A friendly people

Harlemmerstraat in Amsterdam - don't trust the name itself, see? - is a great little street a stone's throw from central station, in the north. It is one of those lively streets so typical of Amsterdam, with that mix of vintage, boho and touristy atmosphere, between a church converted into an office building, a cheese shop and a tea bar you won't forget. It is in one of its avant-garde shops full of useless little things that I first spotted them: the Kimmidolls. The great thing about these sweet dolls - you can trust the name this time - is that, unlike Gremlins, they do not bite and do not grow ugly and sharp-as-a-knife little teeth. Much more the peace and love kind of toys that will bring you luck if you dot them around you house, for example.

What are they? 

The modern take of traditional Kokeshi dolls that were made out of cherry or pear tree wood and were given as wish well gifts in the northern areas of Japan. These hand-made tokens were unique pieces symbolizing specific values.

Today's version of tradition features little girls, with a minimalistic, chunky shape, delicately painted and bearing a name like "Kokoro" that means "heart". Offering Kokoro means you wish love and warmth. Just pronounce its name out loud: you will see, it sounds already like a protective embrace. 

Kokoro.

Kokoro

By now, you probably agree with  me that these little beauties (they do come in several sizes, but as everyone knows, small is beautiful) are totally useless and serve a purely decorative purpose. To me, we should still be able to say "love" or "warmth" instead of enclosing it in an industrialized doll. But that is only part of me thinking this: as someone who loves symbols of all kinds and who gets lost in endless daydreaming with the help of life's "little things", I do love these dolls. There, I said it. And as a present they are thoughtful and cute (and useless, yes) and will crowd our material world with friendly thoughts, or so I like to fool myself into believing.

Tomomi

I can only too easily imagine two or three of them half-hidden around the house, as little elves or gnomes who would keep their watchful eye on us and spread their positive values silently and harmoniously. They would even be kinder than gnomes, known to be good and bad, whimsical little creatures you should not trust - ask Nils Holgersson... The little guy knows what I am talking about.

What you need to do now is just look around your place and spot where Kokoro would fit best, feel comfortable and send you its positive vibes all year long.