Just LOOK at this lil guy……

Don’t you just wanna eat him all up??

Mr Dino in all his turquoise dot glory (no it wasn’t a coincidence. He was made that way to match our home theme) is so ridiculously CUTE I had a bit of a moment when I opened the package.

He was a gift and is superbly designed and handcrafted by the very talented Corinna of Jo & Mink.

Jo & Mink doesn’t even have their own online store, and they’re very hard to get your hands on one because not many dolls are made, and all are unique. You can find (a very select few) at Elly and Pupsik Studio, but mostly you have to privately email your custom order to her.

I first discovered them when I was at the Elly store awhile back. They had these dolls there that I thought were so sweet:

I really like the super-tight stitching (so it doesn’t fray in baby’s mouth), the sturdy fabrics, and the vibrant colours. Best of all, you can even custom-make your dolls from how they look to the fabrics used!

But back to Mr Dino.

He is firm for little hands to grip, and has soft fabric spikes for lots of nomming. No buttons or loose bits (ie. no choking hazard) and has a little rattle on the inside.

Did I mention I love how the dolls are all fully customizable?!

Carter was pretty delighted when he discovered Mr Dino. He furiously chewed on the spikes and the little stubby sticky-out arms and legs, with much gusto. And then proceeded to violently shake him so hard, just to hear the rattle….. so much so that you won’t believe the number of photos that I had to delete because it’s all one big blur from the movement!

So this is my little shelf of Jo & Mink dollies (plus a Pebble octopus). I think they all look soooo happy together 😛

That turquoise elephant? That was a surprise and super-thoughtful gift for me Carter, from a girl friend visiting Singapore, and it was my very first Jo & Mink doll. It was what started my whole interest in Jo & Mink especially after already having seen the cute girl dolls in the Elly shop.

And you may have noticed the Jo & Mink girl and boy doll up there. They were fully custom-made and so adorable! Not for the kids to play with, but rather for me to admire and display, heh. The girl has a sweet little beaded necklace, and the boy has little buttons as well as sewn-on back pockets on his pants!

Here’s a close up:

I like how, depending on type and design, these dolls work for both babies, kids, and adults. Frankly, I think they look best displayed in the home or in the nursery…. they’re that pretty.

Now I’m really really loving the look of this mouse. He’s now sold out online though, so I guess it’s only via private email orders, since Mr Mouse needs to be custom made from scratch again: