Big Monster Toys

Big Monster Toys, commonly abbreviated BMT, was an American toy invention, engineering, and licensing company based in Chicago. The company was established in May 1988 by Jeff Breslow, Howard Morrison, and Rouben Terzian, three former partners of Marvin Glass & Associates, together with designers Don Rosenwinkel and John Zaruba. Its original name, Breslow Morrison Terzian & Associates, provided the basis for the BMT abbreviation. BMT operated as an independent product-development studio rather than as a conventional toy manufacturer with a large owned retail brand portfolio. Its work covered the process of turning an idea into a marketable toy or game. The company developed concepts, engineered working prototypes, refined product names and positioning, and assisted with packaging and promotional materials. It then licensed completed or partially developed concepts to established toy companies, which handled manufacturing, distribution, and retail commercialization. The studio was located in Chicago’s West Loop and occupied approximately 18,000 square feet. Its facilities were designed to support a broad range of development work under one roof, including a machine shop, plastic-molding capability, electronic design resources, software programming, 3D printing, a paint shop, an audio recording studio, and digital video production and editing equipment. This combination allowed BMT’s designers and engineers to move from early concepts to physical and digital prototypes without relying entirely on outside vendors. The company’s clients included major international toy businesses such as Mattel, Hasbro, Moose, Spin Master, Goliath, and Playmates Toys. Tiger Electronics was also identified as a former client. Through these relationships, BMT participated in the creation and commercialization of toys and games for larger companies, while generally remaining behind the consumer-facing brands attached to individual products. BMT was associated with the Chicago toy-invention community and received industry recognition during its operating history. Its three founding partners were inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame in 1998, an honor connected with their long collaborative careers in toy invention and development. The company was also described as a constructive supporter of toy inventors and the wider toy industry. On November 29, 2023, Big Monster Toys stopped future operations and dismissed its entire workforce. A partner, Sam Unsicker, subsequently confirmed on December 28, 2023, that the business remained operational for the limited purpose of collecting royalties from existing licensing arrangements. Accordingly, the company’s active product-development studio ended in late 2023, while residual contractual and royalty activity continued afterward. No reliable source in the supplied material establishes a later restart, acquisition, or successor company.

Big Monster Toys emerged from the professional network surrounding Marvin Glass & Associates, one of the influential American toy-design firms formed during the postwar expansion of the toy industry. Jeff Breslow, Howard Morrison, and Rouben Terzian had previously worked as partners at Marvin Glass & Associates. In 1988 they joined with two principal designers from that firm, Don Rosenwinkel and John Zaruba, to establish a new independent toy-development business. The initial corporate name, Breslow Morrison Terzian & Associates, was reflected in the abbreviation BMT, which later became associated with the Big Monster Toys name. Founded in May 1988, the company was based in Chicago and developed a business model centered on invention, engineering, and licensing rather than mass-market manufacturing under its own name. BMT accepted or generated toy and game concepts, developed them into functional prototypes, and helped shape their commercial presentation. Its services could extend from early ideation and mechanical or electronic engineering through product naming, marketing positioning, package development, and promotional content. The company’s role was therefore broader than that of a design consultancy, but different from that of a consumer-facing toy manufacturer: it helped create and prepare products that were then licensed to other companies for production and sale. BMT’s West Loop studio supported this integrated process. The approximately 18,000-square-foot facility contained more than 25 designers and included resources for mechanical fabrication, plastics, electronics, software, audio, paint, 3D printing, and digital video. These capabilities enabled the business to make and test physical, electronic, and software-assisted toy concepts in-house. The studio’s structure reflected the increasingly multidisciplinary nature of toy development, in which industrial design, engineering, entertainment, branding, and promotional media often intersect. The company worked with a range of established toy businesses. Named clients included Mattel, Hasbro, Moose, Spin Master, Goliath, and Playmates Toys; Tiger Electronics was identified as a former client. BMT licensed concepts to companies in markets around the world, allowing its inventions and development work to reach consumers through the manufacturing and distribution networks of larger partners. The available reference material does not provide a complete catalog of products, launch dates, sales figures, or ownership arrangements, so individual consumer brands cannot be reliably assigned to BMT without additional documentation. BMT also became associated with professional recognition in the toy industry. In 1998, Breslow, Morrison, and Terzian were inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame in recognition of their long collaborative contribution to toy invention. The company was described as a positive supporter of toy inventors and the broader toy trade, reflecting its connection to the professional culture of independent toy development. The company’s operating history ended in late 2023. On November 29, Big Monster Toys ceased future operations and laid off its entire workforce. A December 28 statement attributed to partner Sam Unsicker clarified that the business had not immediately disappeared in every legal or financial sense: it remained operational for the restricted purpose of collecting royalties connected with continuing licensing arrangements. This distinction marks the end of BMT as a functioning design studio while leaving open the possibility of residual royalty administration. The supplied sources do not establish a subsequent reopening, acquisition, formal successor, or final dissolution date.

• 2023

  Future operations cease

  [1]Big Monster Toysen.wikipedia.org

  The company stopped future operations on November 29 and dismissed its entire workforce.

• 2023

  Residual royalty administration continues

  [1]Big Monster Toysen.wikipedia.org

  On December 28, partner Sam Unsicker confirmed that the business remained operational for collecting ongoing royalties.

• 1998

  Founders enter the Toy Industry Hall of Fame

  [1]Big Monster Toysen.wikipedia.org

  Breslow, Morrison, and Terzian were inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame for their collaborative work in toy invention and development.

• 1988

  Big Monster Toys is founded in Chicago

  [1]Big Monster Toysen.wikipedia.org

  Jeff Breslow, Howard Morrison, and Rouben Terzian founded the company in May 1988 with designers Don Rosenwinkel and John Zaruba. The original name was Breslow Morrison Terzian & Associates.

A multidisciplinary, behind-the-scenes toy invention and product-development partner that combined industrial design, engineering, software, prototyping, branding, and licensing for established toy companies.

• Toy invention and development

  Toy and game concepts

  BMT created and engineered original toy and game concepts, taking ideas through design refinement and prototype development. The company could contribute to mechanical, electronic, software, and presentation elements before licensing concepts to established toy companies. The supplied sources do not identify a definitive product-by-product catalog.

• Toy licensing

  Licensed toy properties

  The company licensed inventions and developed products to toy businesses including Mattel, Hasbro, Moose, Spin Master, Goliath, and Playmates Toys. These arrangements placed BMT’s work into partner manufacturing and distribution channels, while the individual retail product names were generally associated with the licensees rather than with Big Monster Toys itself.

• 2023

  End of the operating studioStrategy

  Background

  After decades as a toy invention and licensing studio, Big Monster Toys decided to stop future operations and released its entire workforce on November 29, 2023.

  Action taken

  The company ended new operating activity and laid off all employees, while retaining a limited business function for existing royalty obligations.

  Aftermath

  Partner Sam Unsicker stated on December 28 that the business continued only to collect ongoing royalties. The available sources do not document a later reopening or formal successor.

  Source

1. 1Big Monster Toysen.wikipedia.org