According to Management Top 250, a list of the best-run companies in America as ranked by The Wall Street Journal and the Drucker Institute, non-tech businesses are beginning to take their place among the most innovative companies for the ways they are incorporating technological advances into their business models.
Here in Buffalo, that trend is also apparent. One such company is Fairy Bunch LLC, which brings the magic of reading alive for children.
For Melanie Bunch, owner and creator of Fairy Bunch LLC, the approaching release of her first book, titled “The Book Fairy,” is something that holds personal significance on multiple levels.
The 32-page book, and its tooth fairy-esque lead, draws inspiration from Bunch’s late cousin, who lost her life in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, and Bunch’s background working in higher education at the University at Buffalo.
“The idea for the Book Fairy was really two colliding worlds. In 2013, I took some time off from the university and was working with a national fundraising managing company,” Bunch says. “I had the opportunity to work with nearly 500 schools, primarily in the South. As I was traveling between the University of Alabama and Mississippi State, there was a program on talk radio that talked about the high illiteracy rate in the United States, and the number they quoted was 93 million people.
“That kind of stopped me in my tracks, because I do have a graduate degree in education, and I thought that was about a third of our country’s population, that can’t be right. It went on to say that about half of those 93 million are illiterate, and the other half are functionally illiterate, meaning they can only read at a fourth grade level.
“At the same time that I was listening to that program, I thought back to my cousin (Dawn Hochsprung) who was the principal at Sandy Hook Elementary School and used to dress up as the Sandy Hook Book Fairy. I thought everyone could use a book fairy, and that’s how the idea was born.”
That night, at a hotel in Columbus, Miss., Bunch began doing research to make sure the facts and figures were correct, and quickly realized a book would be the perfect way to honor a family member and do her part to stop the growing problem of illiteracy.
“The whole point is to make the magic of reading come alive,” Bunch says. “There’s so much competition for children’s attention with phones, tablets, and video games, that the importance of reading may take a back seat. There are multiple studies that talk about how learning to read at a younger age, or just being read to when they’re two or three years old, can prepare them for success later on.”
Bunch began to look for something that would compete for children’s attention while encouraging them to pick up a book. That’s when the idea for “Lily,” a doll that would bring the character in “The Book Fairy” to life, was born. With the push of a remote control button, the doll’s dress will light up (just as Dawn’s did) signaling that there is a book waiting to be read and instilling curiosity in young readers.
Bunch worked with an illustrator to create the Lily she envisioned, using 3D animation technology. “Once you have that 3D model, you can send it to the factory as a prototype and be on your way to a finished product,” she says.
“My Book Fairy is not some amazing piece of technology that is going to change the world, it’s just a way that we can actually make reading a little bit exciting and magical for children,” Bunch adds.
The first book and doll are slated to be released during the summer of 2018, and Bunch eventually hopes to create an entire series to help end illiteracy.
“I have this vision to have the Book Fairy and her team of reading crusaders,” Bunch notes. “I have another book written with another character called ‘Storyteller Sam.’ I had the first book written and a lot of people mentioned that they wanted a boy doll to encourage their sons to read. I also have four other books outlined that I will hopefully be rolling out over the next few years.”
Although Bunch has already found success with preorders and has deals with several local book stores, she admits there have been challenges along the way.
“At the beginning, I had no idea what I was getting into,” Bunch says, noting that starting a business is not an easy endeavor. “I didn’t really know how to go about everything, so I was very grateful to have the help of companies like Launch NY and the Blackstone Launchpad at the University at Buffalo.”
But even with the help of these organizations, Bunch found bringing the product to market was a challenge and more expensive than she anticipated, but she is grateful to have gone through her journey here in Western New York.
“I was encouraged by a stranger I met on an airplane, who is an entrepreneur in the Buffalo area, to actually go through with this,” Bunch notes. “I told him about my idea, and he said get off the plane, talk to a lawyer, and see if the trademark is available.
“I’ve enjoyed the ride; it’s been an amazing experience,” she continues. “I have friends now that will be my friends for the rest of my life. I think that’s one of the best things about Western New York--not one person I’ve reached out to has said ‘No, I’m not willing to help you.’ We have this amazing ecosystem of people who truly want people to succeed. With their help, I hope to be a small part in ending the illiteracy problem in the United States and reinvigorating children’s relationship with books.”