I Dream of: Meeting Garrett Sander

For those who don't know, Garrett Sander is the creator of the original Monster High we all know and love. I feel a lot of admiration for him: not only for his work and charisma, but also because he was brave enough to bring concepts and characters into the doll world that were not necessarily accepted back in the early 2010s. I remember even my mom really didn't want me to have Monster High dolls because she considered them to be a weird satanic agenda being pushed on kids. Sadly a lot of parents, especially here in Europe, thought this way. Despite that, Garrett managed to bring something new to the doll industry that changed it for the best and I have so much respect for that. He has inspired millions of young kids, as well as adults, and he will do that for years to come. Despite no longer working on Monster High, he's still out there working on all sorts of dolls and figurines! You can see all that on his Instagram right here .

Monster High is known for its diversity and it's message of being your unique self. At Monster High, everyone is welcome regardless of what they look like or where they come from, and that meant a lot to me as a young girl who grew up being bullied all her life. I felt accepted in this little world and that was enough for me. Concepts such as racism, police brutality, interracial marriage, therapy and bullying were brought up in the movies and further reinforced the main message:

"Be yourself, be unique, be a Monster"

Garrett tried his best to also bring LGBTQ+ characters into Monster High, regardless of Mattel not allowing it because "the world was not ready for it" (for example, Kieran Valentine is gay and since Garrett couldn't openly mention that, he added small hints into his diary). 

As a kid, my first ever doll was the signature Frankie Stein. I got her as a birthday gift from my aunt, and that's how it all started. My second doll was the signature Draculaura: I remember buying her from my local toys shop and then going ice skating with her, I'm so fond of this memory. I would wait for the TV to play the Ghouls Rule commercial so I could record it on my little flip phone. I was so hyped when Scaris: City of Frights first came out and I remember how excited I was to buy the dolls and watch the movie with my bff. I stopped collecting around 2013 when I was a teen because "I was too old for that" and hid away all my dolls. Then when I was 19 years old I resumed collecting, starting with Clawdia Wolf from the line Frights! Camera! Action! Haven't stopped since then. Lemme tell you, I'm so thankful I didn't throw away my dolls! I could go on with my Monster High related memories forever but i will spare you.

As you can imagine, meeting Garrett Sander as a big fan of Monster High is a one of my biggest dreams! Thankfully he frequents events like SDCC a lot to give away autographs and take pictures with fans, so I'm planning at some point to fly to America just to meet him and take a picture together, which I'm definitely printing and putting up my wall XDDD. I will take some new in box dolls with me for him to sign as well. I know I will cry when I'll see him and I'm perfectly ok with that. So when I'll have the money, off I go to America, along with my very well packaged dolls!

Garrett Sander signing the very first B&W SDCC Frankie Stein back in 2010! This little girl has no idea how lucky she is! 

13 years later and he's still here for all of us!

The very first design Garrett came up with for Frankie Stein back in 2007!

What about you guys? Do you have someone you really admire and want to meet? Do share it with me!