|
Thursday, 12 November 2009 07:29 |
|
Posted November 12, 2009
Stucke Eins (Part One)
The only international travel I have done, other than being deported from Mexico long ago and visiting family in Canada, has been for the toy business. I have gone from the warm confines of Earls Court and its quaint High Street neighborhood to the more modern and stark Olympia show venues for the UK toy show. I have walked holes through the soles of my shoes at the Nuremberg toy show, down the aisles of every hall, which I have since found out is about 26 miles. It's like running a marathon in dress shoes. I have always loved working with European toy companies. When I first started in the industry there was a vibrant toy and game industry in Europe, with each country having its own toy and game companies. Spears, Bluebird and Waddingtons were among the great toy companies in the UK, and are now long gone through acquisitions by US entities. Germany, France, and Italy all had their own booming domestic industries, as well. I always loved working with Herr and Frau Zapf, owners of the great German doll company of the same name, in particular. They loved our dolls and would make the decision on the spot as to which ones they would license and produce. Those were exciting meetings. I visited them in Rodental, Germany one year and learned that the valley in which they were located was a hotbed of doll and toy companies. The valley was known for its poor soil, and thus was not good for agriculture. Hundreds of years ago the inhabitants had turned to making dolls as a means of making a living. While there I learned that those big German sedans can (or used to) cruise the Autobahns at 200 mph effortlessly. As my friends explained, it allowed them to get around ‘macht schnell,’ - fast.
 |
|

Bruce Lund, Founder
Lund and Company Invention, L.L.C.
News
Blog Archive
|