The Polka Dot Club: Toys To Treasure Forever
Having long admired The Polka Dot Club and the glorious creations of Jen Murphy, it is with genuine joy that we welcome them to Junior Edition for the first time this season.
Now in their tenth year, The Polka Dot Club is something really quite special. Handmade with the utmost patience and care, these heritage toys are made to be loved and last forever.It's not hard to imagine them passed through the family for the next generation of children to enjoy, I know we shall cherish ours here forever!
Jen is a second-generation teddy bear maker who was taught how to design patterns and sew teddy bears by her mother at the tender age of just eleven. Her mother coveted antique mohair teddy bears but was unable to afford them so taught herself the craft, subsequently passing that specialist knowledge and skill down to her daughter a few years later. I am so full of admiration when I (embarrassingly) think to how I've been known to struggle to sew a loose button or darn the smallest hole!
As Jen recounts, her childhood was spent travelling the country selling these beautifully crafted pieces, they were forever making wonderful things together and so it comes as little surprise that these incredible skills, leant and passed down from one generation to the next, were taken forward into early adulthood and used in the creation of her very first business - making one-of-a-kind teddy bears and animals for collectors the world wide.
Upon becoming a mother Jen's focus switched from making display toys for adults to playthings for children and in 2012, The Polka Dot Club was born.
From her studio in Minneapolis Jen continues to design all of the pieces for The Polka Dot Club. More recently the business has grown to include a small group of talented sewers in Lima, Peru where the history of craft is embedded in Peruvian culture. Each piece is made using natural materials and techniques employed by the finest toy makers over 120 years ago. The addition of contemporary elements gives these heritage toys a perfectly modern twist.
For the Spring collection we selected 12 truly beautiful pieces - cats and rabbits in little, medium and large sizes each with their own unique personality and outfit. These are toys to be cherished but even more importantly, to be played with.
Polka Dot Club, online and in-store now.
