2022 ThinkNW Marketing All-Stars: Callie Christenson & Kelly Oriard, Founders of Slumberkins
Slumberkins is the culmination of more than 20 years of friendship and a shared life passion for fostering children’s emotional learning. Before Callie Christenson and Kelly Oriard were Founders of Slumberkins, they were childhood best friends who grew up to become a family therapist and a special education teacher living and working in the Pacific Northwest.
The desire to give their own children an emotionally healthy childhood led them on a journey to create Slumberkins, a brand to empower parents to be the first teachers of their children’s emotional learning journey.
They began selling Slumberkins at craft fairs and on Etsy, and the initial response was overwhelming. Unable to keep up with demand they have been “all in” ever since – expanding their team, and eventually opened up a headquarters in Vancouver, Washington.
Slumberkins has continued to expand their creature collection with interactive storylines and affirmations. They have created a cohesive school curriculum that strengthens the home-school connection and supports all of the adults involved in students’ emotional growth, and recently partnered on an Apple TV+ series with The Jim Henson Co.
