Tatro Toy: Where Ingenuity Comes Into Play
Will Barrios transformed a treasured plaything from his childhood into a way that can help kids dream up their own funscenarios.
“The creative adult is the child who survived” is one of toymaker Will Barrios’ favorite quotes – and one that puts the impetus behind his company Tatro Toy into focus.
“My company was quite literally a childhood vision of mine brought to life,” Barrios explains. “The Tatro™ playset is a toy for kids 3-12 that uses Magnetic Magic to build scenes and move characters. It puts children in the driver seat to create any world they can imagine.”
Inspiring Playtime
Barrios’ Magnetic Magic playset evolved from something he created when he was a ten-year-old child: with paint and glue, he transformed a cardboard box into a miniature puppet theater with characters and scenes he could play with in any number of creative scenarios.
Years later, when he needed a creative outlet at design school, Barrios revisited his cardboard playset and realized that there was a potential market for it. He launched Tatro Toy after two years of product development – and now, his Magnetic Magic playsets are flying off the shelves and his product line has expanded to include magnetic clay and magnetic coloring cards to keep little hands busy and let young imaginations soar.
“It took a lot of boot-strapping to get to this point; being an entrepreneur isn’t easy,” Barrios admits, but he’s also of the opinion that playtime should still be a part of anyone’s life regardless of how old they are. “There’s an expectation from society to act serious all the time and be ‘professional,’” he says. “However, what I’ve learned from starting my own business is that being an entrepreneur also takes great imagination and a little bit of naivete. The inner child that lives inside of us is something we should absolutely draw upon when we’re creating.”
Discovering Packola
“I looked at about ten other packaging companies before I decided on Packola,” Barrios recalls. “I love how their website allowed me to design my own box and see in real time how it would look. Packola took the stress out of the equation and allowed me to focus on my design.”
Tatro Toy is just one of numerous small businesses that Packola has helped through the creation of eye-catching, durable, and sustainable custom mailer packaging, which has set them apart from their competitors.
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