#152: Why This Mission-Driven Doll Line Offers 100+ Custom Skin Tones with Dr. Lisa Williams

Making It in The Toy Industry with The Toy Coach

It is a myth that toys are shallow or don’t make an impact on kids. Today’s guest was inspired to leave a tenured position as the top professor in her field to create a meaningful line of dolls. Listen to today’s episode to discover what inspired her and how she made it happen.
Dr. Lisa Williams started off her career as the first black person to receive a doctorate in logistics from The Ohio State University. She became the top professor in her field, had a tenured position, and even had a multimillion-dollar endowed chair dedicated to her position that she could use for research, students, or studies. However, one day she saw a little girl interviewed in a study about dolls and race that changed her life forever.
After seeing the interview, Dr. Lisa Williams was inspired to create a line of racially diverse dolls with custom-blended skin tones. Since she didn’t have a background in the toy industry, she came up with her own methods of developing realistic skin tones for a variety of shades. Today, her brands The Fresh Dolls, The Fresh Squad, Positively Perfect, and the new Black Panther: Wakanda Forever dolls, are featured in Wal-Mart, Target, Macy’s, and more.
In today’s episode, you will learn which role models inspired Dr. Lisa Williams, the unique way she created the custom blended skin tones for her dolls, how she found her way in the toy industry with a background in academia, and more.
EPISODE CLIFF NOTES

• Learn about a role model who inspired Dr. Lisa Williams to be whatever she wanted to be. [00:02:20]
• Find out the ways Dr. Lisa Williams encountered and dealt with racism in academia [00:03:38]
• Learn about the unconventional methods Dr. Lisa Williams used to create more realistic skin tones for her dolls. [00:09:57]
• Find out about the powerful experience that led Dr. Lisa Williams to leave her tenured position and create black and brown dolls with accurate skin tones. [00:11:36]
• Learn about the time Dr. Lisa Williams said “no” to Walmart. [00:15:37]
• Learn how Dr. Lisa Williams worked on the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever dolls to give them a specialty feeling. [00:21:04]
• Find out about an exciting patent pending hair technology for dolls created by Dr. Lisa Williams and her team. [00:21:32]
• Learn about the challenges of manufacturing and packaging dolls with textured hair. [00:22:59]
• Find out what Dr. Lisa Williams did in one moment when she wanted to quit, and why she didn’t. [00:24:16]
• Learn the best advice Dr. Lisa Williams received in the toy industry. [00:34:44]

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
For the links and resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the episode page at www.thetoycoach.com/152

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