Fika's Freaky Friends began during a challenging time in my life. I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder in 2022 and had a serious mental breakdown a year and a half later. At the time, I was working full time for a tech startup in San Francisco and getting my MBA part time. I had to press the brakes and take time to recover.

I had always wanted to find an outlet for my creativity, and, for the first time in my life, I felt free to do so. During this part of my mental health journey, I started designing and the idea for Fika's Freaky Friends was born. All of our toys are inspired not just by Fika's nicknames, but also my own experiences during recovery.

I know that I'm not alone. So many people struggle with various forms of anxiety, depression, and trauma. I wanted to create toys that would resonate with people going through a similar journey as mine. That's why every toy has its own back story around themes of mental health and self love. My greatest hope is that people will identify with each toy's story, and they'll be inspired to be kinder to themselves on their own mental health journeys.