The company was founded in Cannon Falls, Minnesota in 1965 by Terry Mitchell,
a toy designer and entrepreneur, who created a product called "Slurp", a brightly
colored little creature with long fluorescent hair and large eyes that protruded
from his head.  There were originally six employees, and all of the items were 
hand sewn.  The original name of the company was Spectacular Products, Inc., 
and all products were targeted to the novelty gift and plush business.

In 1971, the focus changed to producing a higher quality plush product, with unique
designs geared to upscale gift and department stores.  In keeping with the new
focus, the name of the company was changed to Princess Soft Toys as it had a
royal sound to it.  By the late 1970's, Princess employed over 80 people and was
operating three shifts to keep up with the demand.

In 1984, Kim Calkins, who spend 10 years with Animal Fair as Vice President of
Manufacturing Services, Vice President of Product Development and Vice President
of Premium Sales, was hired as Vice President and General Manager.  He had 
traveled extensively throughout the Orient, working directly with manufacturers in
those parts of the world for many years, and helped convert Princess from
domestic factory to an importer from the Orient.  The company was then much
more competitive in both quality and price.

In 1987, Kim and his wife, Sandy, purchased Princess Soft Toys and moved the
company to Edina, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis.  Kim selected just a few
items from the previous line, and utilizing his contacts in Korea, he introduced
many unique designs with new fabrics and more upscale details.  The new line
was introduced in the spring of 1988, and was immediately well accepted.  A
bear named after their daughter, Amy, became the best seller, and continued 
in that role for the next three years.

In the fall of 1994, Princess acquired the Premium Division of Animal Fair and
merged the two groups, using the Animal Fair name for the Premium and Incentive
Division.  This group has produced items for Kellogg's, Keebler, State Farm,
Pillsbury, Marigold Foods/Kemps, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper/7 Up, Wells Fargo and many
others.  The company has customized items for hospitals, banks, manufacturing
companies, resorts, theme parks, schools and florists and are members of the
Advertising Specialty Institute, offering bears and other animals with imprinted
t-shirts, sweaters and custom tags.