How did you get involved in the Young Inventor Challenge 10 years ago?

When I was around 10 years old, my parents decided to take my siblings and me to Chicago for vacation. Being from Georgia, this was a huge deal and my parents told us to make an itinerary of things we would like to do. Of course, the top of my list was immediately the Museum of Science and Industry, and anything after that was whatever else my siblings wanted to do. But then my mom brought up the  Chicago Toy and Game Fair and that was my new top priority.

We were a couple of months out from our big trip, so my mom encouraged me to enter into the Young Inventor Challenge. I decided to look at the past competition on my iPod and immediately got to thinking about what I could do that would “wow” the competition and amuse myself. I figured kids were already so glued to their devices that it would be good to combine toys and iPhones to create a new experience. Therefore, I made (out of playdough) a digital pet that used the iPhone/iPod as a face. I’m pretty sure something like that has long existed by now, but man, I should have gotten that patented.

(Carlyle 10 years ago participating in the Young Inventor Challenge)

Why did you choose the Savannah College of Art and Design, and what is it like?

Honestly, I just looked up “nearby art schools” and that was it. SCAD, just like most colleges, is a tool–it is what you make of it. SCAD is equipped with some incredibly seasoned and talented artists, but they aren’t going out of their way to help you–you have to make yourself known to your professors. Once you do that, there are some incredible insights to be found that you can’t get anywhere else. I have had some very strict and very lenient professors at SCAD, and both of which have been helpful to me in their own ways. The professors at SCAD are willing to go the extra mile for you once they know you’re serious. I have had some professors sit and walk me through entire programs into the night because I couldn’t understand them. I’m writing like this because I naively assumed during my freshman year that professors were going to approach me and give me advice without prompting. No, you need to know what questions to ask to get the answers you need, y’know?

Were you obsessed with any toys, games or objects as a kid?

You could probably guess based on my YIC entry, but I love digital pets of all varieties. Something about companion toys interests me greatly. I think it’s because I have been a long time animal lover. But obviously, when you’re younger, it’s really not a great idea to have a living pet. That’s why I have always loved series like Pokemon or toy lines like FurReal Friends because they allowed me to experience the joy of having a pet to care for and bond with. I still have my Pokewalker from Pokemon Soul Silver (it has my Furret named Tiramisu on it) and my FurReal Friends Biscuit dog (she stays on a dog bed in my room). I don’t play with my Biscuit much anymore, but I used to sleep on her every night when I was little, starting the Christmas night I received her.

What do you love about toys?

Toys are a universal language. The second you see a toy, you know what it's for– to bring joy. I find that characteristic to be so special. You can’t look at a person and know exactly what their deal is, but you can look at a toy and know its whole
purpose is to make someone happy. For that, everyone loves and understands toys, including myself.

What inspires you?

The thought of a child owning and cherishing something I have created or worked on. It doesn’t matter if they had it for a few days or 30 years, the thought of them feeling that spark of joy and excitement from something I helped bring to life is exhilarating. That’s one of the reasons I’m always working on plushies or digital pets–I think they have that power beyond other toys. With those, there’s a pretty big chance someone will live and die with the same toy they got as a young kid. For that, I want to make it right for them. Everyone deserves that experience, and everyone deserves to have it made with the same love and care they will give to that toy. It’s only fair.

What is it about the Toy and Game Industry that you love?

I have come to learn that it is much more open than any industry I have ever heard about from other industries. If you’re a college kid like me, people are more than willing to help you succeed. At the Toy Fair especially, I spoke with people at every position within this industry–manufacturers, developers, CEOs, designers–they have all been welcoming without exception. I believe everyone wants a variation of what I want: to make the world a better place through toys.

I think a great example of this was when I was invited to sit in during the Connolly’s PUB event in New York during the Toy Fair. Because of my history with the Young Inventor Challenge, I was in contact with Mary Couzin and some of her associates, and because we were all in NY, she felt it would be nice for me to come along. I was so unbelievably nervous. On the day of the event, I was so petrified with fear that I just sat in my hotel room all day contemplating what to say and, honestly, if I should even go. There were some HUGE names in attendance, including Mary herself, and I was terrified of coming off as an outsider idiot.

Once I got there, I was immediately overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people there, not one of which was even remotely close to my age. As someone so close to the ground, everyone towered over me, and I still couldn’t see the floor. I was about to resign myself to the corner, order a Shirley Temple, and then leave before speaking when Tim Walsh spotted me. Tim and I had virtually met recently to talk about the YIC, but we hadn’t spoken much beforehand. I was surprised he recognized me. Tim, who had the convenient adaptation of seeing over everyone’s shoulder, had managed to fish me out of a sea of people. He gave me a warm hug and a firm handshake before leading me to a table with  Ahren Hoffman (director of the YIC), Peggy Brown (an independent inventor), and his sister (who was also very, very nice but not a member of the industry).

Ahren and Tim were already familiar with me, so they led the conversation with asking all about my school and the YIC. I was very surprised to say the least. I was fully expecting to get pushed to the wayside, but they made me feel like the (wo)man of the hour. I wanted to know about them, though, so I kept directing the conversation to their experiences–and they were happy to share! I learned so much from them, but I think the core thing that I learned was that these exceptional people are more than willing to give their time to someone as unexceptional as myself. Peggy even picked me up by the scruff and directed me to “bother at least 10 people” before the end of the night. And so I did, and with that, I filled my little bag with lots of business cards and my brain with lots of valuable insights into the toy world. I will never forget that night, and I will never forget the generosity of the people I spoke with. Generosity, humility, that’s what I love about the toy industry.

How did you get involved with the toy industry as a college student?

When I first got to college, I actually decided to get into film because I had cynically decided that I could never make money off of my ideas, and that pursuing something like inventing was a futile effort. I thought, very wrongly, that it was impossible to get into the toy industry without some insane connections and/or a degree in engineering. And even then, I assumed inventors were wholly unappreciated and paid next to nothing.

But the truth was, I really didn’t care about film the way I cared about toys, and if you don’t like what you’re doing then you shouldn’t be doing it. I have been thinking about toys my whole life, since the YIC, and the passion has never left me. Ignoring these feelings was maddening. The more I thought about what I wanted in life, the more I realized I was straying too far from my desires. When I thought to myself, “what would I do if I had a billion dollars,” my mind always went to making toys. It was then that I decided to see what the industry was like. If it was as bad as I was expecting, then I would just go off the grid and live like a nomadic, crazy Kris Kringle pre Santa–minus the Christmas magic and with the addition of IRS investigations. If it was good, then I was switching my major to whatever would get me closest to toys.

My mom, who also accompanied me to the YIC, agreed to take me to New York for that year’s Toy Fair. If anything, it was probably easier for her this time around since she didn’t need to haul my crap around and set up a booth, she just needed to drop me off at the Javits center and let me go wild. And wild I did go, I went up to every booth that I could–including the off-limits ones. Every time I came across a reservation only booth, I would bat my eyes and act as much like a scared little animal as I could so they would feel compelled to let me in. There’s no need for an NDA when little old me is about to get trampled by all the big scary adults. No matter the booth, it seemed like just about everyone was willing to take me out of the cold and tell me what they’re up to.

Even though I was there to learn about the industry, I really wasn’t too interested in getting a job. I was a sophomore at the time, and still technically a film student. I told as much to the people I spoke with so they would know my curiosity was genuine and not an attempt to get a job off of them. But then I arrived at the Jazwares booth, and a man named Bret Ingraham told me about Jazwares’ new internship program. He told me about how great it was and how much I could learn, he told me that he would support me and put in a good word for me since he liked the way I spoke about toys. I was intrigued, especially so once he told me it paid $20 an hour. This industry, and all of its joy and knowledge and kindness, would pay me to explore it. It was an honor to be extended such an offer, and I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

What was it like working at Jazwares?

Despite its massive size, Jazwares HQ felt small. After 10 weeks, I felt like I was at least somewhat familiar with everyone’s faces. It was clean and professional, but comfortable nonetheless. I got my own cubicle in the product development department, which I coated in the countless prototypes the department often received. It was nice but also sad that I got to have all of these prototypes because they were all going to get disposed of when I had to leave my job. On a positive note, I believed I was giving these toys a chance to be loved–something that they otherwise wouldn’t have gotten since they never would have seen store shelves.

The office had an uplifting and bustling environment. People were always up from their desks communicating with each other. The cafeteria, which was massive, had arcade machines, ping pong tables, and an entire cafe that served free coffee. There were free snacks too, which I took full advantage of since my salary went entirely toward my hotel room. I think I got enough vitamin C from the health bars they had to construct another Mount Rushmore of kidney stones. The workplace made a definite effort to make people feel comfortable there. In fact, on our first few days, we interns were greeted with an orientation event run by Janiece Smith with free food and presentations from higher ups. The orientation made it clear that no matter which level someone was on in the company, they valued their interns. Janiece herself especially made this clear herself, making an effort to meet with us one on one throughout the 10 weeks. I didn’t get to meet with her much, but all of the interactions I had with her reminded me of the value us interns had at Jazwares.

The company in general has many engaging events like the ultra fun, classic bring your kid to work day, and those hosted under Jazwares Cares. There was also the wing eating contest they hosted, which I used as my breakfast, lunch, and dinner that day. I think I did a pretty good job considering my 5’1 self almost beat out a grown man for first place by ONE BITE! It was so close that the person overseeing the event, Shlomit Zebersky, promised she would send me a consolation prize. Never got it, but I saw her at the Toy Fair this year and brought the event up, to which she made me get my phone out and jot down my information in an email to her. Hopefully this means my consolation prize, whatever it may be, is on its way.

As for my coworkers, they were the absolute best part. My manager, Eviana Tajbhai, Evie, was very patient with me despite my total inexperience. She taught me just about everything I know about product development, and I seriously couldn’t be more appreciative of her effort. I genuinely don’t know how or where I could have obtained the knowledge I have now because of her. She was a great leader, and I feel like her expectations for each assignment were laid out clearly. Even so, I made mistakes, but when I did, I never felt afraid to come to her about them. Similarly, if I ever had a question (I did, all the time), she was there to answer them without shame or a feeling that I was inconveniencing her. Seriously the best boss anyone could ask for. There was also Steve Ellis, the VP of Jazware’s Plush PD, the big boss. He was unfortunately out of office for most of my time at Jazwares, but when he returned it was awesome! He let me sit in on many of his important calls, and afterwards, he explained everything I was confused about. He was an upstanding and helpful guy that spoke about his job in a very passionate yet matter-of-fact way. It was an honor to work under him and Evie, and I hope to have dinner with them again someday.

Despite their indirect connection to Jazwares, my fellow interns made me feel just as welcomed. They were always open to getting lunch or hanging out after work, and when I couldn’t make it to something, they would ask, “aw, why?” We even saw Deadpool vs. Wolverine together when it came out. One of my coworkers bought the tickets for all of us and we paid him back. Another drove myself and some others to the theater since we didn’t have cars. It was nice, I went to sleep happy that night.

Even people outside of the Internship program were just as kind. For example, I’m a designer, but I took a product development position for the experience. Still, with Steve and Evie’s permission, I spent a lot of time with the design team. For example, a woman named Erin Shores gave me a full tour of the baby toys department and showed me all of the design projects she was working on. From sketch, to render, to the engineered product, to the final product, she showed me a product’s lifecycle. Over at boys' toys, I met Eric Hill and Quincy Robinson who let me work on some small design projects for them. With their kindness, I hope to one day see the things I drew on store shelves (but let’s be real, 9/10 designs get rejected along the way). There were also the awesome people at Blue J like David Winter and Nikole Murphy who showed me all of the wonderful things they worked on. I literally couldn’t contain my excitement sometimes and would let out an involuntary squeal … Oh, but I am under an NDA so I can’t share any of that.

What advice would you give to someone your age?

Join the toy industry! This is an amazing industry to be a part of and you will be welcomed with open arms. Forget about begging on your hands and knees for companies to just look at your portfolios and resumes–these are real people that really care about what you have to offer–and you have a lot to offer! Your perspective is more valuable to these people than gold. You are in a demographic that is close to children but mature enough to relay your tastes in a way people can understand. There’s also a chance you may be classified as a “kidult” (I know, I hate the term too), which is an incredibly important demographic to these companies. So many Toy Fair presentations talk about the rising importance of adults that collect toys, if you fit squarely in that demographic, you have so much influence over the industry!

Don’t be afraid to come to the Toy Fair as a student–it’s free! Plan on it, put it in your calendar. Industry veterans are everywhere and they want you to succeed. So, come and introduce yourself! If you can’t afford to make it to the Toy Fair or any other tradeshow, reach out to people over LinkedIn. I would especially encourage you to talk to people that went to the same school as you or are around your age. I have had great success connecting with people there and asking about internships. Even if they can’t give you a job, making connections and getting information on the industry is incredibly helpful.

If you face rejection, just keep trying, you might not have met the right people yet. There will always be companies looking for someone exactly like you. You just need to find each other.

What do you hope your legacy will be?

I didn’t join the toy industry with hopes of being remembered. Maybe this is a bit grim to say, but realistically, most people will be forgotten in a couple of generations after we pass. Even when I am forgotten, and even if my ideas are forgotten, my only hope is to have made as many people happy as possible with my toys. I believe toys have the power to do that beyond other mediums. When I am done, I only wish to have contributed to the cherished memories of children worldwide.