The stacking penguins are our first collaboration with Muji, a part of their collection of toys for Christmas 2013.

This toy comprises ten penguins which can be arranged in a circle and disappear, or can be stacked up as a balancing game.

The theme is a reference to how imperial penguins huddle in circles during the winter in order to keep warm and protect their young.

The shape is also a play on Reifendrehen, the unique toy making technique developed in the ore mountains in Germany. This process uses a wood lathe to produce a ring with the desired cross section, and when sliced it yields many small figures, usually animals. Reifendrehen represented an advance compared to traditional wood carving in that it quickly produced many figures with far fewer manufacturing steps.