mystory

New York-based Toy Designer and Toy Sculptor

Mimi has devoted the past 10 years of her career in the U.S working for companies that creates children's toys. Toymaking, for Mimi, is a life-long passion that doesn't shut down just because she's finished work for the day. That's part of the reason she created her own label, mymimi.

Mimi designs & handmakes her funky softtoys at home in her spare time,
using her six-year-old daughter as a consultant & a source of inspiration.

"I like the idea that there's no limit", Mimi said. "I'm always sketching new
designs, and then I just get bunkered up in my little studio at nights when
my two little kids are asleep and make little prototypes in 3D.

"My girl gets all the prototypes in the morning, and it's so fun to see her
reactions."

The results is nothing you're ever likely to stumble across in a standard
toy shop.

The fabrics are striking, the designs unique and the toys themselves all
come in limited runs that make them adored by children and serious
collectors alike.

The other thing you notice when you pick up a mymimi toy is how soft it is.
That's part of Mimi's own commitment to creating handmade fun & silly
toys that will inspire and amaze children who play with them.

"Each toy is unique in its way", she said. "One limb slightly shorter than
the other or one ear is a bit sewn further down, that makes them so
charming, individual and special. What fun is it, if everything looked exactly
the same?"

"If people like a certain design, I make sure to make enough to make
them happy. But I try to keep a small number of batches, so that my handmade soft toys stay unique. There's no overseas factories involved, everything is created in my little studio at home."

Along with her soft toys, myimi also handpresses a range of cute
graphic magnets ans she's always looking for new ideas and ways of
adding new designs to her online shop.

by Megan Kinninment / www.mellimoomoo.com.au
Founder of Mellimoomoo