Léonard, 6 years old, selected from thousands of submissions globally, submitted a drawing of a warm, happy sun into the IKEA Ottawa store which will be turned into a Soft Toy available in IKEA stores Fall, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON, Feb. 3, 2016 /CNW/ - For the second year in a row, IKEA invited children to design a special limited edition soft toys collection for the new IKEA Good Cause Campaign, which will focus on children's rights to play. From countries all over the world, children drew the most fantastic creatures. With over 52,000 drawings received as part of the competition, it was a tough decision to narrow it down to the final 10 winners. The winners are between the ages of 5 to 9 years old and have been selected from around the world.
The winners come from:
"IKEA received tens of thousands of drawing submissions from around the and we are thrilled that a winner from Canada has been selected," said Stefan Sjöstrand, President, IKEA Canada. "This campaign not only inspires creativity and imagination, but allows children from around the world to make a global impact to encourage children's rights to play."
The winning designs are every bit as fun and imaginative as you would expect. Among the 10 winners there is a warm and happy soft toy sun from Canada, a red "wannabe-scary" monster, a green "frog-pig-monkey" with three legs, a round and cuddly pink punk-horse, and lots more. The selection criteria includes that the drawing must have never been seen before, and that they are really developed from a child's fantasy and have unique expressions.
"We received thousands of wonderful contributions from all around the world, the amount is overwhelming! The creativity is universal, and children in all countries seem to be inspired by similar things; dinosaurs, birds and monsters. The personalities are really strong with their winking eyes, feet that go in both directions and wonderful combinations of features. The children really draw from their own head and don't copy from anything," said Bodil Fritjofsson, product developed in Children's IKEA. "The world will not lack potential future artists and designers, some of the drawings are real pieces of art. This event creates opportunities for children to be creative and draw their own dream toy and that opens up their fantasy, which truly shows in the art."
The chosen drawings will now go on to become a special limited soft toy collection, launching in IKEA stores worldwide as part of the new IKEA Good Cause Campaign focusing on children's rights to play. For every toy sold from November 20 to December 24, 2016, the IKEA Foundation will donate $1 to support children's rights to play, develop and have fun in some of the most vulnerable communities in the world.
The Drawings:
Bodil Fritjofsson, product developer Children's IKEA, comments an all the winning drawings:
The Sun
Created by Léonard, 6 years old, Canada
"Warm, happy, just lights up, waving – saying hello!"
The Twin-Bird
Created by Lukáš, 6 years old, Czech Republic
"This will be a challenge from a production point of view, but will be a great friend. You can play together with it, having one end each, can walk backwards and forwards just as easily."
The Yellow Bird
Created by Salma, 8 years old, Egypt
"It is very clear and direct and oozes of the child's imagination and the yellow colour just makes you happy."
The Light Blue, Dotted Dog
Created by Miro, 7 years old, Finland
"This one will just be so cuddly!"
The Green Frog-Pig-Monkey
Created by Maïa, 6 years old, France
"This one really stood out first! The great look of surprise, the three legs, nose and tail makes it just the right kind of crazy that goes right to the heart."
The Dinosaur-Horse
Created by Yik To, 7 years old, HongKong
"Who doesn't want a dino?! This one is magnificent, confident and dares to walk his own way."
The Pink Punk-Horse
Created by Naurazka Salsabila, 9 years old, Indonesia
"We just love the cockscomb/mane. Round and cuddly, but with attitude, with feet that can walk either way."
The Pink Bird
Created by Amina, 6 years old, Spain
"She is somehow on the move forward, very curious and excited with her red cheeks and wide eyes."
The Red Monster
Created by Chutirada, 5 years old, Thailand
"The teeth are just fantastic and the plus-sign-shaped bellybutton. He is scary but happy, kind of "wannabe-scary", almost a little scared of himself."
The Lion
Created by Irmak, 5 years old, Turkey
"Is it a kitten wannabe-lion? It looks like when playing in front of the mirror, making faces, fluffing the hair and getting a little scared of yourself!"
ABOUT IKEA CANADA:
IKEA is a leading home furnishing retailer with 375 stores in more than 50 countries worldwide, which are visited by 884 million people every year. IKEA Canada has 12 stores, an eCommerce virtual store, Pick-Up and Order Points in Quebec City, QC and London, ON with four additional Pick-Up and Order Points opening spring 2016. Last year, IKEA Canada welcomed 25 million visitors to its stores and 75 million visitors to the IKEA.ca website. Founded in 1943, IKEA's business philosophy is to offer a wide range of products of good design and function at prices so low, the majority of people can afford them. For more information on IKEA, please visit: www.IKEA.ca.
SOURCE IKEA Canada
Image with caption: "Léonard, 6 years old, selected from thousands of submissions globally, submitted a drawing of a warm, happy sun into the IKEA Ottawa store which will be turned into a Soft Toy available in IKEA stores Fall, 2016. (CNW Group/IKEA Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160203_C8186_PHOTO_EN_612384.jpg
IKEA CANADA: Stephanie Kerr, Corporate Press Officer, 905-637-9440 ext. 6378, [email protected]
ABOUT IKEA CANADA Founded in 1943 in Sweden, IKEA is a leading home furnishing retailer, offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible can afford them. IKEA Canada is part of Ingka Group which...
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