails for $85. This game is all about understanding your kids' emotions and going through a therapeutic process of recognizing those emotions and figuring out ways to manage them. But I don't want to give it all away. I really want you to learn about this game directly from the creators.
📍 Hello, my name is Davina.
And I'm Youmna, and we're the co-founders of Darda Cats
essence or mission behind Darda Cats? Why did you 📍 create it?
Davina and I came together to answer one key question, and it is how adults and kids. Can open up to each other safely. And that's why we created Darda Cats. It's a super fun family game that brings parents and their children together to open up to each other, learn new things about each other, tackle big feelings together, and, you know, just have fun all while playing laughing, creating stories, singing together without any, any filters.
And it's to get them to open up emotionally, right? Kind of like this MESH movement we're seeing in the toy industry.
What inspired you to create Darda cats? Where'd that idea come from?
Actually it was our friends and family. I mean, everyone around us started having, a family. They started their journey into parenthood. And one sentiment that we kept getting from everyone around us was that everyone felt this kind of guilt or shame or frustration that they would feel like.
They can tell their child is struggling with something, but they don't know how to solve it or they don't know how to get them to open up. And the thing is, it's not like as millennials, we were ever taught emotional literacy. We don't have the skills to manage our own big feelings. So how can we teach it, to the new generation and, and the, the children today, they live in a very different world than the one we live in so, , it's really tough to be a parent and to prepare children for, for this current state of emotional intelligence and, managing and coping with your feelings. And this was the main thing that started it, is that we wanted to make sure that this game we created evens the playing field.
That's such an astute observation, do you have an example of a situation that your game would teach.
Yes, of course. So what happens is you throw the dice and you get an action and the feeling.
So sing a song while feeling angry, but you have to do it through the DardaCat. So that's the cool trick, is that there's this DardaCat and DardaCat is the one that's feeling sad. , not you, the player is not feeling sad. It's the DardaCat. And then the, player ends up, projecting whatever fears or sentiments they have through the DardaCat because it's safer this way because it's so much easier that. , she's feeling it, not me. You know? And then you end up expressing your experience talking about it.
And, you even have the chance to manage it. So we have up to 40 self-care strategies in the game. It all depends on what the dice gives you. You might end up self getting a self-care strategy or, singing or acting or telling a story, or even copycatting someone, you know. Just a lot of variables that make it so much fun that make all these situations easier to talk about.
Building on Davina is saying if, let's say you're asked whether you're upset, you're sad or you're angry, sometimes we struggle to identify the difference between the two and trying to explain that to someone else, let alone, you know, a three year old, a five year old. It's quite tricky. because sometimes we're struggling to make that distinction or recognizing it in ourselves, trying let alone to explain it to someone else. And so if instead of trying to describe what this intangible feeling is, I ask you, sing Happy birthday, angry versus singing happy birthday. Sad. You can immediately start, you know, Imagining how your tone of voice would change, how your body language would evolve.
And it's really what this game is enabling across different situations, be it whether you're at home, at school, at hospital, in the park, at the airport. And this is essentially what Darda Cats is enabling all those conversations and those stories about how we feel, across different moments of the day.
I know Darda Cats is brand new, and the Astro showcase will be your big launch along with your Kickstarter. But I also know you've gotten some feedback. You guys are running ads, you're seeing what's working. So what has been that positive feedback and how did that feel for you as creators?
I mean, One of the best part of working on Darda Cats has been receiving all of those stories from families playing with Darda Cats , essentially. You know, those stories are ranging from everyday life situations, like your child being a picky eater or of being afraid of the dark, being too shy to talk to their grandparents.
To bigger situations like bullying, loss of a parent, custody battles, and it's really. hear all of those stories and see how this game has enabled all these families to explore their feelings in a different way and open up and be comfortable with each other to really be vulnerable while having fun, because that's the best part.
It's not about parenting, it's about playing together and really sharing those moments together to build that bond and. Understand each other better.
We've had parents tell us. Yeah, we've had parents tell us, oh, it feels like I just went through a drama class and I feel like I went through therapy. Like it's, it's really relieving because there's something that happens when you hide behind this, that it's like parents and, children alike, they just feel freer and it's.
So relaxing for them. When we were receiving the stories and the feedback, we would start crying. We would get so moved from how it worked.
What are you most excited about being a part of the Toy Code Showcase
We've been working on, on Darda Cats for a while. We got to work with child specialists, like drama therapists and play therapists, and we got to co-create with a really diverse range of families from vulnerable families, single parents, five kids, family, like really all kinds of families.
And, and it gave us so much insight and we kept iterating and iterating. And like we were saying, we got so much good feedback. So we're very excited to see now what the buyers are gonna say. Like, we know, we know, we know we have something that's working. We're just so excited to get the buyers, to see it next.
So this is what Astra is. It's a big deal for us. We're very excited.
How many families and, and therapists and psychologists do you think you had on this game?
Maybe 15 specialists or up to 20 at some point. Over 30 families. It's been really incredible. Very, very, very exciting journey.
So this is
very important
for Astra, specifically, the buyers that come to this show very much care about their consumers and they wanna make sure that the products that they have on their shelves are really gonna benefit their consumers. That they weren't thrown together, that they were well researched and well developed.
So this is a very big important part of your story that I'd love to, to highlight and focus on when we get to the showcase.
And my last for both of you. What toy or game boo your minds as a kid?
Even though you wanna start.
I mean, for me it was, uh, the Lego bricks. I mean, I still play with them to date. I love creating stories and building worlds, getting lost in my thoughts for hours, and I love that it can make, you know, out of them, I can make anything or and everything out of them. So, yeah.
Yeah. Uh, for me, actually, it's this toy that I keep on my desk. I've had it forever. Okay. I have no clue who the manufacturer is. But what fascinated me as a kid was that you do this and she's suddenly a boy. That was fascinating. That one small change can create, can transform an entire character. Like I've always been fascinated by it, so it's like a nice reminder on my desk that you can always change whatever, you know, like.
That's beautiful.
Thank you guys so much.
As we all know story is becoming an even more and more important part of developing a lasting brand. And we cannot deny that these creators had incredible stories. What I love about the people that take toy creators academy and are attracted to this podcast. These are toy people that truly care about the products that they're building. They don't want to build just anything for this industry.
They want to build something with impact. Now. For the summary of today's episode. I just want you to head over to the toy coach.com and buy one of these products. Whether you are a retailer looking to fill a gap in your Q4 planning, or if you are a consumer looking to buy a gift, I would appreciate it.
If you consider purchasing one of the products from the creators featured at the Astra marketplace in the toy code, showcase a booth. The products you are going to get from them are high quality. They've got high standards and expectations from, for themselves, and they extend that in the product that they create for their consumers.
I have to give a massive thanks to every single person. That was a part of the toy code showcase. Thank you to Cub toys. Thank you to Joey Dolls. Thank you to Mailbox Mutts My Gnome On The Roam. My Mother Is A Superhero ernesto Stewart founder of honey lands. You are a creative force. Thank you to the vena and you'll not have dark cats for your beautiful interview. And Julie Dini, and of course, last but not least. Thank you so much for being a part of the community and joining the toy code showcase I'm excited to see what lies ahead.
If you love this podcast and you want to see it, keep going, please leave us a rating. And.
A review wherever you're watching this podcast.
As always, thank you so much for being here with me today. I know your time is valuable and that there are a ton of podcasts out there. So it truly means the world to me that you tune into this one. Until next week, I'll see you later. Toy people.
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