small parts = choking baby!

It's very cute but I know that toys with small magnet parts are a hazard for children. They can swallow them and the magnets will mess with their intestines. http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/child-enfant/toys-jouets/magnets-aimants-eng.php

ditto on the unfortunate hazard of magnets for anything little kids might swallow. great idea, maybe make them out of alternating velcro textures... ? (not as snuggly, true, but neither is a sick kid).

I think you missunderstood. The magnets are inside the snuggle parts. So the kid can't swallow the magnet. The magnet is sewed in a small "pillow" and then sewed at the inside of the snuggle-part. The smallest part of them is about 4x3 cm.

I always think it is fantastic when toys don't do all the work for the children, when the child gets to be creative. These look very engaging and fun!

I see the small parts nazis are out in full force.

My 3 year old daughter would love this! Heck, I think I'd even have fun playing with this.

@ redbeard
wtf? why do you bring up "nazis"?? just because i am german? i feel some hard discrimination against me. what an unrefined commentary by the way. are you able to remark something constructive as well. that would be nice.
btw: do you know "godwin's law"?

Stefanie, I do not think redbeard was directing that comment at you the designer, rather s/he was directing that at the comments that deemed your design unsafe.

That being said, I think the concept is great. If there is adequate attention and quality control directed at securing the magnetic parts inside the toy (and ensuring that they NEVER fall out) then I'm all for it. That and setting an appropriate age limit.

oh. than i really need to apologize. i am not familiar with the "...-nazis"- phrases.

All toys have an age appropriate range. Just because this particular toy design may be inappropriate for infants/babies does NOT mean that it's a poorly designed toy. It's just intended for a slightly older audience.

I would have loved to play with these as a child- as an adult, I like how they would inherently foster collaborative, creative play.

Stefanie, I feel bad you took Redbeard's comment as an insult. He was actually defending you and I guarantee he meant no disrespect. It's a common phrase in the US.

Your creation is adorable. I would like one on my desk at work to play with. I bet it would spark creativity :)

It's a really cute concept, and the prototype is charming. For the US market, the magnet concerns are legitimate, and this would need some serious modification to pass the toy safety tests. But a lot of the designs submitted in the showcase posts have production challenges. We shouldn't necessarily ding this one for that.

Hi Stefanie.
I am VERY sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. That comment wasn't directed at you at all. It was meant for all of the self righteous mommies who love to jump all over things like this like they know what they're talking about.
I love this idea. Very well done!

wally3 did send a helpful link that explains the magnet issue.

-from the 'self-righteous' mommy AND industrial designer who happens to know what she's talking about.. c'mon redbeard; constructive discussion is not fun with name-callers.

oh. i think i just called you a name-caller. snap.

wow.

that would look super cute in my owl-themed nursery!

I did something similar in art school 30 years ago, only with interchangable wood parts connected with dowls (like tinker-toys). Mine wasn't production ready, but the concept was similar. But I'm afraid I don't understand or like this new design style at all, sorry. Generation gap, no doubt.

Sorry, but I don't find this to be terribly original--see Melissa & Doug make your own monster puppet (velcro) or seen at Hallmark (not sure of the brand) magnetic Pug with interchangeable Tiara crowns. There are many other makers on the market of similar concept.

In my experience in the toy industry as well as a Mom to two young children this would be better suited for a younger child.

I didn't see what the product would be stored in when not assembled--would the packaging include a self storing bag? Another mommy concern would be the pieces found all over the house.

With all that said, I love the colors, I love the concept I just think if you could get it down to say 18 month or 2 years this would be much better.

besides the quality control, some serious modification to pass the toy safety tests and a smart way to storage the parts, you see 2 possibilies for the snuggles, right?
1) like teenie said, make it for 18 month or 2 year olds. As a consequence there would be a need for making the parts bigger.
2) make it for an slightly older audience, but add another value, because otherwise it is to boring for the "older" kids.
Thank you all for the annotation and your critique so far. If there is anything else you think of being risky or should be changed, please make a comment. Its really helpful! After these modifications I would be helpful as well to give the Snuggles to some mommys, kids and people who like to play with this kind of toys, to check if there is another subject that need some modification.

I like the fact that you can make different animals with them, esp. owl. Owls are SO popular right now. I imagine that kids would love to make different animals with these.

yes, it is really fun making different animals or fantasy characters. friends of my were playing with it and it was really funny to create a lot of different characters. I think I will make a homepage for the snuggle where everybody is able to upload his favourite animal/character. I would be fun to see what other people do with it.

Its really cute. Where can I buy the Snuggles?

actually i am working on advancing the snuggle. but if you are interested in the current one, feel free to contact me. If you want to wait a short time, I can offer you the advanced snuggles. you can also contact me via:
http://www.xing.com/profile/Stefanie_Weidner3