Re-sewn & Re-purposed: Atelier Volvox's Collection of Twice-Loved Stuffed Animals

Ever wonder what happens to all the unloved stuffed animals of the world, even the really sad-looking ones that sit in a bin at the Salvation Army and never find a home? Swiss design outlet Atelier Volvox is giving some of those secondhand zebras and giraffes and new life with "Outsiders," their latest project and the winner of Germany's Recycling Design Preis 2012. Their collection of inside-out stuffed toys bested 600 entries in the Preis this year and snagged a nice chunk of prize money (€2500) too.

The formula for Volvox's idea is pretty straightforward: cut open, turn out, restuff and sew. The execution is purposely crude, and it's clear from the rest of the portfolio that they're perfectly capable of a high level of production quality, like Tischbaum (literally tree structure), a handy desk accessory, or Werbank 2.0 aka the desk of our dreams. What we really like about Volvox is their willingness to play and create impractical objects for their conceptual value alone, like the series Für das Tier in mir, or "For the Animal in me," a line that connects products with our animalistic side. There's a hobo's stick on wheels (like a rolling suitcase), a white oxford with two neon yellow circles in the arm pits and a pair of women's see-through underwear with an embroidered cat on the front playing with the crotch area. 

If you want to make your own collection of inside-out animals but don't know your way around a needle and thread? Easy: check out 3rd Ward's Level 1 Sewing class. Meanwhile, grab a few more glimpses of Volvox's work: