Tulipop

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Tulipop is a fictional world created by the award-winning Icelandic designer Signý Kolbeinsdóttir. The inhabitants of Tulipop are the Tulipoppers, most of whom resemble elements of nature, such as mushrooms and trees. Throughout the adventures of the Tulipoppers, themes such as imperfection, gender stereotypes, and protection of nature are addressed in a quirky, fun-loving way.

Based on the illustrations of the Tulipop world and its characters, the design brand Tulipop was founded in 2010 by Helga Árnadóttir and Signý Kolbeinsdóttir. The company designs items such as toys and tableware that feature characters from the Tulipop world. Tulipop also encompasses animation, a book, and a mobile app.

Headquartered in Reykjavík, Iceland, with an office in New York, Tulipop licenses its property to manufacturers, including the American toy company Toynami.

History

Icelandic natives Helga Árnadóttir and Signý Kolbeinsdóttir founded Tulipop in Reykjavík in 2010 and started their business with the launch of Tulipop-designed charity products. The items were small Easter eggs, sold in support of UNICEF in Iceland. Following the release of the Easter eggs, Tulipop created the Mosi Coin Box, which was also sold in support of UNICEF.

Helga Árnadóttir and Signý Kolbeinsdóttir originally met in high school. Prior to forming the company, Signý completed a degree in product design from the Icelandic Academy of the Arts, and worked as a designer and illustrator for various advertisement agencies and freelance. Signý’s illustrations were published in renowned publications on contemporary illustration, including Taschen’s Illustration Now, and Die Gestalten Verlag’s Crackpot Calendar. Meanwhile, Helga completed a B.Sc. degree in Computer Science from the University of Iceland and later attained an MBA from London Business School following her role as marketing manager for an Icelandic software company.

Signý has expressed that her creativity was drained while illustrating other people’s ideas and that she wanted to be the creator of her own artistic vision. Having followed the development of Signý’s creative works, Helga recognized the potential in her illustrations, left her job as a consultant, and the duo founded Tulipop together.

By 2014, the Tulipop brand had grown to include multiple types of Tulipop-themed merchandise and was sold across the world.

Tulipop has since developed into more merchandise and as of January 2019, the Tulipop universe has been expanded to include animation, a storybook, and a mobile app.

Synopsis and characters

The Tulipop stories center around several flawed yet cute characters, two of whom are brother and sister. The main characters are Gloomy, Bubble, Fred and Miss Maddy, who all live on the island of Tulipop, where the stories take place.

The two remaining characters, Mr. Tree and Mama Skully, are the oldest residents of the island and live together, a bit secluded from the others, on Skull Rock.

Characters

• Gloomy: A mushroom girl, she is relentlessly adventurous, curious, and self-interested. She loves to explore, willing to go anywhere and do anything, particularly if it has never been done before, and even better if she can find a way to add her own twisted style to it, often dragging her reluctant brother Bubble along too. She is a loyal friend and sister but when she is interested in something, everything else falls out of view, especially if she is sourcing new ingredients for her potions, even if this leads her and her friends into the darker corners of Tulipop.
• Bubble: Not at all like his active sister, Bubble prefers to spend his days at home, eating blueberry pancakes, gardening, reading and taking a nap. Highly intelligent, embracing logic and learning, and suspicious of feelings Bubble does everything slowly. He is curious about the world but in a passive way, only finding new fun-facts makes Bubble really excited. Self-deprecating and fatalistic, he can be very funny too!
• Fred: The smelliest and least threatening monster imaginable. Fred is naïve, temperamental, easily distracted, prone to eating random things, and definitely fun to be around. He’s furry, horned and constantly regenerates but never matures. Fred is afraid of the dark so it is helpful that his horns can glow. While he is naturally big, cute and soft, he can also bust out his more unhinged animalistic side when necessary.
• Miss Maddy: A bear, outgoing, confident, vocally gifted and a mistress of sass, she is Tulipop’s resident diva. She works very hard to appear as a classy, elegant, and softly-spoken lady so that people will not see the real her, which is actually a monster like Fred, but she dyes her fur white and turquoise and files down her horns. She is a bit like a big sister to the other Tulipoppers, bossy and arrogant, you have to do what she says, but it is always worth it because you get to hang out with the fabulous Miss Maddy.
• Mama Skully: The creator of Tulipop island, this ageless matriarch is the oldest inhabitant. She is insightful, manipulative, crotchety and clever. Mama Skully can harness the powers of Tulipop and do spectacular things, and she has the uncanny ability to materialize, seemingly out of nowhere. She is all about her own personal amusement and can’t resist using her power to mess with people, often playing innocent pranks. Laughing is what helps her maintain her youthful glow.
• Mr. Tree: An old, magic tree who lives with Mama Skully on Skull Rock. He is mild mannered, wise, warm-hearted and likes to tree-splain everything to anyone who will listen. He is a hoarder, and stores diamonds, gems, trinkets, and snacks in his branches because you never know when something will come in useful. His diamond collection grows every time he sheds a tear – because Mr Tree cries diamonds.

References

This article "Tulipop" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Tulipop. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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