Bringing Vienna to the Cozy World
Vienna went through a few growth spurts to become the fluffy pup you love!
Most of the beings you come across in the world of Cozykins are born of love, vibrant ideas, a zest! Some friends are born from true-to-life inspiration. Enter: Vienna the Sausage!
Cozykins are here to teach, inspire, educate, support, in the most warm and relatable way we know— playtime, cuddles, comfort! Vienna is a very real, VERY cute Pekingese, family to creator Alex Berardi-Hawley. Vi teaches boundaries, and consent for play and engagement. In-person, Vi can be pretty rambunctious, jumping with joy and dancing for attention! Sometimes her excitement spills over, which can be jarring to smaller kids, or folks who are not familiar with engaging in play with happy dogs. “No problem!” Vienna says, “I can be your best friend!”
Vienna has to practice patience, asking permission before excitedly snatching things up, and respecting boundaries— even when she feels she has great intentions and feels she is helping or playing nicely. The character of Vienna is portrayed to match the demeanor and personality of her real-life counterpart, as a puppy who needed a little extra training to learn how to play with others in a way that they are comfortable with. Though she may be small, Vienna was raised with her big sister, Francesca, so she is especially strong! This makes it all the more important that this fluffy puppy knows how to play well with others.
If you make it out to meet Vi, you will find she is very friendly, chatty, and loves to play! She can be pretty silly, earning herself the nicknames “Wee Jester” and “Little Pig”. She enjoys making new friends, meeting other pups, and taking long walks with her family to a park to play.
In designing her plushie self, we used (super cute) real-life images, feedback pages to offer guidance on her pattern, and a few fun doodles to show how her fluffy tail is actually very curly! She came out pretty fluffy and cute, and we are excited for you to meet her! It took a few iterations, and a full summer, and Vi is ready to romp and play!
There will be plenty of opportunities to meet Vienna the Sausage in-person, so you can pet that fluff and snap a pic with this little pig we all love so much! She will give your doppelganger a kiss for good luck. Keep an eye out for her book, which will open up lessons and discussions on consent, respecting and setting boundaries, and beyond!
Vi has always been pretty fun, cute, and fluffy!
