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Toymaker Crafts Custom "Selfie" Dolls from Customer's Photos

If you ever wanted a doll created in your likeness, Hungarian toymaker Mahinarium is the one to do it. The Etsy shop is a small operation run by Magdi, the owner and designer. Her plush toys, called “Selfie” dolls, are tailored to the individual customer. Just send her a few whole-figure photos and portrait of yourself, friends, or loved ones, and she'll “dollify” the person in question.

The adorable and huggable look-alikes are approximately 12 inches tall and come with two pieces of clothing that you specify. Those who commission Magdi have a say in the materials, accessories, size, and overall complexity of the doll to ensure that everyone is happy. Typically, her characters are portrayed in a sweet and cartoonish way, and they feature large heads with a soft button nose. Magdi also adds hand-sewn details like eyebrows, beards, and even freckles and blush. It takes her three to four weeks to craft the custom portrait.

Magdi does a great job of capturing a likeness, as seen from her happy customer photos. In addition to those dolls, she also shows off her skills in the form of dollified celebrities like Prince or the fictitious Walter White.

Mahinarium Etsy shop
via [Laughing Squid]

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled "Embroidered Life" that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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