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July 2010 | Vol. IX - No. 7

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Steps to the Next Great Idea

An Inventor's Take on Risk and Research

By: Peter Wachtel
Jun 30, 2010

In the August issue of TDmonthly Magazine, toy designer Peter Wachtel, who's created playthings for Hasbro, Mattel and MGA Entertainment, shares the ins and outs of inventing. His experiences highlight the road from research to prototype, and how to "flop" and keep going.

Also see comments from intellectual property attorney Susan Pan in How to Research, Patent and Pitch Your Idea: Inventor Shares 7 Steps for Getting a Product to Market.

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Peter WachtelWriter's Bio: Peter Wachtel (aka “KID Toyology") is an award-winning creative toy and entertainment designer, inventor and teacher. He has designed more than 500 products for the toy, entertainment and design education industries, many of which can be found at www.KidToyology.com. Peter was recently the chair/academic director and design instructor at Ai Hollywood for Graphic & Industrial Design, and has taught toy design at Pratt Institute, Parsons School of Design and Otis College of Art & Design. Read more articles by this author


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•Top-10 Most-Wanted Plush and Puppets
•Notable and New Toys by Category — All
•WATCH VIDEOS: ASTRA Marketplace 2010
•Careers in Toy Design: Freelance vs. Full Time
•Place an Order, Get a Rebate!
•Holiday Toys to Fill Your Store
•Top-10 Toys at ASTRA 2010
•TDmonthly’s Music Expert
•TDmonthly’s Book Expert
•Watch Toy Videos of the Day: Week 3 (7/19-7/23)
•Summary of Online Toy Reviews
•My Best Sellers: Dancing Bear Toys Ltd.
•Retailing Tips: Buying for the Holidays
•In This Issue
•Top-10 Most-Wanted Toys: July 2010
•Notable and New Toys by Category — Specialty Only
•Top-10 Most-Wanted Dolls
•Kids Play House With KidKraft and Melissa & Doug
•Mayfair Games Plays to Hobbyists and Families
•Steps to the Next Great Idea
•High-Tech Trio Rescues Video Game Publishers
•WATCH VIDEOS: TDmonthly Goes Inside ... Thinker Things, Calif.
•Watch Toy Videos of the Day: Week 4 (7/26-7/30)
•WATCH VIDEOS: TDmonthly Goes Inside ... Aunt Jean's Toys & Treats
•Retailer Spotlight: Dancing Bear Toys Ltd.
•Watch Toy Videos of the Day: Week 2 (7/12-7/16)
•Watch Toy Videos of the Day: Week 1 (7/1-7/9)
•July Staff Picks
•Toys in the News: 7-30-10

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