Chelsea Downs
New York Toy Collective
Driven by the motivation to help others achieve their optimum well-being, Chelsea Downs is breaking barriers in her role as the founder and managing director of New York Toy Collective, the dominant brand of toys and products for all forms of gender affirmation. The brand has been featured by major media outlets such as The New York Times, Times Magazine, and Cosmopolitan.
Chelsea is responsible for the brand’s dynamic growth and trajectory, designing initiatives to grow its top position in the market. From overseeing sales and operations initiatives to handling product development and managing all strategic brand and promotional partnerships, her desire to take risks and approach problem-solving with a creative mindset has enabled her much success as an entrepreneur.
Her story is not just about creating gender-affirming products; it’s about opening doors to new possibilities and celebrating the uniqueness in each of us. Chelsea is all about the underdog; she grew up in the 1980s in New York and is biracial, dyslexic, and queer. All of the preceding made life difficult for her, but also made her resilient.
As a creative thinker and strategic, Chelsea has broken boundaries. If she couldn’t find an intimate gender-affirming product, she created it. Paying attention to skin tone and the fact that the product could be discreetly worn made the New York Toy Collective secure a national retailer within six months. The company has earned several awards, including the XBIZ Queer Pleasure Products Brand of the Year (2022), XBIZ Progressive Pleasure Products Company of the Year (2021), and XBIZ Queer Pleasure Products Brand of the Year (2020).
Her company is considered an innovator within the adult industry each year, developing more products based on customer demand. Ultimately, individuals are increasingly interested in products that allow them to express themselves with sexual and gender identities.
Chelsea received a full scholarship to attend Colby College, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Popular Culture. She began her career in digital advertising at Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and MTV.
Chelsea enjoys paying it forward and mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs. She also volunteers at her daughter’s local public school, where she runs the after-school chess program. When she isn’t busy working, she enjoys spending time with her family, going to the beach, and dancing.
