This week in the Dad Spotlight, Julie Kerwin, the creative superpower behind IAmElemental’s action figures for girls, joins us to talk to us about the brand as well as to talk about how they are creating a new conversation about the super powers that we all have inside of us.

 

Less hooters, more heroine. The girl are the superheros and the powers are not dumbed down and it allows kids to see powers in a new way. IAmElemental knew that kids could understand the concept that was being

 

It’s character, not characters is one of the mantras of IAmElemental.

“We’re girl targeted, bot inclusive” says Julie Kerwin. It was important that IAmElemental figures were inclusive of both genders and this is part of the mission of the company.

IAmElemental Series 2 is coming out soon and in this series the company wanted to make this series better than the first set. One of the requests was to add peg holes in the feet of the new series for collectors and they did add this in for the new series. They now know what design is capable of and thus they can accomplish a lot more with the characters in general.

Julie Kerwin sais that they started with courage as the first series to set the tone. In series two, knowledge as power is being seen as important as being physically strong.

One of the things that they are trying to do is provide “hidden mickeys” into every figure. Such as the crossbow in one of the characters which represents Artemis, Goddess of the hunt who is hunting for knowledge.

Julie Kerwin mentioned that IAmElemental characters are made for ages 4-400. At the core they were originally geared toward the child of seven. She is hoping that young child is introduced early so kids can see that all of the superpowers that they need are within themselves.

While IAmElemental is a company that started at a kitchen table, the future is wide open because there are so many messages that can be shared with these toys. They are being very targeted and safe as they move forward but they are working to grow a community of people that love the toy and the message. 

About Julie Kerwin

is a voracious researcher, writer and thinker on the topics of gendered toys, creativity in children, and the power of play. Before launching IAmElemental in 2013, she spent five years as co-owner of independent music label Club Rock Records. Club Rock began by teaching original songwriting to teenagers and grew into a full-service production company, where she advised bands including The NowhereNauts (available on iTunes) on all business and creative aspects of album creation. Julie holds a BA in English and a certification in Secondary Education from Wellesley College, as well as a JD from Fordham University School of Law. Though she is completely and totally obsessed with Rome, she lives with her family in New York City, where she is a non-profit fundraiser, a patron of the arts and sciences, and a not-so-secret pop-culture critic. Her first novel, shortgirl/deadmom(dot)com (shortgirldeadmom.com) launched as an online diary in 2014.

IAmElemental started with two friends – and moms – who were frustrated by what they saw and, more importantly, didn’t see in the toy market. Lots of dreaming, planning, brainstorming and one big courageous leap later,...