Purpose Toys’ ICON Salon Wins 2024 Best Toy Award, Celebrating Cultural Pride and Play
Purpose Toys, the nation’s largest Black-owned cultural toymaker and creator of Natural Hair dolls, continues to captivate the toy industry and consumers with its award-winning products. Known for promoting joy, cultural pride, and aspirations through play, the company is expanding its offerings to include playsets. This year, their new ICON Salon playset, available at Walmart, has already made waves by earning the 2024 Best Toy Award from Good Housekeeping. Selected from hundreds of toys tested by over 300 kids and parents, ICON Salon stands out as a unique product, poised to make a significant impact this holiday season. It’s also the first playset from a Black-owned doll brand to be widely available in major retail.
The award-winning toy company behind hit doll lines Naturalistas, Latinistas, Fade Collection, Littlelistas and HBCYOU Dolls recently announce the expansion of their repertoire into new categories, which now includes playsets
DeeDee Wright-Ward, Founder and CEO of Purpose Toys, expressed her gratitude, saying, “At its core, Naturalistas are a love letter to and celebration of my culture and community…My team and I are honored, humbled, and grateful to be recognized by Good Housekeeping for our work.”
Purpose Toys initially made history in 2022 as the first Black-owned toy company with full-chain, international distribution. Building on their success, the company’s flagship character, Dayna, now opens her celebrated ICON Salon to children and collectors alike.
The design of ICON Salon was enhanced by Toya Boyles, the renowned toy collector and miniaturist behind @myfroggystuff. “People of all ages can enjoy an aesthetically pleasing design that is also functional and fun,” Boyles noted. “Capturing the Naturalistas vibe in a space to inspire storytelling… was the primary focus.”
With its nod to cultural salons as places of community and tradition, ICON Salon has captured the hearts of children, collectors, and stylists globally. Inspired by Dayna’s story and the community of “ICON Village,” the playset’s launch is met with enthusiasm from fans old and new.
