Ziggy is a professor at a college of dentistry (he asked us not to mention the name).  He is certified to teach every class at the institution, but gets most excited about the course he personally created titled “The History of Toothpaste.”

Dr. Ziggy is also an amateur collector.  He own toothpaste tubes from fifty-eight different countries.  His most prized possesion is a toothbrush reportedly owned by Pierre Fouchard, a French oral surgeon widely regarded as the father of modern dentistry.

While he has dated extensively (mostly dental students) he has never married, citing a desire to “not have to choose between a woman and the all-consuming world of dental hygiene.”

To see a wide range of great softies, go to the Softies of the Month Flickr group, or visit the online store Etsy, where many softie makers show their creations.

Hugo is a children’s birthday party planner from Seattle.  He especially enjoys special-needs parties.  He has a great sugar-free cake recipe for diabetic or husky children. 

Hugo lives alone in a one-bedroom apartment near downtown.  When he’s not creating fabulous birthday celebrations, he’s searching Seattle record stores for out-of-print records of fifties and sixties children’s music.

He also likes cheese.

Lisa owns an interpretive dance troupe made up entirely of professional sign language interpreters.  They perform at various health fairs and malls in the American Mid-West.

Lisa also works as a life coach for members of Mensa. 

Between her two careers, Lisa has little time for dating or outside friends, but says she’s always ready for Mr. Right to come along.  She’d like to have to have children one day.  She’d prefer one that looks like a girl and two that look like boys, but she’ll take whatever she gets, as long as they’re made from attractive fabrics and are fully stuffed.

Ken is a sports lover.  He spent a blissful year as a line judge in the failed XFL (Xtreme Football League.)

Since then, he’s officiated for the IHL (International Hockey League) and the MLS (Major League Soccer).

He also enjoys shrimp, medium-length walks on the beach and anything that features Ms. Dixie Carter.  He has a wide collection of Masters of the Universe figurines (He-Man, Skeletor and the like).

He’s the current sci-fi expert for three popular drive-time radio shows in Wisconsin and is the proud owner of a potato chip that resembles Al Roker.

Ken is a sociable fellow and is looking to meet other 28-147 year olds interested in sci-fi and fringe sporting events.

Carl is often mistaken for an elf, so he’d like to remind everyone that he is an inventory control specialist who has never made a wooden toy or loaded a sleigh.  After spending the final part of the twentieth century helping a large department store chain convert to an all soft and medium inventory of toothbrushes, he now ensures that the fruit juice stocks of America’s better convenience stores don’t drop to dangerously low levels.

Wendy works from home.  She handles customer complaint calls for a major credit card company.  She used to enjoy baking cookies for the homeless, until the doctor at the free clinic told her that she was personally responsible for three new cases of diabetes within the homeless community.  She now makes carrot and/or zuchinni cakes for families who have just moved into low-income housing.

After he finally gave up on the baseball card, he hitchhiked to Seattle to see his favorite team, the Seattle Seahawks, play a game.  Unfortunately, he arrived in March, just after the football season had ended, so he hung around.

While working as a barista at the 23rd Street Starbucks (the one on the NE corner, he reminded me.  The people at the NW corner store are stuck-up.) he was noticed by a short story writer who was looking for a sports trivia expert to help her understand the winter sport of curling.

His football season schedule gaffe made him nervous, but her goading and pretty eyes finally convinced him that he had what it took help her research.

The two fell in love, and, incidentally, wrote a popular short story collection that sold well in Canada (the only place where anyone knows what curling even is).  They now live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, where they own an art gallery and dog-sitting service.

This is Phil.  He’s a very quiet “person” so I haven’t gotten much out of him, except that he REALLY likes graham crackers (so much that he once worked for Nabisco) and that he doesn’t have family living close by.  Otherwise, he’s been tight-lipped.

Teena, on the other hand, won’t stop talking about ANYTHING!  If you let her, she’ll go on and on about which season of Beverly Hills 90210 was the best.  Or how she used to like Jessica Simpson but now she really likes Ashley Simpson.  I almost tricked her into saying that she really likes O.J. Simpson, but she told me that she doesn’t watch cartoons.  Teena is a good friend of Phil, because he lets her talk and talk and talk while he sits quietly.

Waledron was once a member of the royal court of the Kingdom of Viti in what is now Fiji.  He served King Ratu Cakobau from 1871 to 1874.  During a tumultuous stretch of 1874, he had himself sealed in a steamer trunk and shipped to San Francisco.

He spent much of the early 20th century in the bottom of that trunk, relegated to the abandoned luggage section of the port until a theiving young porter took the trunk and popped the rusty lock in the privacy of his own home.

Fortunately for Waledron, he found freedom in 1970, at the start of the disco era.  His bright coloring and funky antennas helped him blend in during the time period.  He found work as a FM receiver for much of the seventies.  In 1985 he moved to Tempe, Arizona and took up basket weaving.  His work has been exhibited in galleries as far away as Boca Raton, Florida and Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Each Hickey Doogle begins its life as a line drawing.  Through the magic of the fabric arts (ta-da!) they are realized as soft toys (referred to by fabric artists as “softies”).

Each Hickey Doogle has a story.  And each has his/her own strengths, weaknesses, talents and problems.  So read carefully before you adopt a Hickey Doogle based solely on looks!