The Story Of Idea Duck

(A Fairy Tale Resume)

Once upon a time, in the magical land of northern California, there was a young woman named Susan McKinley Ross.

Susan was a product developer for a toy catalog called HearthSong. Her job was to turn her crazy ideas into fun products for children. She loved her job. She loved the craft kits and the toys and the games. She loved to coax a product from the first vague inkling of an idea all the way to the warehouse, and eventually to a child.

Eventually HearthSong moved to Virginia. Susan wanted to stay in magical northern California. She also wanted to keep turning her crazy ideas into products. And so she decided to start her own company, Idea Duck.

Susan had an abundance of product ideas to develop. She learned to design her toys in Adobe Illustrator. She learned woodworking. She learned to make fully functional prototypes. She learned how to license her products to other companies.

Idea Duck licensed its first toy in early 2003. That first toy - the Decorate a Great Snowman Set - is still selling. Check out the portfolio page to see it and most of the products that Idea Duck has licensed.

Susan still loves her job. In fact, she loves it even more. If you'd like to work with someone who is enthusiastic, practical and experienced please contact Susan McKinley Ross at Idea Duck.

You can find out more about Susan and Idea Duck through various web sources. These include interviews in the Press Democrat newspaper, on the Chinaberry Blog and on episode 60 of Garrett's Games & Geekiness podcast as well as in a two page profile of Idea Duck products from the HearthSong Catalog.