CHATSWORTH FIRM BENEFITS FROM CRAZE.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Daily News Staff Writer Can't find a collectible Beanie Baby Sources: A Beanie Baby is a stuffed animal made by Ty Inc. Ty was founded by Ty Warner who promoted the line in specialty stores and gift shops. The Ty company's famous special "posable lining" is understuffed with plastic pellets (or "beans") rather than stuffing ? How about a BeanMate? They're just as cute, cuddly cud·dle v. cud·dled, cud·dling, cud·dles v.tr. To fondle in the arms; hug tenderly. See Synonyms at caress. v.intr. To nestle; snuggle. n. , squishy squish·y adj. squish·i·er, squish·i·est 1. Soft and wet; spongy. 2. Sloppily sentimental. Adj. 1. and almost as popular as the real deal. And they are worth one million bucks to Sandra Baek, founder of Sandra Design Pops Inc., the small Chatsworth company that makes the plush toys. ``It's going pretty good, so we are bringing other products,'' Baek said of her business. She invested $400,000 to start the beanbag bean·bag n. 1. A small bag filled with dried beans and used for throwing in games. 2. A small folded bag filled with lead pellets, used as ammunition in a stun gun. 3. toy company about 1-1/2 years ago to take advantage of the popularity of the Beanie Babies. Baek expected first-year sales to hit $400,000; they topped $1 million. She hopes to double that this year. ``I'm working hard to accomplish that target. We are just trying to make it happen,'' she said. Six employees, including her son, Ryan Chang, work for the company. The line consists of 40 characters 8 inches high and 24 characters 5.5 inches high. The junior-size line was introduced this year. Since opening, Baek has expanded into the retail, fund-raising and corporate logo markets. For example, if a company wants to promote itself by giving away a BeanMate patterned after its mascot MASCOT - Modular Approach to Software Construction Operation and Test: a method for software design aimed at real-time embedded systems from the Royal Signals and Research Establishment, UK. or sporting the corporate logo, Sandra Design Pops will make it. The company also makes toys that schools or nonprofit groups can sell during fund-raising campaigns Noun 1. fund-raising campaign - a campaign to raise money for some cause fund-raising drive, fund-raising effort crusade, campaign, cause, drive, effort, movement - a series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end; "he supported . Baek said she branched out after retail sales of the toys took off. ``We were doing business only with the retail market and we were contacted by many of the big companies to supply products for their image. We did that and it turned out to be a very good business,'' Baek said. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Sandra Baek shows some of the BeanMates her company manufactures. Evan Yee/Daily News |
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