Bonnie Zacherle
| Bonnie Zacherle | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 14, 1946 Norwood, Massachusetts |
| Residence | Warrenton, Virginia |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur, Inventor, Illustrator |
| Employer | Z Studio |
Bonnie D. Zacherle (born November 14, 1946) is an American illustrator and designer who now resides in Warrenton, Virginia. Zacherle is best known as the original creator of the best-selling My Little Pony toy line. She is also the creator of Nerfuls. Zacherle has done some outside consulting for Bliss House, an American licensing consultancy, on the graphics and product development side. In 2003, she became a member of 'Women In Toys'.
Her uncle, John Zacherle was an American television host, radio personality and voice actor known for his long career as a television horror host broadcasting horror movies in Philadelphia and New York City in the 1950s and 1960s.
Zacherle attended Syracuse University and majored in Illustration. After college, her first job was with Rust Craft Greeting Cards in Dedham, Massachusetts. At Rust Craft she worked in humorous cards and studio art, eventually becoming Art Director in charge of special projects. After nine years Zacherle left Rust Craft just after it was purchased by Norcross.
She had performed freelance work for Hasbro Toy Company since the mid-1970s and they had a standing offer of a full-time position for her if she ever wanted it. She took them up on the offer and joined Hasbro as an Illustrator in Research and Development at the company headquarters in Pawtucket, Rhode Island in 1980.
At Hasbro, Zacherle had the responsibility to come up with ideas for kids’ products. Her childhood desire to have a horse was still with her and inspired the idea of a miniature horse that would have a brushable mane and tail allowing children everywhere to have a slice of the experience she had desired as a child. The idea did not excite management in R&D at Hasbro, but Zacherle kept presenting it. She always wanted a horse and she knew other kids did too. She felt the idea had merit and she was not going to let it be ignored.
In August 1981, while working for Hasbro, Zacherle, along with sculptor Charles Muenchinger of Providence, Rhode Island and Manager Steve D'Aguanno of Smithfield, Rhode Island, submitted a design patent for "an ornamental design for a toy animal". The patent, U.S. #D269986, was granted in August 1983.
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