Hayden was writing a paper in her New York apartment when she decided she needed a break. Outside, she found a box of worn-out stuffed animals in a box. “These are all so cute,” she remembers thinking. “I can't believe somebody would want to throw them away.”
She took the box inside, washed the contents and did some light sewing, “re-imagining” each stuffed animal. Once she was satisfied with the outcome, Hayden began naming the toys and writing little stories for each one.
“One of my biggest inspirations is Beatrix Potter. When she began writing her children's books, she would go out in her garden and look at all the animals there, and she would make stories of each one,” Hayden says. “I thought how in New York there's not really any wildlife or anything in our backyards, so this was kind of my Beatrix Potter moment.”
Hayden never would have imagined that her “Beatrix Potter” moment in 2018 would evolve into Grimm’s Toys, a business dedicated to recycling stuffed animals and creating books educating children on the importance of reducing and reusing.
That day in New York was a form of escapism for Hayden. Despite being enrolled in a university for fiction writing and poetry, she found herself uninspired to write until she laid eyes on that box. Two sparks lit her up that day: the chance to repurpose something and the opportunity to write stories.
“Not everybody can be a consumer in the sense of buying everything new,” Hayden says. “My family always instilled in me that if there's a way we can make it work again, try to make it work.”
She now operates out of her small house in North Texas, which is filled with reused furniture and decorations. Hayden still washes, stitches and writes about the stuffed animals she recreates. She is joined by Naida Harrell, who illustrates each story based on whatever Hayden envisions.
The pair's collaboration began a little over a year ago when they worked together in a job unrelated to their skills.
“It was a 'right place, right time' thing because we have an author and then an illustrator in the same room, and we were just working beside each other without knowing it,” Harrell says.
Grimm’s Toys began its journey as an official business in 2022 when Hayden, who sold only stuffed animals at the time, started appearing at local markets in Oak Cliff. A big turning point for the business came in October 2022, at the annual Denton Arts & Jazz Festival. Hayden won a best-in-show award and sold over 90 repurposed stuffed animals.
Taylor Alexandria Hayden has created a business for children and the good of the planet.
Courtesy of Grimm's Toys
The first book, The Bear With No Name, was inspired by a family friend who gifted Hayden their childhood stuffed bear toy collection. The main illustration is derived from one of these bears, which Hayden swears she’ll never sell. The book features an interactive coloring aspect and has two different versions based on gender, with blanks for a name. This was created with a different illustrator, who left the business to pursue their own project.
The second book, The Tale of Oliver the Octopus, inspired by another friend of Hayden, was created when Harrell joined and published in November 2023. The third and most recent, The Tale of Ophelia the Opossum, was published soon after.
All three books are self-published, but only the last two are available for sale on the website. Grimm’s Toys books are published by purchasing a set amount of units from a printing service. Hayden says they could have gone the “easier route” with Amazon, but that wouldn't have fit her business model.
“It's really important to me, having worked in arts and culture for a lot of my life to see the integrity of my art and not only mine, but [Harrell’s] as well,” Hayden says. “The world is always ever-changing for artists, and the beautiful part of living in our society is social media and people who like to consume art directly from the source.”
The pair is also writing a book centered around female empowerment, which will be released with the line “Grimm’s Toys presents” on the cover. Hayden says this book will convey to young children that “the world is at their fingertips.”
The hunt for old stuffed animals begins in Hayden’s neighborhood as she walks her dog Ringo, asking neighbors if they have old toys they want to donate. Then she goes to thrift stores to purchase used toys or clothing she can repurpose into a stuffed animal.
“Thrift stores will then pass it to a certain type of thrift store if it doesn't get picked up in the local one,” Hayden says. “From there, then it goes to the landfill and before that, there's sometimes distribution where you can buy them in bulk before they hit the landfill. So it's kind of like a mystery pallet situation."
Most of the remade and recycled stuffed animals are not available online because Hayden says she would have to create a listing every time. However, the business currently offers a bundle that includes the book and a stuffed animal of the focused character.
If all goes according to their “15-year plan,” Harrell will take up the mantle of animation. But the pair don't have time for that now. Hayden hopes someone with animation expertise might stumble onto their books and ask to collaborate.
Harrell and Hayden's new venture has been rewarding for more than their clientele. Hayden’s main source of income now derives from the business. Harrell got the opportunity to pursue her illustrations.
But most invaluable is the joy they get from seeing the reaction on children’s faces when they explore both the books and the stuffed animals. They call their product. "stories you can cuddle."
Harrell says that, “As cheesy as it sounds, making memories for kids” is the most rewarding experience.
“There was a mom and daughter that came up while we were vending a booth selling books,” Harrell says. “The daughter really wanted an autograph, and the mom was like, ‘I would meet an author over a movie star any day and I'm just so happy that this is her first author autograph.’ That was so rewarding, because that's us.”
