This blog is dedicated to the realization of my dream to design, have manufactured, and distribute a rubber duckie.
Having collected rubber duckies for several years, I gained an appreciation for old ducks, made in the 60's. As I researched the makers of these collectibles for a book I wrote (my best seller out of 30 to date!) I became more and more fascinated with them. For example, the Rempel ducks were made by a Russian immigrant who arrived here in the States with nothing. This husband/wife team recreated his idyllic childhood with a book brought to life by the rubber characters he sculpted. These were pretty ducks made by entrepreneurs who loved what they did. Why couldn't I do the same today?
In my research I found several modern-day entrepreneurs who were making rubber ducks , much like toymakers of four decades previous, only the manufacturing is taking place in Asian countries whereas the toy business was centered in Akron, Ohio previously.
As a quilt designer my medium is fabric, so as I set about sculpting from clay my first attempts were scary. Over time I made a few decent duckies. Also, I worked out characters in quilts, honing my idea of what a rubber duckie is.
Of course, on the surface this got me nowhere in my pursuit of bringing my own duckie to market.
Or so it seemed...