Back in 1997 when I turned 40 I made the very conscious decision to purchase as many boxes of new in-package Street Sharks as I could get my hands on. I bought them to give away to my friends and to all their kids.It was always our intention to sell the toys to collectors in 20 years or so. We had both watched as Mattel carefully curated toys for Barbie and Hot Wheels collectors and we knew the passion with which collectors hunted for and acquired the toy treasures that made them happy and fulfilled.
I was convinced that once the kids who were the original Street Sharks audience came of age as young adults that they would be stoked to find the unopened toys of their youth available to them. And I would be stoked to connect with them and sell my toys.
What I didn’t know or even imagine back then was how many passionate collectors there would be or how dynamic and impressive their collections would be - and how determined and tenacious they would be in building those collections.
But it wasn’t until the Covid 19 Pandemic hit hard in 2020 and we were mostly confined to our own property that I found the free and unscheduled time to really connect with the worldwide Street Sharks communities via FaceBook and come up with a plan to sell my archived collection.
That plan included:
1. Moving all 60 cartons of toys stored in our attic down to the spare room
2. Moving all cartons of Street Sharks toys and products to my studio where I had first conceived of and created the characters and storylines.
3. Shooting and editing videos of all the carton unboxings and uploading them to Vimeo
4. Shooting high resolution still pictures of every toy and product from all angles
5. Building a web site to feature all the products with an e-commerce store to sell them worldwide.
6. Convening a Street Sharks Advisory Board to give me advice and direction on best practices for prices, selling, packing and shipping. (BIG SHOUTOUT to Daniel Edwards for putting that together and being my key advisor throughout!)
7. Obtaining shipping cartons, shipping labels, tape guns, ziplock bags, bubble wrap, packing peanuts, plastic sleeves, cardstock.
8. Designing and producing unique Certificates of Authenticity.
We launched our site on August 1, 2021 and we’ve been busy fulfilling orders ever since. And it’s been jawsome!
And the money I make from selling my collection? Well that’s part of a plan too.
I’ve spent my post toy industry years working on environmental projects, first on behalf of the US National Parks and since 2007 on climate action projects.
Now here in 2021 I need to finance the climate change adaptation projects we need for what’s coming QUICKLY here at our home in Southern California.
First up, an upgrade of our 1948 home’s electrical panel and a wiring upgrade so we can add battery backup to our rooftop solar PV system as well as swapping out our gas dryer, stove and water heaters for all electric versions. We already swapped out our gas heaters a couple of years ago for our electric heat pump versions that include air conditioning. (You can read all about that HERE.)
We’ve got fireproofing to do as well as water conservation projects.
I’m excited about fortifying our home and studio for what’s coming down and it’s especially fintastic to be able to make that happen thanks to my decades old friends, the Street Sharks.