Momiji are message dolls. Hidden within each of them are personalised little messages inspired by friendship, love and little kindnesses. Created in 2005 in the humble beginnings of Momiji HQ, located in a little village in Warwickshire, England, the dolls have since been sighted all over the world including designs from Malaysia to Chile to Australia. Each doll is designed with a unique personality in mind, a particular favourite of mine is the Mika doll; she loves Spiderman and New York and makes up part of Momiji’s Itchy Feet Dolls Collection.
Mika doll
Momiji is also a collective that works with upcoming and emerging designers, and often source artists from colleges around England. Trespass chats to Melbourne-based artist, Fiona Lee who is Australia’s Momiji Designer. We find out more about the company and the new range of Christmas dolls (Pudding, Robin and Sparkle) that Lee has designed.
Left to right: Pudding, Robin and Sparkle
Tell us about your role in Momiji:
I am the Momiji Designer Down Under! Momiji have designers from all over the globe and here in Australia, I work with the good people at Momiji to create designs for some of their packaging, support merchandise and most recently, dolls as well.
What is Momiji and where does the name come from?
Momiji are message dolls inspired by friendship and little kindnesses. They’re about filling life with memories and messages . . . all packaged up in cute little doll.
I understand that each doll has its own character and personality – what inspires each creation? Are any based on real people?
I can’t speak for all dolls designed by Momiji however, the 3 I designed — Robin, Sparkle & Pudding are inspired by myself and my colleagues at Studio Pounce. Robin is based on me as I used to have a bob hairdo and often squish-hug my pet cats. Sparkle is based on my colleague Chris Starr as his last name has earned him the nickname ‘Sparkles’, and Pudding is based on my colleague Ryan Taylor as he is one amazing cook and often makes us a mean lunch.
Do you have a favourite doll?
Is it ok to say Robin for obvious reasons?
Where does the Asian inspiration come from?
Momiji dolls are a mix of traditional Japanese culture, modern Tokyo-pop and an injection of Britishness. I like that Momiji have incorporated modern Japanese culture into their dolls, with funny sayings for each character. These sayings echo the cute English saying you can sometimes find on Japanese products . . . especially on Japanese stationery!
The packaging for Momiji is particularly beautiful. Could you break down the creative process that inspired the design?
The first pieces of packaging I worked with Momiji to create were the brown Noodle Boxes for their Randoms Dolls range. Momiji came to me with the idea of noodle box packaging and asked me to design one for each of their 9 dolls. I noticed that each doll had its own unique dress design so I took elements of these graphics and re-drew them in a more stylised and bold manner. I also treated the dolls in the same way and soon I had a library of these very cute, very simple and colourful illustrations. From there I used each unique motif and created a pattern to sit inside the box. All throughout the process I would shoot Momiji concepts, odd-ideas, colour samples and layouts and we would workshop what we thought would look best and be most Momiji-esque. It took some time in the beginning to decide on the look, however, once the first round of Noodle Boxes were produced, Momiji liked the style we had created together and asked for more products with the same feel such as the mugs and notebooks. It was quite easy then to apply the same characteristics to other applications and a range started to grow.
Is it true that Momiji is also a network that brings art students together?
The team at Momiji are dedicated to working with up and coming designers. Their links with top art colleges and grass roots talent are a major part of the brand.
Rather than a message in a bottle, you could say Momiji provides a message in a doll. What made Momiji decide to do this?
The team at Momiji liked the idea that the dolls could be personalised, each one hides a personal note, dream or wish. It’s lovely to think of the million dolls around the world, each with a hand written message inside. Couples have even proposed with a Momij message!
Can you tell us a bit about the message you’re are trying to convey?
It comes down to great design, friendships, fashion and fun. Momiji is dedicated to making life lovelier.
On a more personal note – what was your favourite toy growing up?
From the age of 5 to about 10 my all-time favourite toy was a Care Bear named Baby. My Aunty Lucy gave Baby to me as a present right before I left Australia with my family to live in Thailand for 3 years for my father’s work. Baby was not made like the soft, light, fluffy toys of today, but was packed with heavy durable stuffing and covered in very hard-wearing fabric. As a result Baby weighed a good kilo and he felt ‘real’. He was a great companion while I was learning to speak a new language, meet new friends and live in a new country. To this day Baby still lives in my family home and I don’t think I could ever throw him away.
Christmas is just around the corner – which doll would you recommend as a Christmas gift to a family member/loved one/a littlelun?
Pudding! She is every-inch Christmas and no matter who you are I’m sure no one could resist a good hot gooey chocolatey Christmas Pud with custard.
For more information on Momiji Dolls, visit: http://lovemomiji.com/
