Resilience, and Pyit Tine Htaung
If you grew up with Myanmar roots, chances are you know the face of the Pyit Tine Htaung.
Its name, ပစ်တိုင်းထောင်, can be translated as “that which rights itself whenever thrown down.” These round, weighted roly-poly dolls have been part of Burmese childhood for generations, painted with cheerful expressions and designed to do one simple thing: always stand back up.
As children, we played with them endlessly. We pushed them over, spun them around, knocked them from side to side, and watched with fascination as they wobbled, tilted, and stubbornly returned upright.
At the time, it was simply fun.
Looking back, it feels like one of our earliest lessons in resilience.
No matter how many times you tumble, you can rise again.
A Familiar Toy, With a Deeper Meaning
In recent years, the Pyit Tine Htaung has come to carry a much deeper meaning for us.
Myanmar has endured enormous challenges — political upheaval, economic hardship, displacement, uncertainty, and disruption to everyday life. Through all of it, the resilience of its people has remained something we continue to witness and admire.
And somehow, this little childhood toy began to feel differently as adult.
What once made us laugh as children now feels like a quiet symbol of perseverance: a reminder of our ability to keep going, to adapt, and to find our footing again when life knocks us off course.
When we began thinking about a special gift for our very first pop-up market, we knew we wanted to give our customers something that held more meaning than a simple keepsake.
We wanted to share a little piece of where we come from, why we create, and what we believe in.
The Pyit Tine Htaung felt like the perfect place to begin.
From Papier-Mâché to Crochet
Our original idea was to recreate the Pyit Tine Htaung in its traditional papier-mâché form.
We sketched different versions, played with colours and proportions, and explored everything from traditional red-and-gold motifs to more playful seasonal variations.
But when we began speaking with local workshops in Myanmar, reality quickly reshaped the plan.
Severe flooding across parts of the region, alongside ongoing conflict and supply disruptions, meant many traditional papier-mâché artisans simply were not in a position to take on new orders.
For a moment, the project felt stuck.
And then we realised there was something strangely fitting about that.
If we were creating a symbol of resilience, perhaps we needed to practise a little resilience ourselves.
So we adapted. We began asking how we could reimagine the Pyit Tine Htaung through another handmade craft. Something tactile, warm, and full of character.
This question led us to crochet.
And slowly, our Pyit Tine Htaung began to take shape.
Finding the Right Hands![]()
Finding the right maker was just as important to us as the design itself.
We wanted to work directly with someone here in Myanmar whose skill, perseverance, and outlook reflected the spirit of the project.
That search led us to a talented young woman crocheter, Yamin.
Like many young people in Myanmar, her education was disrupted by the pandemic and the political instability that followed. In the midst of uncertainty, she turned to crochet developing her craft while supporting herself and helping her family.
What stayed with us most was not only her story, but her skill, patience, and willingness to explore and experiment with us.
This project quickly become a back and forth collaboration.
From Sketches to Yarn
Turning a flat drawing into a three-dimensional crocheted doll was more complicated than we expected but all the more joyful.
The proportions shift. The facial features sit differently. The weight needs to feel right. Even something as small as a blush colour or the placement of a loop can completely change the personality of the doll.
So we experimented.
And experimented some more.
Our team and our artisan passed photos of prototypes back and forth for weeks, adjusting stitch counts, refining facial details, testing colours and tweaking the top loop and so on.
Some samples were too tall. Others were too narrow. Some were too serious. Some were a little too round.
Slowly, it became the signature Pyit taing htaung silhouette.
The final doll does not look exactly like our earliest sketches.
But we love it just as much.
The imperfections, adjustments, and surprises became part of the story. What emerged was not simply a copy of a traditional object, but something shaped through collaboration, problem-solving, and the hands of the people who brought it to life.
And we are still experimenting more with natural materials and developing it so that we can carry it as one of our first own brand products.
A Small Gift, With a Bigger Story
This crocheted Pyit Tine Htaung was created for our first pop-up market as a small gesture of appreciation to the people who come to see us, support our work, and believe in what we are building.
For us, it represents so many things at once: childhood, memory, Myanmar, craftsmanship, adaptation, perseverance, and hope.
It is also a reminder of why we do what we do.
We believe objects can carry stories.
We believe handmade things matter because of the hands, lives, and traditions behind them.
And we believe that even when plans change, materials become unavailable, or life takes us somewhere unexpected, something beautiful can still emerge.
So when you take one of these little Pyit Tine Htaung home with you, we hope you see more than a crochet doll.
We hope you see a reminder.
That no matter how many iterations it takes, how many plans change, or how many times life knocks you off course, you can find your balance again.
You can adapt.
You can keep going.
And you can always stand back up.