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Nov 06, 2024CHAMPION, Ohio (WKBN) — A 21-year-old from Champion is following her dream by creating a stuffed animal brand as a way to express herself and bring joy to other people.
Heather Carey from Champion owns a stuffed animal brand called Tropical Critters. Her plush toy version of her pet parrot, Pauli has already garnered over 150 backers and $5,000 on Kickstarter.
“It all started when I wanted a stuffed animal of my pet Pauli but there was no one that makes a Quaker parrot stuffed animal and that inspired me to start my plushie brand and I created a Quaker parrot,” Carey said.
Stuffed animals are something Carey knows a lot about. She has nearly 500 of them — mostly big cats and exotic animals from lots of different brands.
“I like to collect the realistic ones that are good quality like these ones so I wanted to make my plush from my brand good quality too,” Carey said.
Pauli the Parrot plush is Carey’s first successful Kickstarter campaign and creating it means a lot to her. She was diagnosed with autism as a second-grader and her diagnosis meant she struggled with school and bullying but Pauli was always there for her.
“I would be crying and Pauli was like emotional support. He always snuggled with me and made me feel better. Yeah, and he also makes me laugh,” she said.
Carey says she’s grateful for everyone who supported her campaign and she couldn’t have done it without her family’s support.
“It means a lot to me. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to do this,” said Carey.
She’s created stickers and keychains of Pauli too and now she can share the parrot that’s brought her so much happiness with the rest of the world.
“I’m super excited for him to go on into production,” she said.
But Heather’s not done yet. She plans on making more Quaker parrot stuffed animals in different colors.
“I’m also planning on making a lot of other animals of different types that are hard to find,” Carey said.
You can keep up with Tropical Critters on Carey’s Instagram and website.
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