How it all started
Volker Senger grew up in the contemplative Obersinn.
He and his wife Sabine met in Berlin, where he was studying psychology for a few semesters.
Volker Senger
"During this time I published a comic magazine in Sweden with a friend who is a painter and caricaturist. He made the drawings, I wrote the lyrics. I was in Sweden for a month and in Berlin for a month. When our financier stopped the project, I thought about what I should do in the future...
Volker Senger
"During this time I published a comic magazine in Sweden with a friend who is a painter and caricaturist. He made the drawings, I wrote the lyrics. I was in Sweden for a month and in Berlin for a month. When our financier stopped the project, I thought about what I should do in the future...
...At the beginning of the summer, my wife and I moved from the big city of Berlin to Sinn, which is idyllically situated between the Spessart and Rhön. My mother owned a small clothing factory in Obersinn. Since she retired in the early 1970s, the sewing machines in the deserted rooms have been idle. We weren't very interested in ready-made clothing, so for a while we made dolls on the side on a whim. Neither of us are specialists, my wife is a bookseller, I completed an apprenticeship as a tailor, but never worked in the industry. We took a closer look at the market: dolls like ours were everywhere. And it wasn't very creative either, just using ready-made things."
...At the beginning of the summer, my wife and I moved from the big city of Berlin to Sinn, which is idyllically situated between the Spessart and Rhön. My mother owned a small clothing factory in Obersinn. Since she retired in the early 1970s, the sewing machines in the deserted rooms have been idle. We weren't very interested in ready-made clothing, so for a while we made dolls on the side on a whim. Neither of us are specialists, my wife is a bookseller, I completed an apprenticeship as a tailor, but never worked in the industry. We took a closer look at the market: dolls like ours were everywhere. And it wasn't very creative either, just using ready-made things."
Sabine Senger
"I managed a children's book department; many, many children's books have passed through my hands. Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows was probably a big influence on me when it came to the mouse family. These are stories with a mole, a water rat, a toad and mice, each animal has a specific character. You travel through the forest, experience the strangest adventures.
Sabine Senger
"I managed a children's book department; many, many children's books have passed through my hands. Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows was probably a big influence on me when it came to the mouse family. These are stories with a mole, a water rat, a toad and mice, each animal has a specific character. You travel through the forest, experience the strangest adventures.
"I wanted to make a nice birthday present for my friend's two-year-old daughter, it was supposed to be a stuffed animal. We made a sketch: it became a mouse. Of course she looked a bit different than ours today, because we put our mouse head on a normal doll body. Laura loved her mouse more than anything. Philip, as she called the mouse, had to go everywhere. And soon the other children in the children's shop also wanted such an animal doll."
The first mouse was 45cm tall, a common doll size. There were also children, because we wanted to emphasize the family character. We went to Berlin with our first collection and boldly presented it in alternative wooden toy shops. We were thrilled, the characters were unique.
The first mouse was 45cm tall, a common doll size. There were also children, because we wanted to emphasize the family character. We went to Berlin with our first collection and boldly presented it in alternative wooden toy shops. We were thrilled, the characters were unique.
Our animal family grew, an elephant was added, and later the rabbits. We traveled across Germany and offered them in alternative shops. You can recognize these shops by their names. The reactions were mostly very positive. Some found our creatures a bit too bizarre, others were enthusiastic. Not everyone likes mice: "We have enough mice in the basement and don't want them on the sofa too." The Berliners gave us a lot of encouragement. They are more relaxed about things and are always up for new, funny things.
Our animal family grew, an elephant was added, and later the rabbits. We traveled across Germany and offered them in alternative shops. You can recognize these shops by their names. The reactions were mostly very positive. Some found our creatures a bit too bizarre, others were enthusiastic. Not everyone likes mice: "We have enough mice in the basement and don't want them on the sofa too." The Berliners gave us a lot of encouragement. They are more relaxed about things and are always up for new, funny things.
The ready-made modern game worlds leave little room for imagination and also show the way to our consumer society. Parents who want to offer their children selected toys and thus counteract the consumption of cheap mass-produced products feel particularly attracted to our animal dolls. Many of our customers are people who are aware of the dangers of the throwaway society and want to convey this to their children. For these parents, it is also important that our animals are made of natural materials that are free of harmful substances, are produced in an environmentally friendly manner and are processed in a socially just manner.
The ready-made modern game worlds leave little room for imagination and also show the way to our consumer society. Parents who want to offer their children selected toys and thus counteract the consumption of cheap mass-produced products feel particularly attracted to our animal dolls. Many of our customers are people who are aware of the dangers of the throwaway society and want to convey this to their children. For these parents, it is also important that our animals are made of natural materials that are free of harmful substances, are produced in an environmentally friendly manner and are processed in a socially just manner.