If you find your own art manikin to play with, here’s how to transform this wood figure into a full-fledged Emotikin. First, simply acknowledge it has a soul. It becomes real like the Velveteen Rabbit with love.

The Emotikin manikins are made of wood and wire. Inside its limbs are springs and hooks. Twist at the joints and note the inner tension.

If and when ready, you can remove it from its pedestal using a tight wrench and tugging (like outdated habits, it doesn’t release easily).

Add a scarf with fabric scraps, or a necklace of stringed seashells or beads, or paint on tattoos, or something—whatever you wish. Scarves do like to play with the wind, FYI.

You’ll also want a small screwdriver, such as for eyeglasses, to occasionally tighten the screws at shoulders, elbows, and hips.

Oiling the wood of your Emotikin can deepen its lustre and color, protecting it from the elements, whether moisture or drought.

More Care & Feeding Instructions

Dogs and children are strangely attracted to Emotikin. If mauled, chewed or otherwise manipulated beyond reason, your Emotikin will snap! We do not guarantee or warranty the manikin beyond gentle poking, prodding, bending and twisting, and certainly not against dog bites or kids with power tools. Crash, as seen here, fell victim to both a dog and a screwdriver. (But kids fixed him up, and we’re grateful for that!) He’s much like Humpty Dumpty at this point, but we keep him around as our Care & Feeding poster kin.

The more you play, the more your Emotikin will become “seasoned.” Wood can be nicked, scratched and smudged. Clean your Emotikin, gently with a pencil eraser or superfine sandpaper.  Every so often, you might also tighten the screws at the shoulders and hips.

While Emotikin know how to float, we do not recommend baths, swimming pools, oceans, or other bodies of water.  Clothing and decorations can be washed by hand and laid flat to dry. You can also lay flat while clothes are drying – take time to relax.

Be watchful for the small wires that may protrude a tad bit from the Emotikin where the internal wires attach to the wood – they can be sharp and will snag fabric or your skin. Ouch!

Emotikin once broke its arm unexpectedly, after the inner wire, well, rotted from too much time at the seashore. The question was, do we fix it, or sit with it? It takes courage to be whole!

Moving & Posing

At each arm and leg joint is a notch in the wood. To bend your Emotikin more fully, match up the notches. Head, torso, legs and arms can rotate as needed. The shoulder joints rotate, but the hips only face forward.

Most Emotikin allow you to bend their arms and legs at near 90-degree angles. You can force this issue by squeezing tighter or pressing further, but that position won’t hold and you may cause irreparable damage (same goes for human dynamics).