Aminals - Organic Toys Made From Children's Drawings

One of my favorite sites, Inhabitots, introduced me to these fabulous, organic toys made from the actual drawings of little kids, called Aminals in their weekly newsletter.



Each Aminals organic doll is inspired by the brilliant, unfettered imagination that only comes through in children's drawings.

These organic kids toys embody the exaggerated proportions, squiggly lines, and bright colors that come with creative expression at its most honest and fun. From these children's drawings, the designers at Dreaming Lion LLC have created a series of huggable-soft characters, each of whom has its own special story and is ready for new adventures with your children.

Aminals' motto is "from their world, for their world," meaning that the toys have been created from kids' creative lives for the future world that they will inherit.

dady and momey:

sistur and brothr:

duggy and eflant:

ceeta and dinasor:

smal bayr, wayul and liun:



Aminals are made with materials from organic farms, making Aminals safer for your children. Certified organic ingredients, like organic cotton and the low impact and natural vegetable dyes that must be used with it, are free of synthetic poisons that are absorbed into the bloodstream through skin contact, meaning your kid can hug his or her Aminal all he or she wants.

all images and information courtesy of Dreaming Lion LLC and Aminals.

Buy them here.

Aminals is certified by GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) an internationally recognized body that certifies that all fibers and processes involved in the manufacture of Aminals meet strict standards for organic, sustainable and humane textile production. Every processing step that brings Aminals to you, from farming through spinning, weaving, washing and dyeing meet or exceed these criteria.

DFC Turns Old Art Form Into Modern Chaquira Doll Heads

above left: Lady Peyote, 7.5" tall above right: Lil' Allsort,7.5" tall, $8o5.00 each

A traditional Mexican art, Huichol is the craft of coating wood carved masks, animals, birds, serpents, and forms with wax, onto which tiny crystal beads (chaquira) and colored strings (estambre) are laid or woven with great precision.

DFC, the mexico city based design duo of Tony Moxham and Mauricio Paniagua, has created and is selling individual sculptures using this technique on doll's heads. The result are wonderfully creepy pieces of modern art they call Chaquira sculptures.

Each Chaquira is painstakingly crafted by using the huichol technique on beeswax coated plastic doll heads (some still with hair). measuring an average of 6" tall, they'd be amazing as a collection. You can commission a custom one as well.

Pris, $690.00:

Prince Mushi I, 7.5" tall, $747.50:

Prince Mushi II, 7.5" tall, $747.50:

Kikin, 6" tall, $690.00:

Starchild Chaquira sculpture, $747.50:

Starlet Chaquira Sculpture, 6" tall, $747.50

Good Luck Baby Chaquira Sculpture, 13" long, $2,990.00:

To purchase one of the above Chaquira sculptures or to order a custom one, contact them here.

To see examples of traditional huichol artworks, go here.


DFC makes many fabulous pieces, see more here.

Sorry Barbie, But Compared To Mooqla Dolls, You're Just PWT*

If you don't know Mooqla dolls, you're about to be introduced to a series of exotically featured handmade silicone encased plastic dolls clad in the hippest of fashions. They make even Couture Barbie look like some serious *poor white trash.

With delicate features and an almost pensive, sometimes sullen look, they are simultaneously beautiful and macabre.





Made in Russia by the talented Polina Voloshina, the collection consists of several different 'girls' whose fashions are simply fabulous. The detailing is incomparable and the craftsmanship in both the doll and the clothing is very impressive.





A little American goth, a little Japanese animé, a little French fashion and a lot of Russian craftsmanship and ... voila! Dolls that are stunning, bizarre and yes, expensive.

Meet the girls.
Summer Sonya:




Victoria:



Julia:



Maria:




Eve:





Summer Lora:



Lora:



Summer Maya:



Maya:



Emilie:



Tanya:



Summer Tanya:



Sonya:



Anna:



Summer Anna:



Summer Lisa:




Who's behind these creatures?

above: Moscow artist and creator Polina Voloshina

How the dolls are made.

The doll begins with a drawing by Polina:

then a head is crafted:

a silicone encased plastic body that articulates in nine ways is created:


the doll is then sanded and polished to perfection:

and then clad in stunningly designed fashion ensembles, complete with accessories.

The accessory detailing is really incredible:




Prices start at approximately $350.00 USD for the dolls. Additional outfits start at $79.00 USD.

In France, you can purchase them here.


The newest addition is Bunny:

Or you can buy them from their online store here.

Their logo and corporate identity were designed by the talented art.lebedev studio where you can also purchase some of the dolls.