Hand puppets, a type of toy that relies on the palm or fingers to operate, are widely used in the field of education and psychology as a bridge to stimulate children's imagination and communication skills. Folkmanis is one of the most representative brands in the plush hand puppet market, with its groundbreaking simulation effects and fine production technology in the industry, won the 2014 Family Fun Toy Award, Dr. Toy Award, 2018 American Professional Toy Retail Association Toy Award and other dozens of authoritative awards, has been widely welcomed in the European and American markets, but due to the different family environments and educational backgrounds in China and the West, and the price is expensive, the brand is not well-known in the Chinese market.
Folkmanis has launched more than 200 different stuffed animal hand figures and is still actively exploring new animal types. Polyester fiber and polyurethane foam (PU foam) are the two materials commonly used by the brand, polyester fiber has strong resilience, is strong and durable and not afraid of mold and insect damage, while PU foam is widely used in plush toys in the European and American markets to fix the chassis and maintain the shape.
Due to the operation and wearing requirements, the size of the toy is generally small, to show a realistic effect in a small volume, there are stricter requirements for the fabric and sewing process, durable, not easy to damage, easy to clean is the advantages of Folkmanis products, but the disadvantage is that due to the use of more polyester fiber materials, the product is generally weak in hygroscopicity, and some products are prone to static electricity.
Although Folkmanis has added a layer of non-slip finger cuffs to the inside of the hand puppet to improve the internal feel and prevent the hand puppet from falling off after sweating, because the hardness of polyester fiber is too high, it will still wear and tear the skin after long-term wear, so it is recommended to take off the hand puppet every 3 hours to rest.
Some advertisements claim that Folkmanis' hand puppets can be used as sleep pillows, but in reality they are not advisable. Although the padding it uses does have a softer comfort and resilience ability, it is not recommended because the hand puppet is hollow and the actual plush plush padding of the product is not thick, compared to other brands of plush toys, Folkmanis does not have a strong sense of hugging, and it is easy to cause unnecessary damage to its appearance when turning over.
