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Marina Khidekel(@mkhid)'s profile avatar HD Profile

Marina Khidekel

@mkhid

2.6K
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✨Head of Innovation, Hugimals Brands, at Relatable
🧸 Founder @hugimals, acquired
❤️ NYC
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✨ The New York Times (!!) featured my Sunday Routine and I’m so grateful. As more of a behind-the-scenes person (as an editor, and now founder of @hugimals) this was a little out of my comfort zone, but huge thanks to writer @helloitsliapicard and photographer @apisukh for making the process so easy and fun! 😎 Highlights included a brunch at my favorite neighborhood restaurant @leftbanknyc with some amazing women founder friends (part of a series I host), a stop in the garment district to finalize a weighted sweatshirt coming soon from Hugimals World that I’m so excited about (designed by the brilliant @the_olgakapustina), bopping around the West Village’s independent shops like @casamagazinesnyc (here, showing Ali our Hug Babies, which he’s considering stocking at Casa Next Door) and @bonsignourcafe (obsessed with their iced coffee & blueberry muffins), getting inspired at the @posterhousenyc museum and some much-needed downtime at home with Mike (ordering @shukanyc and watching @hacks right now - so good!) If nothing else, this Sunday proved that work/life balance doesn’t really exist, especially for solo, bootstrapping founders. It’s all about finding your flow 🤍 by @mkhid
214
2 years ago
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Exactly three months ago today, I had the privilege of spending time with Gloria Steinem at her home for the second time. The first time I met Gloria was eleven years ago, when I was an editor at Cosmopolitan, tasked by @joannacoles with modernizing the magazine’s love and relationships coverage (a job I loved, and one that Gloria basically made possible). My fellow editors and I sat with Gloria in her living room, chatting for hours about the evolution of women’s media and so much more. This time I was invited by @eringrau and Karin Klein to a talking circle around the social impact of AI. Both times, I was struck by how present Gloria was, how thoughtful, how interested in every person’s story and point of view. But mostly, I was struck by how much HOPE she radiated. She shared ideas quickly and easily for how things could improve, and it was clear she truly believed they could. Everyone was encouraged to introduce themselves and ask Gloria a question. When I told her I had left media to launch a physical product company, Hugimals, normalizing weighted plush as an analog tool to ease anxiety in adults as well as kids, and that @hugimals had recently been acquired by the toy and game company @relatable, where I’d now be growing the brand from within, she asked ME questions, amused by my unorthodox career trajectory. And she graciously accepted my gift of a Hugimal (“I love cats.”) The question I asked Gloria: “If you were to create a board game, what would it be called?” Without skipping a beat she responded with one word. That word, that concept, embodies what Gloria spent her life doing for so many women, so many worthy causes, so many new ideas that the world needed her to bring forth and fight for. Her response? “Liberation.” Gloria, we were so lucky to have you. What a life! What a legacy! What a difference you made! We will miss you. ✨ by @mkhid
21
a month ago
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Hi, It’s Marina 🩷 Since Hugimals World joined the Relatable family, I’ve been dreaming bigger than ever, and I’m so excited to finally share a little peek behind the scenes. ✨ We have so many exciting things in the works, from new Hugimals and Hugarounds to new partnerships, launches, and ideas that I can’t wait for you to see. One of the most exciting parts of this new chapter is having the resources and support to bring even more of those ideas to life. Thank you for being part of the Hugimals family and for supporting my journey building Hugimals every step of the way. None of this would be possible without this incredible community, and I can’t wait to share everything that’s ahead with you. 🧸 #hugimals #founderstory #weightedplush #behindthescenes #hugarounds by @mkhid
34
2 months ago
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Goodbye to the solo bootstrapped founder life. So excited that @hugimals has been acquired by @relatable, a brand I’ve admired from afar and now get to join as Head of Innovation, Hugimals Brands Too many people to thank, but no one builds alone, so thank you to all who worked on, bought, shared about, or cheered Hugimals and me on. So much more to come ✨ by @mkhid
81
4 months ago
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✨So thrilled to have our Hugarounds named a winner of Shop TODAY’s Best Sleep Awards (specifically, Best Weighted Stuffed Animal 🧸✨) and to see the @todayshow hosts enjoy them in this live segment this morning!! 🙌🥰🎉 Yes @alroker, we think Ollie the Orangutan and all the Hugarounds would be Punch the Monkey approved (and would help Punch get stronger by lifting them too lol) 🐒🦧 And thank you to @adriannabrach for sharing about her how her own family uses their Hugarounds. So sweet 💗 #plushies #sleepbetter #hugarounds #giftideas #weightedplush taken in Today Show Rockefeller Center by @mkhid
25
7 months ago
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From a little girl who dreamed of working in magazines to the founder of Hugimals World: creating meaningful products that bring comfort to so many 🧸✨ Comment if you are glad @mkhid founded Hugimals! Happy International Women’s Day 💙 #hugimals #internationalwomensday #founderstory #womanfounder #weightedplush by @mkhid
28
7 months ago
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🚨NEW launch alert!! Introducing Iggy the Bunny Hugimal and 3 new Hugarounds, just in time for Easter! 🌷✨ 🐇 Iggy the Bunny has epically soft plush in gentle shades of pink and cream, silky floppy ears, a sweet cottontail, and adorably oversized bunny legs and feet. Iggy’s all-over weighted hugs are so cozy they’ll make you feel like the world just got a little gentler. 🐰 Hug Baby Iggy is also here and perfect to clip on Easter baskets for on-the-go hugs! 🎉 AND meet our three new Hugarounds (all microwave-safe, freezer-safe and always fragrance-free): 🦄💖 Echo the Unicorn: a gentle and imaginative baby unicorn with whimsical pink and lavender accents, a shiny silver horn, and beautiful embroidered wings, here to help reconnect you with a little everyday magic. 🐉💚 Zephyr the Dragon: a brave and loyal baby dragon in cheerful shades of green, with soft plush uniquely textured like gentle scales. Zephyr doesn’t breathe fire, but brings the cozy hugs instead! 🐙💜 Indigo the Octopus: a sweet and clever baby octopus with a soft purple body and aqua tentacles with satisfyingly bumpy sensory plush. Indigo helps you stay calm under pressure & go with the flow. What do you think of this new Spring crew? Share your favorites in the comments! Any questions? Favorite features? Which can’t you resist? 🎉Available now 🔗Links in bio #newlaunch #newdrops #hugimals #bunnyplush #eastergifts by @mkhid
70
7 months ago
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This Friday, @hugimals is heading to the Toy of the Year Awards as the only small business finalist in the Plush of the Year category with our Hugarounds—up against some very big, very iconic brands. No matter what happens, this moment already means so much to me ✨ I started Hugimals World 3.5 years ago from a personal need. I was searching for a substantially weighted, anxiety-relieving plush for all ages that actually felt like it was hugging you back. When I couldn’t find it, I decided to build it, working with therapists to create something grounded in the real science of comfort. We started with four Hugimals (which were a TOTY finalist the first year we launched!) and a lot of hope. Today, we have six product lines and a global community, and the wildest part is that the joy of building has only gotten stronger for me. I still get genuinely excited developing new products and obsessing over the small details that make something feel just right. But what has always mattered most is the people using our products. The customers who tell us their Hugarounds, Hugimals, or Hug Pillows are helping them and their kids sleep, easing their anxiety, supporting them through grief, or simply making the hard days feel a bit more manageable and cozy. The ones who come back again and again to collect a whole set because one hug is never enough. They’re the real reason we’re in this room. Wish us luck on Friday 💛 #hugimals #hugarounds #toty #smallbusinessowner #shopsmall by @mkhid
13
8 months ago
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This year surprised me in some of the best ways and tested my resolve as well. 💙 From new launches to milestones that reminded me why we started in the first place, 2025 was full of growth, challenges, and so many hugs along the way. Thank you for being part of this journey. Can’t wait for more exciting moments together in 2026! 🎉 #hugimals #hugarounds #weightedplushies #founderlife #smallbusinessowner #womeninbusiness #toty #yearinreview #2025recap #cuteplushies by @mkhid
55
9 months ago
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Surprise drop @hugimals: The Weighted Hug Sweatshirt 💜 a hug you can actually wear. 💡I teamed up with my friend and sustainable designer @the_olgakapustina to create the thing I wished existed. The result is a chic, cozy premium cotton fleece sweatshirt with a stylish weighted yoke that delivers light deep touch pressure to your shoulders, back & chest, where many of us store tension. (Plus a kangaroo pocket for added function.) And it’s made locally here in NYC. 🥰 We designed The Hug Sweatshirt to look effortlessly put together, to feel instantly grounding, and get you compliments during zoom meetings while it secretly settles your nervous system ⚡ This is a limited-edition release, and once this first run is gone, it’s gone! by @mkhid
7
10 months ago
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✨ So excited that Sidney the Sea Turtle made The Strategist’s holiday gift guide! Seeing our cozy, calming Hugaround featured as a best holiday gift in New York Mag (in print!) is a total pinch me moment 🐢🎁✨ Thank you @thestrategist - we know how much curation and elimination goes on to land on this selection of gifts. Doing a happy dance over here💖 #giftguide #holidaygiftideas #holidaygiftguide #seaturtle #turtlelove #giftideas #cozygifts #giftsforfriends #hugarounds #cozyvibes #plushies by @mkhid
1
10 months ago
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🚨✨We are proud, honored and honestly mind-blown that Hugarounds are a finalist in the 2026 Toy of the Year (TOTY) Awards, the Oscars of the toy industry! And we need everyone’s support to help the underdog (us) win: go to toyawards.org & vote for Hugarounds. It’s quick & easy, no signup required 🙏

When we say underdog, we mean it: we are the ONLY small, independent brand in our category up against six global corporations with big name toys like Disney’s Stitch, Care Bears, and How to Train Your Dragon.
 Still letting this sink in. Thank you, our Hugimals World fam, for voting for us and cheering us on! 💛 #awardwinning #finalist #pleasevote #underdog #bignews #award #toty #toyswards #plushtoy by @mkhid
7
a year ago
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