2023
Oke is a velvet worm. They live in the dirt and leaf litter. Velvet Worms are always on the hunt for a tasty meal when they are not riding the stream waves with their friend leafy.
Velvet Worms come in a variety of colours and shapes that can attach to foliage. The range includes a water squirt and colour change version.
The Velvet Worms are the first (1st) quarter toy designed in various colourway skews and personalities. Oke is the hero character in the pitch bible narrative. The Velvet Worms come in two varieties, each actively exploring their apex predator role within the ecosystem.
- The night-time version, with a squirt mechanism.
- The daytime version, with a colour change action.
Both ranges have three variations of tail, which references the real-world phenomenon that different Velvet Worm species have been found living in the same tree habitat. The Velvet worm characters have eight legs, which enables them to be pressed to fit into branches. Their antennae can also suspend them. The toys can be rocked across the eight legs.
The Night-time worm is made from soft vinyl and is hollow with a removable tail. Children remove the tail and fill the cavity. Squeezing the belly activates the squirt mechanism. The Wiggle Rolypoly characters have hydrochromic paint, so the toy body changes colour when the Velvet worms have squirted them. The ability of the night-time version to squirt liquid mimics the slime a velvet worm shoots, which is used to stun its prey.
The second range of Velvet worms, the Day-time version, has Photochromic colour change bodies, so when the Velvet Worms are in the sun it reveals they are hungry and what insects they like to eat. To “feed” them, children need to put them back into the shade to find food for them.
Exhibited at
2018
Prague Doll Festival,
Prague, Czech Republic
2018
NIADA 54th Annual Show,
Asilomar, Monterrey,
California, USA
