How I Discovered Maileg
I first discovered Maileg in a small shop in Lancashire when my first daughter was just about 6 months old.
I remember being completely drawn in by the tiny details and the charm of the pieces—it felt so different from anything else I’d seen. My very first piece was the Princess Rattle, and not long after I added the Knight and Pirate Rattles.
Looking back now, I realise these were from around 2013—though at the time, I had no idea I was starting something that would grow into such a long-term journey.
Not long after my first rattles, I discovered the Sleepy Wakey Bambi from the Maileg 2014 collection on Instagram.
Around that time Instagram was beginning to fill with beautifully styled nurseries — soft linen bedding, wooden toys, gentle colours, and shelves carefully arranged with special pieces.
And once I noticed it, I started to see a pattern: almost every one of those calm, dreamy rooms seemed to include a little piece of Maileg.
Sometimes it was a tiny mouse tucked into a shelf.
Sometimes a rabbit sitting quietly at the end of a bed.
Sometimes a soft toy resting beside a stack of picture books.
The Sleepy Wakey Bambi appeared again and again in these spaces. It seemed perfectly suited to that aesthetic — gentle, nostalgic and timeless.
What made Maileg different from many toys was that it didn’t need to be hidden away in a toy box. It could sit beautifully on a shelf or bedside table and feel like part of the room itself.
For many people — myself included — Instagram was the first place we realised that Maileg wasn’t just a toy brand. It was part of a whole style of childhood: slower, calmer, and filled with small details that made everyday moments feel special.
2010 - 2018 – The Maileg Circus Collection (The One That Got Away)
2013 was the year of the best Maileg Circus collection — and it remains the one collection I wish I had started at the time. Although the birthday clowns were first seen in the Maileg 2010 Autumn Winter Catalogue collection and developed into the complete Circus Collection in 2012.
Looking back now, the circus pieces had everything that makes Maileg so magical: tiny performers, detailed costumes, and a whole miniature world built around storytelling and imagination.
At the time I admired them, but I didn’t realise quite how collectible they would become.
Today some of the circus sets sell for hundreds of pounds on the resale market, and they’ve become one of those legendary Maileg collections that collectors still hunt for.
The Spring Summer 2015 collection didn't feature the circus tent at all but it have a Circus Wagon, Clown Mouse, Circus Manager and Strong mouse.
By 2016 we were selling Maileg in Folk Interiors and I didn't even think to keep hold of any circus pieces for myself until it was too late and the collection was sold out everywhere.
"Every collector seems to have one piece that got away — and for me, it was the circus"
By Spring Summer 2018 the Mice were only available as part of the Circus Set and by Autumn Winter 2018 the circus disappears completely. I just wish I'd started my collection earlier.
Today the only item that remains as a nod to the circus collection are the maileg clown outfit and the harlequin suitcase. Every year Maileg bring something back as a nod to past collections and this year it was the lion. I have my fingers crossed for the circus tent again one day but we never know until the collection launches.
I still remember that first moment of discovering Maileg — the sense that I’d stumbled into a world that already felt familiar.
The circus, with all its colour and character, was the doorway into it, even if it never quite became mine. Looking back, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what drew me in, only that it stayed with me.
In many ways, that first glimpse shaped everything that followed — a collection built not just on what I found, but on what I almost had.
If you’ve fallen for the charm of the Maileg circus, you’ll find that this is only one corner of a much larger world…
Beyond the striped tents and performing characters, there are quieter stories waiting to be discovered — from the tiny, much-loved mice to the soft, timeless charm of the Maileg bunnies.
The Maileg circus feels like a story in motion — full of colour, characters and imagination. But every story has its quieter chapters too. Just beyond the circus tent, another world unfolds — where tiny mice live their own adventures, and soft linen bunnies fill shelves with quiet charm.
And then there are the stories that feel almost like fairytales… the kind that deserve to be told all on their own.
Love Katy x
If you are looking to get hold of any retired pieces I would recommend a mousey tale who sources rare and retired pieces around the world.
