Winning Designs at Toy Fair

They should be at school, but instead they’re at a toy fair in London launching their board game Mission Earth.

Olivia Hawkes and Georgia Gorham from Oxford are just 17 but have already achieved what for some can take years.

After winning a youth enterprise award, the girls pitched their board game to British toy makers Gibsons.

It’s now in production and will go on sale in time for Christmas.

[Georgia Gorham, Joint Managing Director, Cosmic Enterprises]:

„They sent us some emails with pictures of this first draft and there was all 11 of us at school jumping around going oh my god this is amazing we never thought it would look like this we are so pleased.“

[Olivia Hawkes, Joint Managing Director, Cosmic Enterprises]:

„It’s so exciting to have our game on the market, we’ll see it on the shelves and that’s what we’ve made and it’s unbelievable.“

Their game carries with a serious message – to look after the environment.

Neither the girls or Gibsons would say how much the deal is worth but they will earn royalties from sales.

Kaite Armitage is marketing director at Gibsons.

[Katie Armitage, Director of Marketing, Gibsons]:

„I think it has got every chance of being a real success, it’s got all the fundamentals of a really good game and with the girls behind it and the fact that they’ve invented it, we’ve got a good customer base so fingers crossed it will do really well.“

Susannah Leah is another toy entrepreneur and she’s just 13.

She beat thousands of entrants in a competition, to design a Tardis for the hit BBC television science-fiction show Doctor Who.

Her design has also been bought to life and will be shops in time for Christmas.

But she won’t earn a penny because the BBC owns the licensing rights. She does get the credit though.

John Baulch is the publisher of Toy World.

[John Baulch, Toy World]:

„I think it’s absolutely fantastic that there are children who still love toys so much that they have chosen to either in one case develop a board game as part of a youth enterprise scheme and in the other case enter the competition.“

For now it’s back to school for the girls.

But they clearly have a winning streak when it comes to games – inventing them at least.

Foto: NTD