How to have a Plush Doll Manufactured

We’ve finally gotten our first toy manufactured, a KlawBerry Plushie. Yay!

It’s been one of our goals to have a toy line, and I honestly thought that we would have started with a vinyl beasty of some sort. But, as we were working on the KlawBerry book, it seemed like having a nice plush of her would be the way to go.

It turned out pretty well, and has lead to many questions from other artists on how to do such a thing.

So, in regular Steam Crow fashion, we’re going to share a little bit of our experience with you.

Here’s how it works:

1) Create a character that is a good choice for a simple doll.

Simple = cheaper to make. Remember this, as you don’t want to spend $10 per doll, do you? Trust me, you don’t.

I made some changes to my book character while I was mid-book, so that she’d work better as a doll. (Crazy, but I knew that she needed to work both as a toy, and as a character.)

Look at other plushies, and see what works, and what doesn’t. Don’t make a super detailed skinny leather skeleton doll, unless you have piles of money to spend on this.


2) Prepare your drawings.

Front, back, and side turnarounds are really helpful. Remember that people have to translate what you’re doing into a toy.

I didn’t end up doing the side-drawings, but I really should have. For KlawBerry, it worked out okay because she is uber simple. (Which is my philosophy with such things.)

Bonus: if you can sew, MAKE your prototype the way that you want it to be. This would probably be the ideal way to have your character come out the way that you’d like.

3) Over communicate; VISUALLY.

Why? Because, you don’t want to leave anything up to chance. There is a communication barrier between here and overseas, so really SHOW them how you want it to work.

For me, I had at least 2 middlemen between me and the manufacturers in China. Instead of having each of them try to tell the next in line what to do, I made a very clear and plain multi-page pdf. Basically, it was all in there, and each of them could pass it down to the manufacturing company, whoever they are.

4) Call out pms colors for everything.

Just like in print, make it clear what you want. If you don’t, who knows what you’re going to get?

5) Provide additional details.

For example, KlawBerry has a 7 color screenprinted face. I wanted this to be perfect, so I separated the art for them in the pdf.

I also did this to make it difficult for them to mess up. KlawBerry has to look like KlawBerry, so I didn’t want someone to interpret her face. I controlled what the face was going to look like, which made sure that I was going to be happy with the product in the end.

If you’re not trying to match an existing character, then the interpretation of your character is far less vital.

Bonus: Gather some fabric samples to send along. They may not use the exact fabric, but it may make it easier for the maker to know what you’re wanting.

6) Find a vendor.

Okay, this is the really tricky part. Basically, I lucked into it.

You can look on the labels of plushies and find those company contact numbers. You can search online for “toy manufacturers” or you can do what I did, and contacted a local “ad specialties” company. This should be your last choice, as you’re paying them to be your middleman.

7) Send them your art, and get a quote.

Know the size, quantities, how you’d like the details done, etc. Ask how much it will cost to have the prototype made.

If you’re using an Ad Spec company, get them to get a couple of quotes for you. This is their job, and while it does cost more to use someone like this, it can save you from getting a bad toy made.

When they get back to you, they’ll give you some quantities and prices. Choose what you want to do, and be willing to pay 1/2 down at this point. Pay them, and get started.

TIP: Really think about the quantities you’re having made. Some will do as few as 250 toys, but you will pay quite a bit more for them. I did 1000 to get closer to a “sweet spot” in pricing.

Plus, I figured that while I had 1600 books to sell, I might as well have some companion toys along the way.

Wait a long time.

This stuff takes time. If you want this for a specific even, make sure that you dedicate months to the process. They told me it would take 3 months, and it took about 9.

9) You’ll get a photo and/or a prototype.

Both are valuable, but make sure you do end up seeing the physical prototype. Make changes, and again, make it as clear as possible to them.

My vendor sent a photo first, when the prototype was in the mail.

10) Wait longer.

Your order (500-1000) is small to them. So, your order will likely get pushed back as the factory gets bigger requests to fulfil.

11) Get your revised prototype, continue to make changes as long as is necessary.

We just had a couple of rounds of changes. Minor stuff, like not following my pms color breakdowns, adding big floppy ears to KlawBerry, etc.

12) Approve your prototype, then wait for production.

For me, this took about 4 months. I really sweated it, because it was a lot of money to do this, and I wanted it to rock.

13) Pay the money, and pick up your dolls.

Another tip, 1000 dolls take up a lot of room. Make sure you’ve got a place for them.


14) Sell those puppies!

Okay, this is a huge subject all by itself that just too big to tackle in an article like this.

Other Tips:

• A simple plush toy will cost less, and has less of a risk of getting messed up.
• Bigger = more expensive. At least this was my experience. I aimed for small, but really high quality.
• If you need the doll for a specific even, start NOW! It will take months, even after you’ve got an approved prototype.
• Allow them to do their job. I’ve designed 3 of these so far (2 for work), and I’ve found that often their “translation” of my designs were really good. They’ve done a lot more dolls than me, so I was open to how they put the toy together. They’ll be trying to make it easier to produce.
• It costs several thousand dollars to do. Heck I’ve even heard of people spending $5000 just to get the prototype right. It costs money to do this, so make sure you’ve got it before starting down this path.
• Think about how you’re going to sell them. Mail order? Boutique stores? How? This might make a difference about how big of a doll you’ll want to make.

- Daniel Davis
www.steamcrow.com