The Friday Five

Jessica Brummer is director of communications at The Durham Museum in Omaha, Nebraska. In this edition of The Friday Five, Jessica tells about the upcoming Hall of Heroes exhibit and how the long legacy of superheroes forges connections between generations.

Alan Dorfman is co-founder of Super Impulse. In this edition of The Friday Five, Alan explains how the company is championing the return of Pet Rock and shares what toy fans can look forward to seeing from the company in the coming months.

Mark B. Ledenbach is the author of Vintage Halloween Collectibles: An Identification and Price Guide. In this edition of The Friday Five, Mark shares early examples of Halloween collectibles and discloses the problem plaguing collectors 

Matt Broussard is chief toy officer at the Houston Toy Museum. In this edition of The Friday Five, Matt talks about how his dreams of opening a museum came to fruition and recognizing the art in the toy production process.

David L. Craddock is writer and publisher of Long Live Mortal Kombat, a book dedicated to the history of the iconic video game. In this edition of The Friday Five, David discusses the impact of Mortal Kombat on the video game industry and shares what it takes to run a successful crowdfunding campaign in an era of endless content.

Kay Savetz is an Atari historian. In this edition of The Friday Five, Kay discloses why documenting Atari history is a race against time and shares an opinion about what gives the brand its staying power.

Tony and Carmen Matthews are the creators of Diecast Heroes, a magazine exploring the custom Hot Wheels community. Here, the duo explain how documenting global car culture led to their involvement in the diecast community and share how some customisers are turning their hobby into full-time work.

Sarah Myers is director of travelling exhibits at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. In this edition of The Friday Five, she shares details of the newly opened SCOOBY-DOO!™ Mansion Mayhem exhibit.

Todd Coopee is a toy collector, historian, and editor-in-chief here at Toy Tales. In this edition of The Friday Five, he shares details of the recently opened Bringing Imaginative Ideas to Life: The Early Years of Cincinnati’s Kenner Products mini-exhibit at The Strong and discusses the importance of preserving the history of toys and games.

Alyssa Esparaz is an organizing committee member for the Rubik’s WCA North American Championship 2022, taking place this summer in Toronto, Ontario. In this edition of The Friday Five, she shares details of the inaugural North American event and explains why the championship is about more than competition and podiums.

A.J. Jacobs is a New York Times bestselling author, journalist, NPR commentator, and TED speaker. In this edition of The Friday Five, A.J. talks about his latest book, The Puzzler, and reveals the characteristic he feels holds a secret to living a good life.

Mariah Hughes is the marketing coordinator at the National Corvette Museum. In this edition of The Friday Five, she reveals details of the highly anticipated Hot Wheels: Race to Win exhibit and shares why she thinks society is obsessed with high-performance cars.

Jennifer Kretchmar is chief digital and merchandising officer at Build-A-Bear Workshop. In this edition of The Friday Five, Jennifer reveals what consumers can look forward to seeing as the company celebrates its 25th anniversary, and describes how the company has evolved over the years.

Marck Højbjerg Matthiasen is CEO of Danish toy company, dantoy. In this edition of The Friday Five, Marck shares the company’s recent product and manufacturing innovations and gives insight into the challenges of developing a more sustainable approach to toy manufacturing.

Blake Wright is the founder and publisher of TOYCOLLECTR, a new print magazine created specifically for collectors of action figures. In this edition of The Friday Five, Blake shares what readers can expect from the magazine and how the publication expands on his popular trilogy of books, Toys That Time Forgot.

Fred Trust is founder of the Wizard of Oz Museum in Cape Canaveral, Florida. In this edition of The Friday Five, Fred shares details of his expansive personal collection of Oz memorabilia and reveals how his childhood in the former Soviet Union sparked an early interest in the classic L. Frank Baum story.

Philippe de Lespinay is the author of Slot Car Dreams, a retrospective of the Golden Age and evolution of slot car racing. In this edition of The Friday Five, Philippe shares how he became a recognized authority on the subject of slot cars and why the book took 10 years to produce.

Bachir Zeroual is chief marketing officer for Tastemaker’s Arcade1Up. In this edition of The Friday Five, Bachir shares insights about the ever-changing video game market and his thoughts on the next big trend in arcade-style home gaming.