The I.D.I.O.T. Award winners of Fuse discuss their amazing career with guest interviewer Laura Rowe

Pete, Tim, Lucas and Kev – what an honour! You’ve dedicated your careers to invention, so tell me: why is innovation in toys important?
Tim Rowe: Every year, retailers need to see new stuff and that’s what drives the invention. If it’s an invention, if it’s something proprietary, something that’s never been seen before, it’s an easier story for them to sell.

Pete Cartlidge: It’s like fast moving consumer goods. If you named lots of really successful toys, they’re all great inventions. Within our careers, we’ve patented quite a few things and they’ve been really successful.

Tim: That’s a sign of a good invention, if it’s patentable…

Pete: Which is not to say everything has to be patentable! If it is, though, it’s more protectable in the marketplace. But it can cost a lot of money. You have to be sure.

Tim: Something that’s going to stick around is worth patenting.

Kevin Gillon: Kids want toys they can play with over and over, and parents love toys that keep their kids engaged. Innovation usually means a great play pattern –something kids can repeat over and over. That’s what makes a toy last.

Speaking of sticking around, you’re approaching 25 years at Fuse… What drew you all to the toy industry?
Lucas Tyler: I was drawn to the industry after working in the consumer products industry. My first job was designing kitchen products and I did a year at that place and I was miserable because it was so boring. I went to Chris Taylor, who was the owner of Origin… He’d originally offered me a job I said to him, “Do you remember me? Could I please come and work for you?” And he was very gracious and said, “Yes!” It was like a breath of fresh air – and it’s still fun.

Pete: I just came straight from college. I’d done an undergrad degree at Leeds, the same course that Tim did, and then I did a master’s… I was looking for a design job. I always loved toys, collected toys and – even at that age – was still playing with toys. So when I saw an ad for a designer at a toy company, I applied straight away.

Kev: After a summer of applying for industrial design jobs in London, I spotted a tiny ad in Design Week. Origin Products was looking for a freelance model maker to work on toy prototypes. I didn’t know anything about toy inventing, but after the interview, I thought, “This is perfect – I love model making.” A couple of weeks later, I heard back from Origin and another design company offering me jobs. Choosing the toy company was easy – it looked like an amazing opportunity.

Lucas: I think we have good ‘dinner party jobs’! The question of what everybody does goes around and – when it gets to me and I say, “I’m a toy inventor” the room normally goes, “Oh my God – wow!”

Pete: Yes! If you tell someone you’re a toy inventor, it seems to light up everyone’s imagination a little bit…

Tim: Most people have great memories of toys as kids, don’t they? So it just reminds them of that, I think.

Definitely! So how did you all end up at Fuse?
Tim: Pete, Lucas and I all met at Origin, then we formed Evolve… Then we ‘fused’ with Kev.

You had your own company, Kev?
Kev: Yes, I’d started my own company, Play On Design, after Origin sold the Polly Pocket brand to Mattel. Within two years, we were licensing toys to Mattel brands like Polly Pocket, Disney Princess and Hot Wheels. I had a small team of five and was looking to grow. David Edey – a friend and consultant I’d worked with at Origin, Polly Pocket Group, and Play On – suggested I meet the Evolve guys…

I already knew them from Origin, and both our companies were working with similar toy firms and licensing to big names like Mattel and Hasbro. The difference was in our strengths: I focused on doll brands like Polly Pocket and Disney Princess, while Evolve had huge success with action and wheels brands. We met, hit it off, and decided to join forces. The rest is history.

Lucas: We were basically all colleagues at Origin, we were all designers, but Tim, Pete and I were the only ones that didn’t work on Polly Pocket.

Pete: Chris told us that Origin used to invent and licence IP and that’s when we really thought we’d be an inventing and licensing business. I was intrigued about the whole process of licensing inventions, and was kind of already going down that path of meeting the clients, showing stuff, then feeding back to Lucas and Tim.

Ah, so tell me more about this switch from designing to inventing…
Kev: At Origin, we were already coming up with inventions and working closely with Mattel to get the best products into the Polly line. I was just doing it for someone else.

Tim: I guess the difference is that good design-work tells a great story or play pattern in a toy… When a toy company sees a cool invention, though, they get super excited about it with the possibilities to advertise and sell something unique to their customers.

Lucas: It took us a little while to get our heads around it. It was our natural strengths which really dictated our roles.

Because you’re all creative in different ways?
Pete: Exactly. Each of us is creative and each had their own particular area of expertise… When we started licensing concepts, we had people that we could go to to execute ideas or briefs. They were all designers, not really inventors. That’s really what we ended up doing. We became inventors, and then we turned other people into inventors, and they had successful careers.

What a great legacy! Speaking of, what else would you add?
Kev: One standout moment was an invention we licensed that became a huge success… Mattel challenged us to find an easy way to dress small dolls. I worked with Mark Buckley, a designer I’d known since Origin. It was tough because adding mechanisms or special materials adds cost, and it had to be simple enough for a three-year-old. One prototype that stood out was a plastic dress split down the middle. Pinch the base, it opens like a clothes peg, drop the doll in, and it closes—super simple! Mattel turned it into the MagiClip line, which sold millions of dolls for many years. Doing that so early at Fuse proved how important collaboration and partnerships are.

Pete: Most toys last about three years, don’t they? That was what we were always kind of told…

Tim: If you can get three years out of your invention, that’s a good run.

Pete: But we’re lucky with Gravity Maze, that’s at 12 years now. Kumi is eight years. Total Action Football is over 20 years.

And what about outside your products?
Pete: The annual beermat-flipping competition at Nurnberg Toy Fair is one for me. It started with just a few of us playing a game where you stack the coasters up and then you flip them and catch them in one motion without them hitting the floor. The next year, we met again and we played to win an engraved silver coaster. That was it. Every year more and more people gathered.

Lucas: And then you got the beer mats printed! The word got around… It’s a bigger event now, isn’t it? It takes over a whole venue.

Oh wow!
Lucas: We also did our stint on The Apprentice – Fuse was featured on the show. I don’t know if that’s a legacy, but it was certainly an experience.

Tim: Tommy the Talking Turtle. I’ll never forget that. Ha!

Lucas: It’s the only all-nighter I’ve ever done for Evolve or Fuse. The producers said they wanted this fully working, electronic prototype delivered to The Apprentice house at seven the next morning! So we built it overnight and delivered it. When I sat down with my family to watch the episode on TV, I believe I was on screen for about four seconds. Ha! But it was a really fun experience.

It certainly sounds it!
Lucas: And then the buildings. That’s kind of a little behind the scenes, isn’t it? The property stuff that we have that, when – if – we stop designing toys, the properties will keep paying the rent for us!

Pete: And then, obviously the people that have left us who have gone on to continue in the business…

Lucas: We’ve employed and trained people that have worked at Disney, Lego and Warner Bros. Others have gone to rival invention houses or set up their own companies. What’s nice is that people have come in completely fresh – their first experience of the toy industry is at Fuse. And then they’ve continued their careers elsewhere.

Kev: I hope everyone who worked at Fuse enjoyed their time here. We’ve always tried to make it a fun, inspiring place where you learn fast. Some of our team members go on to start their own toy invention businesses or join big toy companies in the UK and beyond. There aren’t any toy invention courses in the UK, so people learn how to invent at Fuse and take those skills with them. We support anyone who wants to move on and start their own thing. Hopefully, as their businesses grow, they’ll use what they learned here.

Amazing! And if I remember correctly, you were involved in the making of the first I.D.I.O.T Award… Am I right?
Tim: Ha! Yes! When I started at Origin, Chris Taylor had me make some badges for this ‘I.D.I.O.T Award’… I had absolutely no idea what it was. I handmade these badges for the Inventor Dinners and saw the I.D.I.O.T Awards being handed out for the first time. But the new ones they’ve made are cool cast metal which look really great. I had to apologise for the state of the ones that everyone had been getting for years because they were made by me!

Kev: Ha! I remember the awards being made in the studio before I’d even been to the Toy Inventors Dinner. Someone always seemed to lose one and need a replacement just before the event!

Gosh, so it must’ve been a bit of a strange, full-circle moment when Fuse won the award?
Tim: It’s weird to think back. We used to think the recipients were old when they were getting their awards for being in the industry for so long and for doing, obviously, good work. It’s kind of strange to think we’ve got to that age where we were applauded for our work – but it’s very touching.

Lucas: When we would go to the big toy company events at the start of our careers in the industry, I’d walk into those rooms full of people and I didn’t know anyone. I’d just stand there a little bit in awe at the Inventors Dinner… You’d see all these people with medals – and now I walk into these events; I know everyone and they’re all friends and people I’ve known for years. But when we won, Kev and I were in L.A. when and I was gutted. I didn’t for a minute think we’d be recipients – but it was nice that four of us were honoured.

Well, I know Simon Skelton introduced the award and the two of you – Pete, Tim – said a few words collecting it. Will transcribe that down the bottom here… In the meanwhile, what does the I.D.I.O.T Award mean to you all individually and professionally?
Lucas: Because it’s peer related within our niche industry, it is a real acknowledgement, because I think sometimes we still don’t appreciate how well known and how well regarded we are as a company and as a group.

Tim: I think, like you say, the fact it’s voted for by your peers means a lot.

Pete: It’s affirmation that you’re actually good at what you do. We spend a lot of time bigging ourselves up on our ideas so that external validation is nice.

Lucas: We spend so much time chasing the money, don’t we? Trying to make sure that we can pay the bills. But the I.D.I.O.T. Award isn’t a financial thing. It’s about your reputation and your achievements: the products and the relationships we’ve built.

Pete: Tim, I think you said it was the biggest achievement last year?

Tim: It was for me, it stood out. It was the most proud moment last year.

Pete: It will mean more than financial stuff when we put our feet up!

Kev: It’s always great to get recognition, and I love that the four of us received it together. I’ve been in the toy industry for 30 years and worked with Tim, Lucas, and Pete for most of that time.

To wrap it up, then, what’s your proudest achievement?
Pete: That’s easy, It’s having a career with these guys. Our friendship has sustained through all of it. We’re still mates and still have a great time. We managed to make a business out of it.

Tim: David Edey always says that we make our decisions by committee. We make decisions together – and that seems to have worked.

Lucas: I think that we’ve supported each other through lots of stuff – not only work wise, but also our own personal stuff. We were able to give each other time and support. That’s immeasurable, really.

Pete: Yes, the trust in each other is just rock solid, so it’s great to get all these awards… But, at the end of the day, we just keep turning up and doing this because we’re all there to support each other and because it still excites us.

Fantastic! Thank you so much for making time to talk. Will end on that transcription from the night you picked up the award…

2025 I.D.I.O.T. Award

Simon Skelton: The essence of development is to evolve, to unfold and to adapt… And the recipients of this year’s I.D.I.O.T. Award have always adapted to a changing environment. Whether that environment is being in the desert on a motorbike or when following the ups and downs of their favourite football teams – which happen to be both Leeds and West Ham! They are known as the voice of reason… And a very good chef!

They are a singer, a passionate pool player, commercially minded and financially astute… Apart from the time they actually lost a Tesla! And our winner was once employed in a financial role because they had neat handwriting! When they were young, they had a passion for architecture, and it’s rumoured they once did a course in bricklaying. They are the one that sings. They are the stylish one. The vodka-drinking, crazy-eyed one, the one who rides horses and runs marathons…

And the one who, believe it or not, turned down the very first job in the toy industry, only to return a year later and flip that rather dull job for the toy industry. job flipping beer mats. They are the prince of magical fashion, the master of the BatTech Batcave, the genius inside the Gravity Maze and the brains behind the Fisher-Price Sit-to-Stand playset. This year’s winners of the I.D.I.O.T. Award are the fab four from Fuse. Please show your appreciation for Pete Cartlidge, Kevin Gillon, Tim Rowe and Lucas Tyler.

Pete Cartlidge: Wow. I’m very rarely speechless, but I think tonight I am. Thank you so much. Thank you to the committee. Thanks to all the invited guests…

This event has always been very close to my heart; very close to Fuse’s heart as well. When we started our career in the industry, we knew that Chris Taylor had been arranging and participating in this dinner for many years. Chris had been part of the heritage of not only Origin and the wider UK toy industry, but also globally…

So this event was a great introduction for me when I started my career, because Chris said, “When you take over, I think you should get involved, meet some people. It’s a great way to get to know the industry.” And it really was!

A bit daunting to help arrange an event of this magnitude, with this calibre of people and professional talent here… But it was one that I embraced with the help of Mary Danby and everybody on the committee who was so passionate about this event. As everybody knows, every year is such a great event. We always have a lot of fun…

So, yes… I was welcomed with open arms and for my first few events. I think the first one was at the Savoy Theatre and that was a great event, but every single one, even though it follows the same blueprint, is always fantastically attended and richly enjoyed… The I.D.I.O.T.s are very warmly and passionately celebrated. And anybody who’s got one of these medals will know what that means!

That’s because it’s a unique club, but I think everybody here is in this club in a way; everybody in this room is part of a fantastic community through good times and bad times, hard times and very successful times. I think we’re all here because we just are passionate about toys and games. We love what we do…

We love spending time with each other and sharing our stories, successes, tribulations, etc. And we’ve enjoyed that for many years. And we very much will continue to do so. So I think on behalf of myself, Tim – Tim’s hasn’t got a word in edgewise, but that’s kind of like the way it is at Fuse – sorry about that, Tim! Anything you want to say, Tim?!

Tim Rowe: Well, thanks for that, Pete. “Rarely speechless” he says! I’ve just got one thing to say, actually… When I started at Origin, the first thing Chris Taylor asked me to do was make some I.D.I.O.T. Awards! “Tim, could you make some I.D.I.O.T. Awards for us?” “What the hell are I.D.I.O.T. Awards?!” Ha!

So yes, I made the old ones; cast them off… So I have to just apologise to those of you that have got the ones I made in about 1996! But maybe they’ll become a collector’s item. You know, I don’t deserve this beautiful metal one which just looks amazing… So thank you.

Pete: And I think just one final thing on behalf of Kev and Lucas who are in L.A., showing toys and pitching game ideas. These medals are accepted on behalf of the four of us. We’re very, very grateful. And I think the other thing I would say is that there are four of us, but Fuse and Evolve have employed very many talented staff over the years. It’s been a privilege to watch their careers grow and develop. So we’d also like to accept the award on behalf of all our staff over the many years.

So! Have a good night; thanks ever so much again. And we’ll see you next year. We’ll enjoy seeing you over the next couple of Toy Fairs. Thanks very much, everyone.

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