Meet the Maker - Great Pretenders

Meet Dee the Marketing Director for Great Pretenders. Great Pretenders is a children's lifestyle brand bringing creative pretend play toys and products for kids to the market. It was started by a mom troubled by the lack of fun and imaginative toys for her children. Baffled by this, Joyce Keelen set out on her ambitious journey to come up with creative, pretend-play toys that would light up any child's imagination. Fast-forward 30 years! Her endeavors transcended into the vastly successful lifestyle brand Great Pretenders, which designs and manufactures award-winning toys, jewelry, dolls and accessories. All of their products are Canadian designed and over 80 products are made in Canada.

Do you have kids? If so how many & age? 

I do have kids! I have 2 under 2! Annabella is 16 months old and Lillianna is only 2 months old. Annabella was born 2 months premature, at 3 pounds 9 ounces. I had preeclampsia and was hospitalized for a month prior to giving birth. She had to spend some time in the NICU but is a heathy toddler now and I never had any complications with Lillianna (thank goodness!).

What's one thing people probably don't know about you?

Being in the toy industry now for 6 years, people probably wouldn't have known I had my own line of clothing. I actually have a Degree in Fashion Design along with my Bachelor of Design and minor in English. I launched my first collection at Beijing Fashion Week in 2010 and did various shows in Toronto and lived in Italy for a year. 

Are you a stay at home mom?

Since having Lillianna, I am working part time with Great Pretenders so I can still work and be home with my girls.

What is your favourite thing to do for yourself?

I love to be artistic and work with my hands. Every so often, when I have the time, I love to draw, paint, take pictures or knit. I find it fun to make something from nothing. Even finger paint with my girls is fun.

What is your favourite date night activity?

My husband is a trained Chef. Probably our favourite date night activity is just to go out to dinner and critic the food, restaurant and service. We love trying new food and getting ideas for his menu. Dinner out is always more than just a meal for us, it's like a real life network food show. Some of our best movements and stories happened in the food industry and restaurant industry. It's how we met! Going on 14 years now. 

What's one thing you couldn't live without?

Besides my children and my wonderful husband, I would say I can't live without photos. One of my favourite Facebook features is the memory posts that come up every so often. I love photography and having images to look back on are the best. I still have rolls of film and a few disposable cameras from the 90's that I have been meaning to get developed. How fun will those pictures be to look at!? 

Who's your IG inspiration?

I love creative bloggers and influencers who have fun with their images like @happygreylucky from Toronto. I also love following #realmom where I've found influencers like @honestlymommy and @moderndaywonderland . My guilty pleasure though... @buzzfeedladylike ...I follow all those gals and watch their videos. 

What advice would you give your younger self?

Everything has a way of working out... that everything will be ok. That's what I would tell my younger self.  At a young age, I suffered from depression. It would have been nice to know that what I was going through was going to make me stronger. I would tell myself to keep going because as long as I stick out the bad times, happiness is just around the corner. I think many teenagers and young adults feel a sense of unhappiness but turning to friends, family or even friends who are like family, can get you through the darkness. 

Where is business located out of?

The company is based out of Sarnia, Ontario Canada but has 3 global warehouses; one in Sarnia near our HQ, our USA warehouse in Port Huron, Michigan and our EU warehouse in Lübeck, Germany. Our Canadian made in Canada products are sewn at our production facility and HQ in Sarnia. This is also where all the magic of design, photography and creativity happens.   How did Joyce choose the name for her business?

Joyce picked the name Great Pretenders when the company introduced dress up as a category. The company (Creative Education of Canada) was originally a puppet maker, creating creative puppets for kids. When we expanded in to dress up and role play for children, Joyce and her partner Reid turned to a close friend who was a writer. They wanted a brand name that was going to introduce and encourage creative interactive pretend play. Their friend was very good with words. After some time, she sent over a list with over 150 suggestions for brand names! While going through the list, although there were sever good options, Joyce and Reid instantly both loved Great Pretenders. It was perfect for what they had envisioned the brand to be. Pretend play that is fun and magical, that makes a child feel great and expand their creativity, play that is for everyone...Great Pretenders was born.

How do you balance having kids & working with Great Pretenders?

I saw a quote that resonated with me recently; "We expect women to work like they don't have children, and raise children as if they don't work". My role at Great Pretenders offers the flexibility to work from home some time during the week while still in the office others. My husband also has a flexible schedule so it's easy (most of the time) to balance our days. I’m highly driven and love working. My mind doesn’t shut off just because I have kids and I feel it’s important to keep my wheels, talents and passion alive. So does Creative Education and Great Pretenders thankfully. Spending time with your kids is so important but knowing you need time to relax, work or just have fun with your partner is just as important. I think a lot of parents can relate to our biggest challenge, not living near our family. Sometimes you need grandma or grandpa to take the kids to the park or their aunt to watch them after a long day but we mange.

Where can people find your products? 

We sell directly to the public in Canada and the USA on our website www.greatpretenders.ca! We also have specialty retailers all across North America and the EU who sell our products in their stores, museums and small shops. Major retail partners who sell our products include Amazon, Indigo Kids, Mastermind Toys, etc. 

What advice can you give someone looking a job in the toy industry?

I started my career in the Fashion Industry. It's been a crazy journey to lead me to working in the toy industry but a lot of fun. I look at my brief time in fashion and compare it with my time in the toy industry and I think to myself... "wow, it's so much more fun". I recently spoke to Lindsay Eve, our Head of Product Development about how amusing our work lives are sometimes when we take a step back. Discussing important topics like "do unicorns have wings?", "is that dragon too blue?", "can we add more glitter to those fairy wings?", "does that unicorn doll need more colourful hair locks?" Even though we are all work professionals in an office setting, in a lot of our meetings we essentially play with toys and talk about them. When we go to trade shows, everyone plays with toys because how else do you show customers how they work? My advise would be for anyone who wants to work in the toy industry; make sure you're still a kid at heart. 

What sets Great Pretenders apart from others alike?

I am not sure if I've seen other lifestyle dress up brands such as Great Pretenders. There are certainly other businesses making products in similar categories to ours such as dress up for kids, jewelry for kids, dolls, party, pretend play etc. but I think what set Great Pretenders apart from the rest is design. When I first started with Great Pretenders, I couldn't believe the attention to detail with every single product we produce. Each bead on a necklace, right down to the style of knot they use is carefully thought out so we can provide the best jewelry for kids. All the tread for a garment is individually tested to the highest standards making sure it's safe for customers. Our fabric collection is crazy! Rolls and rolls of fabric, all organized by style, are carefully selected or rejected if the quality or colour isn't perfect. I think we have 18-25 different shades of pink in multiple materials alone! And certainly our made in Canada products set us apart providing quality dress up that is handmade and supports Canadian made product. 

Funny aside; there was a set of owl hair clips, still in our line (The Fl-owl-er Power Hairclips). There was a huge debate and multiple samples made for months just to get the perfect shade of 'mint'. One was too blue, one was too green, one made the owl look odd...finally we all agreed on the correct colour! We had sold so many of these little owl clips, partly (I think) because of the attention details like this one. 

What is the most challenging part of my job as Marketing Director?

My job consists of working with media, brand reps, influencers, bloggers etc. to promote the brand and company. I also organize marketing events, trade shows, manage our social media accounts, maintain our website and maintain our fiscal year budgets for my categories. The most challenging part of my job as Marketing Director would certainly be maintaining the budgets. You want to do it all because every new marketing initiative sounds amazing but it's about finding that balance. My favourite part is working with customers and brand reps. I love helping consumers find the right item or seeing pictures of our products on their kids. 

What does a typical day look like for you?

Every day, I generally look at my phone in bed first thing (bad habit) and then maybe I kiss my husband good morning haha. Then after getting my girls up, changed, fed, clothed and doing the same for myself I feel like coffee is certainly needed. Everyday starts with my emails and marking what is urgent. I have a to do list on my computer of tasks and projects to keep me organized. I either add to it or make priority changes. We keep a marketing calendar to see what's coming up and what needs to be posted. If I am at the office, most of my day is spent working or in meetings with the other departments. If working from home, I take some time to entertain my girls while on my computer. I can easily put on any kids tune and work while my oldest dances about. Because I manage our social media, my day never really has an end time. If inquiries come in or messages, I always respond as quickly as I can (even if it's 11pm). Some companies use bots to manage their social media which I find quite impersonal. Whenever someone messages us, you know you'll always be speaking to a person. Since my husband is the General Manager and Head Chef of a restaurant, we typically don't have the same schedule. Either I eat with the girls and put them to sleep or he and I do it together and then make dinner for ourselves. After a nice dinner we go to bed or I fall asleep waiting up for my husband to come home so we can chat about our day. 

Coffee or tea? coffee Neutral or colourful? colourful Morning or night? night Wine or beer? Wine Starbucks or tims? Starbucks Online shopping or in store? I love both! I find it more convenient to shop online but going to a store is so much fun. Instagram or facebook? Instagram Text or phone call? Text

Instagram: @grtpretenders

Facebook: @grtpretenders

Youtube: Great Pretenders

Twitter: https://twitter.com/grtpretenders

Website: https://greatpretenders.ca/

@Camara.Crew Stamp of Approval:

One thing I've was so excited about when I had kids was seeing there imagination blossom. The thought of playing dress up and running around the house playing superheroes or princesses got me so excited. I always wondered what will Lily prefer? Princesses? Superheroes? Dragons? And I often wonder the same with Mason, what will his interest be? Unfortunately now he is stuck with Lily dressing him up as a Princess and doing his makeup! LOL

Thankfully we've connected with Great Pretenders who provide opportunities for our children to be whoever they want to be! There costumes and pretend play items are truly amazing quality. Whether you want to be a doctor, dragon, Princess, butterfly, you name it they have it! And accessories GALORE! I will warn you how difficult it is to choose what to order because there is so much and its all fantastic. I have to say right now our favourite items are the reversible superhero cape and the accessories Lily has. Some of the accessories we are loving are her ring sets, her sword, princess mirror, and her masks!

One of our other favourite products is their colour-a-collection. Lily loves colouring and its so fun to see her imagination when she decorates her new bag, crown, or apron! What I love though is that when Lily colours it the design doesn't disappear because she isn't colouring in the lines so it is great for someone her age still.

If I have you hooked don't worry I got a special discount code that you can use when ordering on their website! Use code CC20 to fill up your carts! HAPPY SHOPPING