Our Story

It all began with a simple question:
"Why don’t adults carry plush toys?"

Somewhere along the way when growing up, we let go of the wonder that we used to see in the world.

We start caring more about what the world tells us we should and lose sight of the joy of living.

That’s why most of us stop carrying our plush toys and usually the story ends there. But I decided to take the chance to see what would happen if I started carrying my childhood plush toy around again.

I started bringing Friend, the reindeer plushy I’ve had since five, with me everywhere. What I discovered was that all around me joy was restored to people’s lives from simply seeing the innocent act of an adult carrying a plush toy.

I wanted to keep bringing that joy to others, and so created the Open Carry so that Friend would stay protected whilst I did so.

I saw that others were moved by this and were inspired to do the same.

Thus Ray Zhu was born to bring this same sense of joy, play, and wonder to others.