A King Loses His Way in the Enchanted Forest

Two years ago, Laurence King Publishing released a coloring book for grown-ups called Secret Garden, but most bookstores relegated it to the kids’ section. Customer reviews on Amazon.com praised it for the Zen pleasure of filling in its sophisticated drawings, so King decided to issue a second volume by the same Scottish illustrator, Johanna Basford. Enchanted Forest was a runaway hit. “It was a much greater explosion than anything we, our distributors, and our sales force had ever experienced,” says founder Laurence King. “It was difficult for 50 people based in London to create a global brand.”

King’s tale is a cautionary one for any business grappling with unexpected demand. Basford’s two volumes—with their intricate, kaleidoscopic illustrations of plants and animals—soared to the top of New York Times and Amazon best-seller lists, propelled by unofficial endorsements on social media from celebrities such as Korean pop star Kim Kibum and American actress Zooey Deschanel. The phenomenon caused a colored pencil shortage in Brazil, King says, and gave rise to a global movement in meditative coloring. The titles have sold more than 10 million copies in two dozen languages and have spawned ancillary products such as postcard sets, notecards, and a large-format artist’s edition printed on thicker paper. King says the books’ success will almost triple his company’s revenue this year.