Parenting Inspires Innovation

As with many entrepreneurs, Jennifer Stalley Crenshaw’s path to founding her sensory toy business, Meemzy Magic, is an unconventional one. And she shares a common thread with many entrepreneurs, that they bring the experiences and skills from their lives and livelihoods to to face a problem and create the solution.

Crenshaw had a decade-long career in the entertainment industry marketing movies, TV shows, streaming services, and video games. Little did she know that this, along with her upbringing on a ranch filled with outdoor exploration, appreciation for human connections, and fun would bring her to be an entrepreneur.

When Crenshaw became a new mom, she struggled, like all new parents, to find time for work, home, parenthood, and herself. What mattered most to her and her partner was raising a happy, healthy child, but when 5 p.m. hit, the constant rush to parent, make dinner, rotate laundry, clean up messes, and just breathe left them running on empty.

When the Covid-19 pandemic happened, her daughter was 9-months old, and the pressure of balancing work and childcare, while living in an uncertain world, became all very daunting. To add to this, her daughter was missing her speech milestones, which prompted a referral to a specialist, who had a wait time of nine months. Crenshaw did what any mom would do, she took matters into her own hands.

During a session of internet searching to seek answers on how to aid her daughter’s language development, Crenshaw discovered sensory play. Sensory play activities engage one or more of a child’s five senses - touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing - while also allowing for movement and balance. It has been all the buzz these past few years with research showing it benefits children in multiple ways from supporting cognitive, language, and memory growth and development to problem solving, social, and fine & motor skills. When Crenshaw saw that sensory play not only engaged her daughter, but had the potential to foster crucial neurological connections in her developing brain, she was mesmerized.

Late night scrolling on Pinterest ensued as she saw ideas to create homemade sensory bins with her feed full of themes related to gardening, dinosaurs, pirates, space, beach, construction, and the list goes on and on. Crenshaw began setting up sensory play activities for her daughter, but soon felt the time and energy going towards the research, prep, and setup was not helping to balance what all she already had on her plate. Additionally, she couldn’t ignore the tiny plastic toys mounting up at home and knew she needed to fully commit to something that worked for her. She felt, if she had a need for it, she knew other parents would too.

Crenshaw founded, Meemzy Magic, www.meemzymagic.com, which creates a beautiful selection of both sensory and mini kits that remove the stress, anxiety, planning, and work that goes behind the scenes to create a magical childhood, while also ensuring its diverse, inclusive, non-gender conforming, and as eco-friendly as possible.

Her journey shows how a parent's vision and love for their child can spark ideas for all to benefit. To Crenshaw, Meemzy Magic is not just about play; it’s about fostering connections and imaginations and giving modern parenting a helping hand.