Give this company a child's drawing and they'll make it into a stuffed toy(childsown.com)
childsown.com
Give this company a child's drawing and they'll make it into a stuffed toy
http://www.childsown.com/
24 comments
You might be able to make something based on this idea a phenomenon, but if all your suggestions were followed, the result would not be this at all.
First of all, who is they? It seems like this is an individual woman. That's part of the appeal, that this isn't a mass market product, but a work of love made by a real person for a real person.
The uniqueness of the toy is part of the appeal as well. If other people order the same toy, first of all, what is the point? You can buy stuffed toys anywhere. What you can't do anywhere is order custom stuffed toys. But more importantly, what does duplication do to the appeal of the original toy?
Adding competition would be equally disastrous I think. It makes the whole process a game, and anything that can be gamed will be gamed. If there is any reward at all in having the most popular toy, even just recognition, then you can bet that adults will start making drawings and saying they were from children. Further, the competition will distract the children who draw from focusing on the specialness of having their drawing come to life and instead turn their focus to how well their drawing is performing.
Your ideas may make a popular and profitable business, but it would be fundamentally different from the business here. You can't scale personal connection, and you can't duplicate uniqueness.
Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that you thought up all these ideas. I just don't think this woman should apply them. What she has is special, profitable (probably even enough so to live on), and makes a positive impact on the lives of her customers.
First of all, who is they? It seems like this is an individual woman. That's part of the appeal, that this isn't a mass market product, but a work of love made by a real person for a real person.
The uniqueness of the toy is part of the appeal as well. If other people order the same toy, first of all, what is the point? You can buy stuffed toys anywhere. What you can't do anywhere is order custom stuffed toys. But more importantly, what does duplication do to the appeal of the original toy?
Adding competition would be equally disastrous I think. It makes the whole process a game, and anything that can be gamed will be gamed. If there is any reward at all in having the most popular toy, even just recognition, then you can bet that adults will start making drawings and saying they were from children. Further, the competition will distract the children who draw from focusing on the specialness of having their drawing come to life and instead turn their focus to how well their drawing is performing.
Your ideas may make a popular and profitable business, but it would be fundamentally different from the business here. You can't scale personal connection, and you can't duplicate uniqueness.
Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that you thought up all these ideas. I just don't think this woman should apply them. What she has is special, profitable (probably even enough so to live on), and makes a positive impact on the lives of her customers.
You're absolutely right. I used to hand-knit hats to a particular nerdy gamer theme, and was very quickly overwhelmed with orders (even at US$65/hat, which is a lot for a knit beanie!).
I had to institute a "slot" system where I'd open up orders for a short time, get a bunch, then knit my way through them. Once they'd all been shipped out, I'd open up for more orders (if I wasn't sick of knitting the damned things by that stage ;). It worked pretty well and kept me in pocket money through the last stages of my PhD.
One thing I decided was that I'd never compromise in quality - I used very fine wools (malabrigo for those who know) and each hat was made to order from a "menu" of options. Throughout the process I'd keep the customer up to date on what I was doing and where they were in the "queue".
It worked really well, but I wouldn't want to do it for a living since I was underselling my time as far as labour costs go. And I got sick of knitting so many hats. :)
I had to institute a "slot" system where I'd open up orders for a short time, get a bunch, then knit my way through them. Once they'd all been shipped out, I'd open up for more orders (if I wasn't sick of knitting the damned things by that stage ;). It worked pretty well and kept me in pocket money through the last stages of my PhD.
One thing I decided was that I'd never compromise in quality - I used very fine wools (malabrigo for those who know) and each hat was made to order from a "menu" of options. Throughout the process I'd keep the customer up to date on what I was doing and where they were in the "queue".
It worked really well, but I wouldn't want to do it for a living since I was underselling my time as far as labour costs go. And I got sick of knitting so many hats. :)
Sounds like you needed to charge more. :)
You wouldn't necessarily want to set the standard price significantly higher, since at some point you'll trip a large number of people's thresholds for "too much for a hat". However, you could leave the price and queue system in place as it currently stands, and introduce a higher "queue-jumping" price. Effectively, that would make the slot a coupon, but the concept of a queue seems much more appealing (especially to a gamer audience).
You wouldn't necessarily want to set the standard price significantly higher, since at some point you'll trip a large number of people's thresholds for "too much for a hat". However, you could leave the price and queue system in place as it currently stands, and introduce a higher "queue-jumping" price. Effectively, that would make the slot a coupon, but the concept of a queue seems much more appealing (especially to a gamer audience).
Well, see it's weird, I already thought I was pushing the envelope at that price, given that you can pick up a knit hat from a shop for a couple of bucks. (I guess it's not the same sort of hat, but still - I've often had people ask me why I would knit something when I could buy it for so much less than it would cost to knit it.)
If I were to do it again I'd definitely charge more, because a) I'm not desperate for cash, b) I have better things to do, and c) the exchange rate to the US dollar is not very favourable ;)
I like the idea of a "queue jumping price" though. I think I might use that next time! I actually also got pretty good tips (which I'm not used to, not being American), which was flattering :)
If I were to do it again I'd definitely charge more, because a) I'm not desperate for cash, b) I have better things to do, and c) the exchange rate to the US dollar is not very favourable ;)
I like the idea of a "queue jumping price" though. I think I might use that next time! I actually also got pretty good tips (which I'm not used to, not being American), which was flattering :)
If you read her blog you'll see that she's at capacity. If they really want to turn this into an enterprise (and I absolutely think they should!), they need to figure out how to handle more volume before getting more volume.
If they really want to turn this into an enterprise (and I absolutely think they should!)
Why's that? What if she's happy doing what she's doing now (sewing, turning fabric and stuffing into something amazing for a kid), and doesn't want to be a business woman?
In other words, if she wants a lifestyle company, why should she turn it into an enterprise?
Why's that? What if she's happy doing what she's doing now (sewing, turning fabric and stuffing into something amazing for a kid), and doesn't want to be a business woman?
In other words, if she wants a lifestyle company, why should she turn it into an enterprise?
I'm projecting. Besides, she could keep doing what she's doing and hire someone to take care of the business side. It's more than just the money, I think what makes this so appealing is how great it is for children...I think the more she can reach, the better.
Of course, I agree it's her choice.
Of course, I agree it's her choice.
Make money, create jobs, make more kids happy. She obviously doesn't have to, though.
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Maybe what they like is making toys, not running a business.
People that like what they do make the most money. And you don't necessarily have to run the business yourself. Plus, I believe 90+% of people like money as well :-)
The right scale to operate your business at is not the one that makes you the most money but the one that makes you the happiest.
Very cute idea, but at 100$ a toy (thats what the giftcard is worth), this is not for the mass market.
Tho if you are willing to take it down a notch (or two) on quality, china can probably produce them at >10$
Tho if you are willing to take it down a notch (or two) on quality, china can probably produce them at >10$
From what I understood from the other comments (site is not working), everything is custom made, unique and handled by one single person, that explains the price, and honestly, it seems okay.
If you outsource to China, you take all those Pros away and the product will turn into another toy factory.
If you outsource to China, you take all those Pros away and the product will turn into another toy factory.
Remember to add the cost of admin time to that though. Outsourcing like that is not going to be free and easy especially at smaller scales.
And most manufacturing operations are geared for bulk. Going this way you would lose the uniqueness of each item, which is sort of the whole point.
And with scares over the recent years with lead in paint and so forth, I'd be careful going to China for kids toys. Definitely don't go with the cheapest, and definitely have some strong QA provisions in your contract.
And most manufacturing operations are geared for bulk. Going this way you would lose the uniqueness of each item, which is sort of the whole point.
And with scares over the recent years with lead in paint and so forth, I'd be careful going to China for kids toys. Definitely don't go with the cheapest, and definitely have some strong QA provisions in your contract.
HN killed her business (if only temporarily):
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The blog is still up, and has some great stories:
http://childsownstudio.blogspot.com/
http://childsownstudio.blogspot.com/
I've just emailed the email from the contact page, have a VPS which is doing nothing. I would be happy to help her get her website up and running again.
Also, noticed this was posted on Reddit and a few other places so its probably being hammered.
Also, noticed this was posted on Reddit and a few other places so its probably being hammered.
HN does this frequently. We are Anon, we take down obscure but interesting blogs and small companies.
It's a fantastic idea - but I would point out what a child sees in their head vs their drawing capabilities are probably very different. Still, I guess they could recognize it as something they created and it might encourage them to keep being creative?
I think it's probably much more valuable to the parents than the children. While your kid might get a kick out of it, this is a pretty good alternative to keeping the same pictures on the fridge for several years at a time.
I agree, in particular the one with the stick arms/legs (http://www.childsown.com/frame/images/bigheadguy_04.jpg) and the Ferrari (http://www.childsown.com/frame/images/car_04.jpg).
But I like the idea.
But I like the idea.
Judging by the stories on the blog, the drawings often come with explanations about some of the details. Take a look at some of the drawings and corresponding toys.
I am thinking more of a "turning it into reality" type of concept. Learning kids that they can turn an idea into something (tangible?) might be a valuable lesson.
Well, if they draw something and declare "That's my friend Foo!". If you show up with a stuffed version of their drawing, they are likely to recognize that as "Foo". Kids have a way of not letting their lack of drawing skill or details get in the way of a good story.
Plus, I doubt they could turn a 3 year old's drawings into something. My kid's drawings aren't that recognizable yet... (just lines and squiggles)
Plus, I doubt they could turn a 3 year old's drawings into something. My kid's drawings aren't that recognizable yet... (just lines and squiggles)
Sometimes they can surprise you: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3109213/sfb.jpg
My daughter was almost 3 when she drew this. Most of her stuff doesn't come out like this, but I saved this one since it was weirdly real.
My daughter was almost 3 when she drew this. Most of her stuff doesn't come out like this, but I saved this one since it was weirdly real.
Wow, not bad! And I can imagine that being a great plushie..
My question would be: assuming you want to, how do you scale it? There's such an individual toy-by-toy creative aspect to it.
Also, the potential for building brands seems pretty spectacular. Stuffed toy is just one step, you could add stories, games, episodes...this could be to disney what 99designs is to graphic designers :)
Also, the potential for building brands seems pretty spectacular. Stuffed toy is just one step, you could add stories, games, episodes...this could be to disney what 99designs is to graphic designers :)
I hope we're not far off being able to sit your child in front of a webcam, sample their voice, click a button and stream the latest Pixar film with them as a protagonist.
In the meantime, a 99designs for people with time, knitting needles and sewing machines seems like a lovely idea, and easy to achieve.
In the meantime, a 99designs for people with time, knitting needles and sewing machines seems like a lovely idea, and easy to achieve.
> I hope we're not far off being able to sit your child in front of a webcam, sample their voice, click a button and stream the latest Pixar film with them as a protagonist.
The little brats (well, my own), are already the center of enough attention. If they want to make their own stories, they should go outside, play and invent them themselves.
The little brats (well, my own), are already the center of enough attention. If they want to make their own stories, they should go outside, play and invent them themselves.
Can I nominate this for HN comment of the year?
The only way to "scale" is to form a company of similarly-skilled artists. Even if this happens, it is unlikely that they'd ever be able to keep up with demand.
It's obviously not something you can send off to China and press the button on an assembly line. Some things just can't be mass produced, and we should be grateful for that.
It's obviously not something you can send off to China and press the button on an assembly line. Some things just can't be mass produced, and we should be grateful for that.
I don't think that's the only way to scale it. There would be compromises involved, of course, but I can immediately think of another way to scale this idea - I'm sure others can too.
> My question would be: assuming you want to, how do you scale it?
Franchising perhaps? Quality control would be an issue once you start farming the job out like that, but it would be a good way to better cover international markets. They could keep the designing local to the current HQ, hiring designer types there to supply demand and farm out the physical work.
Though I suspect a project like this might be a personal one, they they don't particularly want to scale massively.
Franchising perhaps? Quality control would be an issue once you start farming the job out like that, but it would be a good way to better cover international markets. They could keep the designing local to the current HQ, hiring designer types there to supply demand and farm out the physical work.
Though I suspect a project like this might be a personal one, they they don't particularly want to scale massively.
Why would someone pay the franchise instead of just opening up their own competitor?
Franchise might have been the wrong word to use - maybe it would work better as a "co-operative" with the original people in general control rather than a directly paid franchise.
That way customers from any country go to the same place (saving each member of the co-op on advertising budget/time) but get the work done by someone more local to them so hopefully pay less due to local delivery and lack of customs charges.
You migth find many peopel who are capable of making something like that from a pattern but maybe no capable/comfortable making a good pattern from the kids' designs - there would be a value add" there having that stage done for you. I know a few people who make things (and make them well) as a hobby but who do not make their own designs - I could imagine one or two of them being interested in getting involved at that level just to make the hobby pay for some of itself.
Obviously any controlling company would have to give some quality assurance to the customer, which would be part of how they justify their cut (as well as providing the design stage if they are) though could be a bit of a nightmare. This assurance might be why people go to this hypothetical cooperative rather than one of the smaller groups (or individuals) that try under-cutting them.
That way customers from any country go to the same place (saving each member of the co-op on advertising budget/time) but get the work done by someone more local to them so hopefully pay less due to local delivery and lack of customs charges.
You migth find many peopel who are capable of making something like that from a pattern but maybe no capable/comfortable making a good pattern from the kids' designs - there would be a value add" there having that stage done for you. I know a few people who make things (and make them well) as a hobby but who do not make their own designs - I could imagine one or two of them being interested in getting involved at that level just to make the hobby pay for some of itself.
Obviously any controlling company would have to give some quality assurance to the customer, which would be part of how they justify their cut (as well as providing the design stage if they are) though could be a bit of a nightmare. This assurance might be why people go to this hypothetical cooperative rather than one of the smaller groups (or individuals) that try under-cutting them.
marketing and name recognition.
Partner with an established greeting card company to sell greeting cards that double as gifts: consumer pays $20 for the greeting card, the recipient child draws on the card then drops it in the mailbox, gets their stuffed toy sent back in the mail.
Nice idea, off by an order of magnitude on the price. :)
Maybe this should and will not scale well. Most of the time the work of an artist does not scale well.
;) yes, you are right, and It hurts, Internet can scale it, in some cases, if not - then can be spread, modified and parallelized (or even better, if it is copy-left...)
This would not scale at all.
The work is done on an individual basis by an artist who not only takes great pains to interpret what the child has drawn, but also above and beyond to transform it into a personalized, and near perfect, piece of art.
Just ask any offshore worker to reinterpret a set of well-documented requirements and you'll see what I mean.
The work is done on an individual basis by an artist who not only takes great pains to interpret what the child has drawn, but also above and beyond to transform it into a personalized, and near perfect, piece of art.
Just ask any offshore worker to reinterpret a set of well-documented requirements and you'll see what I mean.
Or they could work only for rich babies? :)
Heartwarming :)
Reminds me of My Machine, an organization that takes children drawings of machines and make them come to live.
http://mymachine.be/en/node/20
Reminds me of My Machine, an organization that takes children drawings of machines and make them come to live.
http://mymachine.be/en/node/20
Monster engine is of a similar vein, but they take kids' monster drawings instead: http://themonsterengine.com/
Brings to mind this classic 60's Mad Magazine article "If kids designed their own Xmas toys." http://thatsmyskull.blogspot.com/2005/12/mad-magazine-if-kid...
This is great!
This is great!
Q. Do you take adult’s drawings?
R. I personally prefer to work with children’s drawings, but occasionally, I have worked with the adult’s (inner child’s) drawings. The best thing to do is contact me with the drawing and I will let you know what I think.
R. I personally prefer to work with children’s drawings, but occasionally, I have worked with the adult’s (inner child’s) drawings. The best thing to do is contact me with the drawing and I will let you know what I think.
as an interesting tangent, the [hopkin green frog](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopkin_Green_Frog) thing that went viral some years ago, and which people assumed was a kid's typically clumsy attempt to draw his pet frog, turned out to be a pretty accurate drawing of his missing toy frog.
It's cute and it's cool but I'm not convinced.
My daughter's drawings things are her interpretation of real things but I'm not convinced she'd want a real interpretation of her artistic interpretation of a real thing. After all, her drawings are often down to her limited skills rather than an intentional artistic choice.
My daughter's drawings things are her interpretation of real things but I'm not convinced she'd want a real interpretation of her artistic interpretation of a real thing. After all, her drawings are often down to her limited skills rather than an intentional artistic choice.
I saw a similar site a while back that took a slightly different approach to making real-world items from kids drawings that probably works better in this regard - they turned them into jewelry for moms in the form of necklaces and pendants.
I don't think the site is around anymore, though. I believe it was just one person making them.
I don't think the site is around anymore, though. I believe it was just one person making them.
I suspect this varies from child to child. My older son would really dig this, as he often sketches something out then attempts to build it (whether it is with legos, blocks, wood, found items in the cellar, etc).
Maybe it's not as hopeless as you think. (Sorry, couldn't resist, what with a name like that!) I could imagine many young children being astonished at seeing their 2d pictures come alive. Perhaps as a reward for good behavior, you could actively solicit drawings from your daughter to be made into a toy.
On an unrelated note, how about adding a rapid prototyping lab so that you can create plastic as well as plush toys from kids' drawings?
On an unrelated note, how about adding a rapid prototyping lab so that you can create plastic as well as plush toys from kids' drawings?
This is positively magical. I can't wait til my child is old enough to draw something coherent enough :)
Absolutely brilliant.
Absolutely brilliant.
This may be a tad tangential, but this reminds me a great deal (in terms of the higher level concept) of Imaginawesome:
http://imaginawesome.com/
tl;dr: give this guy a child's drawing, and he sprinkles "awesome dust" on it.
tl;dr: give this guy a child's drawing, and he sprinkles "awesome dust" on it.
Similar concept with photos:
http://www.yeondoojung.com/artworks_view_wonderland.php?no=8...
http://www.yeondoojung.com/artworks_view_wonderland.php?no=8...
Cute. The site's down for me, but I found their flickr stream here, plenty more creatures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/childsown/3465520257/in/photost...
The before and afters are great. I love the ones that were a scribbly mess in the drawing and end up looking nice but still reminscient of what the kid sketched.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/childsown/3465520257/in/photost...
The before and afters are great. I love the ones that were a scribbly mess in the drawing and end up looking nice but still reminscient of what the kid sketched.
This reminds me of something the artisans working at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma did.
http://www.museumofglass.org/
They got school kids to send in drawings of creatures and then these guys actually rendered them in colored glass in front of the kids. They had the pieces and the kids' drawings on display. Very cute and often hilarious.
http://www.museumofglass.org/
They got school kids to send in drawings of creatures and then these guys actually rendered them in colored glass in front of the kids. They had the pieces and the kids' drawings on display. Very cute and often hilarious.
At the Corning Museum of Glass in upstate NY too. (They picked one a day drawn by visitors; my family didn't win, unfortunately.)
I'm reminded of the Klein Bottles site: http://www.kleinbottle.com/
I could have sworn he did custom work, but I can't seem to see it listed on the site anywhere now. Still an awesome present for a mathematician though.
I could have sworn he did custom work, but I can't seem to see it listed on the site anywhere now. Still an awesome present for a mathematician though.
This is an awesome idea. I'm considering stealing it, I think my wife would really enjoy doing something like this.
For something this lovely, you wouldn't really be stealing, just helping.
Hahah, this made my day.
I have some great ideas for toys I want to make, gonna give them a try!
I have some great ideas for toys I want to make, gonna give them a try!
Anyone know of something similar but with a pull string capability?
contact the person who runs the site, I'm sure they'll do their best. From what I've read here, it's just one person doing this because they enjoy doing it. You tend to get excellent customer service from those types of ventures.
Neat! Not only is it a good idea, from the blog posted in other replies, the execution was impressive as well.
Awesome idea, now she will have enough orders to last a hundred years.
That is a great idea
effin amazing and great idea. not sure if they can scale it but god that is brilliant
this.is.awesome.
Love it!
Her work's amazing. She's taking the intent and smoothing out the rough edges, filling in the undefined aspects. I've worked with a few really great illustrators and designers as either a designer or an art director. I can't name more than three in the last ten years, and all have been women. She has the rare quality they have of being able inernalize an original vision that's not their own, immediately and viscerally grasp the ineffable qualities that give it its unique personality, and turn it into a final product that looks polished while communicating exactly what the original artist intended.
And reading her blog, it's obvious how she does it. She TALKS to the people who she's doing the work for. So how exactly would this scale without losing quality? Clone her? This takes patience, communications, personal integrity and a huge amount of skill and vision.
I think it's the most impressive piece of work I've seen on HN this year. There's no reason at all to look at it through the narrow filter of what you'd do if it were an IT startup. It's just awesome for what it is.
She TALKS to the people who she's doing the work for. So how exactly would this scale without losing quality?
I'm in no way saying she would want to do any of this, and I'm not talking about scaling to mass production or anything, but I imagine she could easily offload some of the more common tasks.
Particularly, you've completely nailed that her rare skill is in the translation and design. However, as long as she's capable of reliably communicating her vision and design to a decent seamstress she could easily offload the actual creation to others. She could focus on meeting with clients, translating their design and communicating to the people who will actually put it together.
If she wanted to go in a little further, she could work on apprenticing a few designers as well. She could still sit in on most or all meetings with clients, communicate broad ideas to the designer, check their design before it gets sent to production, etc.
Basically I think her company could scale just as well as any decent IT consulting firm (or really more appropriately any advertising agency) might.
I'm in no way saying she would want to do any of this, and I'm not talking about scaling to mass production or anything, but I imagine she could easily offload some of the more common tasks.
Particularly, you've completely nailed that her rare skill is in the translation and design. However, as long as she's capable of reliably communicating her vision and design to a decent seamstress she could easily offload the actual creation to others. She could focus on meeting with clients, translating their design and communicating to the people who will actually put it together.
If she wanted to go in a little further, she could work on apprenticing a few designers as well. She could still sit in on most or all meetings with clients, communicate broad ideas to the designer, check their design before it gets sent to production, etc.
Basically I think her company could scale just as well as any decent IT consulting firm (or really more appropriately any advertising agency) might.
I love the idea -- I wish I could see it! My almost-6-year-old would love to have his drawing turn into a real stuffed animal.
Bandwidth exceeded. Le sigh.
Bandwidth exceeded. Le sigh.
Boy, I can't believe I'm thinking about strategies of how I would improve a toys' business. Eh, just 2AM rant.