Hey guys REAL TALK!!!
I'm not big on selling people things, and have been hesitant to sell merch at all in the past. I don't love the thought of making a bunch of things to sell and make a bunch of money, because I think it's often quite transparent. There are a lot of creators out there who sell merch that they don't own themselves. Like, if you don't want to buy it, why would you sell it?? To me it says a lot about what you think about your audience and your product. The moment I started to grow online, companies pounced toward my inbox with offers to start merch shops, make plushies, monetize monetize monetize. Admittedly the thought was quite exciting at the time, but I still turned them all down.
When I did start selling shirts for a month, it was on my own terms. But when the company I was working with dropped the ball with shipping orders on time, I decided to stop there. The quality of the products were fine, but not amazing. They didn't send me my product samples until after the products went live which was absurd. I felt pretty bad about selling the stuff, especially because I hadn't even gotten to see it for myself at that point.
So now I am dedicated to only selling things that:
1. I would want for myself
2. I have tested and end up loving
3. Is objectively high quality and made with care and passion
4. I am proud of it
So that brings me to YouTooz. Of all the companies that have reached out to me, YouTooz seems to be the most dedicated to creating an incredibly high-quality product over anything else. I worked closely with them through the design and prototyping phase, tweaking and revising many times until landing on something I really liked. They were super patient with me and worked hard to stay true to my design! I was honestly floored with the quality of the plush when I got to see it in person. It's packed tight, sturdily stitched, capable, and super clean all around! You can even lift his shirt/sleeves as if he were truly wearing a sweater, which I was very pleasantly surprised by! When comparing their products to other companies doing the same thing, I decided they were the best by quite a large margin!
All this being said, I really hope you enjoy this plush as much as I do!! Champa and Tank hang out with me all the time, and I'm sure they're looking forward to joining you on your adventures! You guys rock!