Lost Monkey Stuffed Animal Remade from Photos

Description

A monkey called Ika

Ika was a little girl's favorite toy. The kind you talk to, sleep with and carry everywhere. Then the girl grew up, and somewhere along the way Ika got lost.

Years later we were asked to bring her back. There was no monkey to copy, only old photos and what people remembered about her. So we made this lost monkey stuffed animal again, by hand and to order, for that one girl. We're not a shop with shelves of monkeys. Every replica here is sewn for one person and one toy.

The old photo

The family's old black-and-white photo of Ika, the lost childhood monkey toy our replica was made from

This is one of the old family snapshots. Small, grainy, black and white. A child in a polka-dot top hugs the monkey close: a dark body, a pale face with two little dark eyes, big pale ears, pale hands and feet.

A photo like that can't tell you what color anything was. The descriptions filled that in. Ika came back with a dark brown body, a cream face, big cream ears, cream hands and feet, a long cream tail and a red smile. Look at the new photos next to the old one and you'll see the same pale face, the same big ears and the same big feet.

Is one old photo enough?

Often, yes. Most people who write to us have exactly this: a picture from a family album where the toy is half hidden behind a child. That's enough to start. We ask about anything the photo doesn't show, like colors, size or the back of the toy, before we sew anything.

Send any photos you have, even blurry, faded or black and white
Tell us what you remember: colors, size, a patch, a smile, a name
You see the finished toy in photos before it ships

Who a copy like this is for

Maybe it's for you, and the monkey, bear or bunny you still think about. Maybe it's a gift for your mom, who once told you about the toy she lost as a kid. Imagine her opening the box.

A childhood toy replica like Ika starts from $320, and the quote is free. See more lost toy replicas we've brought back, like the childhood raccoon sewn from a photo of a girl in a blue dress.

Materials used

Ika is sewn from safe, eco-friendly materials: soft plush fabric, strong seams and soft filling. That matters for a toy people want to hug the way they did as kids.

Her colors come straight from the old photo and the family's memories:

Dark brown plush for the body, the long arms and the long legs
Cream plush for the face, the big round ears, the hands, the feet and the long tail
A red open smile and shiny black eyes

For your own replica we match the colors and the feel of the fabric to your photos as closely as we can. If you'd like, we can also change the size, the fabrics or small details of the face. We never use real fur, only plush and faux fur.

Care is simple: spot-clean it gently. Most toys like this shouldn't go in a washing machine.

Lead time

A lost toy replica like Ika usually takes 2–4 weeks to make. The range leaves room for the small surprises that come with anything handmade.

The first part is looking. We study your photos, ask about what they don't show, and work out the shape, the size and the colors. Old pictures take a little more thinking than new ones, and that's normal.

Then comes the pattern, the sewing and the face, which takes the most care. A replica only works when you recognize the face.

You get photos of the finished toy before we pack it. Is it for a birthday or a holiday? Tell us the date when you ask for a quote.

Delivery

We ship worldwide. Delivery usually takes 7 to 20 business days, depending on where you live, the courier and the shipping method.

Around Christmas and other holidays the post gets slower everywhere, so leave extra time if the toy has to arrive by a certain day.

A replica of a lost toy is often a surprise: for a parent's birthday, an anniversary, a family get-together. Mention your date at the start, and we'll plan the making time and the shipping time together so the box gets there first.

Guarantee

We've been making custom plush toys since 2009. Replicas of lost toys are some of the most personal orders we get, because you're the only one who really knows what the toy looked like.

That's why you see photos of the finished toy before it ships, and if something looks off, we change it.

And if it arrives and you still don't love it, tell us within 14 days, for any reason. You get a full refund, and you keep the toy. The details are on our guarantee page.