Toy Fair is ultimately all about buying and selling. It is easy to get so focused on making a deal that the opportunity to get educated about the business of play can easily slip by. That's why I want to encourage everyone to make some time to hear the speakers at the "Creative Factor" during Toy Fair.
Produced by Brett Klisch and featuring talks on Kickstarter, STEAM, PR, gender, sourcing, licensing, funding, safety and creative thinking, "The Creative Factor" provides lots to learn from some outstanding individuals (I am proud to be one of them).
It's all taking place at the entrance to Hall 1C. I'll see you there. Now, here's the schedule:
Saturday February 13
11:00 AM Beyond Pink and Blue
Jens Peter de pedro -founding art director of Toca boca
How is it that it is culturally acceptable to divide children's playthings up
along gender lines? Meanwhile, it would be unthinkable to have toys aimed
solely at certain cultural or ethnic groups. We design tools for play as if
there is no overlap in girls’ and boys’ interests. Jens Peter will talk about
why things should, and how thinks could, be different.
1:00 PM Panel
Using STEAM Education in Toy Design
Join panelists Dave Sharp of littleBits, Heather Croston Art director of
K'nex, Benny Kline of Dream Big Friends, and Debbie Sterling of Goldieblox
in a panel discussion on integrating STEAM education into toy development
for girls and eliminating the much dreaded pink aisle by making toys gender
neutral.
3:00 PM Class
Presenting Your Ideas to Manufacturers for Licensing
Warren Tuttle – president – United Inventors Association of America
Matt Nuccio – president – Design edge
Take a practical tour through the process of readying your new product
idea for licensing to a manufacturer. We’ll look at patents, prototypes and
general idea creation
Sunday February 14
9:00 AM Creative breakfast
Please join us for a free breakfast to all attendies and participants.
Coffee, juice, bagels, and other light breakfast stuffs will be provided.
Network with your fellow inventors, designers, and creators.
9:30 AM 3D printing with Formlabs 3D
Nothing has changed the industry quicker in recent years than the
ability to quickly develop product digitally. Formlabs and their range of
affordable 3D printers have been at the for front of bringing 3D printing
to the individual and small company that can not afford the 6 figure cost
of past 3D printers. Formlabs will give attendies a primer on how they can
use 3D printing in their pipelines for design and production.
11:00 AM Lecture
Understanding Gender and Toys in the 21st Century
Richard Gottlieb – Global Toy News
The role of gender, and in fact the very notion of what defines gender,
have undergone dramatic change in the fifteen years since the beginning
of the 21st century. Retailers are removing gender signs from toy
departments while women have become eligible for all army combat roles.
How is the toy industry to navigate its way through this mix of change,
challenge and opportunity. In my talk, I will cover this question and provide
insights on the challenges to come and some ways to adapt if not take
advantage of a world dramatically different than the one into which we
were born.
2:00 PM Lecture
Presenting Your New Idea to Investors
Marc Portney – Host of All-American Makers on the Science Channel
Marc will walk attendees through the process of preparing to present
their new idea or company to investors. We’ll examine the stages of
developing an idea to the point of making it investable.
4:00PM Class
Safe sourcing and manufacturing in Asia
Charles Berzon – Prosource Global LTD.
Navigating the waters of international manufacturing and sourcing can
be treacherous for even the most experienced person, doubly so for the
newly minted entrepreneur. Join Charles Berzon of ProSource Glogal Ltd.
in a talk on where to begin. This will be an open Q&A session on how
identify, qualify, and manage overseas manufacturers to help you bring
your product to market on time and within budget and quality
expectations.
Monday February 15
11:00 AM Book Presentation
Right Brain Red: 7 Keys to Creative Success
written by Reyn Guyer and Tim Walsh
Imagine learning product design from the originator of NERF and
TWISTER, toy brands that have generated over $8 billion in sales.
Reyn Guyer is one of the most successful creative professionals of
our time. Tim Walsh will talk about writing of this book and how
readers can gain invaluable experience of decades of creating and
inventing.
1:00 PM Panel
KickStarter Campaigns hosted by kickstarter.com
Join Kickstarter as they go through the real world experiences of people
who used Kickstarter to launch their products and companies. Learn what
it really takes to achieve success on kickstarter. Panelists will share their
victories and some of their defeats in their bid to attain funding.
Panelist will include
Maxwell Bogue – 3D doodler
Erik Thorstensson – Strawbees
Julie Kerwin – IamElemental
Benny klein – Dream Big friends/ Four horsies of the 'pocolypse/ Lil' maddie
Tuesday February 16
11:00 AM Class
Trademark System Updates
Craig Morris -United States Patent and Trademark Office
An overview of why selecting the right trademark is so important and
how this can be the cornerstone to successful commercialization of any
new product and the role of the USPTO in the registration process.
1:00 PM Class
No nonsense PR
Samantha Martin – Media Maison
Every brand wants to be on the TODAY Show and in the pages of Parenting
Magazine. Every brand says "if only Ellen could see how great my toy is…
" Yet so many send hundred of emails and more often than not they get no
reply. At PR without the BS learn firsthand from a toy industry publicist the
how to's and realities of PR placement. What producers and editors want,
when is the best time to pitch your particular product , why digital placements
are sometimes more effective that the pages of print, how to nurture media
relationships, who really makes the decisions at a show or at a magazine and
much more.
Richard,
This looks great! Question – this schedule is quite different from the one on the Creative Factor’s website. Which one is correct?
Thanks,
Ryan Hamilton
Richard,
Making non-gender toys is a noble quest but I believe the effort needs to be accompanied by an equal effort to change consumer perspectives.
All the Best,
Peter Santaw