Diversity in the Toy Industry Meet David Vonner

DIVERSITY

in the Toy Industry

It’s a long road ahead, but we start with one small step

“Black Inventors Got Game” followed by a panel on diversity, equity and inclusion, was the highlight on Sunday, June 12 at Marketplace & Academy in Long Beach.

The panel featured James Howard (founder of the Black Inventor’s Hall of Fame BIHOF), Mason Williams (Global Head of DEI at Mattel Inc.), David Vonner (Chief Creative Officer at The Nacelle Company), Charley Harrison (UCLA School of Music and son of Charles Harrison, designer of the View Master), Ken Johnson (Phase 10) and Joseph Jones (actor and BIHOF narrator).

“Kudos to ASTRA and its brilliant staff for taking the necessary steps to pull this panel and presentation together,” said Liz Rosenberg of The Toy Box in Amherst, Mass., on ASTRA’s Facebook page. “The ‘Black Inventors Got Game’ session was BY FAR the most impressive, impactful, and important session I’ve attended in my 19 years in the biz. We are all the wiser having attended this conference.” This is only the beginning in ASTRA’s efforts to bring about change.

Unfortunately, following the presentation, two of the presenters faced exactly what they so frequently encounter. The incident was reported as follows as two of the panelists approached the entry to the show floor.

“Upon going downstairs to enter the convention floor, a group ahead of us entered the floor unobstructed by security staff. In fact, the male security attendant smiled and greeted them with a wave. Literally the moment we stepped off the last set of stairs, the security guards demeanor physically changed and he gave an all-to-familiar gaze.

“Once we approached the entrance of the floor, the guard quickly asked to see our badges, which were clearly visible with our names facing forward. He then stated that I could walk the floor, but my colleague couldn’t. Taken aback, I asked why. His response was because my colleague’s credentials didn’t allow him access to the floor. I told him that it’s ironic that he’d stop us to check our credentials, but didn’t do the same with the group that was directly ahead of us, and allowed access onto the showroom floor. When I further stated that we just spoke upstairs at a panel, and that my colleague is in fact a speaker, the guard again refused to allow entrance onto the floor. It wasn’t until we asked to speak with his supervisor, that the guard finally relinquished his stance, and allowed us both to enter the showroom floor. I shouldn’t have to go into detail of the racial dynamic of the situation, but yes the guard was White.

“Ironically, because situations like this are so normalized in our society, we were very upset at first, but quickly got over the situation due to the overwhelming joy of speaking to our peers just minutes before. In short, we’re used to racial profiling, even as seasoned toy-industry professionals.

Even though that very ugly, and potentially explosive situation occurred, we carried ourselves with dignity and we mutually decided not to mention the situation to you, your staff, nor our B.I.G.G. (Black Inventors Got Game) comrades that would dampen the mood and put a bitter spin to such a beautiful and historic moment.”

ASTRA will continue working with these fabulous men who shared their stories at Marketplace & Academy, as well as with others to work towards great diversity, equity and inclusion in our industry.

We will feature a section in each Toy Times Magazine on this subject as well as commentary in our Toy Times Digital Monthly. Our first contributor is David Vonner, one of our panelist. His story starts on the next page.

david vonner

Greetings Toy Friends! I’m David Vonner, and I can’t tell you how much of an honor it is to meet so many new friends and share a few thoughts (and hopefully many more!) with the entire ASTRA Family. Being an only child, toys have always been an amazing ice-breaker for me, so I must say thank you to ASTRA and Toy Times Magazine for this amazing platform. There’s no better place to make new friends than here within the pages of TOY TIMES Magazine!

So why, you may ask, am I writing this? Because of one thing: The Love of Toys!

Not only have I played with toys my entire life (50 years,…and I still can’t believe it!), but for over 25 years I have had the amazing privilege of being a toy designer, playing in the most amazing sand boxes in the world, such as Toy Biz, Hasbro, and Mattel (to name a few), all while playing with amazing characters such as Spider-Man, Hulk and Thor, along with rock n roll legends KISS, and Ozzy Osbourne, and the amazing Superstars of the WWE Universe.

I refer to brands and toy companies as “sand boxes” because for many of us, the playground sand box was where most of us met our very first friend, or friends, outside of the family. I’ve met many close and special friends within the confines of those sand boxes due to our mutual love of toys, and it is with great honor to meet even more new friends within the pages of this safe space of Toys & Play. Which brings me to why I’m writing this column.

We are the gatekeepers of a child’s inspiration, aspirations, and imagination. We provide the tools for kids to have a safe space to laugh, be goofy, have fun and be a kid. With the recent and ongoing violence our youth face today, it’s important for me to constantly recognize who we do this for. Let’s face it, working and being a part of the toy world, while fun, can be rough and tumble at times. Daily concepting and developing ideas into product, creating marketing strategies, costing, shipping, buying and selling of toys can take its toll.

It’s tougher than one would imagine. Long hours, late nights, tracking down invoices, constant travel, putting out fires, and finding new and innovative ways of communicating the same thing over, and over, and over again. It yields a different kind of “fun” all together.

However, at the end of the day, for me, there’s no better feeling than seeing a kid’s reaction in the toy aisle: eyes wide, mouth on the floor with their little minds blown, begging their parents for cash. We all had that reaction. Toys are the through-line

of our lives. No matter the time, location, or situation, toys connect us all, bringing comfort, joy, and at times hope to all kids and the kid at heart.

As I carry that notion and feeling with me, let’s all remember who we do this for. As an industry, lets continue to create safe spaces for kids around the globe, and to continue to recognize the amazing honor and privilege we all have as big toy people to the little toy people of the world.

I learned from a hero long ago that with great power comes great responsibility. Let us all keep in our heart and minds the great responsibility we have as gatekeepers of fun and imagination. We’re all in this together. We were them, and they will be us. So let’s keep pushing to make the world a much more fun and safe place for all of our kids - For the Culture!

David Vonner has designed some of your favorite toys, action figures, and collectibles for notable companies such as Spencer Gifts Inc., Marvel, Spinmaster, Hasbro, Mattel and Netflix, work that has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in sales revenue. He also started the pop culture collectibles and apparels company Kasual Friday, as well as his very own VONNER Studios.

As a 20-year toy industry veteran, Vonner was also involved with the design and development of the wildly popular 6-inch collector action figure line Marvel Legends, as well as the creation of the 3-3/4-inch Marvel Universe action figure line. Vonner has worked on various comic-book inspired toy and action figure lines that have led to the current superhero movie and toy boom many of us enjoy today.

Having received various toy industry awards, Vonner currently serves as chief creative officer of physical product for The Nacelle Company, and is a pop culture fanatic who loves to be a kid at heart!

Vonner can also be seen discussing his love for pop culture and toys in the Netflix’s docuseries “The Toys That Made Us - Marvel 616 Unboxed,” currently streaming on Disney+, and is co-host of the For The Culture podcast.