Enter the Plush Kingdom

In 2020, as an unprecedented number of people stayed home and flocked to social media at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, a collection of round plush with simple smiling faces began taking social media by storm. 

Five years later, Squishmallows went on to win The Toy Association’s Toy of the Year award three times and collaborate with popular fandoms, including Pokémon, Stranger Things, Wicked, and more. 

Plush has been a major part of kids’ childhoods for more than 100 years. Now, it’s also finding a place in the homes of adult collectors, thanks to targeted offerings from brands like Jellycat, Woobles, and Build-A-Bear. 

Sierra Kerr, a 27-year-old collector in Colorado, hopped on the plush collectible train with Squishmallows in 2020 and she quickly bonded with a community of like-minded fans on Instagram.

“It was a lockdown hobby,“ Kerr says. “I was going back, looking for sources of comfort or just looking for those kinds of moments that made me feel more grounded in what was going on because it was a really chaotic time.”

Thanks to a little more disposable income from the government stipend, impulsivity, and the ability to shop online, she was able to start a cuddly collection of her own. Since then, Kerr has expanded her community and traded plush worldwide over the past five years through the power of social media. 

“I’ve done so much snack trading for people in other countries through making pen pals and trading stuffed animals,” she says. “I had a friend in Canada who was desperate for a case of Arizona Tea, and they don’t sell it in Canada … Part of what keeps me in the plush community is the connections and the people that I’m meeting. It’s unlike anything else.”

As plush popularity continues to skyrocket, collectible companies are adding more options to their catalogs. Within the past year, Youtooz — best known for its vinyl collectibles — has launched plush for popular fandoms, including Hazbin Hotel, Helluva Boss, Five Nights at Freddy’s, Baldur’s Gate 3, and more. 

Throughout the design process, Youtooz makes multiple internal revisions to ensure that the plush embodies the character it’s meant to represent. While some of Youtooz’s plush feature the brand’s iconic smiling eyes, these designs will vary based on each character’s vibe. 

“We begin by truly understanding the characters and what makes them so beloved,” says Ellen Gu, production art lead for plush at Youtooz. “Whether it’s their unique personality, iconic outfit, or small but meaningful detail, we ensure those elements really shine in our designs … We want our customers to feel their story just by holding them.”

Great Eastern Entertainment (GEE) takes a similar approach to designing its beloved plush, which features fandoms like Naruto Shippuden, Godzilla, One Piece, and more. For GEE, faithfulness to the character is a top priority.

“We even consider personality traits in the design, and almost all our plush designs have embroidered eyes and mouths as we feel these are more expressive while adding personality to the plush,” says GEE President Kent Hsu. “Sure, it adds to the manufacturing costs, but we aren’t making plush for the sake of making just another plush.”

The plush category is a great source of nostalgia and comfort for fans, but it also provides a different medium for designers to work with. Kerr, who has a degree in fine arts from the University of Louisiana, referred to plush as “soft sculpture.” Some of her favorite plush brands that embody the creation of soft sculpture include Smoko, Squishable, and Plushie Dreadfuls, a plush brand with designs inspired by mental and physical disorders like depression, fibromyalgia, and more. 

“They’re really nondescript,” Kerr says. “They’re more in the symbolism than anything. It’s not like you’re buying a stuffed animal that says, ‘I’m bipolar.’”

YuMe Toys applied a similar soft sculpture mentality to the creation of its DZNR plush line, which includes licensed plush characters from Squid Game, Stranger Things, Jujutsu Kaisen, and more. 

“You can argue it’s like an art toy, where we've incorporated loads of gradients and detail that we know that the fans would appreciate and then put it into a plush that people can hold and squeeze,” says Gurdeep Bains, global creative director at YuMe Toys. “It still looks really good on display as well. It covers many aspects that look really cool.”

The DZNR line emphasizes collectibility, with packaging that also looks good as part of a display, even if collectors prefer to cuddle with their favorite characters. 

“We’ve included the collectible box with every character,” Bains says. “It really is nice having a plush that you can keep inside, but utilizing the artwork that we’ve done and depicted on the plush on the packaging as well.”

There are also plush collections that can unite adult collectors and kids alike. TOMY’s Club Mocchi- Mocchi- plush make for iconic additions to not only adult collector’s shelves, but also to playtime. For example, the Club Mocchi- Mocchi- collection already features Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters that kids and adults know and love, including a 2-pack featuring Bebop and Rocksteady that is coming soon. 

“Today, I think there’s less of a stigma for people to start collecting toys and plush of their own as adults,” says Matt Synowicz, senior designer at TOMY. “It’s also a way for them to introduce and share what they loved as kids to bond with their own children.”

TOMY is also preparing to launch a new line of Warhammer plush for collectors, including Gryph-Hound Baltha, Grenade Nurgling, and Skaven Deathmaster all available at retail in the spring before a Club Mocchi- Mocchi- Warhammer Space Marine plush hits shelves this summer.

Although young kids typically have been the target demographic for plush toys, people of every age and interest can find something to love in these comforting friends. Now more than ever, older generations also have a soft spot for cuddly and collectible toys.

“For older fans, there is a nostalgic and sentimental value, connecting fans with memories from their past, and for younger fans, there is the community and shared passion value,” GEE’s Hsu says. “Plush toys serve as a common symbol that creates connections between fans.” 

Collecting and a sense of nostalgia are important factors in adults buying and appreciating plush, but the products can also provide them with emotional support, just like they did in childhood. In fact, Kerr usually has a plush on her when she leaves the house.

“I’ve always kind of picked an outing buddy, so I have a little travel friend that’s designated to come with me,” Kerr says. “Doing that has boosted my confidence in a lot of places … It’s a lot easier when you have a comfort item, and it doesn’t really matter what shape that takes for you. It opens a lot of doors for just being more confident. And you’d be surprised how many compliments I get all the time. People think it’s the cutest thing. I have never had a negative reaction.”

Whether your plush collection is bursting at the seams or only features a few soft, miniature versions of your favorite fictional characters, all plush makes us feel good in a way we rarely experience after childhood.

“Plushies truly transcend age,” Youtooz’s Gu says. “Much like swings and trampolines, they remind us of comfort, love, and a simpler time in our lives. When they take on the shape of a cherished character and are crafted with such care and creativity, they become a way for adults to express their passions and personalities, turning them into much more than just collectibles.”