Handmade polymer clay pendants by Wikimedia Commons user Annatsach. Photo Annatsach, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The polymer clay charm
What it took directly
- documentedThe bag-charm craze took from Labubu, which once dominated it"Once dominated by the likes of Labubu and the plastic cases people buy to protect it, today’s trendy bag charms are all about unique designs that add personality and flair to your bags." The Straits Times (February 2025)
- documentedThe bag charm as a luxury accessory took from Fendi's Buggies, fur charms made to hang on a handbag (2013)"The Buggies are a special collection of small, colorful "meteorite-like" fur lucky charms that are meant to attach to your handbag." InStyle (November 2013)
- statedFIMO comes from a 1966 launch with a new recipe and a better-sounding name"In 1966, equipped with a new concept, improved recipe and better sounding name, ‘FIMO’ is successfully launched onto the market in a range of 15 colours" STAEDTLER, FIMO's maker, company history (archived 2012)
- statedThe FIMO brand took from Eberhard Faber, which acquired all the rights in 1964"In 1964, Eberhard Faber acquires all of the rights. In 1978, this company, established in 1922 in Neumarkt, becomes part of STAEDTLER Group." STAEDTLER, FIMO's maker, company history (archived 2012)
- documentedPolymer modelling clay comes from Sophie "Fifi" Rehbinder-Kruse, who took up her mother's discarded compound in 1941"A few years later in 1941, Kruse’s daughter, Sofie, rediscovers the discarded substance and began to re-examine its properties." Rachel Carren, art historian, Polymer Art Archive (2015)
- statedThe name FIMO comes from "Fifi", modelling clay and mosaic"She creates the brand name FIMOIK by using the first two letters of her nickname ‘Fifi’, the ‘Mo’ from modelling clay and the final letters of ‘mosaic’, one of her favourite techniques." STAEDTLER, FIMO's maker, company history (archived 2012)
- inferredThe handmade clay bag charm of 2026 comes from the Labubu-era bag-charm craze, made by hand in polymer"clay bag charms +1,499%" inferred — The Straits Times says Labubu once dominated bag charms, and Pinterest reports 'clay bag charms' searches up 1,499% in 2026; no source connects the two
What it learned to do
- documentedPolymer jewellery-making learned from Nan Roche's book The New Clay"the publication of The New Clay by Nan Roche, still an important manual some 20 years later" Monica Moses, American Craft (2011), reporting the Polymer Art Archive's 'Renaissance moments'
- documentedPolymer work learned from Marie Segal's pasta machine, the first polymer guild (Lindly Haunani and Nan Roche), and the Skinner blend"Marie Segal's discovery of the pasta machine as a crucial tool; the founding of the first polymer guild by Lindly Haunani and Nan Roche; and the mid-1990s development of the Skinner blend" Monica Moses, American Craft (2011)
The tradition it sits in
- statedPolymer art comes from hobbyists: widely available in the US only since the 1970s"But polymer, widely available in the United States only since the 1970s, is "dramatically different," Winters says. "It started in the hands of hobbyists." Elise Winters, polymer artist, to American Craft (2011)
- documentedFimoik, the Kruse family's modelling clay comes from the toyshop trade, through the Kruse family's doll-business connections"Initially, the modeling product “Fimoik” was sold in toyshops since the family had connections through the doll business" Rachel Carren, art historian, Polymer Art Archive (2015)
Where the whole form comes from
- statedPolymer clay comes from Käthe Kruse's search for a new material for her dolls' heads"In her search for a new material to use for her dolls’ heads, the well-known doll maker Kaethe Kruse begins experimenting with a new substance." STAEDTLER, FIMO's maker, company history (archived 2012)
- documentedPolymer clay comes from a by-product of oil production, late in the 1930s"The story of how polymer originated generally begins with Fifi, her mother, Kathe Kruse, and a by-product from oil production late in the 1930’s." Rachel Carren, art historian, Polymer Art Archive (2015)
- statedModelling with clay comes from an instinct to keep what we love, in Sophie Rehbinder-Kruse's words"Mankind instinctively wants to model things; it is his way of cherishing and preserving something dear to him" Sophie Rehbinder-Kruse, quoted in STAEDTLER's FIMO history
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