| Community Futures
Meridian Region
EverBuild Offers Cure for Card-boredom
For kids, empty cardboard boxes are like magnets,
so why not capitalize on the connection? That was what Doug Deconinck-Smith
was thinking when he set out to give kids' imaginations a little
boost by transforming those empty boxes into castles, cottages
and puppet theatres. Two years later, Doug and wife Maggie are
the owners of EverBuild Imagination Accessories Inc., and working
toward what they hope will become a successful entry into the
tough, competitive toy industry. There have been some side tracks
along the way.
"At first I was thinking a hard plastic
framework for doors and windows might work, but I later realized
that the cost to develop the idea would price it out of the market.
Who would spend $30 on a discarded appliance box headed for the
recycle bin?," Doug says. "Then I thought about something
like adhesive stickers, which would lower the cost, but might
end up sticking to the family dog."
Eventually the couple settled on using paper
with a complete design for windows, door frames and the like that
would allow children to cut out and position the pieces. Now they
needed someone to bring their idea to life. As fate would have
it, Doug and Maggie came across an article about a Saskatoon artist
whose work had appeared in MAD magazine. They liked what they
saw of Huw Evans' work, and drove from their farm home at D'Arcy
(west of Rosetown) to talk with Huw about their ideas at his Eyecatcher
Graphics studio in Saskatoon.
Thinking Outside the
Box
"I did some rough pencil sketches for the first "Medieval
Castle" kit that they liked, but when I tried to make them
more polished I seemed to get further away from what they were
looking for," Evans recalls. "After a couple of false
starts I realized they wanted a rough 'woodcut' look to the finished
art. In addition, there was the challenge of making sure windows
would open properly, etc." (You can see the first EverBuild
kits at www.everbuildcrafts.ca)
Doug adds, "Huw suggested using a durable,
glossy paper that wouldn't tear easily. It works the best, and
it has more play value that our earlier ideas because kids will
work with scissors and tape to place the cutouts where they want
them." (Doug and Maggie's own kids served as product testers
for the prototypes.)
On the business side, Maggie and Doug have relied
heavily on the Meridian Community Futures Development Corporation
for business advice and feedback. "The first thing we wanted
to know is, 'Is this a good idea?'", says Maggie. "(CF
Manager) Vickie Newmeyer and her staff were excited about it,
so then we needed their advice on how to proceed."
Newmeyer and her staff helped the couple prepare
a business plan, navigate the business incorporation hoops, loaned
them a display booth for a trade fair in Toronto and conducted
a focus group of families in their area to measure market response.
The couple also arranged for some Commerce students at the University
of Saskatchewan to carry out additional market research from an
urban perspective.
While the trade show didn't land any immediate
sales, the contacts they gathered led to a contract to print EverBuild's
first inventory of kits, which will be launched at a local store
this fall. The product will also be among those featured at the
annual conference of the 13 Community Futures organizations in
the province, which Meridian is hosting in fall 2007. In the meantime,
Maggie and Doug will keep busy knocking on doors, looking for
that distribution deal that will propel them into stores like
Toys R Us.
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