Louisiana resident Will Barrios, Founder and CEO of Tatro™ has turned his childhood dream into a reality with the invention of a new toy concept that launched in Louisiana on May 22nd.
Tatro is an imaginative toy for all ages and abilities 3 to 103 drawing the participant into a mix and match magnetic world of fun. The Tatro™ playset is adaptable and uses Magnetic Magic™ inside its surfaces to build scenes and move characters. The Tatro™ playset encourages imaginative play, creativity, and fun. Constructed from a kid-safe foam and plant-based plastic, the Tatro™ playset provides hours of fun for the whole family.
From a young age, Barrios was a very creative child. As a child, he would play with the typical toys that were fun, but none gave him a real depth of creativity. His need to find a toy with creativity was so strong that he created an early version of what is now Tatro™ at the age of 10. The idea followed him from the age of 10 until 19 when he left Louisiana and moved to New York City to study design. He used an advanced version of the idea for Tatro™ in a portfolio that got him accepted into Fordham University’s Design Program.
After working in New York City for 10 years, he then moved to Los Angeles where the idea for Tatro™ developed further. “I was doing well in Los Angeles but something was missing. I needed a creative outlet again and what that would be I didn’t know. I put the idea of this toy away for so long that I almost forgot about it. I considered my next steps and I had a close friend who was already in business for himself say, ‘Go find your passion. What do you want to do for the next 30 years?’ And that was a turning point,” said Barrios.
After months of researching books on career changes and finding passion, Barrios looked at three passion projects to pursue, the end result being the idea for what would later become Tatro™. He flew home to Baton Rouge in December 2016 and on Christmas Eve wrote a 20-page business plan overnight. He returned to Los Angeles and decided to play around with the idea to see if it was worth pursuing. One month later, he made the decision to move forward with the idea. He left Los Angeles and drove back to Louisiana with plans to pursue the idea with support from friends and family.
After 2 years of development, Tatro™ launched on May 22nd. The Tatro™ playset will be available for purchase in multiple themed options. Tatro™ will launch with 1 playset, 9 themes, and 36 products available for purchase online and during in-store pop-up events throughout Louisiana. A launch party will be held at Lakeside Shopping Center on June 8 from 11 am-5 pm.
The Tatro™ playset is a toy for children and adults to play with for hours with multiple scene and character options. As the company grows, Tatro™ will add more scenes and characters for even more ways to play.
Tatro™ is hand assembled in Louisiana. A portion of all proceeds will be donated to organizations which help spark creativity in kids.
Tatro™ is a member of the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA), Certified Play Expert (CPE).
For more information, visit tatrotoy.com or on social media @tatrotoy.
