Porcelain sex toys: this start-up founder wants to make it big

Alina Eynck is setting up the start-up Porzelina. In this interview, she talks about harmful substances in conventional dildos, the workload as a founder and why she is not worried that a porcelain dildo will one day lead to injuries.

Alina Eynck was sitting in her design studio and was supposed to make something out of plaster. Her friends were making sculptures, others something practical like pen holders. But it was all too stupid for Alina Eynck. So she thought about it: Why not mold a sex toy? Plaster is the worst possible material for this, but she soon discovered porcelain. The prototype became a business idea, then a start-up with design awards and start-up funding. She has now been selling porcelain dildos, butt plugs and love balls for around three weeks.

Ms. Eynck, you make porcelain sex toys. What is wrong with conventional plastic dildos or butt plugs?

A particularly critical aspect of conventional sex toys is that they are often contaminated with harmful substances. Stiftung Warentest tested sex toys a few years ago and just three out of 18 were found to be free of harmful substances. I think that's pretty blatant. Plastic can both absorb and release substances, and then there's microplastics. This makes porcelain the better material for dildos, for example, because it is extremely slippery, does not absorb or release harmful substances and is also super hygienic.

If I drop a plate, it breaks. Aren't you afraid that this will happen to your customers one day?

Not at all. Of course, porcelain can break if you drop it from a great height onto a hard surface. But for sex, breakage is not a problem, as the intimate anatomy consists of very soft surfaces. And it is virtually impossible to break normal porcelain tableware with sheer physical strength. Compared to plates, for example, Porzelina sex toys have thicker walls and are self-contained. This makes them even more robust.

With elastic plastic, the toy does not have to be as precisely shaped as with porcelain.

Alina Eynck, founder of Porzelina

And hard. Plastic can be bent in all directions, porcelain cannot. Doesn't that limit you?

That's exactly the difference I noticed in product development. With elastic plastic, the toy doesn't have to be as precisely shaped as with porcelain. We took this into account during product development and also conducted tests to find an ergonomic design that perfectly meets the requirements. That's why we also have a dildo that specifically targets what is commonly known as the "G-spot" - now better described as the "CUV zone" - and one that primarily stimulates via volume. An anal plug and a love ball make the entry-level quartet perfect.

You probably don't produce the toy yourself, do you?

I found two quaint manufacturers in Bavaria who lovingly make them for me by hand. At first I thought they might say something if I ordered dildos from them, because they usually make such small figurines or special plates out of porcelain, but they immediately said: we'll do it, no problem.

You had the idea back in 2014, when there was presumably no competition in the porcelain dildo market, but today it's different. Why did you abandon the project?

I first became aware of it during my bachelor's degree when we were supposed to mold something with plaster. I came across sex toys at some point, but you can't make them out of plaster. However, there was a porcelain workshop right next door and I spent a lot of time there over the coming months and years and presented my first porcelain dildos at exhibitions. That gave me the name "Porzelina", a mixture of porcelain and Alina and a derivation of Porzelliner, someone who works with porcelain. I already had the name protected in 2017. Because I thought it was too frivolous in my portfolio for a career start, I put the project to one side and did a Master's degree in Cologne, where I learned about entrepreneurship, among other things. The idea of Porzelina came up again, which then became the content of my master's thesis. In November 2021, I received the start-up scholarship, the company was founded in March 2022 and shortly afterwards the product line won the Reddot Design Award.

But I founded the company on my own, which is pretty crazy.

Alina Eynck

You talk about "we". How big is your team?

I often talk about "we" because I have a lot of supporters who I can always ask for advice and who help me with videos or questions, for example. They are therefore also part of Porzelina's development. But I founded the company on my own, which is pretty crazy. It's usually said that you should start a company with at least two or three people to share the workload. I now have that all to myself: marketing, product development, finances... And I also have to be creative, which is a huge workload and I'm looking forward to the day when I can afford a permanent team.

An investor could help, right?

I took out a loan for this start-up and I still have enough money at the moment. I have a time buffer to find out where Porzelina is going. Of course, I would be delighted to find an investor, but it's not about the money. I want to find someone who wants to create something together with me and if it fits, I can well imagine an investment.

Thank you for the interview.

About the person: Alina Eynck completed her bachelor's degree in design at HSNR Krefeld, during which time she worked as a product designer for one of the top manufacturers of sex toys. In 2021, she completed her master's degree in "Product Design and Process Development" at TH Köln, specializing in entrepreneurship and project management.