I often find myself gravitating towards European stuffed animals. There’s something quirky and inventive about many of them relative to our own teddies with their ubiquitous neck ribbons. Plus there’s that matter of the stringent EU safety standards that inspires an added jolt of mommy confidence.
A recent find: The hilarious Les Déglingos. The name is some kind of French pun that’s totally over my head, but I’m loving the backstory about how they all speak in words ending in -os. Although mass produced, each one definitely has that handmade feel about it with all those fabrics and colorful strings. The results are at times truly bizarre–as with Molos the lobster who’s definitely had one too many Red Bullos.
My favorite is Pikos the Hedgehog which seems like a cooler, tougher taggies creature (although unfortunately it’s reco’d for kids 3+ because of all those yummy strings). You’ll find him as well as some of his more endearing pals at the Conran Shop. –Liz
