Veronica Marie, SHE Unlimited- I understand that Juno Baby’s inception is a husband-and-wife team,? That is correct. Although we have probably worked with around 100 freelancers to complete the project, it was important for us to maintain control to protect the integrity of what we were trying to produce. Belinda and I work extremely well together. Her strengths offset my weaknesses! Veronica Marie, SHE Unlimited- How did the both of you go from idea, creation and finally finished product? It took us over three years to get to the line that we had envisioned. What seemed like a relatively simple endeavor at first turned into a never ending project. Unlike most other children’s products, there is a significant learning curve that comes with the development of a media company – recording live musicians, puppet building, script consulting, filming and editing, apparel and plush design, foreign language translation/voiceovers, working with overseas manufacturers, etc. You name it, we’ve done it. It took us a few iterations and several setbacks for us to arrive at the line we were finally proud of and willing to share with other parents. Veronica Marie, SHE Unlimited- Juno Babies graphics are very cute “Kawaii” and awe inspiring, who is the designer behind these lovely characters? All of the characters were created by Belinda who had been doodling these characters since she was a little girl except for Juno who we created together. Although they each look very different, they have some consistent characteristics which we find to be pretty cute and funny. Veronica Marie, SHE Unlimited- How challenging is it to contend with such characters like “Elmo” and “Sponge Bob”? It is incredibly challenging. When we decided to create Juno Baby, it was not as a hobby. We very specifically jumped in with the goal of supplanting the Goliaths in the industry. So competing with companies that have marketing budgets that are exponentially larger than our own is difficult. However, we feel that we have the research and content on our side. Unlike the competition, all of our music has been scored for and performed by live orchestral musicians. But most of all, I feel we have something that is unique and unable to be imitated. We have a quirkiness and sweetness to our characters that both parents and children really seem to adore. We have spread tremendously through word of mouth and have an incredibly faithful base of customers. Veronica Marie, SHE Unlimited- I understand “Juno Baby” won many awards? That is correct. We have been named to Dr. Toy’s top ten children’s video list for three years in a row. We have won the Dove Foundation’s highest ranking and were awarded a Preferred Choice Award from Creative Child Magazine to name a few. However, we are most proud of our expert and customer endorsements which we share on our website. One of our most important assets is our customers who have shared their feedback with us over the years. It has really helped us shape our new line. Veronica Marie, SHE Unlimited- It is very exalting to understand how the music was brought together , Belinda Takahashi, Ph.D is also the award winning composer? Belinda is modest. I am not. I’m her biggest fan. She has won numerous awards, has studied with several Pulizer Prize winners, and has had performances in places like Carnegie Recital Hall. She was a musical prodigy and was concertizing by the age of 8. She started her formal composition training at 10. Her range in composition is astounding – she can write in any style for any instrument. Her music in Juno Baby is absolutely beautiful, fun, and poignant – it’s lush, and flowing with beautiful melodies, harmonies, and counterpoint. What’s really so amazing is that the music is quite sophisticated yet so much fun to hear. We have had adults fall in love with the music so much that one of our customers recently told us that he made one of her songs into a ringtone and that she often misses calls because she just wants to listen to the piece. Veronica Marie, SHE Unlimited- Tell us more about the characters voices? Belinda and I do all of the character voices. We actually auditioned some people for a few of the roles but during the auditions, the actors themselves thought we did a funnier job. Veronica Marie, SHE Unlimited- What aspects were considered when creating the “Juno Baby” DVDs and videos? Did behavioral sciences play a large role? Absolutely. In terms of content, we made sure we based it on the leading research in child development. As a matter of fact, there was a very interesting research piece printed in the American Behavioral Scientist on media and child development. The study suggested that that programs where characters speak directly to the child, actively elicit participation, label objects, and provide opportunities to respond, were positively related to expressive language production and vocabulary. We hired one of the lead researchers of that study to make sure we were doing everything right. In addition, we also created bonus interactive features, language flash cards, and multiple languages tracks in English, French, and Spanish. Children between the ages of 0-5 are like sponges when it comes to language so the earlier the exposure, the better. Less