Libuše Niklová, was a Czech toy designer that had vehemently changed the perception of children’s toys, toy design and the art world through her innovative interpretation of toy design and color variants.
Niklová created over 230 original toys, including her famous accordion animals, inflatable animals, and rubber figurines. Her approach to toys was beyond just an accessory or play tool for kids; she saw toys as a means with which children could shape and create their idiosyncratic personalities. She believed that a child learns about him or herself through his or her interaction with the toy.
Moreover, Niklová elevated the simplistic idea of merely toys for children into the realm of actual art through the use of vivid color, decor, and unforgettable smells and sounds that the toys produced. A collection of her legendary toys is shown in museums around the world, including Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Her impact on the global world of design was insurmountable, and her toys were so ingenious and revolutionary that they were copied in at least 25 countries around the world, and shaped the childhood of millions of children the worldover.
