Tiny Sprout Jinnie is my first plush doll I've ever designed! He is 13cm small and has a lot of intricate details. He is, of course, inspired by Seokjin's cute look he surprised ARMY with on Sowoozoo Day 2. I am excited to have him up for pre-orders now here.
Inspiration and Details
When I saw Jin with his cute hair style and look, I thought to myself, "I want to put him in my pocket" 🥺 That led to my idea of creating a small plush doll of him...so I can literally put him in my pocket and take him everywhere with me. I love collecting small and cute plushies, so I wanted to give plush making a try.
Designing/drawing the doll was a fun process. He has round eyes with sparkles in the shape of a moon and heart, both things associated with Seokjin. With his big heart and being known for his past heart events at concerts for ARMY, I wanted to include pink heart embroidery on him as well, which are featured on each of his hands. He also has a small sprout on his bottom ❤（っ＾▿＾）As for his outfit, it is a miniature replica of Jin's Sowoozooo outfit with his name on it on the bottom corner. I noticed he also wore the Sowoozoo sling bag on stage, so I added a special RJ sling bag as an accessory. Last but not least, he has his small sprout hair (some also call it apple hair) tied with a pink ribbon.
The final result? (っ◕‿◕)っ ♥
Process of Finding a Plush Doll Manufacturer for your KPOP Doll
If you are interested in how to make a KPOP plush doll or any kind of doll yourself, you may like to know some of the process of finding a doll manufacturer, specifically on Alibaba. After designing and gauging interest for the doll from my followers by posting my initial drawing, I decided to look for doll manufacturers as the next step so I can get a doll sample made first. (The purpose of getting a sample made is to help determine if it is made to your liking and is of quality. It will also help to serve as a better visual to have the physical doll and take pictures of it when you post about it to your customers.) As it was my first time making a doll, I took upon my search on Alibaba due to the ease of communication and my familiarity with the site.
After saving down some potential manufacturers (I recommend to save 4-5 of them), I contacted each and asked some questions and searched the company's details. The most important pieces of information for me was:
1. What is their minimum order quantity?
2. What is the price per doll including shipping?
3. How long does production and shipping take?
4. What was their quality of work and length of expertise? Could I view some photos/videos of some of their previous work for their customers?
5. Could they produce the doll with all the details and requirements I wanted?
6. Do they allow/charge for any detail modifications after the initial sample?
Another important thing is to look at their past customer reviews and make sure they have Trade Assurance to protect your order in case something goes wrong.
Not going to lie, making dolls is very expensive and a long process. The time it takes to produce dolls can be about 4 months or longer, depending on workload and conditions. After comparing quotes and getting an idea of their production capabilities, I decided on my first manufacturer. It was rough with my first one as COVID greatly affected the factory located in that city, causing delays and inability to complete the sample in the expected time frame. So, I had to go with my second manufacturer which was a much smoother process. It took about a month for the sample to complete, however I requested modifications 2 times so it increased the time to about 3 months.
Now with the sample completed, I am putting my Jinnie doll for pre-orders! Before placing a bulk order, I am currently taking these pre-orders to get the doll funded and pay for the cost of production for the dolls. I think it is important to do this, especially since it is a bigger project and you want to make sure there is actual demand for the doll.
As an incentive and a way to give my thanks for support, I am including gifts for those who pre-order.
I am very excited for the doll and am making progress in reaching the funding goal. If you are looking to own a cute Jin doll, you can pre-order him here 🥰 Pre-orders are currently up until 12/18/22.
💜 Steph
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