The newest member of the Cutie Crew has officially arrived at HQ - the Cutie Cub! The Cutie Cub is a soft lovey that can attach to pacifiers, teethers, toys and more. It has been a long journey to get the Cutie Cub perfected and ready to meet all of you and your babes! We wanted to take a look back at the process and give you a peek into what it takes for new products to make their debut. As you read, keep in mind this timeline started TWO years ago - crazy!
Looking for a manufacturer - June 2018
Creating the Cutie Cubs and actually bringing them to you is a much different process than creating new pacifiers, clips, or anything else with silicone. Lindsey has a great manufacturer that she works with for everything silicone that is produced for Ryan & Rose. But the Cutie Cub required a different route. Judy helped Lindsey find the perfect manufacturer for the Cutie Cub.
They had to search for a manufacturer who could provide the perfect plush cub while also making the product functional and a perfect compliment to the Cutie PAT. It was no small task by any means.
Finalized drawings - January 2019
While it’s one thing to dream up a product, it’s quite another job to conceptualize the product in an actual design. Luckily, Lindsey has a great designer she loves and trusts to bring her ideas into concepts on paper. You all know Courtney Kassner, the owner of Crew + Co. Courtney was also the one who put Lindsey’s Cutie PAT design down on paper.
Like the Cutie PAT, designing the Cutie Cub was another huge project for Courtney and took quite a bit of time.
While looking for a manufacturer, Lindsey was also working through the concept drawings of the Cutie Cub with Courtney. There were so many decisions in the beginning: head shape, body shape, eye shape, height, length, width, overall softness, eyes, hard eyes, sewn eyes, nose shape, type of smile, multi-color face or single color face, ear shape, feet shape and size.
You can see the initial sketches above, where everything started and how many decisions they had to work through. This is what Lindsey's idea was looking like on paper.
Then in January 2019, the drawings were finalized and ready for samples.
If you don’t know, the process of getting samples and refining the design can be quite lengthy. For some products it’s quicker to go from concept to production, but for others it’s a lengthier process. That was the case with the Cutie Cub.
We learned we didn’t really need a drawing as detailed as we thought because the first sample looked nothing like what we had put on paper.
You never know until you get a sample and see how the design came to life. Sometimes you get close to what you intended, and other times the sample isn’t even close. It’s just part of the process and part of creating something new for Ryan & Rose.
Sample 1: Pink - April 2019
The first sample Lindsey ever got was the pink cub you see above. As you can tell, it’s drastically different from the actual Cutie Cub we have today! Lindsey actually laughed when she saw it for the first time. In a video, Lindsey told Judy “it isn’t very cute” 😂 It looks like I got it at the fair.
[Watch Lindsey's reaction below]
But this is how the process works. You receive a sample and then think through everything that needs adjustment.
One thing Lindsey was set on was the messy hair. The manufacturer continued to push back on the messy hair. They gave us all the reasons to use short hair. Lindsey knew what she wanted and wasn't backing down. She and Judy kept fighting for a cub with longer/messier hair.
And you know what Lindsey says—a product isn’t sold until it’s perfect. So this is the process of perfecting.
Sample 2: Brown/Pink with no attachment - May 2019
Another month passed and Lindsey received two more samples—a brown and pink cub. Neither had an attachment, which is the major feature of the Cutie Cub. You can see in the photos Lindsey took of how they affixed attachments with paper clips in order to determine where the attachment would go.
Even at this point, Lindsey was torn whether to put the attachment on the arm or at the top of the cub’s head. Which did she decide to go with?
Well you’ve already seen it by now, but she definitely tested both.
Then which hand? Does it go on the right or left hand?
Sample 3: Pink straight hair with attachment - August 2019
We finally got an attachment! Progress was made with the attachment on this pink straight hair cub. Although we had an attachment, it wasn't correct. We knew pretty much from the beginning that the attachment would come from the arm but the manufacturer still sent cubs with attachments on the head.
Sample 4: Grey with pink nose, messy hair - January 2020
You might be saying… “what? A grey cub with a pink nose - where is that one?”
That’s right. We did have a sample with that combo but it didn’t make it into production. Who knows what might come in the future, right? Never say never. But for now it didn’t make it to the final stages. We thought boy moms would prefer a grey nose. I let my best friends help me decide on that.
But don’t worry, we picked the best cubs we could to bring to market and we picked the best placement for the attachment. After much deliberation, we finalized it all!
Ordered the Cutie Cubs - March 2020
And now… two years later the Cutie Cub was ordered and on its way to being a new Cutie product for sale. TWO YEARS!
It might seem crazy, but that’s how long it can take to make something perfect. Lindsey puts a ton of time and effort into developing each product, testing it, re-testing, adjusting, and tailoring it until it’s perfect to launch.
Sample 5: Final Grey with grey nose messy hair - April 2020
Oh but wait, Lindsey actually finalized the grey Cutie Cub in April of this year. Just in time for both the pink and grey Cutie Cubs to be launched in June.
Launch of Cubs - June 2020
Our new cuties are already on their way to doorsteps around the country. Head over to the Cutie Community and show us your baby with their newest cuddly friend, the Cutie Cub!
If you missed out on the launch of the Cutie Cub, we are working hard to restock and have more available for you as soon as we can. Follow us on Instagram @ryanandrose to stay informed on when a restock is coming.
We hope you enjoyed this look at the process from start to finish.