Press Release - Design Your Own Plush is All The Rage

Growing Texas-based company enables customers to quickly create their own unique toys. Children as young as 4-years-old have commissioned their own designs. No sewing or crafting skills are necessary. With CurlyQ Cuties' online design tools, what will you create?

March 1, 2010 (Cedar Park, TX) - Using the kid-friendly design tools on the CurlyQ Cuties website, anyone can quickly design their own unique stuffed plush toy. Children as young as 4-years-old have commissioned their own $25 made-to-order Monster designs. No sewing or crafting skills are necessary. As a customer interactively selects the color and shape of their toy's body and features, the visual representation of their design is instantly updated in the online designer. Customers clearly see how their customized design will look before they commit to a purchase.

"We focus exclusively on manufacturing one-of-a-kind stuffies from our customer's virtual designs." said Stephanie Estrin, CurlyQ Cuties' President & CEO. "Our website's design tools make the design process easy. You create the design, we do the rest." When a customer places an order, the transformation from their virtual design to a real plush toy begins. Every product ordered from CurlyQ Cuties is handmade-to-order in Texas. No two toys are exactly the same. All orders are shipped to customers in 10 days or less. For those who simply cannot wait two weeks to receive their custom plushie, the company offers optional rush service.

Founded in January 2008 by a mom entrepreneur on a quest to create high quality imaginative toys, CurlyQ Cuties was originally an Etsy.com shop selling ready-made stuffed Monsters. "We're an Etsy success story." said Ms. Estrin. " I started out making Monsters for my children and then for my friend's children. The Monsters were so well received, I started an Etsy shop to sell them to the public."

After repeated requests for customized variations of her ready-made Monsters, Ms. Estrin recognized an opportunity to provide a collaboratively-designed and made-to-order plush toy at an affordable price. The major challenge was most customers wanted to see what they would receive before they placed an order. This led directly to the development and launch of the CurlyQ Cuties website in July 2008.

Even during the recession, the business has continued to grow steadily. The company added custom tooth fairy pillows ("Fairy-Teeth") to its product line in May 2009 and Deluxe and 2-Sided Monsters last month. Today, the company announced the addition of Splatopus and Moggins--two new plushie design options. Splatopus has a shape inspired by a paint splatter with nine knobby appendages and plenty of places for little hands to grab and hold. Moggins have big heads on little bodies and are available in three different levels of customization. Pricing for Splatopus and Moggins starts at $20 and $30 respectively.

Just shy of the company's two year anniversary, CurlyQ Cuties' made-to-order Monsters appeared on NBC's Today Show. "It was thrilling to see the Monsters we created on a major television show." said Ms. Estrin. Although the Monsters only appeared on-screen for about 30 seconds, orders poured in and the company set an all-time one-day sales record that day. Revenue for that month was 300% higher than the same month a year before.

Although CurlyQ Cuties is a for-profit enterprise, the company does make significant donations to children-oriented charities. The company sells "Maddie's Monster" and donates the profits to the March of Dimes. Maddie's Monster was created in memory of Madeline Alice Spohr, a premature infant who passed away in April 2009, and whose parents have publicly championed the March of Dimes cause. In addition, the company supports Austin, Texas-based Helping Hand Home for Children with custom Monster donations for children in their care.

The company actively markets itself using social media. CurlyQ Cuties has its own Facebook page and its Twitter account has almost 15,000 followers.

CurlyQ Cuties' products are backed by an unconditional 100% satisfaction guarantee. All of their products can be optionally embroidered with a name or special message. Gift certificates are also available. To design a custom plush toy or for more information, visit www.CurlyQCuties.com.

About CurlyQ Cuties, LLC

CurlyQ Cuties is a privately owned custom plush toy manufacturer based in Cedar Park, Texas. The company focuses on providing quality customized products quickly at an affordable price. CurlyQ Cuties has been mentioned in MSNBC's Your Biz, the Austin American-Statesman, and New Jersey Family Magazine. Its products have appeared on NBC's Today Show, the Cindy & Ray show on Atlanta's Star 94.1, in Austin's Community Impact, and on numerous product review websites and blogs.