Eric Siegel
The bulk of my career consists of my founding and decade at the helm of Tree Hopper Toys. During that time, my team and I designed, manufactured, and marketed sustainable toys, games, and gifts for the home.In December of 2019, the business was acquired by Channel Craft, one of the largest wooden toy manufacturers in America.What follows is a brief overview of that journey, and my work since.
How did it start?
In art school, you would find me working away in the woodshop, photo studio, or screenprinting lab. All I wanted to do was make things, and that is what I did.Shortly after I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Art, I wanted to make a birthday present for my nephew, who was a toddler at the time. I designed a block set that combined elements from some of my favorite toys as a kid.To my surprise, people loved the set. Also surprising, was the limited existence (at the time) of safe, sustainable, and well-designed toys.So, even though I had no clue how to start or operate a business, my passion, curiousity, and optimism pushed me to give it a try.
How did we learn?
Observation / Research / Rapid Experimentation / Dialog / Collaboration / Trial / Error
What I lacked in formal training in business and product development, I made up for with curiosity, grit, openness, and a thick skin.I knew I had a lot to learn, and I set out to learn it.Based on user research, conversations with customers and retailers, and past successes and failures, we would identify gaps in the market and rapidly iterate to find solutions and bring products to market.
What did we make?
Ultimately we created hundreds of SKUs.
Toys for play. Games to connect and learn. Gifts to delight.
Who did we work with?
Our products earned placement into hundreds of independent toy and specialty retailers, world-renowned museum stores, large national retailers, and toy distributors around the globe.
Who talked about us?
Even without the budget for a fancy PR firm, our products were recognized by top tier design, lifestyle, and popular media outlets.
Acquisition
In December of 2019, after successful collaborations on various products, we negotiated the sale of Tree Hopper Toys to Channel Craft.This was the culmination of a 2-year exit plan that I began in 2017, which would allow me to put my energies elsewhere.The decision to leave the business was based on numerous factors, which I would be happy to share if you’re interested in learning more.
What have I done since then?
In June of 2020, I completed my Masters of Product Design and Development Management at Northwestern University. Throughout the program, my cross functional team delivered an array of projects, culminating into our thesis project, which is a new to market, wireless home lighting system called Orbit™.We were taught and mentored by an elite team of globally recognized leaders in innovation, with a curriculum focused on Human-Centered Design and innovation management.