Ruth met her future husband and business partner, Elliot Handler in 1932 when she was 16. They married in Denver on June 26, 1938.
Arriving in Los Angeles in 1937, Ruth worked as a stenographer as Paramount studios to husband Eliot’s way through art school.
In Los Angeles, their dream apartment sans furniture was more space than meaning. Elliot turned to designing coffee tables, lamps and accessories. The couple then purchased equipment and established a shop in the garage before moving to a small Chinese laundry building. Eliot had been experimenting with small-scale designer goods in early plastics including jewelry, lighting and picture frames. Later he made picture frames out of wood and used the off-cuts for doll-house furniture.
In Ruth and Elliot joined with their friend Harold ‘Matt’ Matson to establish carpentry business.
In 1945 this cottage industry became Mattel, originally Mattel Creations of Hawthorne, California.
The colleagues agreed upon the name Mattel derived from the names Matt and Elliot, to represent their products.
Mattel was not a doll producer in the 1950s, but it was already a savvy player in the burgeoning toy market. When to create the Barbie look Mattel collaborated with dress designer Charlotte Johnson, who was responsible for linking the doll to images of French couture.
In 1955, Mattel began advertising regularly on Disney’s; Mickey Mouse Club. This media campaign marked the first time a toy company had advertised consistently on kid’s television show.
By 1959 Mattel sold over 351,000 Barbie dolls. Beginning in 1980, Mattel marketed a collectors set, Dolls of the World Collection, which contained over 40 different dolls representing countries around the world.
In 1996 Mattel developed the Designer Barbie computer game, and in 1999 the company marketed a pink computer for girls.
History of Mattel
