The Nesting doll is a symbol of Russian heritage with admirers all over the world. Every year millions of foreigners from all over visit Russia during the summer and early winter.
Not surprisingly, most tourists leave the country with loads of Russian souvenirs; T-shirts with Putin's face, an ushanka-hat, and Russian nesting dolls (Matryoshka).
Russian nesting dolls have become the most widely-sought after souvenir for foreign guests, international delegations visiting the country, or ex-pats and collectors in Russia.
There are thousands of Russian nesting doll designs, but today we will focus on Russian nesting dolls with popular culture art.
Nesting dolls and pop culture
Ever since their debut at the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris, traditional nesting dolls have captured both the hearts and minds of children and adults everywhere. Commonly known as matryoshka dolls or babushka dolls, these iconic wooden dolls have become a symbol of Russia. Their charm inspired artists and designers from every corner of our planet to create something different.
Firebird workshop is a melting pot for young artists and old Russian matryoshka designs. As a result, we excelled at mixing Russian nesting dolls and popular culture.
We've created matryoshka dolls featuring movie characters, musicians, popular games, and animated movies. Check them out!
Star wars nesting dolls
Handmade in a galaxy far far away, these Star wars Russian nesting dolls are a force to reckon with. Star Wars is an epic space fantasy franchise created by George Lucas. The first movie in the star wars universe titled a new hope quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon.
The Star Wars franchise holds a World Record for the Most successful film merchandising franchise ever.
Not surprisingly, we have lots of star wars fans at the Firebird workshop, particularly fans of the sequel trilogy starring Darth-Maul and young Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Spirited Away Nesting dolls
Our Spirited Away nesting dolls pay homage to the pop culture Studio Ghibli animated movie; Sen and Chihiro's Spiriting Away. People keep asking what's so special about spirited away and why it is so popular worldwide.
Created by Hayao Miyazaki in 2001, Spirited Away is the most successful animated movie in Japanese history. At the 75th Academy Awards, Spirited Away won the Best Animated Feature prize, the first of its kind as a non-English animated film.
We're all fans of Studio Ghibli here at the Firebird workshop. So our artists did what they do best, and the results are fantastic. Take a look at our beautiful Spirited Away Russian nesting dolls.
Grogu Nesting dolls (Baby Yoda)
Grogu, or baby Yoda, is an internet sensation from the new Star Wars Mandalorian series. Adored by millions of Star Wars fans, Grogu is a cute little force-sensitive child of master Yoda's species and a new pop culture icon.
The Mandalorian tells us a story of how a bounty hunter (Din Djarin) falls in love with his quarry (Grogu) and refuses to give him up as a bounty.
Considering how well-received the Mandalorian series was, we made a one-piece Baby Yoda Nesting doll. Is it in stock? Maybe. Click the link and travel at sub-light speed to the product listing. This is the way!
Nightmare Before Christmas Russian Nesting Dolls
Which animation is more influential in pop culture than Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas? This animated fantasy movie tells us the story of Jack Skellington, a skeleton from Halloween Town, who finds Christmas Town and is instantly enchanted. The situation becomes dire when his obsession with Christmas leads him to abduct Santa Claus.
We're not here to review movies, and we're sure that you may have seen the Nightmare before Christmas several times already. However, we want to add to the conversation or dispute. Is the Nightmare Before Christmas a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie? Our answer - why not both?
Our Nightmare Before Christmas dolls is even more beautiful than these pictures show. Trust us; we made them ourselves. As always, we barely got them on the shelves before they sold out quickly. We're making loads of these nesting dolls, and by the time you read this, they'll be in stock.
Song of the sea Nesting Dolls
Song of the Sea is a movie about Ben, a 10-year-old Irish boy who discovers that his mute sister Saoirse is a selkie. Selkies are mythological beings that live as seals in the sea but become human on land. Saoirse has to free faerie creatures from the Celtic goddess Macha. Song of the Sea may not be mainstream pop culture, but it is one of the most powerful & most uplifting movies we've ever seen.
What moves us the most is that Ben, although good at heart throughout the movie, starts angrily for the first half. As the story plays out, he learns to respect Saoirse and become a better brother to her.
Song of the Sea shows how important our families are to us and that they're worth everything.
Like the movie, our song of the sea nesting dolls are hand-drawn and very beautiful.
Howl's Moving Castle Russian Nesting Dolls
Howl's Moving Castle is a Japanese animated film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
This movie is a love story between Sophie: a young girl, who is turned into an older woman by a witch's curse, and a wizard named Howl.
Under the curse, Sophie encounters Howl's strange moving castle, where she meets Howl's fire demon. Knowing that she is under a curse, the demon makes a deal with Sophie.
If Sophie breaks the contract between the demon and Howl, her curse will be undone, and she will return to her 18-year-old self.
Our Firebird family is a fan of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli's creation. We decided to immortalize this animated movie in a Russian nesting doll.
Each doll displays a Howl's Moving Castle character including, Sophie, Wizard Howl, Madame Suliman, and Howl's strange castle.
My Neighbor Totoro Nesting Dolls
Totoro is a pop culture phenomenon that originated in Japan. My Neighbor Totoro tells Mei & Satsuki's story and their interactions with friendly wood spirits in postwar rural Japan.
Mei and Satsuki move to a new house closer to their mother in the hospital. They soon become friends with Totoro, a giant rabbit-like creature who is a spirit.
According to Reddit user kbyyru, My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away are connected. In the movie My Neighbor Totoro, after Mei goes missing, the people find a sandal floating in the river, and they're convinced that it belongs to her. However, this is not true as Mei's sandals don't match the ones floating in the river.
So to whom do the sandals belong? His answer - Chihiro, from Spirited Away. Here's his proof. Towards the end of Spirited Away, Haku is revealed as the Kohaku River's spirit, who saved Chihiro from drowning as a young girl. During a brief flashback, we see a pink sandal floating on the river. This is the same sandal that the people found while searching for Mei.
If you enjoyed My Neighbor Totoro, you'd love our Totoro nesting dolls. Check them out here.
Chronicles of Narnia Nesting Dolls
The Chronicles of Narnia is fantasy book series by British author C. S. Lewis. But we're all fans of the Narnia movies. Our favorite film of the trio is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
As with any famous long-lived work, The Chronicles of Narnia has inspired many spinoffs and pop culture references. For example, the book Ultimate Lost and Philosophy contains a comprehensive essay on Lost plot motifs based on The Chronicles.
The second SNL Digital Short by Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell features a humorous nerdcore hip hop song titled Chronicles of Narnia (Lazy Sunday), which focuses on the performers' plan to see The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe at a cinema.
During interviews, the primary creator of Digimon has said that he was inspired and influenced by The Chronicles of Narnia.
Will there be a fourth Chronicles of Narnia Movie? We don't know yet. Netflix has acquired certain rights to the book series and promises to make TV shows and movies within this fantasy universe. Enjoy our Narnia nesting dolls while they're still here.
Hello Kitty Russian Nesting dolls
Hello Kitty, also known as Kitty White, is a fictional character created by Yuko Shimizu for Sanrio. She is depicted as a young female gijinka of a Japanese Bobtail cat with a red bow and no mouth.
Sanrio releases new series portraying Hello Kitty in different designs regularly.
Yuko Yamaguchi, the principal designer for most of Hello Kitty's history, has said that fashion, movies, and TV inspire her in creating new designs.
Our Hello Kitty Russian nesting dolls are available for shipping worldwide.
Conclusion
What other popular culture reference would you like to see on our nesting dolls? Leave a comment below.