Luís Leite and Ana Ferreira I

 Luís Leite and Ana Ferreira are Portuguese architects, who inspired by the birth of a nephew in 2006 wanted to design some toys. Since this time they have honed and perfected their design and this year opened their online shop Bleebla. The animals are made from Sycamore and their housing from cork. Louis and Ana spent a lot of time researching their materials, both in aesthetic terms as they wanted a good colour contrast between the housing and the creatures.

"Our architectural training strongly determines all design phases and the final result. The process of designing an animal starts by sketching a lot – and we mean a lot :) – in order to reach a stylized silhouette of each animal. After that we do several prototypes to fine-tune details like tails, paws, snouts, until we’re pleased (yes, we are a bit obsessed)." Ana and Luis

They also wanted to ensure the materials they choose had a low environmental impact. Cork is a wonderful choice of material for toys as it is a warm soft material and their has been a decline in its production since wine producers have moved to using screw caps.