Barry & Jason Games and Entertainment have entered into a partnership with Rich Mazel’s All 4 Fun Toys on a new party game for release in Q4 2025.

The deal between All 4 Fun Toys and Barry & Jason Games and Entertainment was struck at New York Toy Fair.

“Rich Mazel is a national treasure, and just like Nicolas Cage we plan to unlock his mysteries, reveal all the secrets, and make billions of dollars in the process,” said Barry McLaughlin.

Jason Lautenschleger mused: “It’s not often that a party game comes along promising to change the way you eat, sleep and live your life…” and then he failed to finish his thought and wandered away.

All 4 Fun’s Rich Mazel added: “While we first met over lunch in Los Angeles a few years ago, this partnership truly took shape when we raced backward through a lazy river at Mandalay Bay frantically pushing kids and families out of the way. Jason may have won, but only because my leg cramped, so there’s definitely an asterisk on that victory.”

Rich Mazel is the Chief Innovation Officer of All 4 Fun Toys, a new venture that looks to bring joy and wonder to kids and kids at heart through unique toy and game creations. He has a storied career in the toy industry, previously finding and developing hits for Spin Master and Hasbro.

Barry & Jason are “Inventertainers” based in Los Angeles, developing party games and creating entertainment for television and live experiences. Their latest game, Feelin’ Cute, made its debut at Toy Fair with Hootenanny Games.

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“We can prove there isn’t just a three-year life cycle for great inventions”: Rich Mazel and Jeff Wilcox on what to expect from All 4 Fun…

Rich, Jeff, it’s great to catch up. Let’s dive into your new company, All 4 Fun Toys. How did the venture come about?
Rich Mazel, VP of Innovation & Inventor Relations, All 4 Fun Toys: It was a confluence of things. Jeff and I actually grew up a couple of miles from each other in Michigan. We didn’t know each other, but we had friends of friends and we got to know each other out here in in Los Angeles around 20 years ago. We’ve always been rooting for each other in our respective careers, but we always felt it would be cool to do something together. Then, we found an opportunity to engage and help inventors in a different way – different to the more traditional way of doing things.

In what way?
Rich: Well, it’s tough for inventors. There’s not as many toy companies as there used to be and the challenge of limited shelf space. You know the business – a toy goes into the market and stays there for two years, maybe some stay longer… And the challenge is that the toy company gives the rights back to the inventor after a few years – even if it does well – and then the inventor has it back… But there’s not many places to go now because it’s already been to retail – the buyers remember it and that can be a blessing and a curse. As a result, a lot of great inventions end up sitting on the shelf gathering dust. Also, there are inventions and toy lines that are sizeable for the inventor, but do not sustain the large overheads of a traditional toy company.

Now, to pivot for a moment, look at what Jeff has been doing to help companies thrive on Amazon. Jeff had taken on a lot of large clients – Mr. Beast, Artic, Libbey Glassware, Nixon Watches… – but he then took on a toy that had been sold for two years by one of the majors. Once it had its run at retail, the inventor got the concept back. The inventor then sold direct to Amazon and were making around $5,000 a month. Then they hired Jeff’s consultancy Elevate to help them with their strategy, and this past year they did $6m in sales! This is all Direct-to-Consumer – and it’s been a huge success.

I heard this and a light turned on for me. Jeff knows this side of the business, I know the inventor side of the business and have seen plenty of great ideas that deserve more time in the sun… So we decided to come together and launch All 4 Fun Toys. Half the business is consulting, and half is production as a toyco.

Terrific. Before we dig into this a little more, Jeff, can you expand a little on your background and work in DTC?
Jeff Wilcox, General Manager, All 4 Fun Toys: I cut my teeth in product development at companies like Belkin and Epson a long time ago. At Belkin, it was very entrepreneurial and I was brought through the whole process. That’s where I first thought: ‘Why don’t I do this for myself?’ Then my wife and I had an opportunity to move to Australia. We lived there for a while and had a couple of successful Kickstarters with a partner there. In the meantime, I had a couple of close friends from Belkin that had started a screen protector company and they were selling just on Amazon. They were a couple of months in when I moved back to LA, and I then went in with them on that. We became a top 10 seller in all of amazon for about 18 months – it was an incredible ride.

Then my wife and I started a baby and toddler clothing company on Amazon and that was successful… But throughout this time, we would have friends coming to us and asking us for help and advice on selling through Amazon. That’s what led to the launch of Elevate. We’ve helped clients of all sizes succeed there.

When Rich and I started talking, we realised there’s there are amazing inventions and I can find branded search volume for anything on Amazon… I can look that up and see where there’s demand. We can prove that there isn’t just a two- or three-year life cycle for these things – and that’s great news for inventors.

Rich: We like to term ‘Invent-to-Consumer’ and I like the idea that more of an inventor’s portfolio can be income producing rather than gathering dust.

Nice, so not DTC but ITC.
Rich: Exactly! It gets the inventor and their products closer to consumers, avoiding any potential walls that you can sometimes run into in the more traditional way of working.

For inventors reading, what sorts of concepts is All 4 Fun looking to take on?
Rich: It’s interesting. I’ve obviously been involved in putting together a lot wishlists before, but it’s always worth taking those with a pinch of salt because the real success stories tend to lie outside of those. I remember Dougal Grimes saying: “No-one was asking for Furby!” That said, I am going put out a wish list in Q1 – but it’s not going to look like any wish list I’ve ever done before. It’s going to get back to the basics. We’re looking for things that are fun! It doesn’t have to fit into a brand – and it doesn’t have to become a brand! Are people going to like it? Is it fun? That’s it. And Jeff and his amazing team have incredible data and research. That will guide us too… It won’t all be gut-feel!

And we should mention that you have already launched a few products. Let’s start with RingSlingr!
Rich: Yes! This is a fidget toy that you put it on your finger, but as you spin it, it can showcase animations, logos, all sorts of stuff. That’s new to market from inventors Josh Carlson, Jeremy Madl and Scott Wetterschneider.

Nice! And the second is Dream Tents?
Rich: Yes, from Paul Von Mohr and Phil Neal – great friends and great inventors! As well as looking for new inventions, we’re also interested in hits from the past. Dream Tents sold four million units the first time around. It’s a canopy tent that goes over a kid’s bed, transforming into a cool private space. The first theme we have for this is unicorns – and this is where the data aspect to what we do comes in. We can make fast design decisions based on the latest data. We can take an insight around what people are searching for on Amazon, create a design and launch it within a few weeks. The first theme came from Jeff’s insights.

Jeff: This came from us identifying there’s a ton of search volume for these ‘Swifty’ bracelets – and there wasn’t a lot of products on Amazon at the time. If we can start capturing some of those searches for our products, why wouldn’t we?

Rich: Yeah, we could print anything we wanted on the tent so why not let the data help drive the design. Then we aren’t guessing.

What made these products winners for you?
Jeff: With RingSlingr, when the inventors showed us it, I was like: “That’s cool!” That played a part!

Ha!
Rich: It’s true! I’ve seen over 100,000 things or whatever, and so you have certain expectations. If you whip out a car, I’m thinking it’s going to transform or maybe it’s an R/C… The special moments in a pitch are when it does something completely unexpected. That was the case with RingSlingr. It was cool and there was a gut-feeling for me. I first tried it at a dark restaurant and I saw people looking over to see what I was doing. That speaks to its potential for User Generated Content on platforms like TikTok and Meta. Content creators and influencers make up a sizable portion of our ad spend.

With Dream Tents, it had a proven track record of success. Also, we can officially announce we’ve signed a deal with Sega Toys, so we’re going to be distributing and selling things in the US that are Japan-only exclusives. This is for Sonic and their anime products. Also, we are happy to have Top Secret Toys – formerly Rehkemper – as clients. We will also be able to announce two large new partner deals – likely by UK Toy Fair… One an exciting master toy license for All 4 Fun and the other a large international toy company on the consulting side of the business.

And I should say, if one of our products becomes huge and we need to get into bricks and mortar, we’re going to go back to traditional partners – because they’re so good at it. They have these networks across the world made for that. But we’ll lower the risk for the large toy companies because we’re not just bringing them a prototype… We’re bringing a prototype, sales data, influencer data… This will help de-risk the decision for the toy company as we will have proven out the demand.

I imagine this approach has been well received by inventors.
Rich: It has! The only challenge for us is that there’s so much stuff out there that’s good! In previous roles, I’d see over 4,000 concepts in a normal year… And most of them are good! Inventors are smart people; they’re professionals. What I will say is to keep in mind that we are not a large company, so seeing 4,000 ideas a year won’t work in our model. We’re going to be seeing fewer things and proceeding with fewer things. But when we do, we’re going to be all in on them.

Before we wrap up, why do you feel you work well together?
Jeff: Being a serial entrepreneur, I’ve done maybe a dozen different partnerships throughout my whole life – but this one feels like I’m doing it with my brother. It feels easy and simple, and we complement each other’s skillsets.

Rich: I feel the same way. I also really appreciate the fact that we’ve known each other for 20 years, but we’ve never forced doing something together until like the right opportunity came along.

Last question! What’s the most underrated product you’ve been involved in bringing to market?
Jeff: One of my products at Belkin was called the TuneStudio. It was a four-track recorder – like a band would use – but the iPod Classic could dock into it. You could record four separate tracks on the iPod Classic and then mix them together and have a song… And this was before the first iPhone came out. It’s a beautiful product and I’m really proud of its design. At Macworld that year, Steve Jobs said that it was his favourite Apple accessory of that year… And we probably sold seven of them!

Ha!
Jeff: It was a $600 iPod accessory! A labour of love.

And Rich?
Rich: My pick would be a labour of love from a good friend of mine who I actually met at the old ToyNews inventor event you ran before launching Mojo Billy.

Ah yes!
Rich: I won’t give too many details, but it was a Holy Grail type invention! I still hope it sees the light of day somewhere.

Before we go, where can inventors find you over the coming months?
Rich: I’m back on the circuit! I’ll be at London Toy Fair and the Inventors Dinner too. I’ll also be at Nuremberg and New York.

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Spin Master’s Rich Mazel, Fun-Damental Invention’s Gary Pyper and Gamley’s Hazel Reynolds will compete to banish their biggest pet peeves about the world of design to Room 101 at this year’s Play Creators Conference.

All three will put forward their best arguments to convince the host – Mojo Nation writer and creative consultant Deej Johnson – that their industry pet hate is the one that deserves to go into Room 101, never to see the light of day again.

“Despite popular demand, I’ll be back to host this year’s Toy Room 101 panel… I simply can’t wait to hear the industry pet peeves of this fantastic line up,” said Deej.

This year’s Play Creators Conference – sponsored by Hasbro – is taking place at London’s Twickenham Stadium on Tuesday, September 6th.

You can buy your ticket to the Play Creators Conference here.

For Conference sponsorship enquiries, email sarah@mojo-nation.com.

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Inventors will be able to pitch concepts to Spin Master at this year’s Mojo Pitch event.

Forming part of this year’s Play Creators Festival, the live Mojo Pitch event will take place on Wednesday, September 7th, 2022 at London’s Twickenham Stadium. Spin Master will also be involved in the Virtual Mojo Pitch event, taking place digitally across October 12th and 13th.

Both the live and virtual Mojo Pitch events will welcome inventors, invention studios and design agencies as they pitch exciting new toy and game concepts to a range of companies, each on the lookout for new products.

“We are so excited that the Mojo Pitch live sessions are back on!,” said Rich Mazel, VP of Innovation and Inventor Relations at Spin Master.

“This is always a high point during the year – we are excited to meet new inventors and catch up with all those at the event. Looking forward to seeing you all in London!”

If you’re an inventor, invention house or design agency that would like book in a meeting with Spin Master at this year’s Mojo Pitch, email Mojo’s Billy Langsworthy on billy@mojo-nation.com.

If you’re a company that would like to join Spin Master in meeting with inventors at this year’s Mojo Pitch, email Mojo’s Adam Butler at adam@mojo-nation.com.

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Dougal and Rich in a joint interview: feels like a bit of a coup… If I was in America, would this be possible in real life? By which I mean: how often are the two of you actually in the same room together?

Dougal: Of course, the past few years have been crazy, but recently Rich and I got to go on our first Inventor Sweep together in three years. It kind of felt like yesterday we were doing it, and it’s just as fun as ever.

It’s good to be back, then?
Rich: It’s so much fun, and also more productive – there’s only so much collaboration that can be done on video conferences. We’ll be coming to London for Distoy and we’re both super happy to see everyone and go to our favourite spots. First up for me is a nice big pancake at the Old Dutch in Kensington, and a walk through Hyde Park – my favourite park in the world.

Is there a downside to the two of you travelling together?
Rich: There was once a rumour that we couldn’t ride on the same airplane, or eat at the same restaurants, due to the potential impact to the industry if something was to happen…

Dougal: To be honest, it was less a rumour and more just something that Rich thought “would sound cool”. He suggested it to me on a Southwest Airlines flight from Lubbock, Texas to Wichita, Kansas. We were eating free pretzels and excitedly watching the movie Air Force One on the seatback monitor – headphone volume set to 10.

Air Force One! So we’ve talked before about how you chaps think and work. I’m keen to hear, though, what happens to ideas AFTER inventors pitch them to you… So first, what happens to ideas you don’t like straight away? Do you ever say no in a meeting?
Rich: We’ll say no in the meetings if we see an obvious flaw or cost, or conflict with previous work, a bad fit and so on… But we’ll also ask for items to come into our portal for a second look prior to showing the brand team. There are multiple levels where we cull the list to try to put together the best ‘playlist’ of concepts for the various brand teams. We see a lot of items, and have lots of internal meetings, so we try to give timely and meaningful feedback. There’s a lot of activity going on behind the scenes as we work with the brands to develop cool stuff!

And how do you say no in the room so that it isn’t crushingly disappointing?
Dougal: It’s always going to be disappointing for an inventor to hear a no, but the more seasoned inventors are well accustomed to hearing that word… And most even welcome a ‘Fast No’ so they can just get to other concepts that might be of interest.

That’s a fair point, actually…
Dougal: To avoid any crushing disappointment, we do explain our reasons for the no. Perhaps it’s not a right fit for our company, maybe we already have something in the line or under development that’s similar… Maybe we’re using our own development knowledge to give feedback as to why the concept may not work in the market. If that’s the case, we usually try and offer up suggestions on how to improve the concept. We’ll try to ensure that we relay where the company’s needs are, and – with our experience – where inventors should focus.

And to what degree do you offer that feedback? Do you have a particular format that you think is helpful?
Rich: The biggest thing is gut feel and combining that with knowledge of the industry, and the needs of the brand team at that time. We typically give feedback to the inventor if we think we have something to add. Also, we’re kids at heart, so we can also go off track with just having fun in the meetings.

That has been noted! And on the back of that, have you ever had the experience of an inventor – seeing that a no is coming – say something that then turns it all around?
Rich: Yes, it happens for sure. Sometimes we see a new twist or new application as we keep talking. It’s a delicate balance as I don’t think it’s useful to oversell the concept, but a collaborative chat can lead to good things. On the opposite side, if you’re a new inventor and we say yes, I find it best to “take the win” and move onto the next item. It’s an old piece of comedy showmanship – end on a high note with us wanting more!

An unexpected answer; interesting. Dougal; same question…
Dougal: Yes, sometimes an inventor’s model or presentation may have let them down in some way, and they have additional thoughts on the benefits or features of the concept that need sharing… They can totally turn it around. And as Rich says, the collaborative chat can sometimes unearth new thinking or opportunities that weren’t apparent at first, so the best inventors always go into pitch meetings with an open mind… They aren’t as precious about the item they’re showing – they’ll pivot as to what it can be.

You know, I had that exact experience recently myself… I finished explaining an idea. The publisher misunderstood one bit of it – but loved it. They more or less sold themselves on the misunderstanding. I should argue?! It ended up being a better idea!
Rich: Right!

So now, I realise you probably can’t go into detail, but – broadly speaking –what happens to ideas you like after the pitch? What’s the process at Spin Master?
Rich: We’ll ask the inventor to submit the concept and associated assets – videos, presentations, PDF’s, photos and so on – to our secure online portal. We’ll then review the new submissions weekly, and decide which move forward to show the brand teams.

So you effectively put it to the brand teams on the inventor’s behalf?
Rich: Yes! And from there, the concept could be taken in by the brand team for further consideration, or rejected for a variety of reasons. The goal of the
inventors, and my team, is to find something that the brand teams move forward with and becomes a toy or game on shelf!

Dougal: The internal teams may spend weeks or months looking to create a product from an item. It’s in this time we may offer options to inventors to allow us the time to review. Spin Master always brings in the inventors during this time, especially if they have specific skills such as CAD, programming, game development, copywriting and so on. The internal teams are usually curating their development pipeline to present at a larger internal meeting, usually called a line review.

I think that’s important to clarify: after inventors pitch to you, and you’ve pitched it to other people, still more people have to see it and review it?
Rich: Right. And once the inventor concept is seriously considered by the teams internally, there’s still a lot of work to be done… Showing us is the first step in a long journey to get to shelf.

It’s a long way to market… Let me ask you this: with some companies, optioning an idea seems to be a very hit-and-miss affair… Why might that be, do you suppose?
Rich: I think that’s more a result of a lot of ideas and a limited amount of shelf space. A lot of ideas we see are super clever, but there are only so many toys that retailers can put on shelf…

Dougal: It’s interesting – Rich lives in LA and has spoken to people who read and pick scripts for movies… We were both surprised at how similar the process is – and how similar the odds are!

And does Spin Master offer options to new inventors? Or continue to offer them to established inventors?
Dougal: New inventors have the same shot at options and licenses. Now, that being said, professional inventors know the business very well and have committed a lot of time and resources to the industry… But it you have a truly great idea, innovation always trumps other factors.

Innovation always trumps other factors… Intriguing. Alright! I’ve never entirely agreed with the saying “No news is good news…” There’s no news on Glenn Miller, for example, or Jimmy Hoffa…
Dougal: Ha! That’s funny!

Am I wrong? No news on Amelia Earhart. No news on Shergar! That’s not good! Here’s the question… Given how busy inventor-relations people are, how long should inventors wait – with no news – before following up with you?
Dougal: It really depends on each item as they have their own rhythm. It also depends on the concept, the brand, the time of year. The general rule of thumb is to try to wait 60 days for it to get to the system – and hopefully be surprised when and if we can get back faster.

And how should they follow up with you? What’s the best way to put air in the sails without rocking the boat?
Rich: I would “get on board” with the process, and prepare to “batten down the hatches” without “making waves”… Sorry, got caught up in nautical phrases there.

Ha! Nautical – but nice!
Rich: It’s actually pretty simple. Maybe say, “Hey, how’s it going on item X? Any update?”

Friendly. Concise. Direct!
Rich: As soon as we get new information, we’re happy to share that. But in most cases – and to use your words – “No news is neither bad nor good.” It really depends on the factors we’ve discussed.

We’re dangerously close to a Shakespeare quote: “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Alright! Chaps, I’ve already kept you for quite awhile; perhaps we should start wrapping this up. Broadly speaking, though, what other advice would you give inventors about following up?
Rich: I’d say that we really care about inventors and inventor concepts. We want to give as timely and as meaningful feedback as possible. Our only goal is mutual success. It reminds me of sports umpires…

Umpires?
Dougal: Rich was a baseball umpire for youth when he grew up!

Okay!
Rich: So umpires can get a lot of “help from the stands”, but are typically there because they love the game – and we certainly love the toy game.

Dougal: I’d also say, “trust the process”. As a company gets larger, it becomes more complex with its processes and timings. So a little bit of patience and understanding goes a long way. This can be a good thing also, as a company’s growth usually means it can get your product out to a bigger global audience!

And on that point, then, to what degree is inventor feedback a two-way street? How helpful is it for you to get feedback from inventors on how THEY felt a pitch went?!
Rich: That’s interesting… We’ve sent out questionnaires and are always looking to improve the experience for people pitching to us. The inventors have taken the time and effort to show us their idea, and we love that and want Spin Master to be the best place for inventors to bring their ideas. I’d say we’ve made significant changes over the years due to feedback from the inventor community. We also love talking to the legends of toys and games, and we ask for – and are grateful for – all their advice along the way on how to be better at what we do.

Interesting!
Dougal: Both Rich and I have a very ‘friendly’ style to our jobs, and we tend to get to know inventors – which is great when you’re on the road or at events. It can feel like you’re a global family – and because of this we generally enter into conversations with inventors at ‘after work’ events that might be less intimidating or formal than a pitch. It’s usually there that we get the REAL feedback.

I’ll bet! Fantastic. Alright, gents… Final question: what question could I have asked each of you today that you would have loved to answer? And what IS the answer?
Rich: I wished you asked, “Hey, Her Royal Majesty would like you to come over and figure out how to put a go-kart track in Buckingham Palace and liven the place up a bit. Unlimited budget and creative control, are you in?”. The answer is a resounding “YES”.

But I turned down a call from her to speak to you! Dougal?
Dougal: “Is there a formula for a successful toy or game?” The answer is “NO! And beware anyone that claims there is!” Part of this whole wonderful industry is the fact you have to try different things, experiment, reinvent and reimagine play and it’s not going to work the whole time. The best approach is to keep learning from mistakes and failures, and stay open to new trends and new consumers!

Lovely! Thank you both so much for making time; lovely to see you and hear your thoughts.

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Last year saw Rich Mazel return to Spin Master, taking on the role of VP of Innovation and Inventor Relations, focusing on all toys categories within Boys, Girls and Pre-school.

We spoke with Rich to find out more about how the past year has been for Spin Master – and why he feels it’s a great time to be a toy inventor.

Hi Rich – great to catch up. Now, just over a year ago we ran a story announcing your return to Spin Master. How has your first year back been?
It’s been wonderful. Seeing and working with old friends and moving back to the beach has made for a great year.

It’s been great to partner back up with Dougal Grimes, Ben Dermer and Ben Varadi – and it’s a lot of fun to see how far the company has come. I was lucky to be a part of the early brainstorms of Paw Patrol in LA back when I was with Spin before, but it is a massive line now.

Great stuff is also happening in Batman, Monster Jam, Gabby and other partner brands. Also, an inventor classic – Bakugan – is back and our partnership with Sega on Purse Pets has been a huge success.

Yes, it sounds like it’s been a busy year! In terms of some of those highlights and brands mentioned, are there any inventor items that stand out?
Yes, the Batman Playset from Fuse is huge – literally and figuratively! Also Purse Pets – a collaboration with Sega Japan – and the whole Bakugan line have been high points.

Yes, that playset is mighty! As well as those mentioned, you work with a huge number of inventors from around the world, and Spin Master has always had a great reputation in this space. Why are inventors important to Spin?
Toy companies say that innovation and inventors are the lifeblood of their company, but it’s more than just words at Spin Master. Air Hogs, Zoomer, Hatchimals and Bakugan helped form and build the company to where it is today, and we haven’t forgotten that symbiotic relationship between outside innovators and our company.

Plus, you know the inventors, there are just plain fun to work with. Each day is a surprise when it comes to what I’ll see!

For any inventors reading, what are some of your key areas of interest at the moment?
I think the axiom of “I don’t know what it is until I see it” fits here, but we’ve had a lot of success in the girl’s interactive area with Zoomer and Hatchimals, so that’s a good place to mine.

Collectibles is always a great space – if you/we get it right – and I think we have seen an upsurgence in innovative RC, with Air Hogs Stunt Shot, Monster Jam Megalodon and Mega leading the way.

Sounds like there’s lots of exciting opportunities there. On that, do you think it’s a good time to be an inventor?
I think that Covid and market forces have brought growth to toy companies that embrace the ‘mental reset’ that we all had to go through during the pandemic. Time with family and laughing and playing have never been more needed. As an inventor, you can help us give these experiences to the masses.

Rich, this has been great. One last question to wrap things up: What do you find helps fuel your creativity?
I used to say travel but that has taken the back seat lately. I would say to always try new experiences, new foods, take a different path to work or the train station.

I am big on new experiences. I have taken magic lessons, learned how to fly a 737 and tried Pilates – it’s harder than it looks! I’ve also learned to ride dirt bikes… I had to add this one for friends that will give me a hard time about the Pilates! I have even been known to drag people from Mojo Nation to dodgy VR cafés in London in search of new experiences!

Ha! That was quite an experience – felt like the opening scene of a horror movie! But you can take inspiration from all kinds of experiences I imagine?
Absolutely. I gleaned something from each of those experiences – and there is a lot more to learn. I am re-learning chess now; it’s teaching me a lot about strategy and how to think several moves ahead.

I also love to talk to people that have strong passions for something… Anything really. If a person is passionate about cars, antiques, stamp collecting… I enjoy learning from them.

I personally love golf and baseball, which most people find boring, but by talking to people you can find out why they are moved by something. That gives you insights into what makes people excited about products and experiences. When you find a product that fills one of those needs, you’ll be on the right track.
 
Rich, always a pleasure to catch up. Thanks again for making time.

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Spin Master has detailed a shake-up of its Inventor Relations team, welcoming Rich Mazel back to the company after a 7 ½ year spell at Hasbro, and promoting Dougal Grimes and Harrie Sivanander to new roles.

Rich Mazel is taking on the role of VP of Innovation and Inventor Relations, focusing on all toys categories within Boys, Girls and Pre-school.

Elsewhere, Dougal Grimes has been promoted to VP of Innovation and Inventor Relations for games, plush, outdoor and activities and Inventor Relations Director Harrie Sivanander is also being promoted to a new role.

“We are so happy to have Rich back at Spin Master, and for Dougal Grimes and Harrie Sivanander to take on these incredible new roles,” said Ben Dermer, SVP of Creative Development at Spin Master.

“These are big moves for us. We’re doubling down on innovation, Inventor Relations and new product development, and investing heavily in a future full of new projects and great new toys. As always, working with the inventor community and engaging in the hunt for the best new ideas is a top priority for us. And we’ve got the creative and technical talent at Spin Master to bring those ideas to life.”

Rich Mazel added: “I am super excited to return to Spin Master – where I started my toy career a decade ago – as VP of Innovation and Inventor Relations, focused specifically on all categories of toys within the Boys, Girls, and Preschool GBUs, including Hatchimals, Paw Patrol, Bakugan, Air Hogs, Zoomer and many others, as well as on new technologies.

“It truly feels like Spin has assembled a “Dream Team” of play and innovation and I am happy and proud to be a part of that”

Dougal Grimes said: “Spin Master since its inception has been one of the most entrepreneurial and innovative toy companies in the industry’s history. This is no more apparent than the newly formed NYC hub where all of games, plush and outdoor businesses are located.

“These three areas, which encapsulate a mix of strategic acquisitions and exciting new brands, are pushing the boundaries of product Innovation and storytelling. Combined with the huge momentum of our activities team in our Toronto office with brands such as Kinetic Sand and Cool Maker, we are working with more inventors globally and on a deeper level.

“It’s an insanely exciting time at the company, not only in our innovation and Inventor Relations Team – welcome home Rich! – but across the entire company globally.”

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The post Spin Master welcomes back Rich Mazel and promotes Dougal Grimes and Harrie Sivanander as part of Inventor Relations shake-up appeared first on Mojo Nation.

If you could only take one toy, one game and one of your own inventions to a desert island, what would you take and why? That’s the question that Word Whizz Deej Johnson is posing to Rich Mazel, Senior Director of Global Product Acquisition at Hasbro, in this Desert Island Picks interview.

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The post Watch: Desert Island Picks with… Hasbro’s Rich Mazel appeared first on Mojo Nation.

Hasbro is sponsoring the Invention Studio/Design Agency of the Year category at this year’s Play Creators Awards.

Taking place on the evening of Monday, September 2nd 2019 at Under The Bridge (Stamford Bridge), the Play Creators Awards is a new addition to this year’s Play Creators Festival, and will celebrate figures in the toy and game design community that have excelled over the last 12 months.

“Hasbro is very excited to be sponsoring the Invention Studio/Design Agency of the Year at the Play Creators Awards as our relationship with the groups is a consistently strong source of innovation for us,” said Rich Mazel, Senior Director of Global Product Acquisition at Hasbro.

“In addition to the winners, this is a celebration of all of our studio and agency partners.”

For information on tickets to this year’s Play Creators Awards, or to get your nominations in, head to: www.playcreatorsawards.com

For more information on sponsorship opportunities around the Awards, email adam@mojo-nation.com

The post Hasbro sponsors Invention Studio/Design Agency of the Year category at inaugural Play Creators Awards appeared first on Mojo Nation.

Toy and game designers will once again be able to pitch concepts to Hasbro at this year’s Mojo Pitch event.

Forming part of the Play Creators Festival, the Mojo Pitch will take place on Tuesday, September 3rd at London’s Stamford Bridge stadium.

The event welcomes toy and game designers (both seasoned professionals and talented amateurs), invention houses and design agencies as they pitch exciting new toy and game concepts to a range of companies, each on the lookout for new products.

“Hasbro is excited once again to be coming to London for the Mojo Pitch in early September,” said Rich Mazel, Senior Director of Product Acquisition at Hasbro.

“It is a key event on our yearly calendar as we meet with talented students, inventors (new and old) and industry colleagues in a great and innovative environment.”

More participating companies will be announced in the coming weeks.

If you’re a designer, inventor or design agency that would like book in a meeting with Hasbro at this year’s Mojo Pitch, head to mojo-pitch.com for more information.

Or, if you’re a company that would like to join Hasbro in meeting with designers at the event, email Billy Langsworthy at billy@mojo-nation.com.

For more details on the wider Play Creators Festival, head to: www.playcreatorsfestival.com

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