SINGAPORE (Commonwealth Union) _ Ms Wong searched high and low for two years, for a monkey soft toy for her 13-year-old son, and it was his favourite toy that he took to bed every night but the toy was in a bad shape after a decade of wear and tear.
Ms Wong, could not find the same toy again and although she tried to get similar ones, her son could not get used to them. Ms Wong, who is in her 40s said that he was very attached to it as the monkey was sitting in his room before he was born, and that it was very comforting for him.
In desperation, she turned to a “toy hospital” that repairs and cleans soft toys, and asked them to recreate her son’s original toy with similar fabrics she found.
At Stuffed Toys Hospital in Aljunied, the “doctors” replace parts of the toys, clean soft toys, and even make new clothes for them, among other services. Customers only have to get a quote for the services they require, send the toy in and collect it when the job is done.
After about a month and forking out $370 for two replica toy monkeys, Ms Wong was relieved to finally have them helping her son sleep peacefully. Although it was not cheap, it was worth it she said since she was desperate and if someone was selling a new toy for $1,000, she would have bought it.
Stuffed Toys Hospital, which is home-based, has cleaned or repaired over 3,000 soft toys since its inception in April 2018.
Cleaning and changing the stuffing of a 15cm-tall soft toy could cost upwards of $77, while replacing its limbs costs from $40.
The turnaround is normally two to three weeks, or up to 10 weeks for more complicated cases.
Owner Jane Cher, 25, said that behind the price tag is the amount of time and effort dedicated to giving a new lease of life to the toy.
She said some were shocked by their prices, but every toy is different, and there is no standard procedure.
Demand has been increasing for these soft toy services.
Ms Cher presently receives about 50 orders a month.
Another company, Soft Toy Hospital in Jurong East, managed by husband and wife Isaac Kong and Pamela Theng, both 51has seen queries about its services increase by about 20% in 2023 from 2022.
Cleaning and mending a hole in a 15cm-tall toy costs upwards of $50, while making new clothing – ranging from a basic T-shirt to a cheongsam – for the toy starts at $35.
Both sew and stitch while other duties are divided. Mr Kong handles the operational aspects of the business, including marketing, and does mechanical repairs, such as fixing music boxes, Ms Theng tackles washing, stuffing and more complicated sewing cases.
Mr Kong, picked up sewing when he was 25.
Ms Cher, at Stuffed Toys Hospital’s left her job as an operations manager in a start-up to pursue this full time from April 2022.
Most of the time, these toys were gifts from close relatives, such as grandparents who may have already passed on and helping customers to retain such treasured memories was very meaningful.
Ms Amirah Munawwarah, an art psychotherapist at Promises Healthcare, said soft toys were a source of comfort for many. Ms Cher began providing these services after her mother helped her give her 16-year-old Pooh toy a new lease of life in 2018. She picked up sewing skills from her mother.
Ms Theng said “If the customer is willing to send his or her toy to get it fixed, it means that this toy is very precious to him or her.”
At the end of the day, the smiles they are able to put on the faces of their customers are what keep the people behind these “toy hospitals” going.
