Blogs

Ladies and gentlemen of People of Play, grab a comfy seat and a snack, because we are about to embark on a journey into the world of wit and wisdom. As the great wise sage once said, \"You can lead a h...

KIDS TODAY ARE FACING INCREASING MENTAL DISTRESS Building Products with M.E.S.H. in Mind - Mental-Emotional-Social-Health   Play is one of the best ways to promote safety in kids’ mental...

Letting Go is Harder Than it Sounds By Nancy Zwiers I remember hearing the story about some men who were capturing monkeys in the wild for research.  The monkeys needed to be caught unharmed.&n...

  What are your roles and responsibilities in our industry? David Norman: I run Moose’s game division.  Our division is fortunate to get a great amount of marketing and innovation ...

Hi Laura, thank you for taking time for this interview and nice to meet you! Please share with our readers your roles and responsibilities in our industry?  Except for at the very beginning of...

Hi Shannon! Thank you for taking time to share what you\'ve been up to lately. Can you share with our readers what you do in our industry? I am the Inventor Relations Manager for Games at Moose...

MESH PRODUCTS - PROBLEM SOLVING Post 3 in a 6 Part Series about MESH   Thinkfun turns their focus to the global youth mental health crisis and how play can make all the difference in protectin...

  The toy industry is undergoing monumental change—in a scale not seen since the 1950s. Like any thriving industry, from the beginning of the 20th century when the U.S. toy industry was ...

Hi Laura! Thank you for taking time our from you crazy schedule to share your latest projects with us! First, let\'s talk about what you do in our industry...   I was and still am a board game...

(Mary) Hi Lorena! Less than five years ago you started as an intern at TOMY and then joined full-time as an Assistant Product Designer on Lamaze. How\'s it going? It’s been great to say the le...

\"Skwishmallow\" - a nickname created by smashing the words \'Squishmallow\' and \'Skwid\' (a term used by the dance group I\'m a member of to denote new members) How did I get such a nickname? Well, while ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Singing Machine To Launch Sesame Street Singalong Toys   Fort Lauderdale, FL, April 5, 2023 – The Singing Machine Company, Inc. (NASDAQ: MICS) – the w...

Celebrate World Marbles Day with ThinkFun’s FreeFall   If you’re looking for a modern way to celebrate the classic game of marbles this spring, ThinkFun encourages you t...

  LAURA TOMMERVIK JOINS FUN IN MOTION TOYS AS DIRECTOR OF MARKETING   Ft. Lauderdale, FL (4/3/23):   Industry veteran Laura Tommervik has joined Fun In Motion Toys in the new pos...

American Experience, a documentary series directed by Steven Ives and produced by PBS, now in it’s 35th season, has released a deep dive into the true story behind a classic American board game:...

The Lego Movie begins with Emmet, a mini-fig Lego living in Bricksburg, the city within the Lego universe, and he is especially good at following directions. Every morning, he wakes up and follows the...

Toy Story 1 In the first of the four Toy Story movies, we are introduced to the gang of toys: Woody, a pull string sheriff cowboy doll, Rex, a plastic T-Rex, Mr. Potato Head, Bo Peep, Slinky Dog, and...

Greg doesn\'t just create amazingly vibrant fun games with fabulous package and game design, but he also does murals and artist in residency programs!   Join Greg and Heidi as they present the A...

Thinkfun turns their focus to the global youth mental health crisis and how play can make all the difference in protecting and strengthening children and teens.  The company’s new init...

Greetings, my fellow POP toy aficionados! Today, we pay homage to the visionaries who have graced our world with their plaything prowess. Join me as we dive into a treasure trove of toyful wisdom: the...

Greetings, fellow POP toy enthusiasts! Today, we embark on a journey through time, exploring the wild and wonderful world of toy and game design. So, buckle up and hold onto your joysticks, as we take...

Hey there, POP friends! Today, we\'re diving into a topic that\'s near and dear to my heart: the importance of inclusivity in toy and game design. In a world as diverse as ours, it\'s crucial that we ref...

  SQUINKIES ARE BACK!  Blip Toys Brings Back the OG Micro Collectible Toy for a New Generation   The 2010 mega-hit and TOTY-award winning Squinkies are back - and squishier than e...

  How long have you been in the toy industry?   Virtually a working lifetime - around 45 years all up.     Where did it all start and where are you now?   It started...

Why and how did you get into the Toy and Game industry? My work is play! I’m a speech-language pathologist so helping people connect and communicate is what drives me. I’ve worked with ch...

I recently came across the age old question of \"What do I buy the person who has everything?\" It\'s a struggle me and my sister always face when prepping for Christmas, Mother\'s Day, or our mom\'s birth...

It\'s been three hours. The landscape hasn\'t changed in the past two. It\'s too close to the last stop to stop again and too far to the next rest stop. Your knees are stiff; you\'ve lost feeling in your ...

  As professionals in the toy and game industry our jobs are richly rewarded when we help children grow, learn, feel wonder and joy, when we make them smile and laugh.    This is a...

Cheap Thrills By Nancy Zwiers In my first year in the toy industry—over 30 years ago(!)—I marveled to a friend: “Making a great toy is easy.  Making a great toy at the right p...

As long time optical design consultants,  Optics For Hire has designed products for hundreds of applications from LIDAR for self-driving cards to ophthalmoscopes to street lights, spectrometers a...