We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Suquorey Clarke a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Suquorey, thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Our story is an interesting one. Back in 2014, I was lying in bed reading “Brick Flicks, A Comprehensive Guide To Making Your Own STOP-MOTION LEGO MOVIES” by Sarah Herman when I heard a voice say, “Make dolls for little girls.” The voice was clear as day. I know that sounds crazy, but imagine how I felt when I heard it. Being a spiritual person, I came to the conclusion that it was a sign and I needed to look into what I could do to make it a reality. I have always had a love for animation, toys, and games. My passion for them runs so deep that I attended and graduated from college with a Bachelor of Science in Media Arts & Animation in 2011 from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh (Online Division). Here I am today running two businesses selling plush toys, one business on Etsy (Toyz N’Whatnot) that sells plushies I personally design, and the second that I manage a website for and is a resale business (www.plushnstuff365.com). I don’t know if either of my businesses will grow to the point where they become a household name but I’ve seen the affect these plush toys have on my customers. The smiles and laughs that I have seen on the face of children and adults is the driving factor behind why I do what I do.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

As a youth, I was fascinated with the gaming industry. I was a hardcore gamer; I had everything from the first generation Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Sega CD, Sega Saturn to the Xbox. But along with that, I watched a plethora of cartoons and I had quite the collection of action figures. I developed an elastic imagination (I still have it); that being said, toys, cartoons and games were an escape from reality for me. If I ever felt life was too much, I could drift away into a cartoon world, create entire stories using my toys, or play video games all day. My original major in college was Game Art & Design but the further I got into the curriculum I felt like something was missing. Games is just that; games, I wanted more than just games. I wanted to learn every aspect of the design process. I switched my major to Media Arts & Animation and the rest was history; I found the completeness I was looking for.

The plushies I design under Toyz N’What don’t solve a problem for say, the goal is to fill a gap. There are a number of plushies on the market but not very many of them accurately reflect communities of color. Our mission is to fill the gap; representation is important, I want to design plushies that kids of all colors can look at and see themselves. I think one thing that sets my plushies a part from others is the amount of thought that is put into each plush or product and the intention. The intention is not to get rich fast by flooding the market with a niche product; there is a love that goes into each plushie and product created. I think that love allows for a more authentic product.

I honestly believe I was called to be part of the toy industry. Taking an idea and converting that idea from a sketch on paper or computer and turning it into a physical product is a very rewarding feeling. I think that is thing I am most proud of; there is a lot of planning, patience, sleepless nights, and shortcomings that come along with this business. It’s easy to become frustrated, depressed, and want to quit. But to push through the difficult times and see light at the end of the dark tunnel; that makes it all worth it. I want people who read this to know Toyz N’Whatnot will always strive to create the best possible product. And as we grow, it is our focal point to think outside the box and provide products that look like, inspire, and bring smiles to our customers.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One of the most important lessons I learned during this journey is timing; you have to keep pace with the industry and account for production times. When I first created Toyz N’Whatnot my intentions was to created Barbie type dolls. At the time; Barbie’s of color were trending due to events that were going on across the country. It was a solid idea, but due to disagreements on a world scale with the US and China I could not import my dolls into the country and had to wait longer than I expected. By time I was able to get them inspected by a The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) laboratory, the trend was on a downslide. I had 2000 dolls ready to be sold with no real market; it was a rather costly mistake. My advice to anyone in any industry is not to assume; keep track of world events, the industry, and anything that could affect your business.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I decided to pivot from Barbie type dolls and move to plushies. Plushies are lighter, have less moving parts, are easier to package, and cheaper to ship. While I don’t believe the Barbie type doll industry will ever die out, I see more potential in plushies. I feel it was a smart business move; in my opinion there is more flexibility with plushies. Not to mention the market for plushies is trending up at the moment; that’s great news.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.etsy.com/shop/toyznwhatnot
• Instagram: www.instagram/toyznwhatnot
• Other: We also sell our products in our online resale store: www.plushnstuff365.com