Maileg

Why it is renowned

Maileg makes soft toys that are known and sold well beyond Denmark. Its European store lists more than twenty-five countries it serves, from Ireland to Greece.¹ The company opened Maileg North America Inc. in Atlanta in 2008, adding a North American arm to the Danish house.² The toys are Danish-designed, drawn and directed by the founder, Dorthe Mailil, in Herning.³

The story

Dorthe Mailil trained as a graphic designer, enrolling at the Danish Design School in 1996; a clay figure she made for a class project grew into a family of characters that she then moved into fabric.³ In 1999 she and her husband, Erik, founded Maileg, joining their surname, Mailil, with leg, the Danish word for play.³ Maileg ApS was established in Denmark in 1999 and has its headquarters in Herning, in Jutland.² The range has grown from the first mice to bunnies and other animals, all dressed in hand-sewn clothes and set among miniature furniture, with Dorthe still directing every collection.³

What to know it by

• MiceDorthe MaililThe small fabric mice Maileg began with, with hand-sewn clothes
• BunniesDorthe MaililSoft rabbits added as the range grew
• Mice furnitureMiniature beds, chairs and rooms built to the animals' size
• Maileg North America2008The company's North American arm, opened in Atlanta