Part IV of our month-long series!
Part 4: The Pourtahmassebis
Here it is! The last installment in our KIDS IN THE TOY BUSINESS series of blogs (see Part I: Maddie Bradshaw, Part II: The Aebersolds, and Part III: Lexi Glenn). In this my final note on the subject, I’d like to turn our attention to a family with a brilliantly simple idea and a dazzlingly complicated last name—the Pourtahmassebis, creators of Do-A-Dot Art.
In 1990, Tina Pourtahmassebi was a mother of two working as a preschool teacher, constantly on the lookout for new ways to inspire and challenge her little students. In a previous life she had been employed as a pharmaceutical rep and one day, as she was cleaning out the garage, she found some old topical acne medicine bottles lying around. (Great ideas have to come from somewhere, right?) The bottles had a spongy dauber-like tip for facial application and Tina thought it might be fun to fill them with paint and let the preschoolers go to town.
It was a huge hit. Tina’s students created their next art project using dots of paint. The soft tapping sound of the sponge on paper was mesmerizing, the thickness of the bottle was easy for little hands to manipulate, and the resulting pictures were worthy of pride. From that point on, the dot markers were requested every time the art supplies came out in Tina’s classroom. It wasn’t long before her business degree kicked in and she realized she might have a bestseller in the making.
It was through hard work and perseverance that Do-A-Dot Art finally came into being. Tina made phone call after phone call, finding the right people to help her get the product off the ground. But she wasn’t alone in her efforts.
Beyond their obvious role as product testers, Tina’s daughters Tiffany (6th grade at the time) and Tessa (2nd grade), were packed into the family van and traveled with their mom to countless education and teacher conferences to help spread the word. They were also enlisted to work out of the family garage packing the markers into the boxes when new shipments came in from the factory. The Pourtahmassebis sold the concept, lock, stock, and barrel, as an easy setup and easy cleanup art supply that could also be integrated into an everyday school curriculum. Teachers, moms, dads, and kids alike were hooked.
(Tessa, pictured left, and Tiffany, center.)
Twenty years later Do-A-Dot Art is still a bestselling success. Learning Express is proud to be a part of the company’s history. Do-A-Dot Art shares many of our same philosophies—a belief in the power of play as a learning opportunity, a commitment to high quality products, and the creative potential of every child—so it’s no wonder that it’s been in our product mix from the very beginning.
So where are they today? Tina Pourtahmassebi is still at the helm of Do-A-Dot Art along with her husband, Rob, who is acting CFO. Tiffany and Tessa are both Designers and Tessa is also Head of Promotions. (A big thank you to her for answering all my questions for this blog!) The Pourtahmassebi sisters have recently embarked on their own adventure in the toy industry, launching their own company Fubulous Wubulous, Inc with its line of Glam Art.
As Tessa said, “We are following in our mother’s footsteps. Growing up in the toy industry and working in our family business has afforded my sister and me more opportunities that we could have ever imagined. Clearly, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!”
The Pourtahmassebis’ story is a reminder that many of the best educational products on the market have come from moms and dads and kids. And what they all have in common, in the specialty toy industry at least, is an understanding that kids want what they need. Kids want to have fun and make us proud. They really do. And they need to express themselves as they explore and learn about the world around them. Great products like Do-A-Dot Art bring all of those elements together.
Additional photos and videos are below. Thanks for tuning in to our KIDS IN THE TOY BUSINESS series! We return to our regular programming next week.
