About us

Welcome to the Mippoos family!

We are a family of handmade, one of a kind heirloom dolls, from the Netherlands. These soft dolls are sewn with an eye for detail and made from quality fabrics that will last throughout childhood (and way beyond, as you can read  below in the story about the matriarch of the family: Nelleke the Mippo!).

Lucia and Marijke are the makers behind Mippoos. We’re a mother and daughter team and we’ve combined our skills to create the Mippoos family. Lucia masters the sewing machine and makes our cute and chubby Mippo hippo soft dolls, while Marijke paints their adventures in watercolor. You can find our items for sale in our Etsy shop Mippoos.

Hello! We’re the mother-daughter team behind Mippoos: Marijke (left) and Lucia (right).

How did it all begin?

And where does the name Mippoos come from?
Marijke: “It all began when I was only about 18 months old and mom sewed a special doll for me: a hippo soft doll! She even made a wardrobe for this softie: a ballet tutu, dress and pajamas. I named her Nelleke (a very Dutch name), but often pronounced it more like Mel-lik, which is actually where the M from Mippoos originates. I suppose you can guess where the rest of the name originates from… :)”

Mip·po [Mip-oh]
noun, plural Mip·poos. Informal.
A cute species of hippo soft dolls,
first discovered in the Netherlands in 1989.

Marijke: “And it was Nelleke the Mippo who turned out to be the first member of the Mippoos family! I remember playing with Nelleke for hours, dressing her for ballet practice or getting her ready for bed in her cute pajamas whenever it was my time for bed.”

Cuddly hippo soft dolls
This is Nelleke the Mippo, matriarch of the Mippoos family!

So Nelleke the Mippo was the first Mippo mom made. Over the years, more Mippoos soft dolls were born and each and every one hippo has its own disposition and is always unique. They go on all sorts of adventures, which you can read about in our blog.

We’d also love it if you gave us a follow on Facebook or Instagram! Our Mippo hippo dolls can be found in our Etsy shop.

Thank you!
Lucia and Marijke

 

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