Aliza Wiseman

CEO / Designer, Maiden America

and Author of Places We Never Went - A Series of Imaginary Events.

Aliza is the Granddaughter of Al Wiseman, ghost cartoonist for Dennis The Menace.  She is the mother of three girls who inspire her to live every day to its fullest!

Mission:

I started Maiden America out of concern for what I believed were pretty age-inappropriate fashions / products being marketed to children. 

Our goal is to encourage parents to protect childhood by exercising their pocket books in the marketplace.  Childhood is a sacred time with specific developmental stages that are essential. Too often these days, children are too soon hooked up to electronics, left to be raised by "the system" and a culture marketing ego at the utter expense of the soul.

I encourage parents to read Juliet Schor's book, Born To Buy and to reclaim the marketplace.  Parents, not marketers, should determine what childhood is and looks like in America.

What's behind the name?

Years ago, when my daughter asked about the ‘waists’ on her ‘princess’ lunchbox, I found myself explaining  how truly sorry I felt for those poor princesses – how they HAD to spend huge amounts of time in the mirror trying to be pretty all the time -  yanking on corsets, eating poorly, fainting all the time and spending every waking moment trying so hard for princes (because they weren’t allowed to go to school or own property or do a lot of great things we now can)!  I told her how maidens are "everyday princesses" with the freedom to learn, work, earn and do SO much more.  How fortunate we are to be maidens!  (and how sorry we feel for the princesses! :-)

Why American Made?

The choice to manufacture goods in America means we can exercise a greater degree of excellent quality control and customer service, while helping our local economy.