Soft & Salty

Born from a creative mind, love of the ocean
and fascination with the creatures that call it home, Soft & Salty is a soul project designed to inspire interest in ocean conservation by creating quality plush toys using sustainable and recycled materials.

Obsessed with plush toys from a young age, in particular a seal called Lachie, (turns out a great way to get your parents to buy you lamingtons is to insist it’s your toy seal’s birthday) I was always frustrated by their blank facial expressions and grumpy mouths.

The idea for Soft & Salty began to form a few years ago when I was sitting in a café in South Hobart watching a child go through the token
‘toy box’ and find a plastic lobster and proceed
to have a wonderful time playing with it. I thought to myself, that is so funny and so cool! Wouldn’t
it be great if there were more children’s toys that weren’t bunny rabbits and teddy bears but more unique and interesting in shape, appearance, back story, and not made from and stuffed with plastic?

So although we’ve included a few classics in our collection, a big focus for us is shining a light
on some of the lesser known and traditionally not as cute ocean dwellers, who are just as worthy of recognition and cuddles! With bright and expressive faces, each of our friends

are specifically designed to be happy and approachable and inspire a curiosity to learn more about them.

Based around 100% merino wool felt, our creatures are designed to be tactile with a variety of shapes and textures to explore. They are filled with stuffing made from recycled PET derived from plastic bottles, re-purposing 50-100 bottles per animal otherwise destined for landfill or our waterways.

All our friends of the sea are designed from scratch and made with love, by hand, in Tasmania, surrounded by ocean. Originating from shapes hand drawn on paper, a varying number of huge prototypes, a lot of frustration and half-drunk cups of tea, each creature gradually comes to life.

Although wonderful for children, our sea friends are also great for adults and home décor!