Meet Rafiki Lion! The lion who will help fund our new school!
'Rafiki Lion' is our first collaboration with O. B.Designs. When you purchase Rafiki Lion they will donate directly to us to help us cover the costs involved with our amazing new school.
We have been friends with the team at O.B.Designs for many years. They have sponsored our children and supported us in any way they could but watching us continue to fight and seeing the huge need ove in Kenya, they wanted to do more.
So we got together and they custom designed a Toy Lion named Rafiki.
The idea was that Rafiki Mwema (Swahili for "Loyal Friend") needed a Mascot and a Lion soft toy perfect!
From O.B.Designs: "In Kenya, a Lion is a symbol of Power and Pride and is on their coat of arms. When the kids come to Rafiki the are broken and it is Sarah and Anne-Marie's mission to be a Loyal Friend and give them their power and pride back through love and education.
The attached image is one of the kids at "Kings and Queens Castle" with Rafiki (meaning Friend in Swahili) . They were VERY excited to see a toy created just for them and it's a LION! We hope this is going to give them the strength they need and they can feel the love in the softness of this beautiful lion made just for them!
Our Aim with this special project is to help fund the running costs of
the new school which they have recently built on their farm in Kenya.
For the purchase of each toy, we donate money directly to Rafiki Mwema. Whether it is wholesale or retail the donation is the same.
Rafiki Lion Best Mate Plush Toys Australia
Each toy features a more detailed design and longer fabrics than our infant toy range.
Best Mate toys have been thoroughly "kid-tested" for cuteness, huggability and snuggle factor! In fact, we handed over the reins to the year 5 kids at our local school in Byron Bay. As always, the kids were brutally honest and only the best made the cut.
The kids also named and created each character's poem
Plush Toys Australia SAFETY & CARE
OB Designs Baby Soft & Plush Toys & Product Features
- all our products are created with children’s needs being priority.
- it is also paramount that all our fabrics are soft and tactile, designed to soothe and comfort.
- crochet blankets capture this, being hand-made and from 100% natural materials.
OB Designs Baby Soft & Plush Toys Story
Starting from humble beginnings selling hand-made teething rattles at the Byron local artisan markets in 2008, O.B designs has grown to produce an extensive range of nursery toys and décor now sold internationally. The core values and ethos of O.B designs, however, are still unchanged. Now with three beautiful children, and my husband being a primary school teacher, all our products are created with children’s needs being priority. Our toys and crochet come from a place of love. The design process is initiated by thinking about who it is for and what they need and we then work back from there.
It is also paramount that all our fabrics are soft and tactile, designed to soothe and comfort. The crochet blankets capture this, being hand-made and from 100% natural materials. Likewise, we are committed to creating products that are ethical and sustainable. All the packaging is compostable, made from cotton and recycled cardboard while our toy manufacturer is Sedex accredited. This means they are a proven ethical business, from employee wages, work health safety to environmental impact.
The latest challenge at OB Designs? To create products that can make the world a better place. We are currently developing a range of soft toys where a portion of sales is donated to the Kenyan Charity Rafiki Mwema, which cares for vulnerable children. Our aim with every toy sold is to help pay for their housing, where they are rehabilitated and loved, as well as donating a soft toy for each child. We are also committed to donating toys to Foster Children in our local region in the Northern Rivers.
We hope you enjoy the products as much as we love creating them.
Kate xxx
