Inside the Creative World of a Springville Toy Designer

Springville has a hidden Jem in their midst, and no, we’re not talking about rocks, but rock stars in doll form – and the toymaker who designed her: Stefanie Eskander: Toy Designer.

If you were a child of the 80’s and 90’s, and you had a Jem Doll in your collection, you have Stefanie Eskander to thank for those hours of adding a little rock and roll to your Barbie Dreamhouse. 

Between the years of 1986 and 1990, Eskander worked for Hasbro designing many dolls and is best known by Jem fans for creating Rama Llama which is Jem and The Holograms’ pink-haired pet llama. This rock star llama is now considered by many to be a coveted collectible.

But it isn’t just rock star-themed dolls that Eskander designed over her 40 years in the toy design industry. From Cabbage Patch Kids to Rainbow Brite, My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake, Popples, Baby Dolly Surprise and WWF Wrestling Buddies – and so much more, chances are, a toy you or your children have played with has had the designing touch of Eskander. 

The creative arts have long been a part of Eskander’s life, and she recalls early on, knowing just what she wanted to be: a children’s book illustrator.

“I was one of those lucky people who knew what I wanted to do and stayed with it,” she said. “I always wanted to be a children’s illustrator; that was my dream. I was an avid reader as a child, and sometimes if the illustrations in my favorite books weren’t up to snuff, I would do my own and stick it in the pages of the book.”

Eskander worked hard to achieve her goal of having words come to life in picture form, and eventually earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Brigham Young University in 1975. She had many of her illustrations published in children’s magazines including several in the Church of Jesus Christ-owned Friend magazine

“I specialized in drawing kids; that was kind of my thing,” Eskander said. “I was freelancing doing story boards for ad agencies that had kid-themed products, and one of those agencies was Mattel. … I was doing toy work, which was really fun! It was for commercials, but it kind of gave me the idea that the toy industry was out there.”

While Eskander wasn’t designing for authors, her target audience was children, and she found joy knowing that her drawings were having a positive effect in the lives of children. Not long into her freelancing career, she attended a job fair that would change her life trajectory.

“In 1984 I went to a job fair and was hired on the spot to work for Mattel,” Eskander recalled. “When I got to Mattel, I was asked if I would rather be in the packaging department or design. That was a really big decision because packaging design was more of what I did. I was an illustrator. But product design sounded a lot more fun, so I went with that. That choice changed my life.”

At the time of the job offer, Eskander was married with two young children and the third on the way. She was immersed in all-things children and said that many of her toy designs were inspired by her own children.

Eskander went on to work for 40 years for various toy companies including Fisher Price, Hasbro, Playskool, Mattel, Toys R Us, Madame Alexander and Tonka. She has so many “toy stories,” as she calls them, including one where she was brought in to design a doll for little boys. 

“Tonka had just acquired the World Wrestling Federation licensing and was working on a wrestling buddy for boys,” she said. “The men were trying to make a doll, but nothing had really stuck, so they had me give it a try. I sat down with a wrestling magazine, made some drawings and somehow hit the jackpot.”

The toy was Wrestling Buddies, which took on the plushy likeness of famed WWF wrestlers Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, the Ultimate Warrior and Jake the Snake.

When talking about all her creations, Eskander wanted to make sure she made clear that toy design is a collective effort with many hands touching each toy from initial concept to finished product.

“There are many hands in the design process of a toy, and that’s why I hesitate to say that these designs were ‘mine,'” Eskander explained. “There are the initial sketches, and those who create the molds, and there are the safety and testing teams; it really takes a village to create a toy, and I have been so blessed to be part of the process.”

While her toy designing days are, for the most part, behind her, Eskander says the great thing about toys is that they live on. Over the past several years, those children she designed toys for are now adults touched by those toys. The toy collecting industry has opened up a whole new world for Eskander, and she has become somewhat of a celebrity among those collectors who want to hear her toy stories.

“I started an Instagram account where I shared many of my toy designs, and that opened up a world to people who wanted to learn more about my work as a toy designer,” Eskander said. “I’ve been to ‘Jemcon’ for my work on the doll, Jem. I’ve been a featured presenter at toy-collector events, and I have even been asked to submit some of my early design files to the Strong Museum of Play in Rochester (New York).

“Learning that my designs had a positive impact on people’s childhood has made it all worthwhile.”

Coming full circle

In 2016, Eskander and her husband moved to Springville to “retire,” but like many artists, she just couldn’t find it in her to stop creating. Living in an art-themed town like Springville, kept her love for the arts alive and rooted her in what she wanted to do when she was a child: illustrating children’s books. And for the past several years, Eskander has been teaming up with several children’s book authors and making their words come alive.

“One of the books I illustrated is coming out soon, it’s called Maverick’s Ride, written by Penny Nolan and  published by Lawley Publishing,” Eskander said. “It’s about a carousel horse that longs to be a real horse. Another book I illustrated is called Unwrapping the Magic: How Santa Met Mrs. Claus. I’m quite proud of it. The author is Dan Klingensmith.”

In addition to her work with authors, Eskander has been working on her own projects including a coloring book. She also recently published an autobiography titled Toy Stories: The Secret Life of a Toy Designer where she tells the stories behind the toys she designed.

An 8-minute documentary was directed by her daughter Annie Eskander McAllister and son-in-law James McAllister that can be found on YouTube. 

“I love what I do,” she said. “I love creating magic for kids.”

To follow along with Eskander’s “Toy Story” she can be found on Instagram @stefdesignstoys or at stefanieeskanderdesign.com. Her documentary, Toy Stories: Secret Life of a Toy Designer, can be found on YouTube.

Read an article about Stefanie Eskander where she painted a house days before it was demolished in Springville.