She loved to doodle and her character drawings became popular with her workmates. For the holiday one year, as gifts for her co-workers, she decided to take the doodles off the page, breathe life into them and create dolls out of the characters. (Despite the fact that she didn’t know how to sew!)
They were a hit! Encouraged, Ingri rented a booth at an upcoming street fair just four months away. S
he spent every evening after work making dolls by hand. When the day of the festival arrived Ingri setup her table – 150 dolls in total! By early afternoon a crowd had gathered around Ingri’s booth as news of the dolls began to spread... Ingri couldn’t believe it when she sold out before the end of the first day! So, with a little extra cash in her pocket, a brand new sewing machine and big dreams, Ingri packed up and moved to New York City three months later to officially launch her company - House of Ingri. She worked hard and, over the next three years, Ingri‘s toys landed in retail shops like KidRobot, FAO Schwarz and MoMA all across the country (She knew how to sew now!). The toys appeared on NY1, G4TV, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. They were even featured in their very own book “Me! ABC,” which has sold over 70,000 copies. Soon the dolls’ popularity outgrew Ingri’s ability to keep up with demand (She was still making each one by hand) and House of Ingri went into hibernation in the fall of 2006. In the years that followed, Ingri spent her days working at a New York design agency, met and married Brian, was blessed with a wonderful child and... never let go of her dream. Today, Ingri is re-launching House of Ingri! The first lineup of toys is “Francis & Friends,” a huggable line of plush characters. With excitement for all that the future holds, House of Ingri thanks you for being part of this wonderful adventure
