My first meeting with Momiji, a couple of Lucca Comics fairs ago, was love at first sight! These colorful British collectible dolls recalls the shape of the famous kokeshi dolls, usually given away as a traditional Japanese good luck charm. Like their eastern “cousins”, Momijis are also painted by hand and they are imagined as gift dolls! In fact, they are defined by a small slit at the bottom to insert messages addressed to the doll recipient or cards with special phrases and memories. Over the years, there were several special collections as well, created in collaboration with artists from all over the world!
The new entries in the Momiji world are dolls created in collaboration with Sanrio! Each of the six Momijis, in fact, is wearing an accessory dedicated to Hello Kitty. My favorites are definitely Gigi, with headphones and MP3 player, and Stella, with her shoulder bag and curly head!
The Momiji dolls and accessories can be purchased on the official website, lovemomiji.com, or Atom Plastic, a Milan-based shop specialized in art toys (where I usually buy my Momijis).