For Release: July 13, 2000
Contact: info@imahero.com
MS. JANIE INTERVIEW
OF STARRISE CREATIONS
The following
interview was written by Ms.
Janie, an author, publisher,
and spokesperson with diverse expertise in the
consumer collectibles market. It was posted on
her web site on July
13, 2000.
IMA
Hero™
The plush toy
that educates you as you play!
With education
being such an important tool, IMA Hero™ has
developed a superior plush line that will entertain
your youngster while educating them at the same
time.
IMA Hero™
Collection is distributed by StarRise Creations.
StarRise Creations was founded in 1999 to create
fun products to educate and inspire people of
all ages. Their goal is to design educational
tools for people to learn while they are having
fun. Their first product line celebrates important
people in the past 1,000 years who have made a
positive contribution to society. As we enter
a new millennium, IMA Hero™ Collection looks
back on important achievers of the last millennium.
With all product
lines there are bound to be a few favorites. My
favorites are as follows:
Florence Nightingale - This adorable bear
is white with a red heart on the chest and is
sporting a nursing hat. I am particular found
of the bear for a couple of reasons. My son has
asthma and every year I have the difficult task
of trying to locate an appropriate gift for the
school nurse. Florence is appropriate and would
be a welcoming gift for any medical caregiver.
I am also fond of William Shakespeare.
William is a teal colored bear wearing a white
collar; he is the only bear in the line with a
collar accessory. His colors are vibrant and he
represents an important time in history and in
theatre.
Last but not least Benjamin
Franklin is another favorite, lets face it,
without good old Ben we would all be in the dark.
Ben has been designed in a raspberry color and
wears a kite on his chest.
All of the
designs have been cleverly selected and are all
winners! The plush material is soft, the colors
are vibrant and their price is reasonable.
I had the
pleasure of interviewing Kathy Malowney from IMA
Hero™ and would like to share my findings.
Q: When
did you start your company?
A: I started the company, StarRise Creations,
in 1999. The offices are located in San Diego,
California.
Q: Why
did you start StarRise Creations?
A: I started StarRise Creations to create fun
products to educate and inspire people of all
ages. Our goal is to design educational tools
for people to learn while they are having fun.
Q: What
products have you developed?
A: The first product line is the IMA Hero™
Collection. It is a line of teddy bears that celebrates
important people in the past 1,000 years who have
made a positive contribution to society.
Q: What
does IMA stand for?
A: IMA stands for Important Millennium Achievers.
As we enter a new millennium, the IMA Hero™
Collection looks back on important achievers of
the last millennium.
Q: How
do the teddy bears represent the historical people?
A: Each bear has an embroidered logo on its chest
that represents something about the person's life.
For example, Thomas Alva Edison has a light bulb
on his chest because he invented the light bulb.
Also, the bear comes with a hang tag which gives
information about that person's life.
Q: How
can a person learn more about the historical people?
A: Our web site at http://www.imahero.com
has additional information about each person.
One page talks about the person's life, and another
page discusses the times in which that person
lived.
Q: Will
I get bored while reading this information?
A: We hope not. We present the information at
an introductory level. The biographies are full
of interesting information and written at the
4th grade level. This way, people of all ages
will be encouraged to learn about the person.
Q: How
will you expand your product line?
A: The IMA Hero™ Collection will release
additional series of bears to continue celebrating
other great achievers. Also, we are working on
books, games, and activities to go along with
the teddy bears.
Q: How
did you select the first series of bears?
A: We chose people who have made a positive contribution
to society. They represent different nationalities,
occupations, and time periods.
Q: Are
you looking for suggestions for other people to
add to your product line?
A: Yes. We welcome any suggestions people may
have about who they think should be added to our
line of teddy bears. We have a "Who's
Your Hero?" page
on our web site at http://www.imahero.com
where people can submit their hero.
Q: How
do you define "a hero?"
A: The IMA Hero™ Collection has chosen well-known
people for its first series. However, heroes do
not have to be famous people. Heroes can come
in different shapes and sizes. A hero can be a
relative, teacher, coach, or friend. It is up
to each person to chose their own heroes.
Q: Who
is your hero?
A: My hero is my older brother, Mike. We've always
been close friends. Now he is a father of 2 girls,
and they have a very close relationship too.
Q: Do you
consider the first series of heroes to be the
most important people of the last millennium?
A: No. The IMA Hero™ Collection does not
rank the importance of achievers. Different people
are important for different reasons. We provide
people with information about each person and
let them decide the importance for themselves.
IMA
Hero™ Testimonials
Retail Stores
say:
"The IMA
Hero™ bears are very cute."
Barbara Williams, Owner
Spare Hands Craft & Gift Shop
Milton, Pennsylvania
"StarRise
Creations is a great company. Its No Minimum Policy
allowed us to try the IMA Hero™ bears to
see how it worked. I knew it was a good quality
product, and I was very pleased to see how fast
it really did sell."
Ken Johns, Buyer
Edison-Ford Winter Estates
Fort Myers, Florida
"The IMA
Hero™ bears send a positive message as they
remind us there are heroes out there! They have
been very enthusiastically received by both staff
and customers alike here at the Fleet Center."
Kathy Loder, Buyer
Reuben H. Fleet Science Center
San Diego, California
"StarRise
Creations is a wonderful company to work with.
The IMA Hero™ bears are a good product for
hospital gift stores."
Kris Coxsey, Manager-Buyer
Pomerado Hospital
Poway, California
What Customers
are saying:
"My 7 year
old son salutes the IMA Hero™ Robert E. Lee
bear before going to bed."
John
Newport News, Virginia
"When I
saw the IMA Hero™ bears, I thought they were
cute. When I saw my 4 year old son playing with
the bears, I realized how much he can learn from
them. He takes what he learns at home with the
Galileo and Columbus bears and connects it with
what he learns in preschool about the earth, moon,
and sun."
Pilar
San Diego, California
The IMA Hero™
website is eye appealing, fun and challenging.
I highly recommend you visit it and take a look
around. Thank you to the good folks at IMA Hero™
for allowing me to interview them and share a
very special part of their world.
This article
was written by Janie E. Daniels
commonly known as Ms. Janie
This article is copyright protected and may not
be reproduced in any form.
July 13, 2000
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