Danny Capozzi AKA Hero73*
Director at Aardman
Here’s a photo of Jinja to prove it… taken tonight (16th November) in Jinja, Uganda, after our first day’s ride from Kampala.
Jinja Charity Auction Has Ended!
We are now here, and have so far raised well over £4000 for KOP! Amazing!
We are overwhelmed by all the support the auction has received – thank you! We’re so pleased that many of you were able to get your hands on some beautiful and unique items while supporting such a wonderful cause.
£4000 can provide over 38 children with two meals per day for a whole year at a KOP-supported project like Kochogo. Thank you.
If you would still like to donate you can do so directly here. About £112 pays for one child for a whole year – putting them through school, feeding them, and providing health-care while they’re there – none of which they’d otherwise have access to,
Soapstone toys for charity
We are Jake and Marti and in November we’re doing a massive bike ride from Uganda to Kenya to raise money for the Kenyan Orphan Project, supporting children living in poverty in East Africa.
We wanted to do something a little different in our fundraising…and give our donors the opportunity to get something special in return for their generosity.
Many of our friends love vinyl toys, so we designed one, to be handcarved out of stone in Africa by a talented friend in Kenya.
How you can help
There are loads of ways you can get involved to support our ride or to get yourself something super cool and original!
You can A) donate directly, or you can B) donate in exchange for hand-carved stone Jinja, or you can C) bid on any of the unique pieces of art we have on auction. Whatever your taste, there’s something here for you!
Whichever way you chose to help, know that your support will provide some of the most vulnerable children in Kenya with access to school health and nutrition.
Donate directly to us through our Believe.in site. Anything you can give is massively appreciated!
Donate through eBay to receive one of our amazing Jinja toys, designed by toy-lovers at Aardman, hand-carved out of soapstone by our friend in Kenya, brought back by us after our trip.
Available 30th October 2014
Bid on one of our super-rare custom Jinjas – created by our very special artists – or even put a bid for our one-off, bike-riding Morph figure, signed by his creators David Sproxton and Peter Lord.
Auctions begin 30th October 2014
Meet Jinja
Click here to visit eBay now and get one!
We created Jinja to say thanks to people who donate.
We live in a wonderfully generous world where we’re frequently being asked for donations to many worthy causes – so we wanted to create something really meaningful and special to give back.
Meet Geoffrey Tamaro – Marti’s friend and colleague in Kenya. Geoffrey is a talented and generous artist, who teaches art to street children in Kisumu, and donates some of his own proceeds to KOP projects.
At first we planned to give back the traditional Kenyan sculptures he makes… but then had a brainwave to see if he could make something a little different, and more relevant to our friends over here. Behold…. the first ever soapstone MUNNY!
It was beautiful. Geoffrey had created an incredibly tactile figure – amazing to hold – and something that’s both comfortably familiar and excitingly exotic at the same time. We just couldn’t use it due to IP issues – which is totally fair enough. So… to keep things simple we just designed our own figure from scratch. And JINJA was born!
Designed with the help of Aardman’s Andy Janes, and sculpted by the famous Jim Parkyn, Jinja is named after a town in Uganda that we’re cycling to on our very first day of the ride…and well…we’re both a bit ginger and proud! He’s posed to be yawning, roaring or cheering.. depending on your mood.
We created eight resin figures in the hands of some of Bristol’s finest artists and designers, who are each giving him a custom makeover – just in time for them to be auctioned before our ride. And while this has been going on, Geoffrey has started hand-carving the stone versions in Kenya – ready for us to collect when we finally arrive in Kisumu.
We even had a some first generation ones back from Kenya, which didn’t turn out quite as we planned… but although some of our design decisions got lost in translation, they’re incredibly beautiful in their own right – and in as much demand as the ‘proper’ Jinjas. Like some kind of Miyazaki duck-lion, there are seven of these soapstone figures left available – and that’s it – there won’t be any more. They are in massive demand!
It’s been a fun journey and we’ve hit some bumps in the road, but we’re really proud of what we have all achieved.
Now we have a Pride of Jinjas and one could be yours.
Making full use of eBay’s awesome (and free) charity service, on Thursday the 30th October the 8 one-off customs will be on auction to highest bidder, and the blank soapstone Jinjas will be available for a fixed amount. Importantly… there are only 30 blank Jinjas available (limited by how many we can physically carry home!) and 8 first-generation Jinjas available – so please if you do want one make sure you get in there early. We would hate to disappoint anyone.
The custom Jinjas!
We are super-privileged to have 8 amazing artists, designers and all-round geniuses creating one-off customs of Jinja, to help us raise money. These are true works of art – serious collectors items – and will each be up for auction separately. Have a look below and see how incredible each one is.
Remember – all cash raised goes straight to The Kenyan Orphan Project – helping some of the most vulnerable kids in East Africa.
Rich Webber
Director at Aardman. Purple and Brown, DC Nation.
Sarah Matthews
Wonderful designer and illustrator at Aardman
Sam Hadley / Slumber
Bristol-based artist and illustrator, creator of the very tasty Slumber Bean.
Merlin Crossingham
Creative Director of Wallace and Gromit
Peskimo
Designers, illustrators, creators, wondergods.
Peter Lord
Co-founder of Aardman Animations
Gavin Strange / Jamfactory
AKA Jamfactory. Designer, film-maker, speaker, player.
Our amazing Morph!
Morph is one of the first characters created by Aardman – way back in the 70’s – living on Tony Hart’s worktop, and still has a huge following – and now has his own YouTube series (in 4K no less!).
This incredible bike-riding Morph figure was made by Aardman’s head modelmaker Enty – especially to help us raise money for The Kenyan Orphan Project.
The bike he’s riding is made out of lots of little bits and bobs Enty found around the Aardman workshop – screws, nails, springs, lids and wire… just like somehting Morph would’ve made himself!
Morph himself is made out of polymer clay – so it’s very tough hardy – and it’s all kept in one piece on a sturdy base.
And of course he’s also signed by Morph’s creators and Aardman founders Peter Lord and David Sproxton.
Thank you!
This has been one of those projects that gradually evolves and grows over time… way beyond our original aspirations. It absolutely would not have happened without the help of many, many people:
Geoffrey for having the skills and generosity to create the stone figures in the first place.
Enty for making the incredible Morph figure, providing all the support and much needed materials for the Jinjas.
Andy Janes for drawing up the final design for Jinja.
Jim Parkyn for sculpting, moulding and casting the final Jinja figures.
Stuart Tallis for designing the entire Jinja brand.
All our super-skilled custom artists for their amazing generosity – Peter Lord, Rich Webber, Merlin Crossingham, Gavin Strange, Sam Hadley, Sarah Matthews, Danny Capozzi and Peskimo.
Nathan Sale for photographing everything!
Angie Last, Ali Cook and everyone else at Aardman who we’ve been badgering for the last few months to help with the project!
Thomas Muirhead, Naresh Seeboruth, Sarah Roberts and the whole KOP team for advice, support, transport and general greatness.
Sophie Prideaux and Bristol Evening Post for their super-early support.
And of course you… for reading this page. Thank you!
Contact us
Marti is Programme Manager at the Kenyan Orphan Project, and Jake is a Creative Director at Aardman Animations.
If you’d like to get in touch with us about any of this, we would love you to! Please just email martinagant@gmail.com or jakemanion@gmail.com – and you can always follow us both on @martinagant and @jakemanion.
Thank you!
Get a reminder
All auctions have now closed – THANK YOU!
Aardman Gromit sketch by Nick Park. Signed. A6.
SOLD – £630 raised
Rollergirl – Hand Finished Silkscreen Signed Limited Edition of 100 by Hero73.
SOLD – £25 riased
Giant Shaun the Sheep Plush toy – 120cm.
SOLD – £68 raised
Morph (Aardman) riding a bicycle model – SIGNED, OFFICIAL, HAND-MADE
SOLD for £510
Custom Jinja vinyl toy, by Sam Hadley / Slumber. Signed.
SOLD for £117
Custom Jinja vinyl toy, customised by Peter Lord (Aardman co-founder)
SOLD for £112
Custom Jinja vinyl toy, customised by Sarah Matthews (Aardman / BernysPlace)
SOLD for £103
Custom Jinja vinyl toy, by Merlin Crossingham (Aardman / Wallace & Gromit)
SOLD for £101
Custom Jinja vinyl toy, by Gavin Strange (Aardman / JamFactory)
SOLD for £101.50
Aardman Purple and Brown sketch by Rich Webber. Signed. A5.
SOLD for £100
Custom Jinja vinyl toy by Rich Webber (Aardman / Purple and Brown)
SOLD for £88
Custom Jinja vinyl toy, by Danny Capozzi AKA Hero73* (Aardman Animations)
SOLD for £51
Custom Jinja vinyl toy, by Peskimo
SOLD for £36
Hand-Carved Soapstone Jinja Lion Designer Toy
For a fixed, one-off donation of just £35.00 you will receive your very own Jinja designer toy – hand-carved out of soap-stone by our sculptor in Kenya, and brought back by us after our trip… in time for Christmas!
Your Jinja will be one of the world’s very first stone, hand-carved designer toys… no plastic in sight!
SOLD 20 – £700 raised
Handmade Cushion Cover, 100% Cotton – Genuine African Batik Fabric. Only 6 available in total.
SOLD OUT – £60 raised
Handmade Cushion Cover, 100% Cotton – Genuine African Batik Fabric. Only 6 available in total.
SOLD OUT – £60 raised
Hand-Carved Soapstone Jinja Lion *Prototype* – RARE Collectable. Only 7 available in total.
Sold 2 – £50 raised