Who Makes the Ninjas?
I do. My name’s Ryan Couldrey. I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canadianialand.
Why?
Because Ninjas are awesome. So awesome that “Ninja” shall forevermore be a proper noun.
Whereabouts?
They’re made on my dining room table in Toronto, Beaches area.
No sweatshops?
Nope.
Can I commission a Ninja?
You can suggest one, but I’m no longer taking commissions, really.
Do you have a ’standard’ Ninja? They all look different…
I glean most of my fun from making a different Ninja whenever I sit down at my sewing machine (a Singer, btw). I don’t expect to get rich (maybe famous?) from making Ninjas but I do like making them a lot, so I figure I might as well try something new every time. The nerdier the better! If I ever run out of ideas (or I particularly like an idea) I may make a repeat, though the body of the Ninja might be a diff colour, or a diff size, who knows.
How much is shipping?
Included in the price, everytime. Outside North America? Contact me as shipping for overseas people isn’t included.
I HAVE AN IMPORTANT QUESTION! HOW CAN I REACH YOU, IT’S URGENT!??!
Stop by the contact page and send me a note.
My name is Ryan Couldrey, and I make the Ninja Dolls. I got started in early 2007 when a friend’s baby was born. I decided that the best present would be something Ninja related, and because it was a girl (Hi Cassie!) a colleague suggested that the Ninja should be pink. Angry Pink Ninja was born, hand stitched with floss (unrippable!) and with an angry monobrow. After that, I knew I wanted to make more.
The problem was that hand stitching not only took a while, but the stitches never looked nice enough and my hands would cramp up like mad. I still made 3 more (here, here), but I knew there was a better way. I begged my wife for a sewing machine, and in March of 2008 she obliged with a nice one for my birthday.
All the new Ninja Dolls are machine stitched for the most part, with some hand stitching on the eyes and sometimes other little bits. Materials are generally felts of varying colours, unless otherwise noted. I try to make each Ninja Doll unique in some way, be it with different personalities or colours, but I can’t promise I’ll never make a duplicate. Still, I try not to so a Ninja Doll you take home might end up being a one of a kind! Will I ever make anything besides Ninjas? Almost certainly! I just don’t know when yet…
