🌸 Sakura Toffee Doll - UPDATE! 20/03/2014 🌸

A week or so before Christmas  I posted about Toffee Dolls, as I'd just ordered Sakura and was keen to post about my soon to be new doll, well she arrived a couple of days later and OMG it's love!

Here's how she looked when I first got her out of her shipping box and untied the front cover of her book style box to see if I'd been lucky enough to have been sent one in the red kimono that I fell in love with, as I had seen some in pink... well lucky for me, she was exactly the one I wanted!

After removing the outer sleeve that covers her box, I was confronted by a full length viewing pane and found myself looking into two of the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen...

The bottom of  her box contains information on the materials used to make the doll and additional information on the manufacturer "Huckleberry".

The viewing pane opens like a door with Sakura tied safely inside with ribbons.

Behind her is a removable back drop which is great for when you want to take photographs of her or to use as a backdrop for her when displaying her outside of her box.

Between her back drop and the back of her box was her Certificate of Authenticity which shows her number of production.

Toffee dolls are all Limited Editions and Sakura is one of 1,000 dolls sold Worldwide.

The reason why you may see some of these dolls made and dressed in different fabrics to the one I own is due to later editions being produced after the fabrics used to create mine running out!

Huckleberry state on their website that they have limited stocks of these particular fabrics and so differences between advertised dolls and the one you find inside your girl's box once you open her may be different in terms of colour and patterns.

The bottom of Sakura's box also notes (not in so many words) that this may in fact be the case.

Her hair is kept in perfect condition inside a hairnet while her two side long "side bangs" are kept neatly in place wrapped inside plastic tubes.

For added security (to prevent movement during transit) they are held to the sleeves of her kimono using tiny little plastic ties.

Sakura's face and arms look and feel like they are made of porcelain, albeit slightly warmer, but they are in fact made of Polyurethane Plastic.

Her beautiful big eyes are made of acrylic and her face is hand painted.

Her outfit is handmade in traditional style using Japanese fabric.

Her cute little shoes are also handmade from patent faux leather and look so adorable on her dainty little feet.

She also comes with a dainty little stand which is pretty inconspicuous when she is standing up with the help of it.

She arrived very early one morning and after I took the above photographs while deboxing her and I must of ended up having a little sleepy as I awoke to maniacal laughter...

After uploading the photographs I'd taken onto my computer, I had a quick shifty through them and discovered the reason for the insane laughter I'd heard...

Like the big child I am - I'd fallen asleep with my new dolly in my arms only to discover much later that a beardy little imp called Aaron had gotten photographic evidence of the whole affair!

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🌸 Sakura Toffee Doll - Kおんにち-わ! 🌸

Sakura (Limited Edition) Toffee Doll By Huckleberry Toys... Or my "Christmas Present Doll" - Lucky me!!

Sakura is one of the first wave of 6 Toffee Dolls that went on sale in 2009, each of the dolls in this series of Toffee Dolls was limited to 1,000 after this limit was produced the dolls were retired.

They hit the market with a retail price of £129.99.
The doll's were designed by Riri Fukuju, a Japanese doll maker who has been making and selling similar dolls via her website for a few years prior to her designing this range of dolls, here's a link to her website: http://www.cuddleafluffy.com/


The dolls have some very unique features, when compared to other big eyed & articulated dolls on the market, such as:

 They have Five points of articulation, these are at the joints of their neck, legs and arms, which doesn't' sound so unique until you realise that they are articulated in the same way that "Old fashioned" Teddy bears are! 

The doll's bodies are soft, like a Teddy bear, and made out of colourful Japanese fabrics, with the faces and hands being made of Polyurethane plastic, and their large eyes, made of glass.

They have removable outfits, but this is limited to their clothing on the body only, as the head wear is actually part of the head itself!

The doll measures 12 inches in height (30.5 cm).

And each one comes with a Certificate of Authenticity, which states their number out of 1,000 in the range.

The box as well as the doll's body, it's clothing and it's hair is all hand sewn and hand applied, as is the painting on the doll's face! 

The box comes with an insert which is a "backdrop" enabling you to pose and photograph the doll against in an "environment" which illustrates in with her own particular "story".

Each doll has her own story, which is illustrated with her clothing, box art,and the backdrop which is included inside the doll's box, This is Sakura's...


"Konnichi-wa! Hello and welcome! As the spring sun warms the day, the cherry tree comes to life full of beautiful cherry blossoms that make you smile and gaze in wonder. My name, Sakura, translated means cherry blossom. I look forward to sharing times of happiness with you. This limited edition treasure is sure to be one of the hottest and in demand dolls for some time to come!

Sakura Toffee is dressed in a carefully tailored traditional Japanese kimono ensemble, which includes an authentic kimono made from handmade kimono fabric imported from Japan and belt that is accented with a skull. She's wearing shiny black buckle slip on shoes.

Sakura comes with a numbered Certificate of Authenticity, a doll stand, a custom designed pull-out backdrop to highlight Sakura in her environment and a handmade collector's box to store the doll in. Due to material availability, Sakura's kimono will be made from different materials than shown here."

(The above text, I have found on a number of listings for this doll,  I have recently discovered that it originally appeared on the Huckleberry Toys & Toffee Dolls official websites)

Image from Ebay Listing, taken I think, from the Huckleberry Doll's official website.

Above is an image of Sakura against her backdrop, and below is a photo of how she looks in her box when first purchased, as you can see from the photograph, her box is decorated with images of Cherry Blossom, which along with her "Geisha style Kimono" and pale made-up face, makes her look very traditional, she looks like she would feel very at home in Feudal Japan!

Image from Ebay Listing.

Here she is free of her box, and away from her backdrop...just look at those eyes, they're mesmerising!!

Image from Ebay Listing

She really is an adorable little Geisha, although I suspect she might be in "Cosplay", as those shiny little shoes of hers are definitely not proper Geisha shoes!

Image from Ebay Listing

Like Teddy Bears, these dolls are cuddly and are "chunky" unlike most 12 inch dolls on the market.

They also come with their own stands, to enable you to pose them better against their beautifully designed "back drops", as let's face it, little stumpy Teddy-legs are not designed to stand up by themselves!.

I really love the idea of a Mixed Media doll, that has a similar range of functions as a traditional barbie (minus the leg click & hold). 

 I also love the fabric patterns used for the her body, and I really hope my girl has this yellow, grey & black fabric as I just love the kitschness of it!

Likewise the fabric patterns used on the kimono in the above photo is gorgeous and very reminiscent of Vintage Kimono fabrics.

The fabric choice used for the legs, looks like an odd choice when she is "naked" but as you can see in the picture of her "dressed" above, it looks like she is wearing patterned leggings or tights, and suits her look so well!

How I've come into a Sakura Toffee Doll of my own...

I'm very lucky as one of my Mother's friend Sylvia, and her husband Nigel, are always kind enough to send me a monetary gift each Christmas... and I worked out that if I was to use that money, I would be able to have this doll - I have been drooling over for a few years now...AND it would only cost me £9 of my own money to do so! 

The idea of being able to own her and for only £9 at that... is just too much for me to resist, so she is about to come and live at my house - hopefully in time for Christmas! 

🔮 Hazel Toffee Doll 🔮

This adorable little lady is a Toffee Doll called "Hazel" from the first line of these dolls introduced  in 2009 by Huckleberry Toys, the dolls were designed by Riri Fukuju.
Riri Fukuju also designs and sells other dolls, which you can view on her website here:    http://www.cuddleafluffy.com/  details of her blog can also be found on that site.  

 Toffee dolls are a very different type of doll, as they are a kind of half "Doll" half  Teddy "Bear".  As you can see from the "nude" images of Hazel below:

Photo From Toffee Dolls Website

They have faces and hands that are made of  Polyurethane plastic and large glass eyes. 
Their bodies are hand sewn from fabric as are their clothes, and their hair is also applied by hand. 
They are articulated in the same way old fashioned Teddy Bears are; at the neck, shoulders and hips; like Teddies their legs cannot be bent from the knees, neither can their arms move at the elbows.
The dolls are 12 inches high, each one in the series is Limited Edition, the first wave of these dolls had a Limited amount of 1,000 dolls in each design.
The each one comes with a Certificate of Authenticity, showing which number they are in the batch of 1,000 and a backdrop insert in her box.

Here's what Hazel looks like in her box:

Photo From Toffee Dolls Website

They come with a stand and an outfit (this can be removed and swapped which other Toffee Dolls, if you have more than one, that is!).

Hazel is wears a "Gothic" Inspired outfit; dress patterned with Bat silhouettes  little lace up shoes decorated with white pearls, arm warmers and  Bat shaped Wings, she also has a cute little bat shaped pendant on her necklace..

Photo from Toffee Dolls Website

Each  doll  in this series has a completely different personality as evidenced by their outfit and each come in a  hand made and decorated box which contains a "backdrop" of the doll's own particular "Environment" which is great for posing them against and taking photos, their faces are also hand painted.

Image from Toffee Doll Website

This is "Hazel's Story": "The ominous night holds untold secrets in its shadows in between the moonlight and fog. Hazel is a creature of the night and she loves to be mischievous."

Photo from Toffee Dolls Website

Here's how she looks posed against it.

It is worth mentioning, that as each of these dolls is hand crafted, they do not always come out of the production room identical, some have different coloured fabrics used for their costumes and well as their bodies, than shown in the pictures.

Photo from Toffee Dolls Website

I really love her fluffy little cat-ears, and those beautiful cat like piercing eyes of hers, I also love her hair colour and the style of it, and the fact that her outfit is mostly purple and black, I'm a Goth at heart, and she suits my mood most days... I also have a thing about Bats and Cats, so it's not hard to see how she could be a winner in my book!
I love how they decided that the best background art for Hazel would be a fog shrouded street, with rows of Victorian style houses, lit by old fashioned gas lamps, it's just the perfect setting for any self-respecting little Vampire of undetermined age to prowl around looking for a Midnight snack!

Her box matches the fabric of her dress, as does her little bat pendant, hanging around her neck, bless!

While I was looking at listings for Hazel on Ebay, I found a listing where the seller had written a couple of sentences about the doll they were selling and the First time any Toffee Doll was sold anywhere, I found this very interesting, as I never knew the doll had been sold as a "way to test the market", so I decided to copy and paste it below: 

"The very first one premiered at the Disney World Doll and Teddy Bear show where a prototype of the doll was auctioned. She went for well over $1,000. I was not the lucky winner- I had to drop out of the bidding".

Anyway, that's about all I can say about Hazel for now, but not Toffee Dolls... Stay Tuned for my next post, when I'll tell you all about "Sakura"!