Princess Maja von Hohenzollern has long been busy with the affairs of her family, Germany’s former imperial House of Prussia, as well as charity work for orphans, refugees and animals. Now, she is also making a name for herself as a designer of children’s furniture, toys, shoes and bath products. The princess was in Hong Kong last week for the HKTDC Hong Kong Toys and Games Fair to promote her line of toys. Under the brand Princess von Hohensollern, the collection ranges from soft-soled leather footwear to such royalty-themed toys as tiny castle tents and a “throne” for potty training. In Six Questions, Princess Maja says Asia is a natural expansion of her business realm.
How did you get involved in the toy business?
Children around the world ask me the same questions: “How is it to live like a princess? What kind of shoes do you wear? How do you wear your tiara?”
The official version is: “While I am taking a shower, the servant is polishing the tiara,” and “Yes, I have a special pillow, which has a mould for the tiara.” Whenever I get questions like these, I try to answer them seriously because the fantasies of a child are precious. So the combination of my love for children and creativity, which I’ve always had in my life, came together, and this is the result.
How did those children’s questions become best-selling designs?
I just had to look inside my own fantasies, as well as those of the children who always ask me this stuff. I also have the child in me, which makes it very easy.
When I do sketches and drawings, sometimes in half an hour, 10 or 20 ideas will flow out of my hands. I sketch them and present them to my license partners. We discuss which are marketable, which are not, and then we discuss the prices and decide which are the strongest five sketches or designs.
We are growing very quickly. I started with children’s furniture, which is still on the market and quite successful. We have doll furniture, toys, soft-soled leather shoes, a baby bath collection. We are coming out next with some outdoor playground things and much more.
What makes me stand out from other licenses is that I’m a living person. If you have a SpongeBob license, SpongeBob will not work the red carpet, he will not be invited to a TV show, he cannot personally sit here at a fair. This is something that I feel is quite unique.
What role does the German royal family play in the country today?
We have not been a constitutional monarchy in Germany, of course, for nearly 90 years. But we had the emperor of Germany, who is still well-known around the world, and we have trade relationships with many cultures and countries. So I’m a part of that royal imperial family, also known as the House of Prussia. The political power we have is zero, because we are a democracy, and that’s good. But there is interest in connections that we still have.
What advice do you have for others in the toy business based on what you’ve learned?
If you want to be successful, you need to be disciplined, have a plan and really listen to your own intentions as well as the voices and advice of those you consider trustworthy. I think it comes down to having a good idea, believing in it and being disciplined. This is the basis of nearly any success story.
What does working through Hong Kong offer German and European companies such as yours?
I find that Hong Kong is the best place to go into China, because it is so central; you can go everywhere. Also for us, it’s interesting to find companies to produce our toys in China.
We’ve had several meetings with production companies at the fair for soft-soled leather shoes, which we are now going to produce in China as well. We have to see how the prices are developing here and how long this will be, but this is the market. We have had many people from Taiwan, Korea and many other Asian countries who made quite a good impression on me.
The idea of a princess or the fairytales is known in every country, in every language in the world. Even if people don’t know me personally or have any idea about the German aristocracy, if you say the word “princess,” children around the world have this fantasy: “This has to be something in pink; it has to be glittering; a princess is a good person; she is friendly; she lives in a castle; she has a certain lifestyle; she wears beautiful dresses, beautiful jewellery; she never gets old; she has great Cinderella shoes.” It doesn’t matter which country you go to, children and girls, especially between the ages of three to seven, are in real princess fever.
And no one knows better how to design for them than someone who has lived the life?
Yes. And I’ve found I am truly the only license on the market that is “from a real princess, for little princes and princesses.”
Related Link
Princess Maja von Hohenzollern
