He was a quarter at a yard sale. I thought he was cute–soft suede-like material and a retro look about him. He fit perfectly in the girls’ room that has a bit of a vintage feel to it. So, there he sits upon a stack of antique books on Ashlyn’s dresser, presiding over a Lego mini figure, a wind-up toy, and other plastic things that have been sitting collecting dust. While we’ve cleaned out a half dozen times since this guy came home, he’s consistently made the cut. Just something about him that we all took a liking to.
The same photographer, Michael Wolf, who took the 100×100 pictures I shared 9 months ago produced another project called The Real Toy Story. When I clicked on the link, the first picture I saw was this one.
There he was. The dog sitting upon her dresser that we’ve never even named. There he was in the hands of young women who have performed one step in his construction, perhaps attaching thousands upon thousands of fluffy yellow hats.
And, there were more pictures, all from 5 toy factories in China where 75% of the world’s toys are made.
Where migrant workers travel far from home to pursue a better life for themselves. Some are very young, quitting school to make money. Some have children they leave behind with grandparents. Each one, working hard, oftentimes 6 or 7 days a week from 8 in the morning until 10 at night, for about $240 a month including overtime hours.
