‘Toy Like Me’ Campaign Inspires Line of Dolls With Disabilities
No girl will ever grow up to look like a Barbie doll, and some children might prefer a toy that looks a bit more like them.
Enter U.K. toy company Makies. Each Makie doll is unique, as customers can create dolls in their image by choosing skin tone, hair and eye color, and outfit. The dolls are created using 3-D printers and cost $115 each.
But Makies has taken its custom-made line a step further by creating dolls with hearing and walking aid accessories, along with the option for a facial birthmark. The dolls that have hearing aids \ have flexible hands and fingers that can form words in American Sign Language.
Makies was inspired by the “Toy Like Me” Facebook campaign, in which parents of disabled children asked for greater diversity in toys. Images on the page showed dolls retrofitted to sit in wheelchairs or use guide dogs. But with Makies’ new line, parents can buy the more diverse toys instead of building a wheelchair out of Legos.
Next up for the company is to expand with more options for kids, including a wheelchair, plus-size dolls, and dolls that come with oxygen tanks or I.V.s, according to the Makies Facebook page.
“It’s fantastic that our supercharged design and manufacturing process means we can respond to a need that’s not met by traditional toy companies. We’re hoping to make some kids—and their parents!—really happy with these inclusive accessories,” Makies CTO Matthew Wiggins said in a statement.
While the parents behind “Toy Like Me” embrace Makies’ changes wholeheartedly, they also hope other, bigger companies are inspired to follow suit.
“If small companies like Makies can respond, what are the big girls and boys doing?” reads a Facebook statement. “Come on Lego, Playmobil, Mattel Barbie, 770,000 U.K. children with disabilities (and millions more beyond) need positive toy box representation now!”