Joshua Garrett grew up near Boston, back when it was easy for kids to be bored. He spent a lot of time finding ways to entertain himself, from playing music, to learning to juggle, to reading choose your own adventure books, to learning to program early personal computers, to playing and making up games.
He went on to study music and ancient Greek at Amherst College, where he graduated summa cum laude. This was followed by SUNY Stony Brook for a master’s degree, and the Juilliard school for a doctorate. For his first career, he was a classical French horn player. He performed and taught around the world, playing with groups such as the San Francisco Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, the Henry Mancini Orchestra, Metallica, and many more.
At 30, he decided to try something else, and went back to other things he enjoyed as a child. He started in the toy industry as a programmer, and quickly moved into designing play experiences and leading production. Over the last 20+ years, as VP of development for Creativity, Inc., he has worked on thousands of products including many huge hits and award winners. He has worked with the world’s most beloved children’s brands and companies, from Hasbro and Mattel to Sesame Street and Disney to Star Wars and Furby.
He is also co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Readyland, LLC, designing and writing children’s books that work with Amazon’s Alexa to allow kids to talk with their printed books for the first time ever.
He raised two children in San Francisco, where he lives with his wife and their dog and cat. He is an avid potter.
