Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren McElroy-Léon.
Hi Lauren, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
It all started when attending college at the University of Michigan. I was at a crossroads where I was too creative to pursue an engineering degree but did not want to stray away from technology and innovation. It was there that I discovered User Experience Design within the new undergraduate Informatics program. It was the perfect match for my personality, skills, and interest. That was the kick-off to my entrepreneurial, experience design, and improvement mindset. After leaving Michigan, I returned back home to Los Angeles. I grew up in a South Los Angeles neighborhood called Leimert Park, an affluent black neighborhood. When I returned home, I settled back to where I grew up, but things were different having gained the knowledge and understanding of health, wellbeing, and great experiences. I noticed this was missing in my community. My UX Design career put me in a mindset of ideating on digital and physical experiences to delight customers. It was then I recalled that I had an idea to put more places for families to go to not only have fun but to have enriching activities.
In 2014, I created Tickleberry Place. At the time, I was moving forward with opening a modern indoor play and learning retail space that was more than your basic primary colors, pizza, and climbing structure. I wanted the space to be a second home for parents and their children.
Although I received lots of positive support from people in my community. I ran into lots of challenges and roadblocks. We almost broke ground into construction, when issues with the rental unit put everything to a halt. With lots of difficulty and challenges with opening this brick-and-mortar, I pivoted to do animation. The Tickleberry character in the logo was super cute and loved, so I needed to tell a story.
Off I went with developing a Tickleberry Place TV series, with no experience in the animation or entertainment industry. Within a year, I built a team, produced and directed the pilot episode that was featured at a couple film festivals, and won an animation contest. Our focus was creating a series that taught mindfulness and social-emotional skills to preschoolers.
During that time, I felt like my true calling was creating and producing animation content. Most incredibly, this all led to a pivotal discovery that cultivated my desire for children’s empowerment through education and entertainment, ultimately giving rise to Tickleberry Place.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not always been a smooth road. The first struggle was at the beginning when focusing on being a brick-and-mortar establishment. There were many challenges with finding the right place, acquiring resources, and the construction issue we faced. This has led to thousands of dollars spent with little return on investment. I often have to take pauses to recuperate, pivot, and keep pushing forward. Now that Tickleberry Place has pivoted to animation navigating the animation industry has not been smooth sailing. I’ve been focused on finding distribution for the TV series, but the writers’ strike and challenging loops have delayed that. Until then, I’ve focused on sharing content on social media platforms, but it requires lots of resources to keep up.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
An educational entertainment company focused on providing animation content and products that teach emotional health and mindfulness skills to preschool-aged children.
I’m most proud of the animated pilot episode, with the focus on teaching Patience. The story was well received by viewers, and that story has been converted to a children’s book.
The first physical children’s book releases in a couple of months. Most likely August/September 2024. Follow Tickleberry Place on Instagram and TikTok to keep up to date with our book release. Tickleberry Place Handle @tickleberryplace.
Any big plans?
Our first children’s book, which is our first physical product, will be available for sale in a few months.
In terms of plans for the future, we’re focusing solidifying a distributor for the animated series. Once that happens, the show will be available for our viewers everywhere.
Pricing:
- 12.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tickleberryplace.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tickleberryplace
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/tickleberryplace
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@tickleberryplace4845
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@tickleberryplace
Image Credits
Alexa Carter
