|
Toyland
— anything but child's play
It
sounds like a fun job — creating the next generation
of toys. The names alone inspire giggles: Squirm, Splat
Coasters, and Curious Bonz, a set of 43 anatomically
incorrect bones that connect to joints to form creatures
limited only by one’s imagination.
Those
are some of the toys and eclectic products created by
Sandra Higashi and Byron Glaser of Fredericksburg’s
Higashi Glaser Design. Yet nurturing a toy from idea
stage to the store shelf is anything but child’s
play. Before a toy ever gets to market, Glaser spends
hours at toy trade shows, talks with manufacturers,
sales representatives and trademark lawyers and juggles
numbers. “The easiest part is coming up with ideas,
but the challenge lies in licensing and manufacturing,”
he says.
And
even when those details get ironed out, a toy needs
to strike a chord in the market. Big-time toy manufacturers
at first shunned one of the design team’s early
creations, the Zolo play sculpture. It wasn’t until
after New York City’s Museum of Modern Art established
an exclusive agreement to distribute the toy, at least
in the initial stages, that Zolo began its climb to
the top of the specialty retail toy market. Comprised
of squiggly, colorful and cartoon-like parts, the Zolo
construction set appeals to children of all ages and
is considered one of today’s classic toys. It’s
available now from various outlets at prices ranging
from $10 for a mini set to $100 for a 36-piece wooden
set.
Since
opening their Fredericksburg studio in 1986, the Glaser
Higashi team has done package and product design for
such clients as Bath and Body Works, Swatch, MTV and
Cirque du Soleil. It recently teamed up with Deb Walters
Hirshfield, a former Nickelodeon executive, to work
on other business ventures. So far, the partnership
has produced Coal, a blackberry gum marketed during
the holidays as a stocking stuffer. Coal is the brainchild
of Glaser’s 12-year-old son. “Omri is our
built-in test market,” says Glaser, “and he
has lots of great ideas.” Probably doesn’t
mind helping around the office either.
—
Elizabeth Thalhimer
Return
to Virginia Business - October 2002
|
|
