Bla Bla Dolls, sold at blablakids.com, are the latest cool trend among the tween set, or so my 9-year-old niece informed me on Christmas day when she received one from her grandmother. She found me examining the toy with a very puzzled look on my face because, quite frankly, it looks like a baby toy and she’s definitely past the baby stage.
I have to admit that the dolls are adorable, and very funky with a sweet hand made quality that makes them utterly unique (yes, I’m happy to write catalog blurbs for your company, feel free to send me an email at toymaven@toygraveyard.com).
Anyhoo, being the self-proclaimed toy expert that I am, I decided to investigate the company further. The back story behind the dolls is very sweet. Two friends who are also designers were visiting Peru where they stumbled upon an entire village of expert knitters and the idea of Bla Bla Kids (hand knit products for children) was born! See for yourself I don’t make this stuff up, folks.
The dolls are $34 or $44 depending on the size. Yes, that seems like a lot for what is essentially a sock monkey (at least that was my first thought when I saw my niece’s doll), but these are HAND KNIT in PERU using all NATURAL FIBERS. I bet they don’t come packaged in lethal plastic pod-like containers that take an engineering degree to open without incurring bodily harm too. I’ll find out around May, because Ana wants one and that’s when she turns 9.
OH MY GOD, MY BABY’S TURNING 9!
Sorry. The best thing about the doll was that my niece carried it around with her all day on Christmas. Her mom (my sister in law) informed me that she has another one that she takes with her everywhere. In my experience, there are very few toys that earn that kind of worship.
A favorite toy is something magical. I think these dolls may have a bit of magic sewn into them because the minute I held my niece’s Bla Bla, I felt like I wanted to play with it and love it forever and ever.
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