The holiday season is fast approaching, and with it comes cheesy piped-in Christmas music and hordes of frazzled parents on the hunt for the perfect children’s toy.
At the top of the list, according to the Canadian Toy Testing Council, should be Prince Lionheart’s Wheely Bug.
The Wheely Bug generated considerable international buzz for the Santa Maria-based toy company earlier this year. According to the council-published Toy Report, Prince Lionheart’s Wheely Bug was selected for its “excellence in play value.” The bug is a wooden push toy with a plush cushion for toddlers, designed to resemble a ladybug, bee, or cow.
The Wheely Bug has been one of Prince Lionheart’s best-selling products for several years, but it’s not the only popular product, head designer Michael McConnell said. The Ultimate Wipes Warmer is also in high demand.
“The wipes warmer has been one of our flagships for about six years,” he explained. “It keeps the wipes nice and toasty and warm for the baby. It makes a big difference during late-night diaper changes.
“It started as more of a perceived luxury item, and now it’s become more of a necessity,” he said. “It’s a registry must-have.”
McConnell is more than just an enthusiastic designer and spokesman for the company. He’s been with the enterprise since the very beginning. Literally.
“The beauty of the business is having it within the family and having something we could pass down from generation to generation,” he said.
In the early 1970s, McConnell’s parents, Tom and Linda, started crafting handmade rocking horses in the garage of their southern California home. Using their children—Michael and younger sister, Kelly—as inspiration, the entrepreneurial couple started developing a line of toys.
“Growing up, I remember helping my parents pack and ship products in the garage,” McConnell said. “We grew up with it all around us, and we hold it very close to our hearts.”
“It was my dad’s choice to move to Santa Maria,” he explained. “We moved up here about 19 years ago. Frankly, I think he was sick and tired of the congestion in Los Angeles. He wanted to raise his family on the Central Coast, and Santa Maria proved to be the most logical and practical place to do it.”
The company has come a long way from its homey roots to become a leading distributor of baby and children’s goods. It now employs 50 people and sends merchandise around the world. Still, McConnell said Prince Lionheart strives to stay true to its origins by appealing to the families who gave the company its start.
“Our products have already made it through the first generation and now we’re starting with the second,” he said, adding that Prince Lionheart fans will have plenty to look forward to in the future.
“We’re working on the most expansive new line of items that this company has ever seen that we’ll be releasing over the next year,” he said.
Prince Lionheart designs, manufactures, and distributes dozens of baby-related products, including items for feeding, nursery, safety, play, and travel. They’re available online and at multiple big-name chain stores, including Wal-Mart, Target, and Babies“R”Us.
In an e-mail to the Sun, Babies“R”Us spokesperson Meryl Schrank highlighted Prince Lionheart’s safety and quality. The company has been a longstanding partner since the first Babies“R”Us store was established in 1996.
Prince Lionheart designers pride themselves on keeping designs simple and classic. Many of the company’s products pay homage to generations past.
“[The bebePod] doesn’t have all the high-tech gadgets of modern products, but it gives babies a sense of independence and playfulness,” McConnell said.
The bebePod—a sort of fruit-themed booster seat—features a shelf for feeding designed to resemble a large slice of kiwi, watermelon, or tangerine.
“BebePods are probably one of the most successful products the company has ever had,” McConnell said. “The pods give [babies] a sense of independence because they can sit up on their own and feed themselves.”
INFOBOX: The royal treatment
For more information about Prince Lionheart products, visit www.princelionheart.com.
Contact Staff Writer Amy Asman at aasman@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 26 – Dec 3, 2008.