1 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:19,640 Hello everyone, welcome to the iconic doll cast. 2 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:23,280 My name is Sage, your host. Welcome back to another episode 3 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:26,160 all about dolls. My apologies guys. 4 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:29,280 I am kind of sick right now. I don't know if you can tell. 5 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:33,120 So I'm going to be real quick with this today I have Cindy on 6 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:39,080 the show, and Cindy is a doll and toy designer of many, many 7 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:43,280 iconic dolls and brands. I mean, we've got Hannah 8 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:48,560 Montana, Cheetah Girls, Taylor Swift, she's worked on Polly 9 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:52,720 Pocket, Baby Alive dolls, Cabbage Patch Kids, My Little 10 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:55,360 Pony, Equestrian dolls, and so much more. 11 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:58,920 I feel like as collectors, we spend so much time talking about 12 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:02,560 dolls themselves that we actually sometimes forget there 13 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:05,760 are actual artists and designers behind these products, making 14 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:09,560 creative decisions, trying to balance trends, budgets, 15 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:12,560 deadlines, and what kids are actually going to respond to. 16 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:15,560 So it was really interesting getting to hear what that 17 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:19,160 process actually looks like from somebody who has actually done 18 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:21,360 it. We also talk about how Cindy 19 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:24,760 worked her way up in the toy industry, what it's like seeing 20 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:29,040 your designs in stores on shelves for the very first time, 21 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:33,120 and how toy design has changed over the years from hand 22 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:36,120 sculpting to 3D printing and scanning. 23 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:39,000 And of course, we had to talk about where all the glitter and 24 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:42,240 tiny little details disappeared to in modern toys. 25 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:45,120 We also have a really interesting conversation in here 26 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:49,400 about kind of how Hannah Montana maybe overshadowed The Cheetah 27 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:52,680 Girls era. Plus a discussion on AI and 28 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:56,480 whether it could eventually impact toy design in the future. 29 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:01,480 On top of all of that, Cindy also has created her own eco 30 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:04,760 friendly doll company called Sea Glimmers, which are plush 31 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:08,520 mermaid dolls designed with sustainability in mind, which is 32 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:10,840 iconic. So I think if you guys love 33 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:11,800 dolls, you're going to love this. 34 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:16,760 Cindy has quite a career. She was fantastic to talk to. 35 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,000 As always, please follow me on all my things. 36 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:24,240 Head over to YouTube Iconic Doll cast, follow me on Instagram at 37 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:28,360 Britney Spears custom dolls or Iconic Doll cast And here is my 38 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:31,680 chat with Cindy all about doll and toy design. 39 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:38,480 OK everyone, today I have Simi on the show and Simi is a toy 40 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:42,240 and doll designer who has worked on many iconic dolls and toys. 41 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:44,240 I'm very excited to have her on the show. 42 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:46,800 Simi, how are you doing? I'm good. 43 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:48,560 Thank you so much for having me on the show. 44 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:51,080 I love your podcast. I've been listening to it and 45 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:53,120 excited to be here. Oh my gosh. 46 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:55,720 Well, I'm excited to have you. So before we get into your 47 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:59,800 incredible journey, tell me a little bit about yourself and 48 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:02,120 how you got to where you're at now. 49 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:04,480 Yeah. Hi, I'm Simi iTunes. 50 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:06,600 I'm a doll designer and a doll collector. 51 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:09,600 I've been designing dolls and toys as a full time career for 52 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:13,680 over 20 years starting in 2005, and I started collecting dolls 53 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:17,360 adult style in 1993, starting with Hollywood Hair Barbie. 54 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:19,400 That was the first thing I thought when I was a waitress 55 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:23,000 and I saw her on shelf. I have thousands of dolls, 56 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:25,560 mostly just hoarded, not shelved nicely yet. 57 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:28,960 It's my dream to have a big doll room someday and be able to show 58 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:31,040 them all off. And I work for five different 59 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:34,840 toy companies, starting with a small company in my hometown of 60 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:38,680 Santa Barbara, CA, where I was the only product designer on 61 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:41,600 hundreds of skews, and I worked my way up to the biggest toy 62 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:44,240 companies. I mostly have done doll design 63 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:47,840 in all sizes, from micro to large dolls and everything in 64 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:50,800 between. And I'm currently the founder of 65 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:53,760 Sydney Kids. It's a brand new children's 66 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:56,480 product company that I Co founded with my husband, Paul 67 00:03:56,480 --> 00:03:58,000 Humes. And he's an artist. 68 00:03:58,000 --> 00:03:59,440 You can see some of his paintings back here. 69 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:03,560 And our son is our cost engineer, musician and 70 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:05,840 assistant. And he's a teenager and he's 71 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:09,280 crazy good at math. So he's doing spreadsheets. 72 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:11,960 This is great. And that's me. 73 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:15,000 I love that. So did you. 74 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:17,959 Did you always love dolls? Did you grow up loving dolls? 75 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:21,880 Oh yes, I was a doll girl for sure. 76 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:26,040 I grew up. I love baby dolls first. 77 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:30,400 My first baby doll, her name was Rosie, and she was about the 78 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:33,800 size of my sister and I had a little sister and I carried her 79 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:39,520 around all over the place. She was like a big floppy rag 80 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:41,160 doll, not rag doll like a baby doll. 81 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:45,360 And actually, I thought I didn't realize until a few years ago 82 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:48,880 that my mom had probably actually thrifted her because I 83 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:51,600 looked at the back of her head and she was a horseman doll, 84 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:56,320 which the horseman dolls were like 1960s like really beautiful 85 00:04:56,320 --> 00:05:00,480 looking baby dolls. So that was my first love with 86 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:04,000 baby dolls. And then after that I really 87 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:07,320 loved the Seaweeds. Seaweeds were a tenner doll that 88 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:10,800 were a they were like these little 4/4 inch mermaids with 89 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:13,520 little babies and they had a huge influence on me. 90 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:17,120 I spent a lot of time outdoors and they were always with me. 91 00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:20,600 So I made them little homes and bushes and I picked them tiny 92 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:22,840 flowers and we would see fairies together. 93 00:05:22,840 --> 00:05:25,120 I was just totally in fantasyland with them. 94 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:27,080 And then of course I love Barbie. 95 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:29,360 Barbie was my dream doll and it's actually funny. 96 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:30,880 My grandma would give me Barbies. 97 00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:35,920 My mom hated the 80s Barbies. She had like the original 98 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:39,560 Barbie, like the 80s Barbies was just like not her thing. 99 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:42,400 But my grandma was very glamorous and sassy and she had 100 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:45,600 really big blonde hair. I would call her grandma with 101 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:47,400 the high hair she had like that big hair. 102 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:52,240 She was married 8 times, so she's quite the character. 103 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:54,960 She called me Honey. She's like, honey, let's go do 104 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:57,880 this and that. And she would watch Dallas and 105 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:00,440 Dynasty with me. And then she also had a huge 106 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:02,080 doll collection, which I now have. 107 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:04,120 Oh, that's great. Yeah. 108 00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:07,360 She had like Princess die dolls. And so it's all these really 109 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:09,520 cool, like porcelain dolls and stuff. 110 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:11,640 And she has all these antique dolls. 111 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:13,880 Actually, I have a video about it on YouTube called My 112 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:16,560 Grandma's Doll Collection where I walk around when she was still 113 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:18,400 alive. And I'm so glad I did it. 114 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:21,040 I walked around her house and like, videoed her dolls and 115 00:06:21,120 --> 00:06:23,480 asked her all about them. And so she gave me the 80s 116 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:27,960 Barbies, like Western Barbie. Also Strawberry Shortcake. 117 00:06:28,120 --> 00:06:31,920 I was 80 toys, 80s toys, Cabbage Patch Kids, My Little Ponies. 118 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:34,560 And one of my first fashion dolls also was a Brooke Shields 119 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:35,600 doll. And I loved her. 120 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:39,600 Yeah, I actually ended up giving her a Mohawk, which is kind of 121 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:41,480 sad. Like her hair was really thick. 122 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:43,800 I don't it was. I think I gave her like extra 123 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:48,040 blue eyeshadow but and we would watch glow at my grandma's house 124 00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:51,840 and eat pop tarts and play Barbies and grandma was like the 125 00:06:51,840 --> 00:06:54,800 best. But in contrast, my grandma, my 126 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:59,520 mom was like a counterculture type, off the grid and organic 127 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:01,040 like way before that was a thing. 128 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:05,560 She was super progressive. We went to an alternative school 129 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:10,120 and we had lived for a while on a TV with no electricity in the 130 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:11,200 woods. Wow. 131 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:15,680 She didn't like the 80s Barbies, like their tacky polyester 132 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:19,360 clothes. And she made my Barbie a floor 133 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:22,080 length, like, calico print dress. 134 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:23,520 She's like, she should wear this. 135 00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:26,760 So it was totally, yeah, totally. 136 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:28,040 And my mom made all kinds of stuff. 137 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:32,000 She was actually, my mom went to fashion school in the 60s and 138 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:35,000 she's super talented at selling and crafts and she's had a huge 139 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:38,840 influence on me creatively and she even helps me today with 140 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:40,760 fashion prototypes for my company. 141 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:43,600 So she helps me like I have an idea and she helps like sew it 142 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:45,000 up. So she's really amazing. 143 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:48,240 And oh, and also we had a big wood dollhouse, like so many 144 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:51,640 toys when I was a kid. My mom handmade all the dolls 145 00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:53,320 she made like these little clothes spin dolls. 146 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:55,960 I don't know if you've seen those old school. 147 00:07:56,320 --> 00:07:59,000 And then my brother and my sister and I played dolls 148 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:02,800 together all the time. We actually didn't have ATV and 149 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:05,400 that was like the 80s, but again, the counterculture 150 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:07,400 parents. And so we were really into our 151 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:09,440 toys. And my brother had the Kenner 152 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:12,520 Star Wars figures. Of course, we put them in the 153 00:08:12,520 --> 00:08:14,960 dollhouse together and we like would have all these adventures 154 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:17,120 just going all over the house with the Star Wars figures and 155 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:19,280 the little dolls. And then we go back to the house 156 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:22,800 and then we had a Barbie. We called it our Barbie 157 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:25,440 apartment. It was like this big old tin, 158 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:30,360 like wood, cheap kind of bookshelf and put that in my 159 00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:32,520 brother's room. And then we played all the time 160 00:08:32,919 --> 00:08:37,039 and we had my mom's Ken doll. I actually still have him from 161 00:08:37,039 --> 00:08:39,640 he had like she had like the original Ken with the flocked 162 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:42,480 hair and we took him everywhere and his arm fell off in the 163 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:47,320 ocean like A1 armed Ken. And he was just like part of our 164 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:50,400 everything. And yeah, those were, those were 165 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:51,560 such a huge part of my childhood. 166 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:55,000 I actually played with my dolls probably until I was about 15 167 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:58,280 because I remember being in high school and like putting them in 168 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:00,760 a box and like kind of sadly putting them away. 169 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:03,520 And then I started collecting when I was 20. 170 00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:06,360 So there was like 5 years of my life with no dolls. 171 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:09,960 Sad little five year period. But besides that, it's just a 172 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:10,760 doll. Sell, sell, sell. 173 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:12,680 Sell, sell. I love that. 174 00:09:12,680 --> 00:09:14,880 I feel like almost, I mean, everyone I talk to, there's 175 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:16,880 always that one part in their life where they don't. 176 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:20,360 There's just one little moment where the dolls are away, but 177 00:09:20,360 --> 00:09:23,920 they always come back. They always come back no matter 178 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:27,000 what. Why do you think dolls resonate 179 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:29,480 so much with people? Why do dolls resonate so much 180 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:33,000 with you Well? I like to think, I mean, like 181 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:35,240 dolls are a dream you can hold in your hand. 182 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:39,200 I think they've always represented like fantasy, like 183 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:43,120 the essence of femininity, the beauty, like dreams of fashion 184 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:46,920 and like perfection, aspiration. And then they're really 185 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:50,240 comforting in so many ways. I think they definitely have 186 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:53,000 different purposes and fulfill different needs depending on the 187 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:54,920 type of doll and whoever is holding them. 188 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:59,520 And you know, for babies to adults and everyone in between, 189 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:01,240 there's always something like that. 190 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:03,520 They're so ancient. It's kind of fascinating to 191 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:05,400 think about. I love looking at dolls from 192 00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:08,600 like ancient times, like ancient Greece or Native American. 193 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:10,640 Yeah. And I like to think like, how 194 00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:13,080 were they played back then? How did they play with them? 195 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:16,200 What were their purpose? I love seeing old paintings with 196 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:19,240 dolls, like the beautiful dolls in like 16th century French 197 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:21,520 court and things like that, like those fancy dolls. 198 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:24,640 And I'm always thinking about who made them and how they made 199 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:26,600 them. Like, it's just you go to 200 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:31,360 museums and you see these dolls and all the different types like 201 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:35,120 bisque. And I've even had like a those 202 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:38,880 boudoir dolls from the 1920s. Those are amazing and everything 203 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:40,040 handmade. I love it. 204 00:10:40,040 --> 00:10:42,800 But it's it's really interesting because in the past ten years or 205 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:45,960 so, dolls have taken on this whole new life. 206 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:48,720 Like I feel like there's so many new kid olds like getting into 207 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:50,480 collecting. And I. 208 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:53,640 Mean yeah, as as you obviously I don't know how long you've been 209 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:57,120 doing your things, but like I love Instagram because you can 210 00:10:57,120 --> 00:10:59,320 see what everyone's doing like you. 211 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:02,360 It really kind of started on YouTube and I remember first 212 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:05,320 starting to watch YouTube and even kids what they were doing 213 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:07,200 with dolls like seeing what other people are doing with 214 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:11,040 their dolls is so fascinating. And then I really love seeing my 215 00:11:11,040 --> 00:11:14,560 own dolls, like I call it in the wild, like who I spotted my doll 216 00:11:14,560 --> 00:11:19,720 in the wild, either in person or like when people customize the a 217 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:22,600 doll that I've done, like JC Masters. 218 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:24,960 There were a lot of beautiful customs, like to strip off that 219 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:27,800 face, do different hair and then like, change it into a 220 00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:30,840 transformer, into something new for me as a doll designer. 221 00:11:31,240 --> 00:11:33,240 I love seeing that. And yeah, it's just really 222 00:11:33,240 --> 00:11:35,280 great. And yeah, I do think adults, for 223 00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:38,840 adults, it's definitely like a fantasy and they reflect like, 224 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:42,200 their own dreams. It's like psychological, like 225 00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:44,920 you with your Britney obsession. Of course, I mean I'm. 226 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:47,640 Not like why, Britney? Did it stem from your childhood? 227 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:49,600 Were you like, oh. Yeah, I mean, first of all, I've 228 00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:52,040 been collecting dolls since I was a little guy. 229 00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:55,040 And I always loved like female pop stars. 230 00:11:55,040 --> 00:11:57,800 So I loved the Spice Girls. And so when I was like 7, the 231 00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:00,600 Spice Girls were huge and they had their own dolls. 232 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:04,680 And then I I really liked Madonna too, which is crazy. 233 00:12:04,680 --> 00:12:07,880 I was like 7 years old listening to erotica. 234 00:12:07,880 --> 00:12:11,640 Like I don't even I was raised by my grandparents, so a lot, a 235 00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:14,480 lot got swept under the carpet. I just don't think they fully 236 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:17,720 understood what what they were buying me. 237 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:22,120 But it's fine. But then then Britney came and 238 00:12:22,120 --> 00:12:24,600 it was like, wow, this is my pop star. 239 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:27,480 Like this is my Madonna. And like, Oh my gosh. 240 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:32,520 And I grew up with her and I had her dolls, of course, and many, 241 00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:37,240 many of her dolls. And then I, I like I said, I've 242 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:39,160 collected dolls my whole life. I think in high school there was 243 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:42,560 like a little bit of time where it wasn't like a priority, but I 244 00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:45,600 was still, I was still buying them. 245 00:12:46,040 --> 00:12:48,240 You know. Yes. 246 00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:54,520 And then in. I was in college and I was like, 247 00:12:54,560 --> 00:12:57,680 I don't even remember what I, I was like, I have a huge like 248 00:12:57,680 --> 00:13:00,840 storage closet on my patio and I was like cleaning it out. 249 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:02,320 And obviously I still had some of them. 250 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:05,600 I had some of my Brittany dolls and like I'd re bought some 251 00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:09,920 Brittany dolls and I found in my storage closet one lonely 252 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:12,520 Brittany doll who was clearly from my childhood. 253 00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:16,400 She had no clothes on. Her hair was a mess and I was 254 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:18,760 like, well, that's kind of sad. And I was like, I wonder if I 255 00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:21,040 could just like spice her up a little bit. 256 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:23,240 Let's bring her back to life. I was like, I was on like winter 257 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:26,080 break or something. So I was like, I had time. 258 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:29,800 And so I like I had, I'd previously learned how to 259 00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:33,680 reroute dolls because I was, I went through this phase where I 260 00:13:33,680 --> 00:13:36,920 was obsessed with those share dolls from like 19760. 261 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:39,000 Yeah, Oh my gosh, I'm obsessed with that. 262 00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:43,280 Why did I buy it? They have the worst, they have 263 00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:45,560 the worst hair. And so I learned how to reroute 264 00:13:45,560 --> 00:13:47,920 on those. And then I found this Britney 265 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:49,520 doll. I rerouted her and then I made 266 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:51,720 her a costume and I was like, well, that turned out pretty 267 00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:56,080 good. And then it just kind of, and 268 00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:59,520 this was like 10 years ago now and it just kind of went from 269 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:01,320 there. And I've just always loved her. 270 00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:03,640 And I've worked on some other dolls too. 271 00:14:03,640 --> 00:14:07,320 Like I've done some Spice Girls, I've done some Hannah Montana's, 272 00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:11,640 but I just don't have as much fun with them as I do with 273 00:14:11,640 --> 00:14:14,120 Brittany. I think Brittany for like a 274 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:20,200 creative person like me is like it's like a dream because her I 275 00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:24,440 think Brittany is so unique, especially in the way that she 276 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:27,280 dressed. I think her costumes were so 277 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:32,080 arts and crafty that it almost always translates into a doll 278 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:35,440 size no matter what. Like everything she wears you 279 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:38,400 can figure out. And I also think the best thing 280 00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:42,680 about her style is that it doesn't matter. 281 00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:47,080 I, I, I don't ever sit down and try to like, copy things exact 282 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:50,680 to like, oh, this is going to look like it jumped off the TV 283 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:52,920 screen. I like to get pretty creative 284 00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:55,480 and I'll try different things. And I, I, I just don't try to, 285 00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:59,320 you know, match it exactly. But no matter what, you can 286 00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:03,480 always tell exactly what it is, what look it is and what I'm 287 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:05,800 trying to pull off. And I think that comes from her 288 00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:11,240 and I, I just think she's the best and I think her doll. 289 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:13,680 And it's fucking incredible. So that. 290 00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:16,480 Passion is there. I kind of like her better. 291 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:20,000 I was never really into her because, yeah, I was when she 292 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:22,720 came out, I was living in Hollywood and I was already in 293 00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:25,400 like, in my 20s. And then I was really into like, 294 00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:27,800 indie music and rockabilly and stuff like that. 295 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:29,040 And I was like, oh, this pop star. 296 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:32,760 But like, now I like her now, although she's going through a 297 00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:34,440 hard time. Like, I feel like I relate to 298 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:36,600 her more now. Maybe it's because she's like 299 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:39,640 aging and then like obviously just dancing and stuff. 300 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:41,960 I'm like dance, you dance, you know? 301 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:47,120 Which, yeah, there's, I mean. There's a lot to it, I feel. 302 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:48,760 Like, yeah, there's a lot to it. I feel like she's like 303 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:53,240 expressing what's in there. And I feel like she's gone 304 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:56,240 through all her shit and I think now it's time for her. 305 00:15:56,240 --> 00:15:59,560 I think I think this is probably the first time in her life she's 306 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:03,360 ever felt fully in charge of herself. 307 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:06,400 And so I think there's a lot of stuff she has to learn on her 308 00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:08,760 own and I think that will bring growth. 309 00:16:08,760 --> 00:16:12,480 And she, you know, I think I'm always rooting for her so. 310 00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:15,320 I think May 4th, it's been a couple days, right her. 311 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:18,480 Yeah. Definitely praying for Brittany 312 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:20,320 and I know that she can get through this and. 313 00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:23,360 She will. She is a champion, so. 314 00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:25,960 Hope she keeps dancing. I know, I know. 315 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:30,840 But I'm like dance girl. I'm an older woman. 316 00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:33,720 I'm like, keep dancing. Well, no, I love to hear that 317 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:36,720 because as a Brittany fan, I often only hear negative stuff 318 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:41,400 about her. So, So getting into your career 319 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:44,200 like you are, I mean, like you said, you were a toy and doll 320 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:46,080 designer. So like, how did that like, was 321 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:49,440 that a goal of yours forever? Like how did you like I just 322 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:52,240 told you my story. So how did you fall into that? 323 00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:55,040 Well, I started pretty late in design. 324 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:57,920 I was always drawing as a kid, but I never took any real art 325 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:01,720 classes, and I actually tested out of high school about midway 326 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:04,720 through sophomore year, so at the age of 16. 327 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:08,119 And then I actually started working and was on my own. 328 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:11,160 I'd already moved out and was living with a boyfriend at 17, 329 00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:12,920 which is a bad idea, but I did that. 330 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:17,319 And I was just a total girl gone wild, like all my 20s. 331 00:17:18,079 --> 00:17:21,920 I even moved to Hollywood and I did a bunch of crazy stuff until 332 00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:25,200 I realized at the ripe old age of 27 that I was getting old. 333 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:28,200 I was going nowhere. And so I pulled my life together 334 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:32,280 at that point and I went back to school at 27 and I studied 335 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:35,520 fashion design for a year at Santa Monica College. 336 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:37,720 It's a great college. I recommend anyone in the LA 337 00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:41,400 area go there. They've got great teachers. 338 00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:44,240 And I did their fashion program for a year. 339 00:17:45,360 --> 00:17:48,080 And then I moved back to Santa Barbara and I studied graphic 340 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:51,320 design and art at Santa Barbara City College. 341 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:54,120 And I didn't actually get a degree or anything. 342 00:17:54,120 --> 00:17:57,760 I just started doing graphic design like AS anywhere I could. 343 00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:01,960 I was working at restaurants and in bars and I was doing like 344 00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:05,960 Flyers and posters and all kinds of things, like whatever I 345 00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:09,080 could. And then in my early 30s, I was 346 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:12,040 working. I finally got like a temp job, 347 00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:16,640 my first office job, and I was designing brochures for a 348 00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:20,400 medical company that made breast implants and catheters iconic. 349 00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:24,400 That was my job. And then I I met this guy in the 350 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:29,040 kitchen at the break room and ironically he got me an 351 00:18:29,040 --> 00:18:32,600 interview for a small doll company in Santa Barbara that 352 00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:35,240 had randomly started from a woman who had worked at Jacks 353 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:38,080 Pacific. She'd been AVP there and she's 354 00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:40,520 from this area and she had moved back here to start a doll 355 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:44,040 company. And actually her, I don't know 356 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:47,480 if you know who Steven Sumner is, but he's a very well known 357 00:18:48,360 --> 00:18:50,800 doll designer. He does amazing work. 358 00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:53,600 He's worked at every company and he hadn't worked there. 359 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:55,600 He was no longer there. So they're looking to fill his 360 00:18:55,600 --> 00:18:58,720 position. And I got an interview and it 361 00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:01,200 was all because I told some random guy in the kitchen that I 362 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:04,840 collected Barbies. She was like, Oh no, this woman 363 00:19:04,840 --> 00:19:07,120 is looking for someone. So because of that, because I 364 00:19:07,120 --> 00:19:10,760 collected Barbies and that chance conversation, I got an 365 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:14,400 interview and I walked into the colorful office that she had, 366 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:16,640 and I just knew that was where I belonged. 367 00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:19,920 I was like, Oh my gosh, this is where I need to be. 368 00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:26,200 And she had me do a sketch. Actually, she interviewed me and 369 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:28,560 I just put together my own website and I was, my website 370 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:30,840 was called Gallery Pink. Like I was really into French 371 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:32,640 stuff at the time. So it was like Gallery Pink. 372 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:36,120 I had like like art Deco roses that you clicked on. 373 00:19:36,120 --> 00:19:38,560 I'd done it in a Community College class and I just had 374 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:41,480 like some of my graphic work on there and then some of my 375 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:45,520 paintings and drawings. And then she she was like, I see 376 00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:46,560 talent. You were talented. 377 00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:50,960 So I hired you, Sarah. She's an amazing mentor and at 378 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:52,200 the time and taught me everything. 379 00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:56,960 So she hired me and again, she was a designer. 380 00:19:56,960 --> 00:19:58,760 So we were just basically a design office. 381 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:04,600 There's a graphic designer that was me and her and her sister 382 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:07,640 was the sister-in-law was the like office admin. 383 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:11,720 So just a really small office and we just cranked out hundreds 384 00:20:11,720 --> 00:20:15,640 of fashion dolls and they were 11 1/2 inch fashion dolls. 385 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:20,520 She had a private label for KB Toys. 386 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:21,920 Do you remember them from childhood? 387 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:27,280 Kmart and Big Lots were like the three biggest customers. 388 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:30,360 And then we also, I think we had some stuff in Toys-R-Us. 389 00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:33,080 She was always trying to get into Walmart because that would 390 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:36,640 have been like huge. But actually, if you, I don't 391 00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:37,800 know if you've heard of the hotties. 392 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:40,560 Dolls I probably. Have hey, hey, who's that 393 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:42,640 hottie? It was around the Brass era. 394 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:45,520 So she had come out with hotties and they were beautiful. 395 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:48,680 They were actually based on her and her friends. 396 00:20:49,360 --> 00:20:51,960 She was a hottie and they were out, but she wasn't. 397 00:20:51,960 --> 00:20:54,440 I didn't work on those. That was her and Steven Sumner. 398 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:59,440 And then I worked on just lots of random fashion dolls, like 399 00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:02,480 with gowns, and we did fantasy and we did a line called 400 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:06,440 Chicasala Mode and we did just all these different things. 401 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:11,960 I wish I'd I wish I'd saved some of the drawings that I might 402 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:13,960 have a few like on a corroded CD somewhere. 403 00:21:16,040 --> 00:21:17,520 And then they're really hard to find. 404 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:19,320 I'm I remember I talked to Steven once. 405 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:21,120 He was like, yeah, cuz people bought them and played with 406 00:21:21,120 --> 00:21:22,920 them. They're like played all like 407 00:21:23,120 --> 00:21:25,560 dolls. They're like 499 beautiful 408 00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:27,640 fashions. Back then we could use like lace 409 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:30,880 trim and all this stuff. But that was my first job. 410 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:35,840 And then after that play along hired me actually found I did a 411 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:39,080 job through a toy recruiter, which there's recruiters in the 412 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:41,960 industry. And then I moved to Florida and 413 00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:47,000 then after that I went to Long Beach and then I started an art 414 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:49,360 gallery and made ham a belt for a few years. 415 00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:55,920 And then Hasbro called, actually got my job from Hasbro through I 416 00:21:55,920 --> 00:22:00,160 had submitted it, my application online into their application 417 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:02,840 system, which is very rare for people to actually call you, but 418 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:05,600 I guess they're looking for someone who had large stall 419 00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:07,960 experience. And so they called me and then 420 00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:10,880 they moved me out there and I worked there for four years. 421 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:13,560 And then I worked at Mattel over 10 years. 422 00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:15,480 Yeah. And then now I'm back in my 423 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:18,160 hometown area, Santa Barbara, and starting my little company 424 00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:21,280 with my husband. Yes, and we are going to 425 00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:23,760 definitely talk about that a little bit at the end. 426 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:26,040 So tell me about some of the dolls you designed. 427 00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:30,000 Oh gosh, early in my career, like I was saying, I did a lot 428 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:35,600 of 11 1/2 inch fashion dolls. The first company I was at, they 429 00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:39,120 did the private label. So private label is when you go, 430 00:22:39,360 --> 00:22:43,080 they have them still at Walmart. Toys-R-Us used to have them, 431 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:46,800 Kmart and Kmart and KB had a lot of them. 432 00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:49,880 So that's when they're selling them kind of under their own 433 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:50,920 brand. Got it. 434 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:55,160 And like like Target has a bunch of them right now, not so many 435 00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:57,440 fashion dolls, but they've got a big private label baby doll 436 00:22:57,440 --> 00:22:59,480 section. So like a toy company will do 437 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:03,240 them, but they're doing it kind of through the the store. 438 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:06,560 So it's called Private label and I designed a lot of them. 439 00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:09,720 It was a really fun experience. I did some dress up too, then 440 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:13,920 Play along. I worked on four doll lines all 441 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:18,120 in one year. So I did the Play Along club, 442 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:21,520 which is a little known large doll line. 443 00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:24,160 It's by an inventor, his name is Mel Burncrant. 444 00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:26,640 So he had invented a large doll line. 445 00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:31,600 It was 14 inches and they had like flocked heads and hands and 446 00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:34,120 the wired armature. They're very deluxe. 447 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:36,560 So that was the first thing I worked on at Playlon. 448 00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:40,440 But then Cheetah Girls and Hannah Montana came along and 449 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:43,600 then I rounded it out with work on the Hairspray, the movie 450 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:46,600 dolls. I really loved designing Edna 451 00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:49,560 and Tracy dolls for that. They were full figured and just 452 00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:52,040 so cool. I love all the retro stuff I got 453 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:53,880 really into. Like I remember designing the 454 00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:58,960 transistor radio for the Tracy turned glad it's just I was 455 00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:00,960 obsessed. It was really fun. 456 00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:04,640 And then I worked on the Taylor Swift fashion doll. 457 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:09,720 So that was really funny because I went from Florida back to 458 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:12,280 California to end up moving to Long Beach to work. 459 00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:16,200 And then there all of a sudden was Taylor Swift and Jax had 460 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:17,840 her. And it used like a whole bunch 461 00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:21,360 of my accessories. I designed for Hannah. 462 00:24:21,360 --> 00:24:22,640 So I always thought that was funny. 463 00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:24,720 And then I worked on the Cabbage Patch. 464 00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:27,480 So for about a year and a half I was like lean design on Cabbage 465 00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:31,080 Patch Kids dolls. And I worked with my friend who 466 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:35,320 was in Florida still, Mary, who had been a Lisa Frank designer 467 00:24:35,360 --> 00:24:36,960 and then ended up going into toy design. 468 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:41,520 I did the Poppin style kids. I don't know if you there was a 469 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:45,240 everybody popping sounds. I just thought that commercial 470 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:47,960 was hilarious. And then and then again I did 471 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:50,720 handmade dolls. I call it my Etsy phase. 472 00:24:51,120 --> 00:24:54,360 OK yeah. And I loved selling dolls 473 00:24:54,360 --> 00:24:56,560 directly to kids. I actually did a bunch of craft 474 00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,160 fairs. So craft fairs see it's like 475 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:02,880 2009, 2011 ish. And that's right when like I'd 476 00:25:02,880 --> 00:25:06,000 see, it's funny, 'cause crafts always have like these trends 477 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:09,040 like the 70s and then the 80s like Cam trash kids actually 478 00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:12,360 came out of craft fairs. Little, I don't know if you know 479 00:25:12,360 --> 00:25:17,920 that story, but and then, yeah, then like the early Etsy phase, 480 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:19,360 there's like all these Etsy style things. 481 00:25:19,360 --> 00:25:23,360 So I met all these cool handmade people and I love hand making 482 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:25,280 dolls and soft dolls and rag dolls. 483 00:25:25,360 --> 00:25:29,800 And then at Hasbro, I was on the baby alive team for 3 1/2 years. 484 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:33,280 That's probably the longest like brand I was ever on for a 485 00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:37,400 continuous amount of time. And I don't even know how many 486 00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:40,560 baby dolls I designed, but it was such a great time. 487 00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:44,640 I actually was pregnant at the when I first was there and then 488 00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:47,600 I had my baby during the time and it just went together really 489 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:49,720 well. I did actually did one of the 490 00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:53,000 biggest ones I did was super Oh, we called it our super snacker. 491 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:54,560 It was that was the internal name. 492 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:57,680 Usually you'll have like an internal name for something. 493 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:00,760 So for a year and a half you're working on this doll and you're 494 00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:03,480 calling it something and then they finally approve the name 495 00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:05,440 that goes on the package and that comes out and you're like, 496 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:08,480 Oh yeah, it's snack and Susie. So that was one of the first 497 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:13,000 play along or sorry baby alive dolls that ate and poop play 498 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:14,720 DoH. Amazing. 499 00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:17,760 It was definitely amazing and she had an animatronic face. 500 00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:22,120 It was such a complex and it had like as electronic. 501 00:26:22,120 --> 00:26:24,600 So we recorded the voice and the speech. 502 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:27,120 And so when you're doing these big electronic dolls, you like 503 00:26:27,120 --> 00:26:30,560 write the whole script, you record everything. 504 00:26:30,600 --> 00:26:33,240 You go, you spend hours just sitting there with the engineer, 505 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:36,120 like going over the recordings, trying to get it all onto the 506 00:26:36,120 --> 00:26:38,720 chip because you only have a certain amount of space and then 507 00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:40,360 looping things. So it makes sense. 508 00:26:40,360 --> 00:26:46,120 So when, like the kid pushes the OR activates the switch, then 509 00:26:46,120 --> 00:26:47,520 it'll say one thing and then another. 510 00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:50,080 And it's like super complicated. And I love doing that. 511 00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:52,280 It was really fun. I did a lot of baby lives. 512 00:26:52,280 --> 00:26:55,320 And then I moved to the My Little Pony Equestria Girls team 513 00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:59,480 for like a short stint. I mostly worked on forests, if 514 00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:03,520 ever, free lines. And then I went on to Mattel for 515 00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:07,360 an amazing decade. Yeah, Polly Pocket. 516 00:27:07,360 --> 00:27:10,520 My mini mixie is Cooper Roos. Well, hearts crew, little mommy, 517 00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:14,040 my garden baby, I'm frozen. Frozen. 518 00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:15,960 Wow. Elsa Elsa. 519 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:19,440 And now I'm developing a line of eco friendly plush mermaid dolls 520 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:22,640 called Sea Glimmers. Yes, they're gorgeous so. 521 00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:27,360 That is my doll chronological order. 522 00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:30,840 That is quite a resume. So all of these dolls are 523 00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:34,160 fascinating, but you worked on Hannah Montana and Cheetah Girls 524 00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:38,600 during what I would say I was in high school at the time was 525 00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:42,760 definitely the peak of Disney Channel because prior to like 526 00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:45,440 maybe a few years before that, like Disney Channel was kind of 527 00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:47,640 exclusive. Like you had to pay for it. 528 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:50,280 And then all of a sudden everyone got Disney Channel And 529 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:51,840 I don't really know what happened. 530 00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:55,640 And it's kind of like at the end of Lizzie McGuire and then 531 00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:58,920 Hannah Montana or Cheetah Girls comes out and then Hannah 532 00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:00,040 Montana. And I would say this is 533 00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:03,280 definitely like the peak of like Disney Channels, like over 534 00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:06,320 branding. Like, I mean, Hannah Montana 535 00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:09,120 was, I mean, and Cheetah Girls and High School Musical like was 536 00:28:09,120 --> 00:28:12,440 so big. Like you could not go anywhere 537 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:17,560 without seeing those, you know, logos and those characters like 538 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:19,640 stamped on something and not just dolls. 539 00:28:19,640 --> 00:28:25,400 I mean, it was like pillows, school supplies, cups, probably 540 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:30,480 even like like shower curtains, like insane, insane amount of 541 00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:33,720 branding. So what was it like for you to 542 00:28:33,720 --> 00:28:36,080 work on that? Did you know, like, was this 543 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:38,920 when you start, well, let's say when the Hannah Montana doll was 544 00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:41,640 being developed, did you know that Hannah Montana was going to 545 00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:44,560 was like going to be as big as it was? 546 00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:48,440 No, I mean, I had gone from a few years before that. 547 00:28:48,440 --> 00:28:51,400 I was like in my 20s living in Hollywood, and Brittany came 548 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:52,640 out. I feel like Brittany kind of was 549 00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:56,480 the start of all that era. And then I was like, OK, where's 550 00:28:56,480 --> 00:28:59,040 this girl Brittany? And then I was doing doll 551 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:01,320 designs and the next thing I know I was working on all these 552 00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:03,640 teenage Disney Channel dolls. I'm like, what is this? 553 00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:07,000 I don't think I even had a TVI don't know. 554 00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:09,760 So I was just like, I'm a designer. 555 00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:14,320 What I remember was we got the project and I went to The 556 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:18,800 Cheetah Girls concert with Hannah Montana as the opening 557 00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:20,760 act. So we were like Cheetah Girls, 558 00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:22,200 let's do this Cheetah Girls thing. 559 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:28,400 And, and it was just like a sea of here I was like in my 30s and 560 00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:30,840 being a designer. And then there's just like all 561 00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:34,040 these little girls all dressed in cheetah print screaming. 562 00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:36,840 I was like, what is this? And I went to the concert and we 563 00:29:36,840 --> 00:29:38,680 sat up and he was like Nosebleed seats. 564 00:29:38,720 --> 00:29:40,680 And we were like trying to figure out what their outfits 565 00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:43,280 were. And so I was watching them dance 566 00:29:43,360 --> 00:29:45,840 and like trying to sketch like their outfits. 567 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:48,200 And it ended up being a Toys-R-Us 3 pack. 568 00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:52,280 And I remember one of them had the the dress and that was 569 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:54,800 really beautiful and a little pair of overalls. 570 00:29:55,400 --> 00:29:57,760 But yeah, I was just screaming. It was like Beatlemaniac kind of 571 00:29:57,760 --> 00:29:59,960 like girls freaking out, like over cheated girls and 572 00:29:59,960 --> 00:30:03,560 screaming, screaming, screaming. And like Hannah had gone on 1st. 573 00:30:03,720 --> 00:30:06,400 I remember my manager went backstage and met her while I 574 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:07,800 was like sitting there trying to sketch. 575 00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:10,960 She was all like in a tizzy because Billy Ray Cyrus. 576 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:12,160 She was like, oh, he's so handsome. 577 00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:16,600 It was like swooning. And then yeah, she came back and 578 00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:18,240 she's like, yeah, they're very sweet. 579 00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:21,800 I guess your mom was there and she met Hannah, but we were like 580 00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:23,400 super focused on The Cheetah Girls at first. 581 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:26,560 So we started doing all that. The bus was actually developed 582 00:30:26,560 --> 00:30:30,320 at first for The Cheetah Girls and then it was just cheetah, 583 00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:32,240 cheetah, cheetah. And the next thing you know, all 584 00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:35,240 of a sudden it was I so chronologically, I think like 585 00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:38,120 the Hannah Montana show was like just coming out. 586 00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:42,560 Maybe I heard it had like the biggest, the first episode had 587 00:30:42,560 --> 00:30:45,720 like a huge debut or something. And then we all just switched 588 00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:48,600 gears and was like, Oh my God, Hannah, Hannah, Hannah, Hannah, 589 00:30:48,640 --> 00:30:51,960 Hannah, everything handed us Hannah that and just internally 590 00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:54,720 it was like, like I said, I was working all these brands at once 591 00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:57,840 and it was just a scramble to get the Hannah stuff. 592 00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:00,920 I remember at one point there were like we pushed the in the 593 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:03,440 toy inside the toy. So you push things around on a a 594 00:31:03,440 --> 00:31:07,640 cart all the time. Sometimes I would even, I would 595 00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:10,200 bring my baby into Hasbro and put him on the cart with all the 596 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:11,600 baby dolls around him and push him around. 597 00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:14,280 I thought that was really funny. And there's like cart wars. 598 00:31:14,440 --> 00:31:16,400 You're like someone takes someone else's cart. 599 00:31:16,560 --> 00:31:18,640 Like an e-mail will go out, like where's my cart? 600 00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:20,640 But anyway, we, we all had carts. 601 00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:25,560 So we had like a cart, and my manager was gone at the time, 602 00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:28,560 and I think she had been really focused on the heads while I was 603 00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:30,440 doing the fashions because he, like, kind of split everything 604 00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:32,720 up. And there were like 12 different 605 00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:35,480 Hannah heads on sticks because we put the heads on a stick like 606 00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:36,560 you do when you're breathing or whatever. 607 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:40,440 And then she had to look at them and they're all numbered. 608 00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:42,480 And I just remember being really stressed out about all these 609 00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:46,680 Hannah heads for her to choose, like the final head. 610 00:31:46,840 --> 00:31:48,600 Yeah. I mean, we thought Cheetah would 611 00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:50,080 be big. Then we switched over to Hannah. 612 00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:53,280 And then, you know, I just remembered the design grind, 613 00:31:53,360 --> 00:31:55,800 like, for example, like at the very end. 614 00:31:56,040 --> 00:31:59,360 So I was working on all these lines at once, but I think where 615 00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:01,720 they were just realizing how big Hannah was and they're like, I 616 00:32:02,280 --> 00:32:04,560 don't know if I'd given my notice I was about to leave was 617 00:32:04,560 --> 00:32:07,600 my last like couple weeks there. And they're like, you have to 618 00:32:07,600 --> 00:32:11,520 decide all of these accessories and I just grinding out like 619 00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:14,800 tons of turn around views for like 40 accessories. 620 00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:19,200 So purses, shoes, like necklaces, all this stuff. 621 00:32:20,240 --> 00:32:23,360 And I was working with my friend Mary, who was a former Lisa 622 00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:25,560 Frank designer and she was so cool. 623 00:32:25,560 --> 00:32:28,760 And I was just learning Adobe Illustrator myself on the job. 624 00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:32,240 I mostly used Photoshop at 1st. And so yeah, I was just doing 625 00:32:32,240 --> 00:32:34,320 the turn around views. So you do like the front side, 626 00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:37,680 back, top, bottom, you measure it all, you draw little details 627 00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:41,040 and then you send that to a sculptor and go back and forth 628 00:32:41,040 --> 00:32:44,520 with them on how it should look. And then all those accessories 629 00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:46,920 kind of lived on because they went and they ended up being on 630 00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:50,160 Taylor Swift later. I always thought that was funny. 631 00:32:50,160 --> 00:32:52,080 I'm like pop star doll this sharing accessories. 632 00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:54,680 So I'm like, wait, Hannah's boots are now Taylor's boots? 633 00:32:55,520 --> 00:32:59,320 Well, do you know like the Hannah Montana dolls also are 634 00:32:59,320 --> 00:33:02,640 like like their bodies are repurposed Britney Spears dolls, 635 00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:05,880 which is like, I mean the all the pop stars share and like I 636 00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:10,440 think the Britney Spears bodies like our repurposes of the Spice 637 00:33:10,440 --> 00:33:11,200 Girls. So they. 638 00:33:11,280 --> 00:33:13,720 All kind of they all kind of like we call it the Britney 639 00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:15,400 body. Like when I was there, we called 640 00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:17,440 the Britney body, but maybe it was it could have been the 641 00:33:17,440 --> 00:33:18,360 spice. Yeah. 642 00:33:18,520 --> 00:33:21,160 It was like that super wide shoulder, like pinched ways 643 00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:24,400 based on based on a Barbie body. Yeah. 644 00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:27,760 So I mean, we all reference each other that like you copy it, but 645 00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:30,000 it's like, OK, here's this. So let's make a similar one. 646 00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:34,320 And then they just kept tooling. I mean, they just, it is there's 647 00:33:34,320 --> 00:33:38,160 the tooling budget and you just want to reuse your tools as much 648 00:33:38,160 --> 00:33:41,240 as you can. So yeah, the head, Rhodocast 649 00:33:41,240 --> 00:33:43,240 head cost like a certain amount of money. 650 00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:45,880 They just want to use your same arms, legs and bodies over and 651 00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:47,640 over and over. So yeah, they all share bodies. 652 00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:50,920 That's amazing. And like, As for visual 653 00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:53,120 references, like you said, you went to this Cheetah Girls 654 00:33:53,120 --> 00:33:55,880 Hannah Montana concert, which I'm pretty sure I went to that 655 00:33:56,080 --> 00:34:00,200 tour because I got to meet Miley Cyrus, but she was still Hannah 656 00:34:00,200 --> 00:34:02,840 Montana. Like she wasn't like that's what 657 00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:04,400 people called her Hannah. And it was. 658 00:34:04,440 --> 00:34:06,440 Like it was the Hannah. And I just remember being, 659 00:34:06,440 --> 00:34:08,520 'cause I was a little bit older, and I just remember being like, 660 00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:10,400 that's so awkward. Like, that's not even her. 661 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:13,080 Like, that's not her name. And these little kids are like, 662 00:34:13,239 --> 00:34:15,600 screaming at her, like calling her Hannah. 663 00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:18,679 And she's just like, hi. Then you're like, Oh my God. 664 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:22,639 So you said you went to that. But like, obviously, like 665 00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:26,480 there's a ton of Hannah Montana dolls, tons of Cheetah Girl 666 00:34:26,480 --> 00:34:29,080 dolls too. So like, what other visuals are 667 00:34:29,080 --> 00:34:33,600 you presented in order to make this doll come alive? 668 00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:38,239 Well, it's interesting because they give you, it kind of 669 00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:39,880 depends on the company and the project. 670 00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:44,520 So sometimes you don't get any. Like if it's an IP brand, you 671 00:34:44,520 --> 00:34:47,440 don't want marketing to give you visual direction, like you want 672 00:34:47,440 --> 00:34:49,520 to create it all. Like design wants to own the 673 00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:52,000 visuals. But if it's a license, there's 674 00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:54,679 input from the licenser and it varies. 675 00:34:54,679 --> 00:34:58,360 Like Elsa looks like Elsa, but if it's a new movie, you can get 676 00:34:58,360 --> 00:35:00,640 some images or not. It kind of depends on how far 677 00:35:00,640 --> 00:35:03,200 they are in development. Like every project's really 678 00:35:03,200 --> 00:35:07,640 different. So for Hannah, we got like the 679 00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:10,880 images from our TV show. I think we got some just rough 680 00:35:10,880 --> 00:35:14,160 screenshots and stuff like that. I remember coming the Internet 681 00:35:14,160 --> 00:35:16,880 looking for stuff. That's what every doll designer 682 00:35:16,880 --> 00:35:18,600 does. If it's like an early project, 683 00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:22,040 you like, look all over for any imagery to find it. 684 00:35:22,040 --> 00:35:25,560 If the licensor doesn't give you like a full package of like 685 00:35:25,760 --> 00:35:27,720 perfect design. Exactly this. 686 00:35:27,720 --> 00:35:30,760 So I think it's kind of a combo on Hannah because I remember the 687 00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:33,800 graphic style guide was so good. Like it's the best one I've 688 00:35:33,800 --> 00:35:36,360 seen. A cabbage trash kids is the 689 00:35:36,360 --> 00:35:38,920 other best one. Like there's been a few projects 690 00:35:38,920 --> 00:35:41,200 I've worked on that are licensed where they give you just like 691 00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:44,720 amazing graphic style guides and like as a former graphic 692 00:35:44,720 --> 00:35:47,000 designer that like super inspired me, especially doing 693 00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:51,280 like the Hannah stage. So it's all, I don't know if 694 00:35:51,280 --> 00:35:54,160 you're familiar with graphic style guides, but it's usually 695 00:35:54,160 --> 00:35:56,640 in Adobe Illustrator for a combination. 696 00:35:56,640 --> 00:35:59,760 It's like APDF. Usually you open it up and then 697 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:01,960 it'll have high resolution photos. 698 00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:06,440 It'll have vector graphics, so all the little swirls, all the 699 00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:09,240 logos and different colors. It'll have the PMS colors that 700 00:36:09,240 --> 00:36:12,400 you should use to be on brand. It'll have like patterns, 701 00:36:12,400 --> 00:36:14,680 backgrounds. And then you take it and then 702 00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:18,320 create your own version and you send it back to Disney or 703 00:36:18,320 --> 00:36:19,960 whoever the licensor is for approval. 704 00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:23,600 And then if they think it looks on brand, they approve it. 705 00:36:24,560 --> 00:36:26,840 Often they'll make comments, lots of comments, and you have a 706 00:36:26,840 --> 00:36:30,000 few rounds. So that's how it worked with 707 00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:31,480 Hannah. And then for Cheetah Girls, it 708 00:36:31,480 --> 00:36:33,920 was the same. Cheetah didn't have as much of A 709 00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:36,400 style guide. So I remember we got their logo, 710 00:36:37,280 --> 00:36:39,720 we had photos. Like I said, I had to go like 711 00:36:39,720 --> 00:36:41,800 sketch their outfits while they're dancing around on stage. 712 00:36:42,680 --> 00:36:47,080 And then I remember designing the cheetah print myself because 713 00:36:47,080 --> 00:36:49,480 I was learning Adobe Illustrator and that was one of the first 714 00:36:49,480 --> 00:36:51,000 times I did like a repeat pattern. 715 00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:54,360 So and I love cheetah prints. I was like trying each little 716 00:36:54,360 --> 00:36:57,360 cheetah thing and then turning it pink and turning it, you 717 00:36:57,360 --> 00:37:00,080 know, regular colors and our cheetah colors. 718 00:37:00,360 --> 00:37:02,080 And that was story for those dolls. 719 00:37:02,080 --> 00:37:05,000 And yeah, each one's a little bit different, you know, just 720 00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:07,800 depends on the sometimes they're very tight about what they want 721 00:37:07,800 --> 00:37:10,200 to show, like they don't want anything leaking out from the 722 00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:12,040 movie. And you have to like, you get 723 00:37:12,040 --> 00:37:16,080 some blurry photos and if like squint and other times that it's 724 00:37:16,080 --> 00:37:19,600 like a perfect, exactly what you need kind of package for a 725 00:37:19,600 --> 00:37:21,680 license doll. Incredible. 726 00:37:21,920 --> 00:37:22,880 Every studio is different. Yeah. 727 00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:27,480 What are some struggles you came across while designing these 728 00:37:27,480 --> 00:37:28,840 dolls? Or any dolls, really. 729 00:37:31,720 --> 00:37:34,400 There's so many, I mean, I love designing dolls, but there's 730 00:37:34,400 --> 00:37:37,680 always drama when you work with a bunch of creatives and 731 00:37:37,680 --> 00:37:39,720 business people, like mixed together in a fast-paced 732 00:37:39,720 --> 00:37:43,000 environment. The toy industry is probably 733 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:45,720 closest in work environment to the fashion industry. 734 00:37:46,360 --> 00:37:50,120 So think like the movies like Devil Wears Prada and shows like 735 00:37:50,120 --> 00:37:52,320 Project Runway. They really resonate with me. 736 00:37:52,640 --> 00:37:55,480 Like Project Runway especially like high, high pressure and 737 00:37:55,800 --> 00:37:58,800 crying and cutting things up and like drawing and then like 738 00:37:58,800 --> 00:38:01,320 seeing how it looks like. It's like that all the time in 739 00:38:01,320 --> 00:38:03,120 the toy industry. It's always just like make 740 00:38:03,120 --> 00:38:06,960 something present it, like get it judged, like do it again and 741 00:38:06,960 --> 00:38:08,560 again and again. It's pretty high pressure. 742 00:38:10,040 --> 00:38:14,040 Each project is kind of like a roller coaster usually, and 743 00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:16,440 every job was an adventure for me for sure. 744 00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:19,360 Personally, I struggled with balancing like my creative 745 00:38:19,360 --> 00:38:22,080 desires with the business realities, especially when I was 746 00:38:22,200 --> 00:38:24,040 a younger designer, like beginning designer. 747 00:38:24,920 --> 00:38:26,800 And you'd see this with a lot of younger designers. 748 00:38:26,800 --> 00:38:29,400 Like it's everything from the costs to how things are 749 00:38:29,400 --> 00:38:32,440 advertised when they come out to like things being dropped. 750 00:38:32,760 --> 00:38:35,120 So there's always some drama that you're like, why is this 751 00:38:35,120 --> 00:38:37,920 happening? But when I look back, I'm really 752 00:38:37,920 --> 00:38:40,800 proud of most of the dolls I worked on and that they come out 753 00:38:40,800 --> 00:38:43,840 because I had a quite big volume of work that came out. 754 00:38:43,840 --> 00:38:48,280 So with all the drama, there was always success, of course. 755 00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:50,040 And I do think, like, one of the hardest things for doll 756 00:38:50,040 --> 00:38:52,760 designers is cost reductions. You probably heard about those 757 00:38:53,320 --> 00:38:54,320 talking to some people. Yeah. 758 00:38:54,600 --> 00:38:57,240 So designing to cost, there's almost like an art to it. 759 00:38:57,240 --> 00:39:00,640 And as I developed in my career, it became more of like a fun 760 00:39:00,640 --> 00:39:04,720 game, like less crying and lamenting and more kind of 761 00:39:04,720 --> 00:39:08,520 figuring out like how like I looked at it like a visual math 762 00:39:08,520 --> 00:39:12,520 puzzle because you have to get costs for like the reality, 763 00:39:12,520 --> 00:39:14,160 especially now I own my, I own business. 764 00:39:14,160 --> 00:39:17,480 So the reality of what your X factory is and your landed costs 765 00:39:17,480 --> 00:39:21,160 and like the profit margin and you want to make is really real. 766 00:39:21,360 --> 00:39:26,200 And, and like, there were times when we had like dramatic cost 767 00:39:26,200 --> 00:39:28,400 reductions, like right when things that almost come out, you 768 00:39:28,400 --> 00:39:30,000 like think it's done, it's your designer. 769 00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:32,680 And then they're like, Nope, we got to take out like a dollar or 770 00:39:32,880 --> 00:39:35,800 not that much usually, but a dollar is like a lot. 771 00:39:37,200 --> 00:39:40,120 But going back to the drawing board and literally redesigning 772 00:39:40,120 --> 00:39:44,160 things sometimes happens like based on because they're in, in 773 00:39:44,160 --> 00:39:47,760 the toy industry, mid size to large, there's a lot of 774 00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:50,240 leadership, there's a lot of meetings, a lot of feedback. 775 00:39:50,240 --> 00:39:54,120 So there could be like external buyers who want something to, if 776 00:39:54,120 --> 00:39:56,480 Walmart wants something different, you know, you got to 777 00:39:56,480 --> 00:39:59,280 do it. And then there's internal sales 778 00:39:59,280 --> 00:40:01,560 teams like other teams that you work with that will come back. 779 00:40:01,960 --> 00:40:04,800 Or like the CEO or someone, it's just like a constant part of the 780 00:40:04,800 --> 00:40:08,880 job and you just have to be like thick skinned and flexible and 781 00:40:08,880 --> 00:40:12,160 fast if you want to. I imagine and it's not like you 782 00:40:12,160 --> 00:40:14,640 have months. I mean, you have to do these 783 00:40:14,640 --> 00:40:17,320 pretty quick. Like it's, it's kind of like. 784 00:40:17,520 --> 00:40:19,720 Years, but it's also quick, so it's kind of. 785 00:40:20,560 --> 00:40:23,200 To me, to me, years is quick because it's like you have to 786 00:40:23,200 --> 00:40:25,920 put so much effort into that. I can't even imagine like the 787 00:40:25,920 --> 00:40:29,400 stress levels that would occur if you are almost finished with 788 00:40:29,400 --> 00:40:33,440 something and someone's like Nope, just get try that, try 789 00:40:33,440 --> 00:40:35,680 again. Project Runway is the best. 790 00:40:35,760 --> 00:40:37,920 That's the closest thing to whenever at West Side. 791 00:40:37,920 --> 00:40:39,680 I'm like, Yep. That's amazing. 792 00:40:39,880 --> 00:40:43,200 Tell me about the first time you ever saw one of your design 793 00:40:43,200 --> 00:40:47,640 projects in person at a store. What was that like for you? 794 00:40:47,640 --> 00:40:51,120 The first time I remember distinctly, that was the first 795 00:40:51,120 --> 00:40:57,840 time I walked into the KD toys in my area and there was it 796 00:40:57,840 --> 00:40:59,320 actually wasn't even a finished doll. 797 00:40:59,640 --> 00:41:03,680 It was I did these Princess dresses and I had actually, the 798 00:41:03,720 --> 00:41:06,200 toy company was so small that I worked for that I illustrated 799 00:41:06,440 --> 00:41:09,480 packaging as well. So she was on like an 800 00:41:09,520 --> 00:41:13,880 illustrated card and it was a Princess illustration and it was 801 00:41:13,880 --> 00:41:17,480 like cut out like a paper doll. And then I think they were in a 802 00:41:18,040 --> 00:41:20,080 package that had a blister over it. 803 00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:22,200 And then the Princess dress, I have it on. 804 00:41:22,280 --> 00:41:24,120 I should post it again. It was on my Instagram. 805 00:41:24,360 --> 00:41:26,320 It was like this purple there. I think it was an assortment of 806 00:41:26,320 --> 00:41:28,920 two or three dresses. Remember there was like a little 807 00:41:28,920 --> 00:41:31,800 girl and a mom like standing over kind of in the doll aisle 808 00:41:31,800 --> 00:41:33,760 looking and I was just like jumping up and down. 809 00:41:36,200 --> 00:41:37,760 I think they looked at me like, who are you? 810 00:41:37,760 --> 00:41:39,480 And I was like I. Made that it. 811 00:41:39,920 --> 00:41:43,800 Was such a wonderful moment. So Senior Things on shelf is 812 00:41:43,800 --> 00:41:48,040 really, really fun and with Hannah, I don't think I had a 813 00:41:48,040 --> 00:41:50,920 moment like that. Like I worked at Play along for 814 00:41:50,920 --> 00:41:53,680 about a year and it was a crazy year and I worked on a four 815 00:41:53,680 --> 00:41:55,560 brands at once and I learned so much. 816 00:41:55,600 --> 00:41:59,640 Such a whirlwind year and it's so amazing how many kids got the 817 00:41:59,640 --> 00:42:02,960 dolls I worked on that year. Like on Instagram, it's really 818 00:42:02,960 --> 00:42:04,440 fun. Like all these people are like 819 00:42:04,440 --> 00:42:07,360 telling me stories about their hand at all and this and that. 820 00:42:08,040 --> 00:42:10,400 Where I was living when Hannah came out, I was really isolated. 821 00:42:10,400 --> 00:42:14,000 I was in a little town called Ojai, which is like a mountain 822 00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:17,080 hippie town above Ventura in like the middle of California 823 00:42:17,080 --> 00:42:19,880 here. And then there wasn't a TRU or 824 00:42:19,880 --> 00:42:23,440 Target, but I remember seeing Hannah's stuff everywhere like 825 00:42:23,640 --> 00:42:25,280 in the Albertsons. Of course. 826 00:42:25,800 --> 00:42:28,560 But like Hannah Cookies and like, I was like, oh, Hannah, 827 00:42:28,560 --> 00:42:31,840 traffic's everywhere. And I think I remember going to 828 00:42:31,840 --> 00:42:34,600 Toys-R-Us and I might have been like, oh, I worked on that, but 829 00:42:34,600 --> 00:42:37,760 I was broke. I couldn't even afford like I 830 00:42:37,760 --> 00:42:40,440 couldn't get the playsets or the, I couldn't have gotten the, 831 00:42:40,640 --> 00:42:43,440 the bus like, oh, a $50 bus or whatever it was at the time, 832 00:42:43,760 --> 00:42:47,000 like I had no money. And so just like, it was 833 00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:49,400 probably just like, oh, I worked on that and well, where's my 834 00:42:49,400 --> 00:42:52,760 next job? That was something I was going 835 00:42:52,760 --> 00:42:54,200 to ask you. I don't think I put this in my 836 00:42:54,200 --> 00:42:59,600 questions was do you get any like I I mean, as I would think 837 00:42:59,600 --> 00:43:03,680 that as a toy designer you would get something of everything that 838 00:43:03,680 --> 00:43:05,680 you created, but I'm guessing that's not. 839 00:43:06,400 --> 00:43:09,680 Depends on the company and like where they are in the like. 840 00:43:09,760 --> 00:43:12,680 Like I remember Hasbro had a pretty good system where they 841 00:43:12,680 --> 00:43:16,600 would have one allotted one. Like Hasbro was super organized. 842 00:43:16,840 --> 00:43:19,720 One thing I loved about working there was like, you know, a 843 00:43:19,760 --> 00:43:22,320 company that's been around for a while, it was very systematized 844 00:43:22,320 --> 00:43:25,160 and they had, you know, we all signed this form and like 845 00:43:25,160 --> 00:43:27,880 everyone signs it that they approve of it and then everyone 846 00:43:27,880 --> 00:43:29,720 gets one copy, the kind of thing. 847 00:43:30,120 --> 00:43:33,400 And then they had a toy store in and Mattel has this too. 848 00:43:33,400 --> 00:43:36,840 There's a toy store in company where you could buy everything 849 00:43:36,840 --> 00:43:40,080 for half off. So, but usually you got to at 850 00:43:40,080 --> 00:43:41,240 the bigger companies you get one. 851 00:43:41,600 --> 00:43:44,680 And then I remember at Play Along, I mean, part of the 852 00:43:44,680 --> 00:43:46,960 reason I didn't get a lot of play along ones was because I 853 00:43:46,960 --> 00:43:48,720 quit like right before everything came out. 854 00:43:49,480 --> 00:43:52,960 I was there for one year and then I left and Hannah was just 855 00:43:52,960 --> 00:43:54,840 coming out. And I remember they had a big 856 00:43:54,840 --> 00:43:59,920 closet with doll samples and I walked in and I was able to take 857 00:43:59,920 --> 00:44:01,360 like everything that had just come out. 858 00:44:01,600 --> 00:44:04,600 I think I got some, they gave me like some things to take with 859 00:44:04,600 --> 00:44:07,800 me, which is super nice of them. And I remember just grabbing 860 00:44:07,800 --> 00:44:09,400 like one of everything I'd worked on. 861 00:44:09,680 --> 00:44:12,360 So I had those. So yeah, it depends on the 862 00:44:12,360 --> 00:44:14,320 company. A lot of like when I was working 863 00:44:14,320 --> 00:44:17,560 at the company Dynamic Design works, they weren't even part of 864 00:44:17,560 --> 00:44:20,720 Jack's. She was a an external vendor. 865 00:44:21,440 --> 00:44:25,240 So like we build by the hour. Like I had to, I remember this 866 00:44:25,240 --> 00:44:28,280 was one of the I had to write every hour like what I worked on 867 00:44:28,280 --> 00:44:31,360 on this little Excel kind of sheet in my computer. 868 00:44:31,880 --> 00:44:33,080 It's the only job where I had to do that. 869 00:44:33,080 --> 00:44:35,360 It's like log what you're doing on every hour. 870 00:44:35,360 --> 00:44:39,640 You're like one hour on cabbage fetch kids like 2 hours on, you 871 00:44:39,640 --> 00:44:42,880 know, we had other vendors or customers. 872 00:44:44,360 --> 00:44:47,960 And so for that you wouldn't, I don't think I got any samples 873 00:44:47,960 --> 00:44:50,480 from any of those jobs like Taylor Swift. 874 00:44:50,680 --> 00:44:52,360 And there's a lot of people working on it too. 875 00:44:52,360 --> 00:44:55,120 It's like not just you, it's like I'm a big graphic designer, 876 00:44:55,120 --> 00:44:57,560 there's a soft goods designer, there's a package designer, 877 00:44:57,560 --> 00:45:00,640 there's a copywriter, there's engineer, there's an electrical 878 00:45:00,640 --> 00:45:03,440 engineer. That it's like 40 people will 879 00:45:03,440 --> 00:45:07,560 work on one thing. So especially bigger, bigger 880 00:45:07,560 --> 00:45:10,280 companies, it's logistically difficult to give everybody a 881 00:45:10,280 --> 00:45:12,800 sample. What are your thoughts on how 882 00:45:12,800 --> 00:45:16,760 the doll and toy industry has changed since you started 883 00:45:16,760 --> 00:45:19,680 working in it? Wow, yeah, it's been 20 years, 884 00:45:19,680 --> 00:45:23,440 so it has changed a bit. Well, for one thing, they were 885 00:45:23,440 --> 00:45:26,040 still hand sculpting when I started. 886 00:45:26,360 --> 00:45:28,480 So that meant like a face sculpt head. 887 00:45:28,480 --> 00:45:30,840 It was like a teeny, I mean, picture the size. 888 00:45:31,040 --> 00:45:34,520 So back then it's I think it was 30% bigger and it would go 889 00:45:34,520 --> 00:45:36,600 through three rounds of roto casting down. 890 00:45:36,600 --> 00:45:38,400 So everything. First of all, they had to 891 00:45:38,400 --> 00:45:41,280 estimate 30% bigger to hand sculpt it. 892 00:45:41,920 --> 00:45:45,040 And then the sculpting was amazing. 893 00:45:45,040 --> 00:45:50,520 They would sculpt it with wax. And then like when I saw the the 894 00:45:50,520 --> 00:45:54,320 John Travolta doll, like I worked on that head and like I 895 00:45:54,320 --> 00:45:56,440 was just a master sculptor and I was just amazing. 896 00:45:56,440 --> 00:46:00,320 Like within a few rounds, the likeness of John Travolta Edna 897 00:46:00,320 --> 00:46:04,480 was like perfect. And then it went to digital. 898 00:46:05,080 --> 00:46:09,200 And I was at Hasbro when I started going over to digital 899 00:46:09,200 --> 00:46:11,640 sculpting. And then we're like, no, no, the 900 00:46:11,640 --> 00:46:14,200 doll has to be hand sculpted. Like this is art. 901 00:46:14,400 --> 00:46:16,960 The touch of the artist has to be the hand sculpt. 902 00:46:17,680 --> 00:46:21,680 And I was working on, I think, I think I was on maternity leave 903 00:46:21,680 --> 00:46:23,600 and I came back and some of the heads have been digitally 904 00:46:23,600 --> 00:46:25,280 sculpted. And I was like, no, I don't like 905 00:46:25,280 --> 00:46:27,360 those I want to use. There was a lady who worked with 906 00:46:27,360 --> 00:46:29,120 Andrea, like she makes the best heads. 907 00:46:29,120 --> 00:46:32,960 And then she was the one who did our Baby Alive reboot in 2015 908 00:46:32,960 --> 00:46:34,440 was like hand sculpted and they're so pretty. 909 00:46:34,760 --> 00:46:36,840 But that was kind of the last time I ever worked on the hand 910 00:46:36,840 --> 00:46:39,480 sculpt head. And then also there was a lot 911 00:46:39,480 --> 00:46:41,680 more hand spray back when I first started. 912 00:46:42,040 --> 00:46:45,560 They still do it sometimes, but Tampa was just getting started 913 00:46:45,560 --> 00:46:46,800 and it was like handspray everything. 914 00:46:48,200 --> 00:46:50,920 So tampo, there's a lot more automation now. 915 00:46:50,920 --> 00:46:53,920 And so they try to automate to make it cheaper and a lot more 916 00:46:53,920 --> 00:46:56,640 digital tools. And I also think everyone's 917 00:46:56,640 --> 00:46:59,360 trying to get better as far as environmental responsibilities. 918 00:46:59,360 --> 00:47:02,160 So that's why less hand spray actually ends up being less 919 00:47:02,160 --> 00:47:05,960 toxic, not only for the people working on it, but for the 920 00:47:05,960 --> 00:47:07,720 environment, for the paint waste. 921 00:47:08,240 --> 00:47:11,520 So they're worried about the paint waste going down into the 922 00:47:11,520 --> 00:47:14,840 water supply. So that's where tampo comes in 923 00:47:14,840 --> 00:47:19,320 more and then less glitter too. Like we use so much glitter. 924 00:47:20,200 --> 00:47:22,920 So one of the craziest things I ever saw when I went to the 925 00:47:22,920 --> 00:47:27,160 China factories in my first job was the glitter spray room. 926 00:47:27,400 --> 00:47:30,880 And it was like the gnarliest dudes you ever saw, like covered 927 00:47:30,880 --> 00:47:33,280 in glitter. And this I was like, what? 928 00:47:35,200 --> 00:47:37,760 That's incredible. Bedrooms were in like nuts. 929 00:47:38,000 --> 00:47:40,400 And then the design techniques have changed a lot. 930 00:47:40,840 --> 00:47:43,920 So like at my first job, I have pencil and pen sketched fashions 931 00:47:43,920 --> 00:47:47,600 on actual paper with like an actual pen, actual pencil. 932 00:47:48,200 --> 00:47:52,080 And then, and then I would cut out swatches of like, like 933 00:47:52,080 --> 00:47:55,320 fashion design style, staple them to the paper and then fax 934 00:47:55,320 --> 00:47:59,400 them to add e-mail. But we would fax the designer 935 00:47:59,400 --> 00:48:02,040 for. And then now the designers are 936 00:48:02,040 --> 00:48:04,560 basically digital illustrators and they mostly use Procreate. 937 00:48:04,680 --> 00:48:08,480 And then there's AI. And yeah, designers hate AI for 938 00:48:08,480 --> 00:48:10,280 a good reason. Of course they do. 939 00:48:10,280 --> 00:48:12,160 Yeah. I mean, I feel like AI is going 940 00:48:12,160 --> 00:48:17,160 to kill the industry, which is it's like little, but I mean, 941 00:48:17,160 --> 00:48:19,880 like to even going back to like the hand sculpting thing, like 942 00:48:19,880 --> 00:48:22,920 there's such a genuine art like you said in that. 943 00:48:23,400 --> 00:48:26,520 And now when, you know, I think especially with like celebrity 944 00:48:26,560 --> 00:48:30,560 dolls, you can tell when they're 3D scanned or whatever and it 945 00:48:30,560 --> 00:48:33,760 just doesn't look right. And now they're moving into AI 946 00:48:33,760 --> 00:48:35,800 stuff, and I think it's just going to get worse. 947 00:48:36,560 --> 00:48:40,120 Yeah, I think 3D scam is a phase, but I think it works on 948 00:48:40,120 --> 00:48:42,720 small scale. Like if you 3D scan to make like 949 00:48:42,720 --> 00:48:45,000 a action bigger scale that could work. 950 00:48:45,000 --> 00:48:49,440 But I'm like, like, I think they tried to 3D scan the. 951 00:48:50,280 --> 00:48:54,480 I never saw them, but I heard The Pussycat Dolls, they tried 952 00:48:54,480 --> 00:48:57,360 to 3D scan their faces and it was like, terrible, scary. 953 00:48:57,760 --> 00:49:00,960 Yeah, AI can actually sculpt, which is interesting. 954 00:49:01,280 --> 00:49:04,800 So I think sculptors is one thing that's at risk. 955 00:49:04,960 --> 00:49:07,480 But I mean, there's nothing quite like, I mean, it's art. 956 00:49:07,720 --> 00:49:11,400 Like sculpting is like of making a toy but we didn't design for 957 00:49:11,400 --> 00:49:12,920 so long. Gives me kind of a perspective 958 00:49:12,920 --> 00:49:16,600 that I think AI will end up being kind of like a design 959 00:49:16,600 --> 00:49:18,320 tool. Like I tried to learn as much AI 960 00:49:18,320 --> 00:49:21,560 as I could right away because I'm like, whoa, I've seen things 961 00:49:21,560 --> 00:49:24,720 change in 20 years. So, you know, I feel like if you 962 00:49:24,720 --> 00:49:29,160 can use it and you're if some designers are ahead of it and 963 00:49:29,160 --> 00:49:32,760 using it and like non designers aren't taking it and making 964 00:49:33,520 --> 00:49:36,920 stuff, then we'll be able to win the robot war, Ha ha, because 965 00:49:36,920 --> 00:49:38,080 it's like a robot war. Now. 966 00:49:38,240 --> 00:49:40,560 I think there's some fields that might be a little more at risk 967 00:49:40,560 --> 00:49:43,680 than others, like sculpting, maybe like anime, because like 968 00:49:44,000 --> 00:49:46,480 AI could do like any kind of anime illustration, like Boom. 969 00:49:46,800 --> 00:49:48,200 And it all kind of looks kind of similar. 970 00:49:48,720 --> 00:49:51,640 I mean, I'm not a consort of like exact anime style. 971 00:49:51,640 --> 00:49:54,760 So like for the general like public, I think it's like, Oh, 972 00:49:54,760 --> 00:49:57,880 this anime illustration. And then I'm just hoping like 973 00:49:57,880 --> 00:50:00,960 the novel aspect will wear off. Designers will incorporate what 974 00:50:00,960 --> 00:50:03,440 they need. Like Canva, it's pretty AI ish. 975 00:50:03,440 --> 00:50:05,240 And I've been using Canva lately. 976 00:50:05,240 --> 00:50:08,040 I'm like, oh, this is pretty interesting because I always use 977 00:50:08,040 --> 00:50:10,440 Adobe Illustrator and I'm like, well, I'm an actual graphic 978 00:50:10,440 --> 00:50:11,760 designer, why would I need Canva? 979 00:50:11,760 --> 00:50:16,280 And I'm like, oh, Canva. So like everything involves 980 00:50:16,360 --> 00:50:18,600 technology. What's the best advice you could 981 00:50:18,600 --> 00:50:21,920 give someone who wanted to pursue a career like yours? 982 00:50:22,880 --> 00:50:25,120 Oh gosh, OK, yeah, people ask me this all the time. 983 00:50:25,120 --> 00:50:27,080 I'm actually thinking to make an Instagram post about it because 984 00:50:27,080 --> 00:50:28,840 it's like, how do you become a toy designer? 985 00:50:29,080 --> 00:50:33,440 So honestly, if you want to do it now, the number one way to 986 00:50:33,440 --> 00:50:36,320 definitely get a job in the toy industry is to go to the Otis 987 00:50:36,320 --> 00:50:38,800 toy design program. I don't know if you've heard of 988 00:50:38,800 --> 00:50:42,280 that, but if anyone look it up, Otis is in Los Angeles and they 989 00:50:42,280 --> 00:50:46,640 have, I think it's the only toy design program, the only toy 990 00:50:46,640 --> 00:50:50,320 design program right now. There used to be 1 called an FIT 991 00:50:50,320 --> 00:50:54,560 or FIDM and New York, but I think they stopped it. 992 00:50:54,640 --> 00:50:56,120 It's the fashion school in New York kind of. 993 00:50:56,680 --> 00:51:00,080 And I worked with people from there on the East Coast in 994 00:51:00,080 --> 00:51:02,240 Hasbro. But a lot of the toy industries 995 00:51:02,240 --> 00:51:04,600 moved to LA, like most of it is in LA now. 996 00:51:04,640 --> 00:51:06,520 So if you're super serious and you can do it. 997 00:51:06,920 --> 00:51:08,960 I mean, even if you already have some kind of art degree or 998 00:51:08,960 --> 00:51:10,960 something. I know people have gone back 999 00:51:11,120 --> 00:51:13,600 when they're a little older, in their late 20s or whatever, and 1000 00:51:13,600 --> 00:51:16,960 then they went and got the Otis Toy Design Program degree and 1001 00:51:16,960 --> 00:51:21,440 from there they place everyone in internships in LA on the top. 1002 00:51:21,440 --> 00:51:24,600 Like everyone's looking at the Otis Toy Design Program 1003 00:51:25,160 --> 00:51:26,360 designers because they train them. 1004 00:51:26,360 --> 00:51:27,920 It's all industry people training you. 1005 00:51:28,320 --> 00:51:31,720 That's a great way to get in. Another way is to go to school 1006 00:51:31,720 --> 00:51:36,120 for either illustration is huge. Like there's schools in 1007 00:51:36,120 --> 00:51:38,280 California like Cal Arts and stuff they have like 1008 00:51:38,280 --> 00:51:41,480 illustration programs or go for fashion design. 1009 00:51:41,720 --> 00:51:44,320 Like if you want to do a fashion doll designer job, fashion 1010 00:51:44,320 --> 00:51:47,800 designers get hired for fashion doll designer jobs. 1011 00:51:48,640 --> 00:51:50,640 Industrial design is another good way to do it. 1012 00:51:51,080 --> 00:51:55,280 And if you're in those classes, design toy attic looking things, 1013 00:51:55,320 --> 00:51:59,480 you know, you're, if you have that toy collector or toy person 1014 00:51:59,480 --> 00:52:02,240 kind of mind and you're like designing stuff that looks like 1015 00:52:02,400 --> 00:52:05,440 it could be in the toy industry, hiring managers will notice that 1016 00:52:05,440 --> 00:52:06,960 because they're like looking for things. 1017 00:52:07,160 --> 00:52:09,960 Toy company hiring managers are looking for portfolios that are 1018 00:52:09,960 --> 00:52:12,160 full of things that look like brands that they're hiring for. 1019 00:52:13,000 --> 00:52:17,560 So that's like the way to get in and the best way to get into a 1020 00:52:17,560 --> 00:52:21,440 top company is as as an intern. And then for an intern, it's 1021 00:52:21,440 --> 00:52:24,280 like kind of between junior and senior year and they have 1022 00:52:24,280 --> 00:52:27,160 internship programs that are connected to the colleges. 1023 00:52:27,360 --> 00:52:30,640 So you can, I imagine you could be proactive and kind of seek 1024 00:52:30,640 --> 00:52:32,920 those out. There's a lot of jobs in package 1025 00:52:32,920 --> 00:52:38,440 design, graphic design, photography, there's jobs and 1026 00:52:38,440 --> 00:52:41,960 electronics, there's like all sorts of things. 1027 00:52:42,480 --> 00:52:45,200 So if you have a passion for toy design and you want to get one 1028 00:52:45,200 --> 00:52:49,320 of these jobs in a toy company, you know you can digital 1029 00:52:49,320 --> 00:52:52,000 sculpting too. Like sculptors actually are 1030 00:52:52,000 --> 00:52:55,400 making the toys. So they're not sometimes they're 1031 00:52:55,400 --> 00:52:56,920 presenting the ideas and designing them. 1032 00:52:56,920 --> 00:52:59,680 But and sometimes people do like a combination job where they're 1033 00:53:00,600 --> 00:53:02,760 like especially at a smaller company, designing it and 1034 00:53:02,760 --> 00:53:05,320 sculpting it. But yeah, that's digital 1035 00:53:05,320 --> 00:53:09,400 sculpting is and as long as AI doesn't do anything to them or 1036 00:53:09,440 --> 00:53:11,720 still there's still a big huge thing. 1037 00:53:11,880 --> 00:53:15,240 I would say if you're really interested and while I'm working 1038 00:53:15,240 --> 00:53:19,560 on toy industry, go to the job boards at any of the companies. 1039 00:53:19,560 --> 00:53:23,080 They all have them and read the description and what they're, I 1040 00:53:23,080 --> 00:53:24,320 mean, they tell you what they're looking for. 1041 00:53:24,320 --> 00:53:27,120 So and it's usually in like kind of corporate language, but it 1042 00:53:27,120 --> 00:53:29,400 tells you like what kind of degree they're looking for, what 1043 00:53:29,400 --> 00:53:31,280 kind of experience, stuff like that. 1044 00:53:31,280 --> 00:53:33,480 So that could help you kind of guide you. 1045 00:53:33,920 --> 00:53:36,960 So if you can get into like a smaller company like I did and 1046 00:53:36,960 --> 00:53:39,600 then work your way up, that's a good way too, so. 1047 00:53:40,400 --> 00:53:42,840 Fantastic. So now I want you to tell me 1048 00:53:42,840 --> 00:53:45,200 about your newest project that you have coming out. 1049 00:53:46,120 --> 00:53:48,600 OK. Well, I started my own indie 1050 00:53:48,600 --> 00:53:52,480 kids product company with my husband at the end of January 1051 00:53:52,480 --> 00:53:54,960 this year, and it's come together really fast. 1052 00:53:54,960 --> 00:53:57,360 We're doing our first trade show in Mermaid. 1053 00:53:58,640 --> 00:54:02,880 Our goal is to bring newness and color to the eco toy space and 1054 00:54:02,880 --> 00:54:07,040 scale from there. So our first brand is a mermaid 1055 00:54:07,040 --> 00:54:10,400 brand and we really believe that play is one of the most magical 1056 00:54:10,400 --> 00:54:12,120 ways to inspire children to love nature. 1057 00:54:13,960 --> 00:54:16,880 And it all started with a little book I was creating. 1058 00:54:16,880 --> 00:54:20,440 See Glimmers and the baby seal Rescue and it has mermaids and 1059 00:54:20,440 --> 00:54:23,680 seals. And then I also, I kind of 1060 00:54:23,680 --> 00:54:26,240 wanted to return to fashion after all these years in toys. 1061 00:54:26,240 --> 00:54:28,520 So I started doing something. You could see them behind me. 1062 00:54:29,000 --> 00:54:31,480 I was like selling some different mermaid outfits and 1063 00:54:31,920 --> 00:54:34,680 making these cute Little Mermaid costumes for kids. 1064 00:54:34,720 --> 00:54:38,480 And then after I did the illustrations for the book, I 1065 00:54:38,480 --> 00:54:39,920 was like, Oh my gosh, I can't resist. 1066 00:54:39,920 --> 00:54:41,400 I'm going to try to do some plush dolls. 1067 00:54:41,880 --> 00:54:46,800 And I found a plush factory and I developed, and then they had 1068 00:54:46,800 --> 00:54:50,920 some Pico certified plush. And I was like, this is just 1069 00:54:50,920 --> 00:54:53,920 exactly what I want to do. And so right now I have a pod of 1070 00:54:53,920 --> 00:54:56,120 mermaid characters, and they're called the Sea Glimmers. 1071 00:54:56,640 --> 00:55:01,520 And then I have a patent pending, innovative, first ever 1072 00:55:02,280 --> 00:55:05,680 mermaid Mama doll who actually breastfeeds her baby. 1073 00:55:07,160 --> 00:55:07,480 Wow. Yeah. 1074 00:55:07,480 --> 00:55:09,600 So she flips back her little shell bra. 1075 00:55:09,600 --> 00:55:11,600 This is completely done. There's going to be a little 1076 00:55:11,600 --> 00:55:13,680 star right there. And then the baby's mouth 1077 00:55:13,680 --> 00:55:18,040 attaches to the star with a magnet, and it's the first 1078 00:55:18,920 --> 00:55:21,400 nursing doll for kids. So. 1079 00:55:22,160 --> 00:55:24,040 Yeah, as a mom, I really believe in this. 1080 00:55:24,040 --> 00:55:27,560 I think this is like a nurturing play pattern that is so 1081 00:55:28,040 --> 00:55:31,800 intuitive. And like when I breastfed my 1082 00:55:31,800 --> 00:55:35,000 baby, that was like the nurturing, cuddliest, most 1083 00:55:35,000 --> 00:55:37,160 wonderful thing I experienced as a mom. 1084 00:55:37,600 --> 00:55:40,520 So I feel like it's kind of a missing play pattern for 1085 00:55:41,880 --> 00:55:43,880 absolutely. And then yeah, she's just so 1086 00:55:43,880 --> 00:55:45,760 cute. She's like, do I love my baby? 1087 00:55:45,760 --> 00:55:49,080 And then it's right there. And then she could swim with her 1088 00:55:49,080 --> 00:55:50,880 too. So she's holding her by hand and 1089 00:55:50,880 --> 00:55:54,640 swimming and then feeding her. So yeah, that's the Mama 1090 00:55:54,640 --> 00:55:56,520 glimmers. And we're super excited because 1091 00:55:56,520 --> 00:56:01,920 we are members of 1% for the Planet and or actually my whole 1092 00:56:01,920 --> 00:56:05,680 brand or my whole company, Sydney Kids as members with 1% 1093 00:56:05,680 --> 00:56:08,520 for the Planet. So every brand we put out will 1094 00:56:08,520 --> 00:56:12,000 have a, you can pick which 'cause that you donate your 1095 00:56:12,200 --> 00:56:15,000 percentage to. So for the sea glimmers, we're 1096 00:56:15,080 --> 00:56:19,960 going to do like beach cleanups and also saving seal. 1097 00:56:19,960 --> 00:56:22,880 There's a seal rescue here locally in the area that we're 1098 00:56:22,880 --> 00:56:25,160 going to donate to. I love seals. 1099 00:56:25,360 --> 00:56:27,880 They're like cats of the ocean or dogs. 1100 00:56:30,480 --> 00:56:33,600 And then then other brands that come out will have like a 1101 00:56:33,600 --> 00:56:37,640 different partnership with 1% for the Planet, which is a 1102 00:56:37,640 --> 00:56:42,680 wonderful organization. And yeah, that is what I am up 1103 00:56:42,680 --> 00:56:43,960 to. And you'll be able to buy our 1104 00:56:43,960 --> 00:56:47,240 dolls on sea glimmers.com. So we're doing e-commerce. 1105 00:56:47,240 --> 00:56:49,480 We're launching the Mermaid Mama 1st and then we're going to have 1106 00:56:49,480 --> 00:56:52,760 some Glimmer wraps, which are the dress up like mermaid wraps 1107 00:56:52,760 --> 00:56:55,440 for girls, girls and boys. And then anyone could be a 1108 00:56:55,440 --> 00:56:59,880 mermaid and just it's a reversible mermaid. 1109 00:57:00,200 --> 00:57:02,280 I call it a wrap. It's kind of like a wrap skirt. 1110 00:57:03,880 --> 00:57:06,800 Kid could just like wrap it right around their waist and 1111 00:57:06,800 --> 00:57:08,840 they could wear it when you're playing, when you're wearing 1112 00:57:08,840 --> 00:57:11,680 leggings, or you can wear it to the beach or the pool and look 1113 00:57:11,680 --> 00:57:15,360 glamorous. And then we have some Mama 1114 00:57:15,360 --> 00:57:17,160 dolls. The the Mama glimmers are 1115 00:57:17,160 --> 00:57:21,920 launching first and then Jewel, Cyrena and Carla coming. 1116 00:57:21,920 --> 00:57:25,080 And then I'm doing a YouTube channel where I'm going to have 1117 00:57:25,080 --> 00:57:28,840 like a combination of like, like the storybooks and then mermaid 1118 00:57:28,840 --> 00:57:31,480 crafts. That is amazing. 1119 00:57:31,480 --> 00:57:34,120 I love mermaids. I'm so excited for you. 1120 00:57:34,840 --> 00:57:37,760 Well Simi, thank you so much for coming on the show and telling 1121 00:57:37,760 --> 00:57:42,520 me all about your life. I am so excited that I got to 1122 00:57:42,520 --> 00:57:44,360 have you on the show. I've been following you for a 1123 00:57:44,360 --> 00:57:46,240 while. Please let everyone know where 1124 00:57:46,240 --> 00:57:48,440 they can find you on the Internet. 1125 00:57:49,320 --> 00:57:54,120 Yes, first of all, on Instagram, I'm at the doll head for like 1126 00:57:54,120 --> 00:57:56,480 general doll stuff. I like to post about dolls I've 1127 00:57:56,480 --> 00:57:59,680 collected, dolls I've designed, and a little bit about my new 1128 00:57:59,680 --> 00:58:02,720 stuff behind the scenes and about what it's like to be a 1129 00:58:02,720 --> 00:58:06,120 doll designer on there. My new brand is Sea Glimmers 1130 00:58:06,120 --> 00:58:08,600 Cove. So at Sea Glimmers Cove, we're 1131 00:58:08,600 --> 00:58:11,280 also going to have YouTube at Sea Glimmers Cove with the 1132 00:58:11,280 --> 00:58:13,920 mermaid stories, mermaid crafts and things that we have coming 1133 00:58:13,920 --> 00:58:16,400 up. And then please go to 1134 00:58:16,400 --> 00:58:21,720 seaglimmers.com and join the pod and we'll send out emails when 1135 00:58:21,720 --> 00:58:26,680 we have our first drops of our Mermaid Glimmer Mamas and Jules 1136 00:58:26,680 --> 00:58:29,920 Cyrena, Coral Glimmer and the Papa Glimmers. 1137 00:58:30,200 --> 00:58:33,480 They're all coming, love. It well, thank you so much. 1138 00:58:34,240 --> 00:58:35,720 Thank you. Thanks for having me. 1139 00:58:36,320 --> 00:58:37,800 Oh fun. I love talking about dolls. 1140 00:58:38,200 --> 00:58:40,160 Me too and listening to your podcast. 1141 00:58:40,600 --> 00:58:44,400 Thank you. Oh my gosh, that was so great. 1142 00:58:44,400 --> 00:58:46,680 Cindy, thank you so much for being on the show. 1143 00:58:46,680 --> 00:58:49,200 This episode almost got delayed. I did not think I was going to 1144 00:58:49,200 --> 00:58:52,680 be able to record the intro and outro, but I think I'm just just 1145 00:58:52,680 --> 00:58:56,720 a bit good enough to record. So hopefully you guys enjoyed 1146 00:58:56,720 --> 00:59:01,440 that episode and Cindy has been kind enough to give us a coupon 1147 00:59:01,440 --> 00:59:03,000 code. If you would like to get your 1148 00:59:03,000 --> 00:59:07,280 hand on one of the plush mermaid dolls of the sea Glimmers, head 1149 00:59:07,280 --> 00:59:11,600 over to seaglimmers.com. You can use the code iconic and 1150 00:59:11,640 --> 00:59:15,200 get a 10% discount on your Sea Glimmer doll. 1151 00:59:15,360 --> 00:59:17,080 They are fantastic. They are so cute. 1152 00:59:17,080 --> 00:59:20,280 I love that they're eco friendly and Cindy was just incredible. 1153 00:59:20,280 --> 00:59:22,760 So again, thank you so much for being on the show. 1154 00:59:23,200 --> 00:59:24,800 Thank you guys so much for listening. 1155 00:59:24,840 --> 00:59:28,000 As always, follow me on all the things over on YouTube iconic 1156 00:59:28,000 --> 00:59:30,200 doll cast. Follow me on Instagram at Iconic 1157 00:59:30,200 --> 00:59:33,080 Doll Cast or Britney Spears custom dolls and I will talk 1158 00:59:33,080 --> 00:59:34,240 with you guys next time.