Waytoplay

Started as a family company in 2005, waytoplay continues to foster an atmosphere of connection, care, and commitment in all we do and it has been a wonderful road trip so far.

The idea

As a child, inventor and designer Sybren Jelles loved playing with toy cars. Preferably outdoors, with the wind in his hair. After seeing that his son Joep had inherited that passion, he created waytoplay. That was in 2003, Since then, Sybren has joined forces with state of the art manufacturers and partners creating the unbreakable, weatherproof road set that is waytoplay.

Joep in 2003, son of Marise and Sybren, playing with the first prototype

Crowdfunded

After this promising start, we took a breather. Call it a pitstop, a gathering of wits. After the initial crowdfunding in 2012, Sybren and his wife Marise joined forces and drove headlong into making waytoplay a business. In 2013 the pilot run of waytoplay hit Lex’ store in Haarlem (the current Mr. Paprika). All 250 sets were sold in the blink of an eye. It was clear that we had an audience.

Scaling up

Our achievements are driven by the effort of an extraordinary group of people and companies. In Breidenbach, Germany, skilled specialists produce our road segments. Truly high tech, because while our product may look simple, producing it is not. The road segments are then printed on two sides by Mooi printers in The Netherlands, a sheltered employment provider. Most of the packaging is also done there. This provides jobs for 10 people with little access to regular employment. This makes us happy and proud.

Section

Meet the team!

The waytoplay team is dedicated to remaining approachable to our customers and retailers and devoted to investing in relationships with those we do business with. Starting as a family company, waytoplay continues to foster a family atmosphere of connection, care, and commitment in all we do.

Sybren Jelles

CEO and Founder

As a child, inventor and designer Sybren Jelles loved playing with toy cars. He created waytoplay for his son Joep - The unbreakable, weatherproof road set that is waytoplay.

Marise Jelles

Consumer Care

Marise, wife of Sybren and co-founder, handles the webshop and consumer care - She will answer your questions about waytoplay

Lex Avis

Sales and Logistics

Lex knows about distribution, logistics, and retail sales. He can assist you with purchasing waytoplay for your toy business.

Stephanie Scholte

Marketing and Finance

Stephanie tells the world about waytoplay. From beautiful Paris, she reaches out to parents and children.

Mirco Leardini

Sales

Mirco also knows the route in retail and he will help you with purchasing waytoplay.

Sarah Forster

Brand Ambassador USA

Sarah is our brand satellite in the USA and you can reach out to her with ideas and collabs for the USA.

Eline van der Ploeg

Design

Eline is our creative force. She came up with the new style of waytoplay.

Jentie Youna Jelles

Social media & creative content

As a trained fashion photographer Jentie is a hyperactive-creative, color fanatic, cross media person and dear family member.