Rilakkuma, the laid-back bear known for its adorable, relaxed demeanor. He became an icon of comfort and joy among fans of kawaii culture. Japanese company San-X produce this character created by Aki Kondo
Christopher from USA asked me to build one of the kind custom plush figure with secret compartment for diamond ring . He send me the photo of his girlfriend’s favorite plush bear, one of many in her collection. It was pink and cute. I had to make it!
Designing Spring Loaded Mechanism
I started with the idea that I will hide the ring in belly section of Rilakkuma. The oval shape would need to open somehow. It could rotate or slide. I went with drawer lined with felt which would slide on smooth plastic interior. I wanted it to pop so figured way to add little spring and the zipper on the back would trigger the mechanism. The first prototype showed that the spring force at bottom and trigger holding it at the top twisted the whole thing. I remodeled it twice and accidentally found more elegant third solution.
The final version has spring at the bottom of drawer and 2 drawer runners on sides to hold it in place and centered with the spring to limit unwanted twisting. they are hold in place by thin stripe of plastic which flexes and follows contour of plastic can. The head movement rotates it slightly, enough to release the drawer.
Needle Felted Rilakkuma
I watched many videos on YouTube showing amazing creations in needle felting technique and always wanted to try it. Rilakkuma puppet looks needle felted in the movie. This was the perfect character to start experimenting with new technique. I ordered needles and some packets of wool and played with it for 2 evenings. I made a little cat figurine for my daughter first. It was fun and just 1/3 of the size of this bear.
Needle felting on top of plastic structure turned out to add some complications. I broke 2 needles and had to stab at the angle with the single one. I figured it will speed the process when I needle felt flat sections on the foam board and later paste them to the figurine. It saved me few hours. What do you think about finished results?
