" A blabla friend is a friend for life "
"Our mission is to delight and inspire children by creating artful earth friendly soft toys"
We are loved because we are…
{ drum rolls please… }
IRRESISTIBLY CUDDLY
Our dolls are made from a high quality handpicked cotton which makes them incredibly soft and huggable
MADE by HAND
They are knitted patiently by very skilled artisans, one stitch at a time, one day at a time, each one is unique.
NATURAL
Our products are respectful to the environment, they are made by hand from 100% natural fibers.
FAIR
Fairtrade and sustainability have always been our philosophy.
We’ve been working with the same artisans for fifteen years.
We’ve watched their families grow and bloom.
SAFE
Each of our dolls has been tested to meet the United States and European safety requirements.
Our yarn has been additionally certified to be safe and non-toxic.
AUTHENTIC and TIMELESS
The blablas were first created by Florence Wetterwald in 2001. They are made with ancient skills, yet feel contemporary.
They have been featured in many movies and magazines and are recognized in many parts of the world.
FOREVER CHERISHED
We can’t really explain it ourselves, but a blabla friend is a friend for life. Children have cherished our dolls forever.
Blabla was created in 2001 by us, Susan Pritchett and Florence Wetterwald, two good friends with the same philosophy of life and beauty.
While visiting Peru, we came across entire villages of expert knitters who had been keeping the tradition alive for generations. Inspired by their talent and the incredibly quality and softness of Peruvian cotton, we decided to start our own compay of cuddly knitted products for children. Joseph, Flo’s husband, joined us a couple of years later.
Florence is a French artist who studied sculpture and industrial design in Europe and the USA. She is the creative force and designer of Blabla. Susan is from Albany, Georgia. She worked as a photo and film stylist in NY and Australia before coming back to Atlanta. She is in charge of marketing and communication. Joseph is from Atlanta. Film and business were his majors. He is Blabla’s locomotive and CFO.
How it works
Often it’s only an emotion, an intuition which evolves little by little into images, then into a vague prototype, improved and refined ten, sometimes twenty times, until it finally evokes the first feelings.
Flo usually starts with some research about the animals themselves, about their features, their habits and their temperament. Some things cannot be argued with, like the shape of an ear, a large nose or big teeth.
That’s always a good place to start.
Slowly the details take shape in her sketches…
A captain costume for him, a bathing suit for her, to suggest the respect and the water these animals inspire.
Then the photoshop madness starts and all the scenarios transformed themselves into options…
Which kind of captain?… A cap or a beenie? Shorts or pants?… Stripes? Each of those details somehow convey a different feeling.
The options narrowed down, it’s time to make a prototype. The specs drawings are sent to Peru, where our talented teams of knitters make the images come to life.
The process can be long. Things never turn exactly the way you think that they will…
but eventually after several months of trials and errors, the final touches are made and the doll is approved!
Ta-Da!
Now it’s time to confirm their name. Everybody around our office gets involved. It’s always fun. Sometimes we have to vote. For the hippos, Jacques was named after Jacques Cousteau and Esther after a synchronized swimmer from the 20s.