Page 76 - AVN October 2016

by SHERRI L. SHAULIS
Engineering in the country and you’re sure to find vibrators
Take a quick peek into almost any adult boutique
and dildos in bright, vibrant colors and unique
shapes. Shelves and displays feature pleasure
products made from body-safe materials and quality
motors. Pleasure products are designed with the user
in mind, and boast features and details that make
them well worth the investment of someone’s hard-
earned dollars.
But that wasn’t always the case. In the early days
of the pleasure product industry—and, truthfully,
up until the past few years—quality products that
weren’t realistically shaped were hard to come by. It
took the dedication of a few visionary manufacturers
to change the industry, decidedly for the better.
Among those pioneers is Fun Factory, a German
company marking its 20th anniversary this month.
Years before Fun Factory became a presence in the
U.S. market, it began operating in 1996 from a
garage in Bremen, Germany. The brainchild of two
recent college graduates who wanted to help the
customers of the adult store where they worked, Fun
Factory started out as a passion project—and the first
prototypes were created out of Play-Doh. Responding
to the lack of body-safe, woman-friendly, non-
anatomical toys on the market, founders Dirk Bauer
and Michael Pahl offered up the Paddy Penguin dildo,
a friendly silicone toy.
“They didn’t expect Fun Factory to be more than
a side job, but the response to the unique toys they
created was so overwhelming that the company went
from a tiny business run out of a garage to one of the
“It’s not just about
finding a motor that
works and putting some
silicone around it. Fun
Factory’s designers are
constantly finding new
ways to create stronger,
deeper vibration,
a motor that holds
charge better, a more
eco-friendly design, etc.”
—Kristen Tribby, Fun Factory
Pleasure Industry pioneer Fun Factory celebrates its 20th anniversary
largest sex toy manufacturers
in Europe,” said Kristen Tribby,
director of marketing and
education for Fun Factory USA.
The company distinguished
itself by combining German
engineering with a sense of
playfulness, all while employing
eco-friendly methods and fair
labor practices.
“Fun Factory is dedicated to
operating in as eco-friendly and
ethical a way as possible, and
our manufacturing practices
reflect that,” Tribby explained.
“Everything is designed,
manufactured, and packaged
in our factory in Bremen, so
Fun Factory toys are made
sweatshop-free. Our factory
employees receive fair wages and
benefits.
FEATURE
Factory Workers The Fun Factory
USA crew working the booth at the most
recent ANME Founders Show. Bottom, a
multimedia station set up at the show.
76 | AVN.com | 10.16