I want to say they're 16 by 16 by 16 shadow boxes, basically, that you fill in with miniature furniture, all the same scale. I don't know if you've ever seen the American Girl rooms. I think the reason that we got into miniatures is because of Polly Pocket. Growing up, I had a ton of Polly Pockets. What’s the backstory to your obsession? How did you get into Polly Pocket? So kill me.”ĭunham, if you’re reading this, you know exactly who to hire. Minimalism was never the name of the game as far as Polly Pocket was concerned - how else would the smallest woman in the world have a Parisian pied-à-terre that includes views of the city and a garden with a cherub statue with her own face? “Everything right now is just like let's take minimalism to the point of unrecognizability,’' she explains. Ultimately, Carusillo’s love for Polly Pocket aligns with her maximalist core. Suddenly, you’re not looking at a vintage children’s toy, but a sculpture with textured, plastic pool water that feels like a David Hockney painting and just happens to double as a pencil case. It just cracks me up.”Ĭarusillo’s eye for detail brings the magic of Polly Pocket to a new level as her photos show off the painstaking detail of the miniature worlds. “I think it's so hysterical to take the time to design the sink and toilet of a kid's toy. “I have an obsession with the bathrooms and Polly Pockets,” she says over a Zoom call with NYLON. As a set designer and artist, Carusillo’s interests vary from her fellow collectors she finds herself more captivated by the architecture of the miniatures, along with the general absurdity of the Polly Pocket world.
Then, there’s Polly Pickpocket, run by Julia Carusillo. There’s a Polly Pocket collector account for everyone some are completionists who collect every piece, down to the dolls, while others focus on creating adorable scenarios for the dolls in the compact. The Polly Pocket community is surprisingly robust, filled with people who are willing to shell out serious cash to relive their childhood wonder according to Architectural Digest, mint condition Polly Pocket compacts sometimes sell for up to $1,000 on eBay. Polly Pocket collectors have seen a micro-boom in interest thanks in part to never-ending pandemic weariness, a 2018 relaunch of the toy closer the original’s scale, and the promise of a Lena Dunham-directed live action Polly Pocket film. On one niche corner of Instagram, nostalgia lives in a tiny, colorful case, complete with an even tinier girl - Polly Pocket.
Welcome to Favorite Follow, a series highlighting NYLON's favorite creators and the stories behind some of their most memorable content.įor every unwatchable Hollywood remake resurrected through the relentless nostalgia industrial complex, there’s a small reprieve.