SandyLion Stickers Were an '80s Favorite. Creators Sandy and Lionel, Now in Their 80s, Tell the Story of the Beloved Brand

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5 days ago

A granddaughter sharing her family's little-known legacy has gone viral
Alli, on TikTok @allidoes1, went viral after revealing her grandparents, Sandy and Lionel Waldman, founded SandyLion stickers
The family tells PEOPLE about building the business, becoming a beloved part of sticker fandom for kids in the 80s and 90s and moving onA proud granddaughter has shared her grandparents' special legacy in hopes of reaching their biggest fans.
Allison, on TikTok @allidoes1, made a video with her grandparents, Sandy and Lionel Waldman, about their journey building SandyLion stickers, a beloved brand for craft enthusiasts and sticker collectors throughout the 80s and 90s.
The company came from humble beginnings and two different worlds colliding, as the couple tells PEOPLE.
"In the early days, Lionel lost his father when he was 15 and had to drop out of school to join the family business with his much older brother, and he did business college at night. Unfortunately, the business failed," Sandy recalls. "He worked for a leather goods company, after which he worked as a rep at Mattel Toys selling Barbies, sold electrical components, and he was a carpet salesman."
"Prior to the sticker business, I did fashion show commentating and was a medical secretary. I always loved artistry, and I would go to charitable organizations and get sponsors to put together fashion shows," she continues.
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The pair started their business as printers, able to expand after purchasing their own printing press.
"We started as Labelad, manufacturing labels for consumer products like shampoos, moisturizers, socks, beverages, pharmaceutical and promotional items," Sandy says.
It was when they got the idea to make stickers that the business "grew very rapidly." At first, it was intimidating because the couple "needed financing to cover that growth."
"The bank was not very familiar with the industry, and so it took a lot of persistence to convince them to give us the funds needed," Sandy explains. "It was a challenge in the beginning to convince major licensors/studios to grant us licenses. It took a long time to win Disney over. After that, they all started coming."
Over the years, SandyLion delighted kids with original sticker designs, as well as stickers featuring their favorites from Disney, Star Wars, Pokémon, Barbie and more.
"In the beginning, when there weren't as many licenses, a license for something like a Disney movie was very lucrative because retailers would make re-orders when they sold out. As the market got more saturated with licenses, the retailers would not be interested in re-orders and would move on to the next hottest property," she says, adding, "Knock-offs also impacted the market."
As for the most successful sets, "Pokémon was the most successful. It was difficult to keep up with demand, and there were multiple orders from retailers to keep up with demand. It was a huge windfall."
While growing exponentially was great news on the financial front, it presented a lot of logistical challenges
"We had to manage growth, ensuring we had enough physical space for manufacturing and inventory," Sandy says, noting "everything from artwork and pre-press to finishing" was happening within the same company and location.
"We had to source machinery globally to do printing presses with additional print stations and packaging and finishing."
The business side had its ups and downs, but the creative work, and how it was being received worldwide, provided respite and reward.
"At the height of our business, one of the most exciting achievements was successfully exporting throughout Europe and Asia. We exported to over 50 countries. There was no limit to our creativity. Our artists all had voracious appetites for creativity and so the well never ran dry," Sandy says.
"It was very exciting to collaborate with the artists. We grew from one to 10 to 12. Each one had their own talent in specific areas. We never ran out of wonderful designs," she continues, noting how it was a very collaborative environment.
"Our product line contained scrapbooks, paper plates, napkins and other party items. I think that the hum of the presses when we walked through the plant fueled the excitement of our success," she proudly shares.
"However, there was also a lot of pressure to continuously innovate. Creating new products like scrapbooking, value packs, school supplies, party goods and albums," Sandy shares. "As we grew, the competition grew. This impacted the market and started compressing margins."
As if that wasn't enough for the couple to manage, Sandy and Lionel were also raising three kids as the company grew.
"While we were growing our business, we were raising our daughter Nancy, our son Mark and our eldest son Lenny. As wonderful as the success of the company was, nothing compared to raising three fabulous children who certainly appreciated stickers," the proud mom shares.
"The kids did give us ideas sometimes. They also got to travel and help at trade shows. They also worked in the business from a young age. Eventually, each of them entered the business in different areas."
That appreciation trickled down to Alli, who helped share her grandparents' story on a wider scale.
"I was born in the early 2000s, so I missed the big sticker boom but was lucky enough to live through at least a few years of them owning SandyLion," Alli shares.
"They had a factory in Markham, Ontario, and attached was a giant warehouse store that was filled with stickers. There were bins of sticker rolls, and each wall was lined with tons and tons of stickers. Even though the store has been closed for years, I can still smell the stickers so clearly."
As a kid, Alli remembers enjoying checking out the scrapbooking stickers. "Going to that sticker store felt like heaven because I could pick unlimited stickers to bring home, and it felt like they were all free. Obviously, they weren't because the company had to pay for them, but as a little kid, I had no clue how businesses worked," she laughs.
Though the couple sold SandyLion in 2010, the company and its impact still hold a lot of meaning.
"For as long as I can remember, my Grandpa, or as I call him Papa, has always kept stickers in his wallet. Every restaurant we went to, my Papa would hand the waiter stickers along with the check, and give any child he saw a square of stickers as well," Alli recalls.
"Because I was so young when my grandparents owned the company and then sold it, I don't think I was able to truly understand the extent of their impact and success," she admits. "It wasn't until I got a bit older that I would either see my Papa hand a waiter stickers and see their faces light up instantly and tell a heartwarming story about the impact SandyLion had on them that I started to understand."
The TikTok video came to be after Alli's mom showed her another Instagram Reel featuring nostalgic things that included the family's beloved stickers.
"The comment section was filled with sweet messages about the company and how people miss the sticker," Alli shares. "My mom commented on the post explaining that the company was founded by my grandparents and was met by more sweet messages about people's sticker collections, experiences going to the store as a kid and various other anecdotes."
"Seeing the response that this video received, I figured that there must be more people out there who loved playing with SandyLion stickers as a kid and would be interested to know the faces behind the brand."
The response was still much bigger than they anticipated, leaving the whole family feeling "emotional and very surprised."
"I was checking my phone every three minutes to find so many new comments from people from all over the world sharing their stories about SandyLion stickers. I don't think I realized how big of a reach the stickers had."
The family was particularly touched to see "comments from people who grew up in difficult circumstances, and because SandyLion stickers were fairly inexpensive, they were the only toy they were able to afford."
"My grandparents have been giving stickers to SickKids hospital in Toronto for years, but it was also so amazing to hear the personal stories of the people who were in the hospital and found joy in the stickers through such challenging circumstances. It has also been such an amazing way to hear the stories of people who worked at the company. There are so many companies out there with incredible stories, but you would never know because they aren't shared," Alli says.
"It was a humbling experience to witness the incredible response from our worldwide audience about the multitude of designs we printed, about sending stickers to hospitals, about giving out stickers in social environments and seeing the joy they brought to people's lives. Over the years, we got a lot of fan mail, but it has been over 15 years since we had the business. The scale of response was so incredibly uplifting to us," Sandy says.
"The business was always like a fourth child to us, and so we lost a piece of ourselves when we sold the business," she continues. "Lionel is now 88, and I'm 86. Feeling so much love and being reminded that we made a difference in so many lives really uplifted us and made us very emotional."
"As you get older and have to deal with the health issues that come with that, as well as society's perception of you based on appearances and physical challenges, it means a lot to be reminded that your life mattered and that you had such a large impact."
Read the original article on People