 If you ask Jack Rabbit owners Erica and Jim Lancaster why they started their business, you'll probably get an answer like one of these: 1. We like cutting out early on Fridays.
2. Coaching both kids' soccer teams is easier when you're self-employed.
3. When you work in your spare bedroom, you can play music as loudly as you want. Jack Rabbits' casual sense of humor is just one of the things we love about working with them. What we love even more is their commitment to high quality, classic toys. After the birth of their first child, Erica and Jim found themselves surrounded with plastic, mass produced toys and baby gear. With a background in buying and merchandise management at the Nature Company, Erica had a strong sense of what kind of toys she wanted to give her children. (She's the brains of the operation, Jim jokingly states, but admits that their colorful, one-of-a-kind toy and gift line has been a joint effort. (The first time you get samples for something that was just a concept six months ago it's a kick! Plus, we produce products of which we are very proud. We feel like rock stars when we're walking around Manhattan or wherever and see a baby with our stuff. Owning their own business also offers Jim and Erica a lifestyle that they love. Leaving behind more corporate atmospheres, they've happily developed close working relationships with mom and pop businesses. Still a family business itself, Jack Rabbit is run out of Erica and Jim's spare bedroom. The home-based location has drawbacks (they admit their office is typically a maze of boxes), but the positives outweigh the negatives. And, as Jim recently discovered, their two kids seems to agree. (Tucker described us as his heroes on some little school assignment...because we always quit working to help with his homework.
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