S6E05 | Why Human Touch Still Wins At Retail with Pyper Bleu
My friend (and On Brand with Jimmy Fallon co-star) Pyper Bleu is joining me on the podcast today to share her perspective on the effects of AI and the algorithm on retail.
Our conversation starts with Pyper peeling back the curtain on how she built a platform of 400K subscribers on her YouTube channel Lyfe of Pyper, and why she decided to shift offline and open a retail shop — plus she explains how they're so different.
We also get honest about AI in our day-to-day — from using it to soften angry emails (there's humanity in that) to realizing AI-written "thank you" messages feel worse than no reply at all. Pyper shares why she stopped using AI for correspondence and actually got faster, and I open up about using AI to learn rather than just get answers. Plus, Pyper drops a killer tip about packaging that every toy inventor needs to hear.
If you're feeling a little AI overwhelmed, this podcast is your safe space. Cozy up with a warm cup of tea and give it a listen.
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Visit Pyper’s shop in Bushwick Brooklyn, the Pyper Blue Collective or Shop Online Here
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EP 605_Final Edit_
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The Toy Coach: [00:00:00] When people think about ai, they think about Chat GPT, they think about a text-based app, but really it's integrated in everything, right? It's affecting, like I said, copy and graphics.
it's affecting products that are sold online, so how do you go about giving people what they want in your store? Because you're not using ai, you're using your own taste, your own judgment. how are you sure you actually know what people want anymore?
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: I feel like most people don't know what they want.
Azhelle Wade: You are listening to Making It in The Toy Industry, episode number three hundred and five . hey there, toy people, Agel Wade here and welcome back to another episode of Making It In The Toy Industry. This podcast is brought to you by the toy coach.com.
Our guest today my friend and fellow TV star Pyper Bleu Pyper is a multidisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn, New York. She's the creative [00:01:00] force behind Pyper Bleu Collective, a brick and mortar shop and studio where she not only creates her own work, but champions, local makers and one of a kind goods.
After studying textiles at risd Pyper built a devoted online audience through her YouTube Art Vlog Life of Pyper. It's a community of over. 400,000 people who were drawn to her authenticity long before algorithms were dictating everything. Her namesake label, Pyper Bleu function, design and artist Driven Purpose from oil painting and ceramics to board games and business building.
Pypers work challenges, what we value, what we buy, what still sells when the algorithm isn't calling the shots. Welcome to the show, Pyper.
Pyper Bleu: Thank you so much for having me, Azhelle.
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: Pyper, you were a finalist on-brand. How does it feel?
Pyper Bleu: I wish I got further, but I'm very proud of myself
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: You're so hard on yourself. I remember in when we were all gathering for on-brand with Jimmy Fallon, and we were gonna learn about what was coming for the next couple of weeks. I saw Pyper and she was just [00:02:00] sitting in the corner watching everyone and being very quiet, and I thought, I'm going to make her my friend.
Pyper Bleu: Ha.
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: And it was ended as it happened.
I am so happy to have met you though.
Aw, thank you.
Pyper Bleu: What I was meant to do to meet you and to make other friends.
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: thank you for still. Being the, being a friend and seeing positivity in me, even when I was like postpartum and dealing with all that sadness and depression, I feel like it's so easy for people to back away and say, oof, that's not who I befriended in the beginning. And I just felt like super supported by you either way.
Pyper Bleu: I am glad,
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: Yeah.
Pyper Bleu: special when you actually came to my brick and mortar store.
know being a new mom and barely ever coming back to New York
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: Oh.
Pyper Bleu: moved, I'm like, wow, you stopped by before you had to drive all the way home
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: Oh,
Pyper Bleu: and to see the store.
To me also really goes to show what friendship is and what our connection is.
before we dive into the whole interview, can you just tell people where your shop is located?
I'm in Brooklyn specifically, Bushwick, You could search up Pyper Bleu [00:03:00] Collective on Google Maps. and the address is 1 1 7 Gratton Street.
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: I'd love to share your story of building your huge following online. You told me you started out of college with a vlog, and then went to Instagram.
Pyper Bleu: So I started when we were on the 2016 trend of doing a lot of long form content, and I knew I wanted to do that too.
we were still playing the algorithms, but in a very different taste.
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: Yeah. It was more human. Yeah.
Pyper Bleu: Because technology was bad still.
you had to really go outta your way to get cameras and to all do that fancy stuff, get like editing software. All of that was so much friction if you
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: Yeah.
Pyper Bleu: So once I actually did that, like I begged for it, I got it for Christmas, I got a final cut Pro, like the first
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: Wow.
Pyper Bleu: I invested in a camera and it took me two years. To pay off the payment plan.
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: Wow.
Pyper Bleu: I was 14 until I was 17. If I was gonna do that, then I can't just say I changed my mind
Once I got into college, I wanted to be an [00:04:00] artist and I was obsessively stalking anyone I knew who got into Rhode Island School of Design. And it helped me vicariously prepare
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: Yeah.
Pyper Bleu: about my new life. So I thought. Hey, there's not anyone really exposing what the school curriculum is like, how the workload is. So let me vlog my experiences. And my sister, she's also an artist. She went to art school two years before me. She's the one that would tell me insight and tell me like, oh my God, at Art Center, which is a design school in Pasadena, California,
Are asleep. Intense on the lawn. Like it would be hilarious, like hearing all of these anecdotes and we don't know so much about, design school.
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: Yeah.
Yeah.
Pyper Bleu: look into these private institutions. So there were like maybe two YouTubers that made like two videos about risd. So I was like, okay, when I'm getting
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: Wow.
Pyper Bleu: I'm going to vlog the shit out of the place.
And I just did not expect it to blow up.
Azhelle Wade: It blew up because I filmed a, this is [00:05:00] what I applied to RISD with, and this is what I did my assignments. And there are like very well-known topics of if you wanna make into risd, you have to draw a bicycle.
Pyper Bleu: So I showed my bicycle drawing and because it was like a very intricate ink drawing.
And
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: nobody on YouTube actually showed artwork or things that they were highly skilled at because artists just probably thought, no one wants to see this.
right.
Pyper Bleu: people saw like a crazy intricate drawing on a thumbnail, I think they like clicked on it. And then that was one of my first videos to ever have more than 10,000 views so quickly. And then that really set the stage for my next video to blow up because I did like a moving in to my college video
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: Wow.
Pyper Bleu: that literally made my count triple in one week.
doubled within three months.
So the algorithm was in my favor at the time, but
I was too young and I was not any longer in the intersection of, [00:06:00] preparedness meets. Opportunity. I was not prepared.
I would love to hear the transition from YouTube to Instagram. Did you intentionally change or was that just you coming of age and this was your style at the time and then you shifted?
Instagram was my way of basically giving viewers in my community a further behind the scenes look into my life, because were basically like coming on my channel every week and be like, where
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: Are,
Pyper Bleu: No upload that
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: oh my gosh. Stop.
Pyper Bleu: that really goes to tell you. How different the world was because now there is an abundance of content anywhere you look, it's like flowing out of everyone's butts.
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: Yeah.
But you did take your audience and choose to launch a physical space. did you choose to transition offline into this physical store?
Pyper Bleu: I have always had a dream of having a store
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: My number one most enjoyable activity when I visit. new country is let's hunt down the boutiques and
yes.
Pyper Bleu: the artists.
I wanted to be on the other end of it and also have a physical space that people can come [00:07:00] into.
the reason why I finally started the store is because I became very depressed from my lack of action. I do believe that stagnation leads to like regression,
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: On paper, all amazing achievements of I am a happy individual and I should be fulfilled. that actually led to me becoming highly isolated and a routine that was not spiritually healthy. I was so much in a rut that my mom came to visit me one spring and my sister also came to visit and I was crying the morning that they had to leave because I'm like. When you leave, I'm gonna be like here back to my life. And like I don't even want to go back to my life. Like I'm dreading you leaving.
Pyper Bleu: So at this point, I felt safe enough around my mom and sister to tell them
it took me to lose a lot of assets to realize that you can lose anything outside of yourself. It doesn't matter,
If you lose belief in yourself or your purpose, [00:08:00] that's like the only thing that. I'm really grateful that I learned that lesson of oh yeah, cool.
I'm very grateful to my sister and mom of them saying like, how about we all put in 10 K in this joint savings
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: They did not. Aw.
Pyper Bleu: They did And at this time my sister was like a new mom
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: in her, like she did not have so much to give, but she
Yeah.
Pyper Bleu: let me
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: Ah,
Pyper Bleu: because this is me voting. You like,
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: I'm too hormonal for this, Pyper. I can't. I can't. This is really sweet.
Pyper Bleu: moving to see
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: Oh.
Pyper Bleu: 20 22. I finally moved in because when I said the words, I want an office from that moment. It only took me four weeks to actually move into an
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: Wow.
Pyper Bleu: like when I say I want something and then other people support me, I mean it.
I moved in within a month,
in three months time I was like, shoot, this is flooding all the time.
I don't even know what I'm gonna do. Like I
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: Wow.
Pyper Bleu: choice, but. I thought the only thing I can [00:09:00] do is try to move somewhere that's not gonna flood, which is on the ground floor,
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: lo and behold, this building had a little glass door one of their ground floor offices and I was like, I'm gonna make this into a store.
Pyper Bleu: I'm gonna paint on the window and it's going to be a makeshift DIY, like basically almost a table sale, like a little Christmas market
going to be attached to my office. And then not even five months after that, I walked by the corner of this building and they were knocking down the brick and I was like, what are you guys doing? And they're like, oh. are converting all of the ground floor offices to storefronts because the owners of this building want to develop this into a retail area.
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: Whoa.
Pyper Bleu: like, oh, really? Can I have the corner unit? that was how I stumbled upon this
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: Wow.
Pyper Bleu: at this point I had already acquainted myself so well with the building leasing agent because I'm like calling him all the time about the flood and stuff. So by the time happened, I [00:10:00] can call him and be like, Hey can I please have this? And he was like,
Let's just give her a shot.
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: I've had this space for over a year now. We're almost at two years, and it has changed more times than I can even count.
Tell me, how do you support artists Through your shop?
Pyper Bleu: So I had this vision that if I were to create a store, it would be called Pyper Bleu Collective,
the collective would
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: Yeah.
Pyper Bleu: would be all sorts of artists that want to also have their own business and visual arts basically the Sephora of like artist stores.
the-toy-coach--she-_1_01-20-2026_140628: Love it.
Pyper Bleu: the biggest way is I thought to myself it would be so cool to have a collective where so many other artists that you can't find elsewhere can exhibit their work or sell their work. I try not to tell people no because we are told no so much
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: the reality is I don't wanna be the one to tell them no, it's going to be the real world that's going to tell them no. As in sure sell your work here, but it doesn't mean that it's gonna [00:11:00] sell out. But I at least hope that I can give them the gateway of saying Hey, I do have my goods at the store, so if you wanna support me, you can go there and find me. And that's the most important part.
I think it's exposure and discovery. Yes, exposure is not the same as. Supporting someone financially and the value of someone's work. But we don't even get that most of the time. Okay, most of the stores, most of physical storefronts in cities are just full of the same, like 10 companies that have a monopoly.
Like they have a death grip on like the gift shop economy. So it's time to bring a little more excitement in the curation and expect more from buyers
The Toy Coach: so true. And how do artists reach out to you? Because I have someone, I'm I can't believe I haven't told her about your shop yet.
she created craft kits based on her art pieces so people can create art like her.
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: through email, it's hello@pyperblue.com, that's how we [00:12:00] get inquiries most of the time.
we gotta shift over to what inspired this conversation. I
The Toy Coach: when I was planning this. Season I wonder the way that people are interacting with AI and expecting everything to be catered to them, is it impacting what they expect from stores and experiences?
there is a huge fear that soon everything on shelves, and even our content will be AI generated. So how do you ensure that the products that you're taking into your store are not AI generated products?
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: I don't live a life that is heavily involved with ai. So in that sense, I don't have this mission of filtering out AI or even thinking about is this or not, and I'm like putting some type of like qualifications or like running a test to make sure that no one cheated with ai.
I what I'm concerned about is if work is good or not. I actually don't really care if AI was involved, my intuition is just strong enough at this point where I can tell if something is ai.
Really the [00:13:00] fear of AI replacing humanity because the truth is that it can't. So that's something that we don't even have to worry about. But the fear is that everything will just be shitty
The Toy Coach: the main problem is that AI makes it so that people who make shitty work can just do it faster and now it's gonna like pile on and
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: we can't even ignore it. That just means having a heightened intuition for discerning what is good and what is not good, and also educating everybody to be very intentional consumers
And again, I think AI is a tool. So it's like just because you drive an amazing car doesn't mean you're gonna be a good driver. Like you can put a terrible driver and they're gonna crash it.
The Toy Coach: I would love it if people can make even more amazing work that they couldn't have without the help of ai. But it's just it just so happens that humans love comfort and complacency.
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: So we're just like, Ooh, let me just be lazy now with ai.
The Toy Coach: Yeah. In this first episode of this [00:14:00] season, what I talk about is how we really should be doing the same amount of work, but better or easier with ai, but we're for, because there's this competition for eyes online. Everyone's just doing more, and like you said, things are getting lower quality.
The quality of copy is degrading the quality of videos. You're just like, is that, is it AI edit this? And it's, yeah, it's sad and I even found myself realizing the old way of working where I would just put out content regardless of my own personal health.
Without AI now could be supplemented to ease that with ai, but it's not the same. I'm not getting the same joy from it and it's not converting the same. So I just stopped. I was like I don't have to post about every podcast episode the way I used to. I, now I just make fun videos that may or may not be related directly to the episode, but people are interested in it 'cause it's fun and it's artistic.
An exploration of what video do I wanna make today for fun about [00:15:00] toys, instead of the SEO optimized video or content. When people think about ai, they think about Chat GPT, they think about a text-based app, but really it's integrated in everything, right? It's affecting, like I said, copy and graphics.
it's affecting products that are sold online, so how do you go about giving people what they want in your store? Because you're not using ai, you're using your own taste, your own judgment. Like, how are you sure you actually know what people want anymore?
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: I feel like most people don't know what they want. as artists, you give people options.
So for anybody who's worked with a client before, you probably know that the client kind of knows what they want, but they're relying on you, the artist and designer, to be like, oh, here's five ideas.
Okay, tell me which direction I can develop further in. They don't know, if they knew, they probably wouldn't hire you. So when people walk into a store, they don't know what they want, but. You know that they want to get something [00:16:00] because their outcome is either they need something to gift someone or they need something to treat themselves, right?
that's where you come in and you give them the options of Ooh, did you know that you could. Bring delight in your life with this?
that's why people do come into the store. It doesn't change the fact that someone has a birthday or you're invited to a party and you can't show up empty handed. That's just tradition. I think that's like etiquette and as long as that etiquette and that tradition or like the seasonality of gift giving is always there, I think people are always gonna come in.
So it's now a matter of can you inspire them with your authenticity to make them want to, vote with their dollars and bring more meaningful work into the world.
The Toy Coach: how does the process of selling online differ from selling in person?
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: the process of selling online is a lot more structured and rhythmic because. You are taking [00:17:00] pictures and you're putting things in spreadsheets and you have drops. So everything is very structured and then you're just waiting for the traffic
So in person it's more about what
in person? It's more about designing the experience because. When you're bored, you probably wanna go out and walk around. Or when you first visit a town, you get so excited driving on Main Street because you see that Q Ass store. So people want to come and they're drawn to it because they gain so much inspiration, just like taking a stroll and like walking three circles in the store and it's about the discovery and almost like making them feel like they came out and hunted and found something.
So I think. It's just about creating a welcoming environment so that they can do that
The Toy Coach: You're bringing back this memory that is making me realize how important the shopping experience is. my first year of my relationship with Christian, [00:18:00] we go to Paris, we're strolling around some random street, and I sell this cute little boutique with this adorable coat in the window that I said I must own.
So I go in and the shopkeeper, she's just so nice, and she says, this coat actually comes in two colors. Do you wanna try them on? I tried it on in Bleu and I tried it on in green, and I remember the experience of buying this coat almost more vividly than I remember the last time I wore it.
that experience was so valuable and the coat is stunning coat with a hood and a little flare skirt bottom. But that experience was much part of the enjoyment. And same when I went to your shop,
you came up to me and you're like, what do you want? What are you looking for? And I'm like, I don't know. We have this sweater and four colors. Would you like to try them on?
And now every time I put on. The sweaterI literally think about the process of buying it. I think about my friend Pyper and it's just that experience. You cannot get online. AI could not script it.
when people say that retail is dying, when people say art is [00:19:00] dying, I'm like, how could it possibly, we are still humans and we need connection. We need memories.
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: Yeah. I think retail should die. Where it's soulless. Okay. Yeah, I'm seeing all of these like huge, like Walmarts where like JZ Penney's or like those like import retail stores are dying.
Retail as in human connection and having something to do after you grab lunch with a friend. Like where are you gonna walk? Okay, you gonna go to the library? I don't know. Like you wanna go somewhere and you wanna chat and you wanna experience someone else's experience of the world, which is what artists do.
They like use their emotion and tell their story. That is something that is not dying,
as you're talking about your collective in your store, I don't know if this has dawned on you, but it seems that you've created the space that you needed when you were depressed, that would've, that would help you get out of that.
The Toy Coach: Like you created a space for somebody who might be feeling that isolation to come and feel like part of [00:20:00] something.
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: Yeah, and in many ways I still feel like I need the store because I think maybe the online model works a lot for people who already have community or they are married and they have a family, so that's where you devote. A large amount of your energy too, and you are fulfilled in that way. But I don't have that right now.
And that's fine. Like this is my community. My friends are my chosen family, and maybe one day I will have a family and that's going to have to replace it. But I'm so happy that I get to experience this chapter
In your business model, Do you actually use AI day to day at all for I don't know, drafting a plan of what to do for the day or your calendar for the year, or promo events? I tried because I was trying to be really savvy and for a while I used it to face the. The toughest friction points in my life, which was when I get overwhelmed, I have a really hard time responding to emails, right? So I thought if I don't know what words to pull outta my brain, at least I can use this as a skeleton.
So there was a [00:21:00] while where I thought I should use AI and do all of my admin work and just like correspondence that way, however. Then I noticed that I was spending more time trying to feed my intentions no, can you please make it more like this? Oh no. Change that. Oh, can you delete all of this?
That I was like, Ooh, maybe I should just try a little bit harder to actually just speak in my own words and be less self-conscious that I might not come off sounding really smart and
okay, yeah, that sounds good. Thank you. Like I don't have to be the most cordial person and there's no law being like, you get an A minus 'cause you don't use great words.
over time as I stopped using AI to write emails, I was like, wait, actually I saved so much time because I just speak my mind now and I've come to accept that I'm not a stupid person. I now see how much all of the emails that come to me [00:22:00] are all ai
The Toy Coach: Yes.
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: I can see it and I actually feel like it helps me filter out who I wanna talk to because
The Toy Coach: when a lot of information is used. AI to make it comprehensible. Oh, we have 30 vendors coming and here are the instructions for loading. I think it's really important to use AI to structure emails because we might not actually know how to do that, but then when I get people emailing me to say, thank you for making an appearance, that their launch event or something like that, and it's ai like, oh my god.
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: I don't even respond because I'm like, that was the same as not even replying to me. If you're not going to give me your humanity, then I won't. Also, I give you my time of day
The Toy Coach: But I think AI can also be super helpful when you are raising a complaint and filing like a formal [00:23:00] professional
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: and you do need.
To soften your words and not be so And not
and unprofessional and emotional.
I agree a hundred percent. I too used AI for a ton of emails, and then what I noticed was I was responding to emails that didn't need a response. Like sometimes it's like the end of a conversation, it's thank you.
I was responding so formally, like who is that? I use exclamation points. Okay. Like it's fine. It's who I am. It's why people like or hate me. Let's just live with it. I think at this point people even appreciate typos because you are like
like by brain. Like you didn't even put it through a machine, like you actually took your time to write
The Toy Coach: For
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: So that's really nice.
The Toy Coach: And the point about using, knowing when to use it is just the whole thing I wanna talk about this season. It's knowing when to use it and the professional and even legal time is when I like to use it.
I've had a couple of clients where the way that they talk, I don't fully [00:24:00] understand and it makes me like. My mind jumped like a pinboard. So when I respond, I realize like they're not getting my, they're not getting every question answered, and they don't understand how I think. So using AI to be like, help me respond to this.
This is my draft. I need this to be like so clear that they cannot misunderstand.
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: don't you think that,
when you put. Really angry speech into an a i generator, and they're giving you maybe a softer way to say it. I would say that the intent of that is very humane and there is humanity in that, right?
The Toy Coach: want to, and I love when I tell the AI to explain it to me. 'cause that helps me Like, oh yeah, I shouldn't say that. 'cause that could be misconstrued as this. Or, I really like to learn in that way too, not just get let you go. I'm gonna get to my closing questions if that's all right. Okay. What are you hoping to achieve one year from now with your shop?
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: one year from now, I will have completed my lease [00:25:00] contract, so I'm technically free to go so do I renew, do I move to a different location?
I can move to a more busy tourist area.
Or I can stay in this more quiet artist niche community and use the space in even new ways that I don't know is possible. So personally, in the next year, I want to put myself out there more and take on creative projects like publishing or working. With commercial clients from like a design angle
for you. What piece of advice do you wish more people knew about what sells in a store like yours?
Ooh, okay. This is so important. Packaging is where it's at. Okay? Like packaging is your first interaction with any physical object.
The Toy Coach: Yeah.
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: it can [00:26:00] inspire so much joy and excitement. And the visceral feeling of opening it is also the product.
Okay. Like when you get a Kit Kat bar, like you are ripping that over, can you imagine if you didn't have the zigzag
The Toy Coach: Oh
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: annoying that would be? Like, no. When you get that chocolate bar, you're looking forward to the unwrapping and that is very important when things have. Merchandising to pair with it. It sells so much faster. And merchandising is just visual displays that is made to. Tell consumers the story, and you have to be able to do it concisely because you're competing with hundreds of merchandise in like a small area and people are very overstimulated. So merchandising is supposed to tell people in an instant the branding, like the mission in a way, like the feel and also the target [00:27:00] demographic.
And yes okay, sustainability, people are like, oh, this is package free, but a lot of the package free stuff doesn't sell because people are like, Ew, like that looks dirty. Or that looks touched, right? Like they want a shiny new thing. So now it's about, we gotta find sustainable packaging.
And there are companies that are making so much money when, because they hit the market first in being like one of the first biodegradable packaging, like mass production custom tissue papers. That is where it's at now. My packaging is also what sells because what I do during the holiday season is offer free gift wrapping,
and I show
people.
The Toy Coach: that? Oh, and the, and the envelope bag thing with the the bag that turns into a mailing envelope. Brilliant.
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: Yeah, so those are products that I developed and they're bespoke to our store and our branding and the envelope of this craft. So it's recyclable. It, comes across as this is not wasteful or like unnecessary, and
The Toy Coach: Yes.
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: the gif wrapping is [00:28:00] illustrated by me. So I got the chance to make a very tailored illustration to this teacher paper that.
It tells the story of our shop because it has the year that we open, it has the closest subway station to us. So when I show people, oh, this is the free gift wrapping, people are like, oh yeah, I'm gonna buy my stuff here because
The Toy Coach: Oh,
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: I get to take a fully wrapped item and bring it to my party. That is tonight.
And I get to tell people like, oh yeah, this is a store where like the shop owner actually drew the freaking wrapping paper herself. that's a cool story,And the packaging is. Also really cute. So when you bring it, you are really excited to be like showing people look at this like big red bow.
The Toy Coach: I love that is a really great tip about packaging. I often have students with plush that don't wanna package it because they're like, it's too big. Or does plush really need a box? But things get touched dirty, look used, and people are like, I don't wanna pay top dollar for that. Then it becomes your problem, right?
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: Yeah, I totally get the bulkiness thing for the plush though. Nothing is stopping [00:29:00] them from, having a little dangly thing like, like the TY bears I feel like that's so iconic. Like that red heart with the white lettering. What have you invented that for your own collection.
And then in that hang tag, if it's like a fold, it says Hey, I made this because I thought it would be really
funny. When someone reads that, they're gonna be like, oh my gosh, that's hilarious. I'm gonna buy this.
The Toy Coach: So that is your content creator speaking through. And I would say you just indicated something so smart where think about how your packaging emotionally moves people. just like, oh, I have to put the age grade, I have to put this, I have to put that. But think like they open it up and what emotion are you evoking and is that an emotion that's gonna make them be like, oh, I wanna buy this 'cause I want more of that emotion.
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: Yeah, because we are all as human beings, we are all seeking to feel something all day long. So that's what unfortunately the choke hold of like the TikTok algorithm has us on right now. So that's like also something I wanted to say in reference to the greater topic is that there has always been [00:30:00] an algorithm.
Unfortunately it has been now. Very focused on like fast food, basically the equivalent of fast food, like cheap, like hollow meaningless because humans are wired to pay attention to certain things and that makes corporations a lot of money. So I think the more we are having this conversation and becoming more aware of that, the more we as a society can shift awareness into intentional consumption.
The Toy Coach: I've gotta mention a book I've mentioned earlier in this season, stolen Focus all about how social media has a choke hold on us because of dopamine. It's such a good book, and you can listen to it on Spotify. My last question for you, Pyper, what toy or game blew your mind as a
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: I feel like I loved so many toys, but the one thing that blew my mind, so it's basically like it's a plush pet, but then you can have a virtual interaction. But basically you had a dog and then I think you had a video game that pairs with the dog and then you get to [00:31:00] take it on walks and pick up its poop and stuff and it's like jumping around.
So it came to life. And I think you had a DS or some kind of game console or something else.
The Toy Coach: comments.
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: don't know, but I swear like their collar had something maybe that you like scan and then the pet comes to life. So then it became like almost like a tamagotchi. But then you have the physical pet too,
Azhelle Wade: Did
Pyper Bleu: you ever
get
Azhelle Wade: one?
Pyper Bleu: I never got
one.
Never.
So,
The Toy Coach: say, where can people reach out to? Pyper, what's your
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: You can find my online store, pyperbleu.com, and Instagram is at Pyper Bleu, but it's Pyper with a Y. and Pyper Bleu Collective is the store Instagram, so you can find me there. See you soon.
The Toy Coach: Thank you. Perfect.
Pyper Bleu: Anyway, Pyper, thank you so much for spending all this time with us today for sharing your insights into how you came to be a store owner, from content creator, from Influencer as a young mind, and how you overcame all those challenges and for talking to us about the impacts of AI on our Um, This was a really insightful conversation [00:32:00] and listener, if you love this podcast or if you're watching us on YouTube and you haven't left us a review yet, please, what are you waiting for? Your reviews are what keep me coming back week after week. It inspires guests like Pyper to join us here on the podcast.
The Toy Coach: Wherever you're listening, drop a comment or review both. Whatever you wanna do. As always, thank you so much. Oh, thank you, Pyper. Yeah,
Pyper
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: yeah. Yes, please do it.
I know it's it seems so inconsequential, but it really means everything.
The Toy Coach: It really does. It creates a whole career. Maybe I could launch a toy for
if you comment enough.
pyper-bleu--she-her-_2_01-20-2026_144110: Yeah.
The Toy Coach: if you comment enough. As always, thank you so much for spending this time with us today. We know your time is valuable and that there are other podcasts out there, so it truly means the world to us that you tune into this one.
Until next time, I'll see you later toy [00:33:00]
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