Author Archives: Ammar Poonawala

Not all soft toys are the same. Not even close. Walk into any big chain toy store and you will find shelves of soft animals. Bears, giraffes, bunnies stacked three rows deep. They all look fine from a distance. Pick one up though and it feels like a bag of air wrapped in synthetic fluff. […]

In a world of plastic, let’s choose something that actually means something. We’ve all been there—wandering the aisles of a big-box store in Melbourne, looking for a baby shower gift that doesn’t feel like an afterthought. You want something with a soul. Something that wasn’t just pulled off a conveyor belt. That’s exactly why we […]

A handmade crochet toy that has been well cared for does not just last a season. It lasts long enough to be handed down. That is the whole point of buying something made by hand. Most parents find that out the hard way. A beloved amigurumi goes into the washing machine on a warm cycle […]

You are sitting in a Fitzroy cafe on a Saturday morning. The pram next to you has a sleeping baby. Your friend across the table just found out about a baby shower next weekend. She pulls a face. Everyone brings the same thing. She grabs her phone and types “unique baby shower gift.” Scrolls past […]

Handmade crochet toys do not hurry. They are not trying to keep up with trends or shout for attention. They sit quietly on a shelf or a bed and still manage to be the thing you notice first. There is something old fashioned and grounding about a toy made from yarn and time. You can […]

Most Valentine’s Day gifts look the same. Chocolates in a heart-shaped box. A candle. Flowers that will be gone by the weekend. If you want to give something that nobody else thought of, you need to start somewhere different. Handmade crochet gifts sit in a category that most people simply do not think of for […]

“Some toys arrive in a crinkly packet and never make it past the first clean out. Others become part of the family story.” Handmade crochet toys fall into a special category. They are the pieces that stay. Whether it’s the soft animals keeping watch from cots in Sydney apartments, the tiny rattles on Adelaide footpaths, […]

There is a moment that keeps repeating itself across Melbourne. A birthday invite appears in the school bag, a baby shower gets announced in the family group chat, and the same question comes up: what do we actually buy? The toy aisle has an answer for every occasion but the answer is almost always the […]

Walk into a well-considered Melbourne nursery and you notice it straight away. The plastic has gone quiet. In its place: a soft crochet lamb on the shelf, a handmade mobile turning gently above the cot, a little doll in overalls propped against the pillows. This is not a passing trend. Melbourne parents are making a […]

There is something undeniably magical about holding a toy that was made by hand. In a world overflowing with flashing plastic gadgets and mass-produced items, the quiet, tactile charm of a crochet doll stands out. It carries a heartbeat. At The Wishlist Store, we see this every day—the joy that sparks when a child hugs […]