How to Design Dreams: Unboxing Toy Industry Magic with Bright Stripes Co-founder Sabre Mrkva

EP008_03-20-24_ Sabre Mrkva

Intro: [00:00:00] Welcome to Toy Business Unboxed, your gateway to the secrets of the toy industry. Here, Jason Hsieh, a toy entrepreneur and expert in the field, will guide you through the enchanting world of toy design, marketing, and manufacturing. Now let the unboxing begin.

Jason Hsieh: To another episode of Toy Business Unboxed Podcast. I’m your host, Jason Hsieh. Today, we have a special guest with a vast experience in the toy industry. Saber, the co-founder of Bright Stripes, is here to unravel some of the secrets behind the crafting industry and about the dreams that empower children to creative play.

Let’s get ready to explore some of the intersections of the business, design and also the magic of toys. Thank you for being on the podcast today and thank you for joining us today. 

Sabre Mrkva: Thank you so much for having me. It’s a big honor. Thank you. 

Jason Hsieh: Yeah and we have really been really working on the podcast format.

So now we’re also live streaming to different social media platform as part of the podcast. For those of you that’s listening on any of the Apple podcast or Google podcast, you can also see [00:01:00] a live video version of this on our YouTube channels as well. I’m going to start today’s interview about. 

What inspired you with the creation of Bright Stripe and your vision for empowering children through creative play. 

Sabre Mrkva: My partner and I, Eric von Stein and I worked together at Alex toys for a very long time. So we worked together for 10 years. We went through the transition into Alex brands where we acquired many new brands. We worked on so many brands together. Scientific Explorer, Slinky, Shrinky Dinks, Alex, all the Alex lines, bath toys, preschool toys, preschool learning just on and on, furniture. It was a really wide net. We had construction with zoo, but all different categories and we work side by side, really roping in all these different brands and trying to make it a cohesive story. We felt we did a [00:02:00] very good job, we had a great product development team. The best product designers and package designers, and we really had a great thing going.

But it was difficult to see some of the decisions being made and weren’t the decisions we would make we wanted to put more value into the product rather than different aspects, like tooling, new things, different ways that we could see that it wasn’t really working out very well.

 We actually were laid off. I was six months pregnant and that was in 2018. The very next day we had been plotting and planning to do something on our own where we could just like really keep it, our products pure to the vision of creating. So we registered our LLC Bright Stripes the very next day and we hit the ground running and we started developing all these really cute collections and products to unleash kids [00:03:00] creativity using the secret sauce that we developed and learned through the Alex Toys process of you give everything that a child needs in kid. You give them enough direction, pre cut pieces, blah, blah, blah, all the things that they need to create something very beautiful, but then you allow a little percentage of customization.

So you have all the tools and materials you need to make something beautiful. But also a little piece that makes it your own and unique. You feel like you’ve made something great and you made it your own. You feel successful, you were given the tools that were age appropriate to create something that is meaningful and beautiful to you. And then you feel encouraged to come back and do arts and crafts again, because a lot of kids get really discouraged if it doesn’t look like the box and they don’t want to try anymore. They start to feel self conscious about what they make at a certain age, especially after age seven. So we really want to plunge our heart and soul into creating kits that give kids a beautiful platform to [00:04:00] discover their own self expression and then they keep returning to it again and again because arts and crafts are just a wonderful way for kids to process their big feelings and to have something that’s they can use to calm themselves down process their day, process what they’re going through and just it’s such a wonderful restorative hobby that they can use for a lifetime.

 That’s really what we want to encourage. Lifetime crafters and artists. 

Jason Hsieh: Okay. Yeah. Thank you for sharing that background story with the listeners. I think a lot of entrepreneurial stories start out with a need that you’re trying to fulfill yourself and that’s definitely part of your story as well.

I know you’re with so many different experience in the toy industry. 

What changes have you been seeing, especially regarding the design and maybe a little bit about sustainability. 

Sabre Mrkva: Yeah, so that’s a big motivator for Bright Stripes. We strive to get closer and closer to a vision of not [00:05:00] only neutral impact but a positive impact is our ultimate goal. We’re five years in and we just created a line of products called Magic Scrunch, where we’re using all sustainable recycled post consumer plastic bottles in our fleece and stuffing and felt materials that create this really cool, innovative pillow.

So we’re reducing plastic in our packaging as much as we possibly can. We’re a small company, we’re not backed by a huge investment firm or anything like that. We’re just like little guys on our own. So, it is a big investment to go sustainable, and it’s the right thing to do, and we’re really encouraged to seeing more toys. Toy companies really embracing that and going that way.

That is a big trend, it’s about time as we see it. Another thing that always changes in toys, but always remains the same, is you have parents thinking about how they were kids and what toys they loved when they were growing up. And that’s [00:06:00] always a really big influence on the toys that they want to purchase for their own kids. If you had a positive experience with Care Bears and Rainbow Bride and He Man toys or whatever it was, those elements in today’s current toys role make you reflect and feel warm and fuzzy towards it. That’s always a really powerful force is nostalgia, always thinking about.

Who are the moms of today and what did they play with when they were kids? So that would be something that would, it’s always changing, but it’s always really fun to think about those things. 

Jason Hsieh: Got it. The follow up question I have about sustainability, it looks like a big focus for your brand and you also mentioned an example of how you are currently trying to incorporate it as much as possible. 

Can you give the audience a little bit more example of how other practice you are trying to do inside and incorporate in your own toy design and why is it so critical to you and your brand?

Sabre Mrkva: We have over 130 toys on our line [00:07:00] currently including a nice large supply of arts, an art range called I heart art that has a lot of different components as well.

So we have a big line. But as we’re developing newer products, we’re thinking about how do we take the plastic completely away from this product? That’s a design challenge on our side. How do we reduce the need for a packaging blister? How do we create a package that has more play value for the kids? How do we incorporate different elements of play into the package that are might not be there before. So we always try to think about that and we’re getting better about reducing the amount of plastic in our packaging. We’re always trying to push our vendors to find alternative materials to plastic or using recycled.

P E T for our plastic windows. If we have to have one, sometimes you need to have one. So we’re trying, we’re [00:08:00] small and we have a small team, so we have limited everything, limited resources of money, time, and energy to be as forward leaning as our minds and hearts are. To be honest with you, it takes a long time to develop things that are really green and so we don’t want to make the mistake of greenwashing our products, but it is a mission of ours and we’re going step by step as best we can.

Jason Hsieh: Got it. Yeah, running a small business myself definitely I can resonate with that problem and the challenges that you also face, but thank you for so much for committing to that sustainability piece.

Can you also share a special project from Bright Stripe in the kids arts and craft space and what really make that project stand out to you?

Sabre Mrkva: Yeah, I can talk actually about magic scrunch here. I have it right here. This this is the one that is our purest eco product here, it’s all paper packaging. [00:09:00] So the box obviously is recyclable inside there’s a paper bag that holds the components. We have the message on the front here. This is a pillow that kids get to make themselves. It looks like a latch hook pillow, but actually it’s made of precut fleece, beautiful, very soft, double sided fuzzy on both sides, beautifully printed fleece with nice bright colors. This is made of 90 to a hundred percent post consumer plastic bottles.

Isn’t that awesome.

Jason Hsieh: Yeah. 

Sabre Mrkva: And it’s great to have a source for that so now we’re going to lean into that. we also have the felt pillowcase that has these strips pre sewn on, and it has slits inside the pillow. These slits get woven through these pieces that have all of these different cuts on it and so when you lace it on with minimal effort, you actually get this like instant pinata fridge with only seven panels. It creates this latch hook look in less than an hour. [00:10:00] All of the felt here is 90 percent to 100 percent recycled material and so is the pillow stuffing.

So the felt, the pillow, all of the little felt pieces that you add on, there’s no sewing in it because there’s these little buttons that kind of button back on themselves so you don’t need any sharp points, any string, any scissors, everything is all self contained. And then the patches, these really beautiful patches, peel off and stick and they’re really tough.

There’s a little video on the back to see it come together in this little stop motion. A little Gumby stop motion way to see it all come together. Scrunch up on itself, but it’s really cool and really fun. An interesting new idea, it’s patented and this is a great example of how you can create innovation out of kind of fabric, right? It’s like fabric and flat materials, but how do you create something interesting and unique and three dimensional. 

Jason Hsieh: Yeah, thank you for sharing that. 

Do you have other animal of the same [00:11:00] product as well? Beside that?

Sabre Mrkva: Yeah. We have a unicorn, a puppy, a kitty, a cupcake, and an axolotl that just came out this year. They’re all really cute.

Jason Hsieh: That’s a lot of variation. And when we talk about small businesses, the next question I want to transition to is as a parent, as a mom yourself. 

How does a parenthood also influence your approach when designing product for the children that you’re serving?

Sabre Mrkva: I so have a five year old right now, and almost 12 year old. I have my little guy set and I have my tween, which is perfect because we develop for all those different age ranges. It’s very helpful to not only see my own child, but their peer group and what they’re interested in. What they think is cool because as the older you get, it has to have that cool factor or it’s out. I always have my daughter and her friends gut check. Is it, we think this is cool. Is this cool? And like, no, mom, not that color. How [00:12:00] dare you? Pink is not that cool, you have to have other colors. It’s pretty important for that, especially for that age group.

And then for little kids, you want to observe what can they really do? What size is too big? What size is too small? What are they holding? What are they gripping? What is their motor skill set? Is your kid some sort of genius or are they behind the curve? Like it’s nice to check in with a full peer group and see like what they’re able to manipulate so that you can create projects that they can really do and feel proud of.

Jason Hsieh: It sounds like you have your own small product research group that you can use 

Sabre Mrkva: 100%. My poor kids, I have all these like toys and art materials all over. That’s like, you can’t touch, that’s my only sample. They get a lot, but they always have to wait a long time. So they have a big exercise in patience. That’s my only sticker sheet. You can’t use that sticker sheet.

Jason Hsieh: The next question I have is really on [00:13:00] the collaboration with your business partner, Eric. And I know a lot of the small business we run, we have a partner. Can we can you elaborate on how does that enhance the overall brands and how do you balance between what you do versus what Eric does?

Sabre Mrkva: I have to say Eric and I have the most beautiful, synergetic relationship of my lifetime. We have worked side by side for 15 years now. We just have a really great way of communicating, we can have disagreements. It’s always very respectful. You’re going to get mad sometimes, but we like nip it in the bud and say, we’re sorry, like 30 seconds later.

Which is very helpful. We just have a really great way of working together I really appreciate and respect his talents which are the graphic design and the visual panache that he brings to our products. He’s the creator of why Bright Stripes look so beautiful and amazing. My skill set is [00:14:00] more backend, although we both do both, which is nice, but I’m really on the backend, like making sure that the price value is there, that the pieces are working, I’m working with the factory to making sure that production issues are correct.

It’s like the outside inside is how we work together. We each have our specialty, but in case, traveling or sick or whatnot, the other one can wear each other’s hats very easily. It’s rare to find a partner that is so seamless to work with like that. I, we realize how special and unique that is, but having a partner is everything. Because you’re not just doubling your output, you’re like 10 times. It’s 10 X ing your output because you have someone to bounce things off of instead of stewing and dwelling on an issue all day. You’re like, is this right? And five minutes later, you have an answer. You take this one, I’ll take this one.

So having a partner is everything and we both tell each other all the time. There’s no way we could have even dreamed [00:15:00] of doing anything like this on our own. It’s all about that partnership. 

Jason Hsieh: That’s actually very similar to my business between me and my sister.

She’s really the creative side of things. I’m more of a operator and also I’m like the spokesperson almost because I love to talk to people. So that’s my focus is talking to people and also handling the operation side. And when it comes to creative, I cannot draw. I couldn’t even draw anything. She designed all the websites, she designed all the marketing assets. So very similar Kind of the relationship you just described between you and Eric as well. 

The next question I have is, with so much background in like DIY and craft product. In the digital world, how can you make sure people, the kids, is not just on the iPad, in digital device. 

How can you encourage them to use more of your product or more of the toys in general as well? What is your take on that? 

Sabre Mrkva: It’s such an issue, right? And it’s just getting a [00:16:00] little bit tougher for parents to pull kids off of screens every day so that is a big motivation is to give kids some screen free activities. And again, our focus is really on driving a success with the end product, so that you feel proud and you want to return to it.

Our art materials and I heart art, we really focus on almost professional level quality at a reasonable price. So the kids have beautiful pigment, like our glitter markers are so glittery that it’s just a satisfying experience just to touch and use the materials. The color is so bold and so bright that the talent that is shining within, it has that quality that gives it that artist level look that encourages kids to continue.

You can make a beautiful drawing, but if it’s with like itchy, scratchy, waxy crayons, it doesn’t have that wow factor that you really want. We really try to invest in good quality materials so that the thing that you [00:17:00] make looks amazing and you want to keep it around. It’s not something that you tape on the fridge for a while and then you put it in the recycle bin.

We really want to give kids ceramics and really high wood and different things that they can feel proud that they made. That’s our focus to pull kids off screen and give them something so satisfying that they want to return to it because everyone needs to like get away from that blue light, unplug rest the old eyeballs, and do something that’s like totally in your control.

When you’re on screen, you’re dabbing around on seeing what other people made, right? You’re the consumer, but it’s really fun and satisfying to be the producer. We want people to produce their own art and kids to make their own art, to be on the producer side. 

Jason Hsieh: For sure. Yeah, even with my kid they definitely use a little bit of too much iPad sometimes. 

What are the challenges and opportunity do you see in the involving toy industry with the changing [00:18:00] technology and also consumer behaviors and preferences that you’re seeing? Especially for 2024, what is some of the trend that you’re seeing 

Sabre Mrkva: I think a lot of times, toy companies try to be cool and incorporate a lot of like digital content in their toys, and I think that it’s true that parents want to take a step back. So I think working on our hands on Stuff is something to be proud of and I don’t think we need to digitize everything I think there’s it is a trend to try put more in by putting things online and there’s a place for that you can meet people and share your things online, but it’s also nice to just take a step back from that.

That’s a trend that’s going on, we might need to as a society, take a hard look at how much more screens do we really need. And then of course there’s AI, right? AI is everywhere. It’s on everybody’s lips. There’s a lot of interesting things that can happen because you can be a creator without having [00:19:00] all of the skill sets.

If you have a vision for something, you can see what it would look like with prompts instead of spending a million hours, like making a 3D model of it. You’re not a sculptor, but you have a vision, right? There’s some power that’s interesting and fun and creative about AI and then there’s obviously all this scary stuff, about being misled. That’s the thing that I feel the most afraid of is fake news stories and things like that on a personal level that I don’t want people to get too. Not lose sight of that deep research you need to do when you’re checking your new sources.

We all just have to keep our eyes open and not be so afraid of AI that we’re not keeping tabs on it and being in the conversation with it because we don’t want it to be decided by everybody else. I think everybody needs to get involved in the conversation. So it’s more about what we need as a society and less about this kind of power [00:20:00] grab at the top to see who’s going to have the best AI bot. 

Jason Hsieh: I think as long as the businesses and the people is using it correctly. I use a lot of AI in my current business as well. Try to streamline a lot of the processes. 

Have you also test AI to try to come up with new product design ideas or different iteration of the new product?

Sabre Mrkva: Yeah, so Eric is better at AI than me. He likes to do it as a hobby actually. He creates these like beautiful, like kind of photographic seventies dream worlds just for fun. It’s nice for him to have that kind of artistic outlet and things that are created in a timeframe that he wouldn’t be able to do if it was his hobby and he was having to like build all these dioramas and light it in a certain way. Seeing his process, I can see the skill involved in doing AI really well.

We have used it to do some like quick ideas and then we take our [00:21:00] pieces of different things and collage it together. It’s almost like another kind of like search bar on the internet, right? yeah, Different inspirations and cutting pieces and putting it together, then doing it all over again and seeing what happens. So we do use it in that way. 

Jason Hsieh: For sure. Okay, thank you for sharing that. That’s an interesting way of using it. 

For 2024, can we also talk about some of the new product you’re working on this year? 

Sabre Mrkva: Yes, we have a lot in store. We’re having a big launch at the Astra show, the American specialty toy retailers association. That was our very first show in 2019 in Pittsburgh, and so now it’s our fifth year anniversary going to that show. So we’re going to have a big party. 

Jason Hsieh: Oh, nice. This is my first year going there. 

Sabre Mrkva: Oh, see you in St. Louis.It’s going to be so much fun. That’s great. We love this show, we love the specialty store [00:22:00] community. It’s our heart and soul and they’re just such a warm and lovely community of retailers and manufacturers. We have over the years we’ve built so many friendships with so many different people. It’s just a really warm and lovely place. So we’re going to have a lot of new products coming out. And that will be the time where we’re launching. I can. 

Jason Hsieh: Any teaser?

Sabre Mrkva: I know, do I have a teaser? I think I’ll let it be a surprise if you don’t mind. We have some really great, I will say we’re doing a relaunch of Bright Stripes.

We’ve developed a lot of capsule collections where our name is underneath. There’s magic scrunch and then it’s like my Bright Stripes We’re having a new craft line very forward facing Bright Stripes forward craft line. We have a lot of stuff for little kids and tweens. So we’re trying to hit that middle age of kids six to nine.

So that [00:23:00] core classic crafts, we have some really fun new products coming out that have some classics with the twist. I’ll say that. 

Jason Hsieh: For sure. So as we’re winding down toward the end of today’s podcast interview here. 

If you had to share just one piece of advice to someone that’s just getting started in the toy industry what would that be?

Sabre Mrkva: I would say keep a really big Rolodex, be friendly and positive with everyone you meet. Because the toy industry is tiny and you will absolutely see that person again. People come into the industry, but they rarely leave that’s the secret, because it’s such a wonderful place in a wonderful community.

Be nice to everyone. My husband has some good advice about burning bridges. It’s a short speech. Don’t burn any bridges. That would be my big advice. We try to share any knowledge that we get with newcomers because we know [00:24:00] it’s so hard one on our side and so many people have been helping us along with their advice and their openness. So we try to do the same with, new toy companies as well. 

Jason Hsieh: Thank you so much for sharing that. For the audience that want to learn more about Bright Stripes, where’s the best place for them to find you? 

Sabre Mrkva: We have a great Instagram account @brightstripesco and we also have a great website you can see all of our products and videos at BrightStripes.co. 

Jason Hsieh: Okay, perfect. We’ll put that all in the show notes so it’s easy for them to find as well. 

Thank you so much for your time today, it has been a very insightful interview, and I’m definitely learning a little bit more about the arts and crafts toys. Maybe I’ll go buy a few for my two daughters. I have two younger daughters, they love arts and crafts as well. 

Sabre Mrkva: Absolutely. Thanks so much. 

Outro: You’ve been listening to Toy Business Unboxed, hosted by Jason Hsieh. Thank you for joining us and exploring the fascinating world of [00:25:00] toys and the ingenuity behind them.

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