Both aspects of their creative process, along with help from their artists and employees, ties their nostalgic collections together. The couple also emphasize how important it is for them to provide their employees with an environment that stimulates their creative processes, “We believe in remote [work],” Baca says. “We believe people do better when they’re in their environment, especially artists. Because I always thought that most artists, their worst thing is to go into this office and they put their headphones on. They want to turn the light off. They just want to be in their zone.”
Since their addition to the Whatever! label, which launched in August of 2025 with Miffy and Strawberry Shortcake collections, Baca and DeSilva have rapidly expanded their company in its first year of operation and have created their own nostalgia accessories branch. This includes a long list of impressive and exciting collaborators that the duo shared excitement for.
“We’ve got almost every studio license there is, except for Disney — we literally work with almost everyone . . . we have probably over 150 licenses,” Baca says.
Adds DeSilva, “We have Universal, Warner Bros., Paramount, Viacom, Sanrio, Domo, Snoopy, Cupy, Nickelodeon, Hasbro, Mattel. . .There’s a lot.”
The duo even gave Den of Geek exclusive looks at upcoming projects, including a batch of accessories surrounding horror franchises Universal Monsters and Terrifier that just launched August 6.
While they prioritize feeding fandoms with desirable merchandise, they also work with their own IPs. Through their second company, Otonagai, they have launched 15 different IPs, including their works with independent creators from around the world. This includes the artist So Lazo, located in Berlin, with whom they recently collaborated.
