We recently interviewed Lynn Tierney, creator of Finga Zinga, and asked her how she came up with the idea, how the “Made in China Recalls” have affected her sales and what her experience has been with the financing and manufacturing process. Enjoy.

What exactly is a Finga Zinga and how did you come up with the idea and name for it?

The Finga Zinga started as a Johnny Depp dream. Really. I’d love to say that I had some altruistic impulse to create a challenging, action/skill toy that children could utilize to recapture their lost imagination and exercise their physical creativity. But it was just early one Saturday morning and I had this dream. It was almost a commercial with little kids on one side and moms on the other. They met in the middle (visualize a domestic “Beat It”) and started twirling and spinning this glowing thing. The sweat poured and curlers drooped. All of a sudden, the leader of the little kids nods and the group parts. Out steps Johnny Depp in full pirate regalia. The moms gasp and swoon (I read too many romance novels) and drop the toy. Little kids cheer and high five Johnny, but all I could think about was, “what was that toy?”. I went online to search and couldn’t find anything so I went out back to my workshop and created a prototype. I gave it to my grandsons without telling them anything about it and all afternoon it was, “Gramma, look what I can do!” and “Look at this trick.” It is a toy, a manual dexterity tool and an accessory to therapy. The name just came to me and when I Googled it, found that it means “turn in a circle” and “protect with a charm” in Swahili (everything means something in Swahili) so it was decided. That was almost 4 years ago and the beginning of a long journey into Batty Bankers, Busted Budgets and Plastics Snobs.

What “flavors” do Finga Zinga’s come in?

I hesitate to use the term “flavors” because it reminds me of theoretical physics and I don’t really want to associate the Finga Zinga with anything that is put in the mouth. Safety is a big issue with me and I like to do what I can to minimize the association. The present colors were chosen by me, but named by New School Prep students in Orlando. They submitted their color names and I chose the ones that I liked best. The winning name got a free Finga Zinga of that color. The names chosen are: Bippity-Boppity Blue, Cherry Bomb (dark red), Ice (clear), Lemon Drop (yellow), My Little Leprechaun (dark green), Supernova (light red), Granny Apple Green (light green), Glo-worm (glow-in-the-dark), Atomic Tangerine (orange), Pinkalicious (pink SOLD OUT), Dragonfire (red with orange swirl SOLD OUT), Methane Cloud (blue glow-in-the-dark ONE LEFT). The next order will include Shark Attack, Aquamarine, Purple, Gold, Black, Garnet and a few other new colors.

Where is the Finga Zinga manufactured?

Manufactured in Sanford, Florida and assembled in Orlando, Florida.

Have your sales increased at all since/due to all of the “Made in China” recalls?

Yes, I have seen a huge increase in both inquiries and sales. Most inquire about where Finga Zinga is made and what materials are used. People appear to be more conscious of these details though I’m not sure how that translates at the registers.

Is there a special name for Finga Zinga owners?

I don’t know. Finga Zingers?

What are the most common comments you receive from Finga Zinga owners?

“I can’t seem to put it down”, “I need more practice”, “Can I be on your website?”

Every product seems to have legal disclaimers. What sort warning labels have you had to come up with?

The normal, “Choking Hazard” “Small Balls” “Not Candy” “No running with sticks”

How did you take care of financing the manufacturing?

I am still struggling with that. I thought that once I paid for the molds and packaging and first production and had thousands of Finga Zingas ready to go, that it would be smooth sailing. But then comes the real expense. One distributor was interested in the toy, but wanted me to go to China to get the cost down. I refused and struck out on my own to market the toy.

What advice do you have for someone wanting to manufacture their own toy concept?

Good Luck. I ran into more “toy snobs” in the manufacturing business than I could shake a stick at. No one wanted to talk to me when mentioned that it was a toy, even though I was paying up front. Mobile Area Network in Sanford, worked with me and has proved to be worth their weight in plastics.

Where can people purchase a Finga Zinga? And what is the retail cost?

Purchase Finga Zinga for $11.99 or a Combo (Finga Zinga plus 10 pack of glowsticks) for $12.50 at the website www.fingazinga.com, click on “Order Yours” and take advantage of our amazing holiday promotion called “norecall” for 25% off of everything (valid until December 25, 2007). Shipping won’t break the bank either. That makes me so mad when I want to order something and the shipping costs more than the item. In most cases, you will receive your order within 2 or 3 days.

I also have all wooden Finga Zingas with attached ends. These are very popular at the Renaissance Faires, but recently have sold well to craft oriented people. I burned a dragon and anime figures into one for my grandson and my sister painted hers to look like stone. She calls it her “Flintstone Finga Zinga”. These are also made in the US. and sell for 6.99. Email me if you want info or to order. I’ll have them up on the site when the Faires get closer.

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Lynn Tierney is the creator of the Finga Zinga. You can visit her website at FingaZinga.com and also check out her MySpace page.

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Distribution, Financing, Finga Zinga, Florida, Just Not China, Manufacturing, Toys, United States

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 14th, 2007 at 9:02 am and is filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.