AWARD YEAR
2023
CATEGORY
Play & Learning
GOALS
Quality Education, Reduced Inequality, Responsible Consumption & Production
KEYWORDS
Toys, Play & learning , DIVERSITY, asian representation
COUNTRY
Hong Kong SAR
DESIGNED BY
Andrea Li and Michelle Lim from W+K London
WEBSITE
https://www.creativeboom.com/inspiration/toys-arent-us/
Toys Aren't Us
The design is dolls and playsets reimagined with East Asian Representation
How does it work?
This re-imagining includes 'My Play Kitchen', a playset that captures small details that are commonplace in an East Asian kitchen, such as the condiments through to the characteristic porcelain plates. Woks, cleavers and classic home-cooked dishes like steamed ginger fish also feature to give the kitchen that added touch of authenticity. And crucially, there are strictly no ovens in this distinctive kitchen.
But who could we expect to find in this kitchen? Why My PóPó, of course. Translated as 'my grandma', this doll represents the love and gratitude that is traditionally extended towards the elderly in multi-generational households. Complete with accessories such as a shopping trolley that can hold oranges picked up from a wet market, a butter cookie tin, sewing supplies and herbal medicine ointment, My PóPó gives children a chance to dote on their grandparents in the way they were taken care of in turn. Completing the Toys Aren't Us range is 'My crayons & colouring book'.
Why is it needed?
Toys Aren't Us is needed because they have reimagined the popular toys from their youth, so that they instead of idolising the West then instead is celebrating their own East Asian values and culture which have shaped and defined their upbringing.
How does it improve life?
In their speculative range of dolls, playsets and crayons, Andrea and Michelle's childhood toys are re-imagined in a way that better reflects their Asian values and culture in order to "speak to other minority groups that were rarely represented in children's toys and games."
They add: "Kids build a sense of who they are from their toys. It meant we spent a lot of time idolising life in the West. So we wondered... What if we had grown up with toys that celebrated East Asian values & culture instead?"
Toys Aren't Us is a sustainable line of products as well. Prototypes of the toys were made from a combination of wood, plastic, clay and fabric.