By Sydney Mackie
Staff Writer
Not every kid may dream of becoming a CEO some day, but 11-year-old Indigo Chai of Chandler actually won the opportunity to do so at the Crayola Experience last month.
Indigo won the title of “chief experience officer” last year with a convincing video resume and was invited to tour the Crayola store near the Chandler Fashion Center when the mall reopened last year to provide kid-expert feedback to the company.
Indigo’s father found the application in a Chandler magazine and her family encouraged her to apply. He noted his daughter has always been drawn to creative endeavors and had many captivating ideas for the Crayola brand.
“It was definitely a whirlwind of emotions. It was just me and my parents at the house and it was kind of coincidental because they are an arts and crafts brand and we were just settling down to do a craft together, we didn’t expect the call to come,” Indigo said. “It was a lot of happiness for sure. It was overwhelming and it kind of felt unreal.”
Indigo’s day at the Crayola Experience began with a store-wide welcome at 9 a.m. followed by a staff briefing.
Then she officially opened the store for the day before listening to presentations about the company’s attractions and merchandise development process. Finally, she toured and assessed the facility and storefront before an audience of about 300 people.
Chai had visited the store twice before the event and said she “really loved the idea of a place that was centered all-around creativity.”
She also got to present her own idea for a Crayola Experience attraction: how to take the popular Scribble Scribbles attraction to the next level with activities and layouts that would bring awareness to animal rescue and conservation.
She also selected her favorite offerings, which will be labeled as “Kid CEO approved items” until July 31.
“Personally, the plushies I really like because they were really cute and they had a wide spectrum and Wrap it Up!, which is a crayon exhibit where you get to customize your own crayon label,” Indigo said.
“It was really cool because you get to add emotion. Another one of my favorite parts is the Model Magic exhibit where you get to pick clay from vending machines and they have a whole bunch of different colors.”
Indigo also renamed the crayon color aquamarine to “Clean Marine,” which will also be available for purchase until the end of July, and selected the store’s July craft theme before going on a $250 shopping spree awarded alongside her Kid CEO title.
“I think that I made an impact on the brand pretty well and I definitely want to do more with them. I think they’re a really awesome brand that’s doing really well and I’m proud to be a part of it,” Indigo said.
