Every kid needs a pet, right? Even paper doll kids need a pet. So this season the Oliver + S paper dolls have adopted a new friend. Here’s Pearl.
And here’s the exciting part. Pearl can be a faithful desktop companion for you too. More on that in a minute. But, first, some credits are due.
Have you heard of John Martin’s spool pets? We hadn’t either until April, of April 1930s, sent us some reproduction postcards a while ago. In the early 1930s, John Martin (1865-1947) illustrated several animals for a series of Coats and Clark promotions. Each animal was printed on card stock and featured a rhyme along with instructions for cutting out the animal and gluing the front and back sides to an empty spool to make a stand up, paper doll-like pet. Martin did a dog, a pig, a cow, a cat, a bunny, a horse, and possibly a few others.
We loved the idea and decided (in honor of Martin’s originals) to update the concept. Dan Andreasen, the illustrator of our paper dolls, painted Pearl’s front and back sides which we’ve turned into a new Oliver + S postcard featuring Pearl. (Dan illustrates some interesting things, but this was the first time he has been asked to do a dog’s rear end!) Like in Martin’s originals, there’s a poem on the card that tells a bit about Pearl, and then Pearl provides instructions for cutting and gluing the images to a spool to create a standing pet.
Pearl has been designed with Gutermann’s long, thin spools in mind. (Remember, Pearl is a dachshund. Get it now?) Here’s what Pearl looks like with our paper doll friends.
We hope you’ll stand Pearl up on your worktable to watch over you while you’re busy sewing the new Jump Rope Dress and School Days Jacket and Coat.