To Japan With Love

Background

The recent earthquake, subsequent tsunami and reactor disasters have left thousands of people homeless, destitute and bearing the loss of families, relatives and friends. It has also left a yet unknown number of children of all ages without all or part of their family, relatives or friends experiencing the traumas of loss, uprooting and displacement, which have changed their lives forever and left them with psychological suffering, which will be much harder if not impossible to alleviate than any material deprivation.

To Japanese Children with Love – Give-A-Smile Toys

The active aid of the Japanese government and the dedicated support of the Japanese people is taking care of their physical needs. Thousands of individuals are donating money to help with the financial hardships of those, who have lost everything.

The BEDG has therefore decided to try to give something different. Something that may help to create a positive spirit of sharing between younger and older children and adults. In an unique and spontaneous collaboration our associated British and Japanese designers – Alix Timney, Rachel O’Neill, Lianne Mellor UK and Tomomi Sayuda, Daisuke Hiraiwa, Japan - have created a series of adorable do-it-yourself doll and toy kits, which are specially designed for the children of Japan, who will also have lost their favourite toys. The toys they have associated with most while they were in the safety of their homes, happy in the secure knowledge of being loved by their parents and close relatives and looking forward to another day, when they would be able to play with their brothers, sisters or friends and their toys.

The British European Design Group in association with Bagdoll and Clemens Hackl Design, UK and Takumi Shimamura, Japan and supported by SOS-SaveOurSkills UK, Frankfurt Fair UK, interiorlifestyle Tokyo and Nigel Worth, UK, is bringing this special exhibition of soft toys to Japan with a view of donating the toys and kits to the children of the disasters.

During the three days of interiorlifestyle Tokyo 2011 the first prototypes of the Give-A-Smile toys will be displayed to raise funds for the production of further kits for Japanese children of all ages. Every purchase order for one Give-A-Smile toy will include one kit for free distribution and all donations collected from private individuals and institutions will be used to produce further kits for the disaster victims in homeless shelters and orphanages.

The first set of the prototypes will given directly to an institution or homeless shelter in Sendai or Tokyo identified through BEDG Japanese contacts, who have families or relatives in the city devastated by the disasters.

For further information please get in touch.