STCC is excited to welcome from The Toys That Made Us, the man who brought Star Wars from the big screen to toy aisles everywhere, Kenner Senior Toy Designer Jim Swearingen!  

 

Jim began his professional career in 1972 at Kenner Products working on Spirograph, Easy Bake Oven, PlayDoh and more. In the mid-70's, the Preliminary Design Department was formed under the direction of Dave Okada, and charged with developing new product concepts. "The Six Million Dollar Man” television show was one of Jim’s entertainment based product design projects.

 

In early 1977, as a Senior Designer, Jim was instrumental in Kenner's acquisition of the Star Wars license and development of the toy line. In July of '79 he became Marketing Product Manager working on the pre-school line and then taking on the Strawberry Shortcake line for five years.

 

In 1985 Jim moved to Hasbro Toys as Marketing Director, working on the introduction of a number of girls toy lines including Jem, Moon Dreamers and more.  In 1990, Jim returned to Kenner before leaving to form his own design-consulting firm in 1992.  

 

He now lends his experience and talents as a consultant on special projects. These included the launch of the Kimmie Cares™ doll, developed for moms to play with and talk to their children about cancer and chemo therapy.