What if the fantastical creatures from your childhood imagination were turned into reality?
One Russian schoolboy will have his fantasy of a mermaid dog brought to life after IKEA selected his drawing to become its next plush toy.
The aquatic pup with a charming purple hat by 9-year-old Savva from St. Petersburg was chosen from 66,000 submissions from all over the world.
“I love to draw and often think up different stories. So I came up with the idea of such an unusual dog and decided to send it to the competition,” Savva told a local news outlet Wednesday.
According to Savva, the mermaid dog helps everyone who is in trouble.
Four other designs were selected in IKEA’s annual Soft Toy Drawing Competition, which gives kids the opportunity to design a limited-edition soft toy.
In addition to the mermaid dog, a pair of sandwich friends designed by Audrey from Canada, a cat by Liepa from Lithuania, scrambled eggs by Zosia from Poland and bird by Nick from the U.S. will also become a part of IKEA’s Sagoscat collection, which goes on sale this fall.
One hundred percent of the proceeds from the toys’ sales in Russia will go toward local initiatives that promote children’s right to play, the Swedish furniture company said.
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