“My sister basically taught me how to laugh because often she finds the most subtle and quotidian things the funniest,” Chu says, recalling a time she called him in college to read passages from Sinclair Lewis’ Babbitt. “It was about how Babbitt was looking up at the ceiling and making observations. That type of humor is what I absolutely love, and I hope that Otaat can also find fun and humor in the subtle. I think that it’s so important for Otaat to take itself seriously – but not too seriously. And so I try to incorporate a little wink and nudge with everything, like the extra set of handles on the Toby bags (pictured above).”