Shishimora: Needle Felted Book Character Plush

Description

Shishimora started out as words on a page. The creature comes from a writer's own fantasy novella, a world where ghosts, magical creatures and other odd beings live right next to people, and where magic gets mixed up with research into a mysterious aether. For a long time it existed only there, and in the author's head. Now it has a body you can hold.

This book character plush was needle felted by hand, made to order, to the look of that one character. There's no shop version and no second copy. It's a one-off.

From the page to your shelf

A character from a novel has no official toy, no merch line, often not even a picture. That's the kind of order we like. We work from whatever exists: a description, a sketch, a piece of art. The last picture on this page is the reference art of Shishimora, a small creature sitting in a pair of hands. The felted version follows it.

What you see in the photos:

charcoal-grey wool fur that goes smoky at the edges, with a paler chest and belly
two huge pointed ears ending in long, wispy dark tufts
big amber eyes under heavy brows, and a look that says it's not impressed
long thin fingers with dark claws, one hand raised as if it's about to say something
a long thin tail curled around its side

An old name with a story of its own

The name isn't random. In old Russian village speech a shishimora is another name for the kikimora, a small house spirit that, as the stories go, hides behind the stove by day and spins at night. We don't know how much of the old spirit the author borrowed. The grumpy little face fits the name either way.

Your character, made real

If you've written a book, or you love a character from a book nobody makes toys of, this is how it works here. You send what you have, we agree the design, you approve it, and only then do we start. The character stays yours; we only make the toy. It can be felted like this one or sewn as a soft plush, whichever suits the character. You'll find more toys like this among our book character stuffed animals and original character plushies.

A one-of-a-kind character like Shishimora starts from $415. The quote is free.

Materials used

Shishimora is made of felted wool, shaped by hand with a felting needle, fibre by fibre.

Needle felting works differently from sewing. There's no fabric and no pattern pieces: loose wool is pushed together with a barbed needle, thousands of times, until it holds a shape. That's what lets a small creature like this have hollow cheeks, bony fingers and a belly that looks soft, all from the same wool.

Charcoal and smoky grey wool for the body, blended so the colour shifts from dark to lighter on the chest
Long, loose fibres left on purpose around the ears and head, so it looks fuzzy and a bit wild
Darker wool on the ear tufts, claws and toes
Amber eyes set deep under felted brows

Felted wool is firm and detailed, more a collector's figure than a pillow to squeeze. Keep it out of direct sun and away from pets who like to chew, and spot-clean only. No washing machine, ever.

Lead time

A felted character like Shishimora usually takes 2–4 weeks. The range leaves room for the surprises that come with anything made by hand.

We start with your references and agree the design: the face, the ears, the colours, the pose. You approve it before any wool is touched. Then the body is felted, the limbs and fingers are shaped one by one, and the face comes last, because that's where a character either comes alive or doesn't.

You get photos of the finished toy before it ships. If it's meant for a book launch, a birthday or a holiday, tell us the date at the start and we'll say straight away whether it fits.

Delivery

We ship worldwide. After the toy leaves our workshop, delivery usually takes 7 to 20 business days, depending on your country and your customs office.

Around Christmas and other holidays the post slows down everywhere, so allow extra time if the toy has to arrive by a certain day.

The simplest way to plan is to mention your date when you ask for a quote. Then making and shipping time are worked out together, before we begin.

Guarantee

We've been making toys to order since 2009. A character that only lived in a book is one of the hardest things to get right, because the only reference is someone's imagination.

That's why you approve the design first and see photos of the finished piece before it's packed. It leaves us only when you say it looks like the character you had in mind.

If it arrives and you don't love it, you get a full refund within 14 days, for any reason. The details are on our guarantee page.