Juliet Lublin and Matt Nuccio discuss the remarkable origins – and bright future – of Pillow People

Guys, thank you for taking time to chat. We’re here because Pillow People, the iconic 80s brand, is back, courtesy of a collaboration between you both – Juliet Lublin and Design Edge – and just ahead of its 40th anniversary. Juliet, your mother Penny invented Pillow People. Can you talk me through its origins?
Juliet Lublin: Well, my mother and father got separated when my brother and I were four and six. My mother was left with the responsibility of taking care of two little kids by herself. She was an artist, who studied at Parsons School of Design – and at the point of the divorce, she was working and doing collages for some famous people. She always had a very creative mind, and she was very passionate about her art and about child development.

After the divorce, she was struggling to make ends meet – and she had a daughter who slept in her bed pretty much every night because I was afraid of the dark! One night, we were lying in bed talking about pillows, comfort and something that would make me feel safe. That’s when the concept of Pillow People came alive. She figured out that what I needed was a comfortable pillow that I could take with me during the day and sleep with at night… And she just ran with it. So she developed Pillow People for children to not be afraid of the dark. That’s really what the inspiration for Pillow People was.

And was it an easy sell?
Juliet: Well, she tried to sell it to toy companies – and they didn’t want them. But you have to understand, my mother’s relentless nature meant she just wouldn’t give it up. If someone said no to her, she would go to the next person. She really was a force to be reckoned with – and she found a home furnishings company called Springs Industries. They’re a huge bedding company and she signed the deal with them. They put Pillow People in the bedding sections of all the major department stores around the US and it exploded into what would be a billion-dollar property by today’s evaluation. It even featured in the Macy’s Day Parade.

So it became a fully-fledged brand?
Matt Nuccio, Design Edge: Absolutely. It also became highly featured on the TV show Full House. DJ, throughout the entire series, keeps her one – Window Rattler – by her side the whole time. It was even featured in the sequel series Fuller House. It’s also seen in Adventures in Babysitting, and in the background in Big. It was a phenomenon. And if you’re of a certain age, you’ll know that people didn’t have just one, they had like 10!

Juliet: Exactly – it was a very exciting time for our family. We went from a reasonable lifestyle to a house in the Hamptons and shopping for dresses on Madison Avenue. It was wonderful.

And your mum continued to expand the brand?
Juliet: Yes, she kept producing more characters and embraced licencing – she did deals with Disney for Mickey Pillow People and Donald Pillow People. There were dozens of styles.

Matt: It has a strong 10-year run, which is incredible and, as we all know, pretty rare.

Terrific. Now, let’s talk about the return of Pillow People! Matt, how did you come to be involved in the brand?
Matt: Penny came to my office a couple of years ago with a concept unrelated to Pillow People. We had a couple of meetings, and I asked her: “What’s going on with Pillow People?” She mentioned that she’d tried to bring it out a few years earlier but it didn’t do anything. She showed me that version and it was complete redesign. So I said: “There’s this whole kidult thing going on and nostalgia is big right now, let’s bring them back as the original Pillow People.”

So, we embraced the original look again and a major toy company licensed it on the spot! They got a major retailer on board for an exclusive, but eventually they wanted to push it back and hold off a year, so Juliet decided to do it herself with the help of Design Edge.

Juliet: And Matt didn’t know this at the time, but my mother was dying of pancreatic cancer. So when she passed away, Matt had to take me on and together we’ve brought the line into the modern world, while retaining the retro feel.

Well, I imagine she would be thrilled at how you’re both taking care of the Pillow People legacy.
Juliet: The truth is, I grew up with Pillow People as a third sibling. It was constant in my house. This is all she talked about – she loved Pillow People like her own children. My mom and I were really, really close and I helped her a lot with the writing and marketing, because I happened to be a former television producer.

But when I got married and had a family, I wasn’t really that interested in it. Once mom got sick, I realized this was something that was so special to her. It was part of her… The fact I could bring it back for her – in her memory – was everything to me. For her to have this as her legacy, I can’t think of anything better.

Matt: And it’s serendipitous because my father knew Penny very well. They had worked together in the 80s and the 90s. In fact, after Penny passed away, Juliet had me come to her house so we could go through her mother’s archives – and we found product drawings that my father – Design Edge – did, which was crazy.

Juliet: What’s even more crazy is that we added Raina Monchik – a fantastic salesperson – to the team. She called her cousin to say: “Hey, do you remember Pillow People?” Her cousin said: “Do I remember Pillow People? My dad was Head of Sales for Spring Industries!” Everyone on this team had a connection to Pillow People before we even knew we’d be relaunching it.

And to top it off, Michele Litzky – the founder of Litzky PR – worked on the original launch back in the 1980s, making them a natural partner to handle the Pillow People relaunch. Talk about serendipity!

Amazing. And while the retro look is there, were there any changes to Pillow People this time around?
Matt: Yes, some of those materials can’t be used anymore. You know, there are things you could get away with in the 80s that you can’t do now! And we had to scale them down for many reasons – including the fact they’d be too big were too big for today’s retail landscape. So those were the main things, but otherwise we’ve tried to stay as true to the original designs as we could.

And what has the reception been like so far to them coming back?
Matt: We made the container load, got it to market and it sold out super fast. We then started doing some TikToks, and they were getting about 60,000 views in a day. We’re receiving messages for collaborations with all these different influencers – it’s kind of gone off the charts! I anticipated a great reception, but it’s surpassed my expectations. It’s very exciting to see how beloved the Pillow People are.

Terrific. And what’s next for you guys and the brand?
Matt: Currently we’re looking to release the first couple of series, recreating the original wave of product because it’s that core brand that everybody seems to remember. And Juliet is not just treating this as a flash in the pan business opportunity, it’s more about keeping Penny’s legacy alive.

Absolutely. And on that, Juliet, you mentioned your mother’s relentless nature earlier. Has that manifested in your during this process at all?
Juliet: When the initial deal with the toy company for the relaunch didn’t happen, I thought: ‘There is no way we’re giving up’. This was too important; I was too attached. I was all in! And the fact that I got paired with Matt to do this – it felt like it was meant to be. And this new design, the new material… My mother was very tactile and the look and the feel are everything she would want it to be. It makes me so proud and so fulfilled to be able to do this for her. I say this all the time to my brother and my stepdad, but she would have just loved, loved having them back on the market.

That’s lovely – and a perfect place to wrap up. Guys, thanks again for making time to chat and a big congrats on all you’ve done so far with the relaunch.

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