Japanese small business Kasumi Oomine creates quirky yet expressive plushie characters that promote self-care for their owner’s mental well-being. Kasumi Oomine’s plushies come in several recurring original characters, each with unique personalities and signature forms of self-care. These fun and endearing characters help remind the everyday busy-body to stop and take a moment to fulfill their needs to care for both their body and mind. The Kasumi Oomine characters compel their owners to do everything from bundling up with a warm drink to hanging out with friends or having a little sweet treat. This is why Kasumi Oomine is relevant to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Good Health And Well-Being.
One of their seminal characters is Nomiboy, a creature with googly eyes, a stout body and comically long legs. In Nomiboy Wearing Socks, Nomiboy appears in his signature look with the addition of colourful, eye-catching socks. The description on Kasumi Oomine’s website describes how Nomibody’s long legs often get cold, hence he loves to bundle up in socks with a cup of his favourite drink, warm milk. This is merely one example of how these dolls act as self-care reminders that care for both the body and mind of their owners.
A nationwide survey by Vagaro found that small acts of self-care, such as bundling up with a hot drink, have increased the productivity of 67 percent of respondents. 71 percent of respondents also admitted feeling happier and 64 percent felt more confident. A report by the American Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) stated that there are eight different dimensions of self-care that individuals can strive towards: emotional, spiritual, intellectual, physical, environmental, financial, occupational and social. With different Kasumi Oomine dolls showing penchants for different self-care, it can be inferred that the Kasumi Oomine plushies strive to meet these eight dimensions of self-care.
In their plush Spring Mouse, they also take their message of self-care further by showing that in the long run, caring for oneself also means caring for the people around them and the environment. This is because self-care puts people in their best physical shape and in their best headspace, allowing them to fully show up for those they care for and the environment. Spring Mouse embodies this by being a mouse that goes into hibernation, taking their time to rest and heal; when they wake up, it is written that they will “eat the food scraps that everyone drops while eating, so it does its part in solving the issue of food waste.”
One Kasumi Oomine plush, Angel Swimmy, perfectly captures the spirit of their brand. Angel Swimmy is described as a friend who will always watch over its owner. They also particularly enjoy baking and eating raspberry jam. The focus here should be on how Angel Swimmy is meant to be an ever-present friend, constantly reminding its owners that there is more to life than just their jobs. They ought to savour life's small delights, taste the sweetness of raspberry jam, and spend the afternoon baking sourdough bread. Angel Swimmy perfectly captures what Kasumi Oomine plushies are: ever-present companions that remind people of the need for self-care.
Find out more about Kasumi Oomine’s plushies and their other initiatives by checking their Instagram @kasumioomine.