Notes from the CEO: A Creative Childhood Leads to Tomorrow's Change-Makers September 02 2015, 0 Comments

Welcome to my first post in a new series where we will share our journey and passions with you. I’m so glad you discovered Seedling! We’re excited to have found you!

So who am I? Well, I’m Phoebe Hayman, CEO and founder of Seedling, a little company with big dreams of revolutionizing the idea of what it means to play. We are a company of true believers in our revolution, who work hard and play hard, looking to spread our happiness around the globe.

When I started Seedling eight years ago, I was disappointed by the play opportunities that toys offered my children, who were three and one at the time. As more children came into our lives when my friends and family had children, I realized that toys weren’t play. My kids wanted to do the things that I was doing, explore the real world and discover what they could do and create. This was my "aha moment," as I realized that this was what it means to play. Play isn’t related to objects designed to entertain and distract my children. Play is an experience that is real, collaborative, curious, engaging, adventurous, and fun!

This discovery planted the roots of Seedling. I set out to develop experiences rather than things with a couple of foundational beliefs: 

  1. Children are real people with endless imaginations and boundless thinking. They are the most exciting people in our world, and are not limited by rules, prejudices, or fear of failure. They are our future. If there is anywhere where we should invest the best quality of time, materials, and design, it is in our children. We are the sum of our experiences, and amazing experiences in childhood can truly change the world.
  1. The experience is far more valuable than the outcome. There are no mistakes — just exploration, ideas and problem solving. We don’t do paint by numbers. Our products can be whatever your children want to make with them. That’s right! We think your children’s ideas are far more valuable than ours. (Even if it’s the craziest thing you’ve ever heard or seen!) We’re not in love with the thing they made, we’re in love with the pride on their face, the passion in their voice, and excitement they feel when they play with their own creations, proudly showing them off to everyone they know.

This is the foundation for our beginning, our passion, and our revolution. We’ve been growing ever since. Seedling is sold in over 20 countries, 14 languages and is bringing our experiences to hundreds of thousands of children all over the world.

I look forward to sharing more of us with you so stay tuned. It’s a big story!