Old Stuffed Animals are Made into New-ish Ones


© atelier volvox

Doesn’t anyone keep their old stuffed animals anymore? In a cupboard, at their mother’s or in the basement? For the second time this month we see people artists making new stuffed doggies and elephants out of old. This is breaking my heart.

Swiss designers Samuel Coendet and Lea Gerber from Atelier Volvox call their creations The Outsiders. They find their lost and abandoned stuffed animals at children’s nursery schools and charity shops.


© atelier volvox

Then they give them give them a new life by turning them inside out, eyes and all. The duo cut the forgotten and forsaken teddy bears open, reverse them and re-sew them, making them into a shabby-chic animals. But would you buy one for your child (or yourself)?

The two designers are environmentally minded. They believe that we have to keep a closer eye on the planet and what we need and don’t need. The idea for the re-stuffed animals started with a carpet. They thought about making one out of the old animals and became fascinated by the insides of the old toys. Then they hit upon the idea of making a new product out of the innards and giving them a second life.

Their other works are equally quirky and include shelves made out of discarded wood and some interesting end tables.


© atelier volvox

Is this cruelty to animals or not? Some people don’t think so… The Outsiders toys received the Recycling Design Preis 2012 in Germany last week.


© atelier volvox

Despite their rather odd appearance, they do seem quite loveable. The designers offer a little diagram on how to do it, sort of. It’s a potential DIY project. Etsy here we come.


Bonnie Alter/CC BY 2.0

British artist Tracy Emin has made her teddy bear immortal at a recent exhibition at London’s Hayward Gallery. That’s one way to keep them in good shape.

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