Prototype | figure:Tinkerbell Figure Prototype

Artist and designer Garth Parker worked in southern California for nearly 30 years as a toy designer, product developer, and a producer of customized merchandise. The Garth Parker Collection at the National Museum of Play includes prototypes and toys designed by Parker from the mid-1980s through 2012 for quick-serve restaurants such as Burger King, Pizza Hut, Subway, Taco Bell, and White Castle and scores of other corporations including 20th Century Fox, Aladdin Industries, Colgate-Palmolive, Dairy Queen, Dannon, Nestles, and Ralston-Purina. The toys Parker designed involved the licensed properties of Disney, Marvel, and Nickelodeon, Warner Bros., NASCAR, NBA, NFL, NHL, and a wide variety of characters from Saturday-morning television cartoon shows. The collection of Parker-designed toys and products is supported by what Parker calls a toy library, or toys he acquired to inspire the playthings and other products he designed for his clients. In addition, Parker's collection includes an archive of concept drawings and supporting materials presented to clients, which are now housed at The Strong.