Stuffies & Lovies That Have Been Loved Too Much
Too Much Love is a project from Katja Kemnitz in which she photographs the beloved dolls & stuffed animals of young children alongside brand-new versions of the same toys. Anyone who is a parent or caregiver can relate to the destruction on display here, as well as the difficulty of replacing these items.
I show old, much-loved teddies and dolls and compare them with as good as new doppelgangers. I think the broken stuffed animals have a lot of soul. The project is inspired by my older daughter, who took her plush dog everywhere when she was little. One day I found this dog again without button eye and torn seams in the store and bought it. She did not like him. The old one was better and could not be replaced.
Discussion 6 comments
Love this. My mom and aunt tried to replace my "dolly" who got threadbare when I was little with a new version. I used to hold her around the neck, so all of the stuffing was gone from there. They did "surgery" on the new one to remove the stuffing from the neck to make it more acceptable to me, which did work. My sister's crochet blanket was stitched back together so many times that it took on a shape I doubt math could explain.
“Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."
"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.
"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."
Oof, why so dusty in here
My mind immediately goes to the classic Simpsons episode "Rosebud" and Mr. Burns' beloved bear, Bobo.
We had a secret duplicate of our toddler's favorite lovey, and would rotate which one she had each week so that both loveys got equally distressed. When she got a little older and no longer relied upon having Luna at all times, there was a big exciting reveal that there had been two all along.
We did this too! There was one harrowing swap where my daughter reeeaaaally eyeballed the replacement lovey, but she did eventually accept it as Lovey Prime.
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