Sanele Qwabe: Breathing life into nostalgia with Kind Kid

Sanele Qwabe crafts toys in his home studio in Durban which, he says, embody his childhood memories and celebrate black experiences. 

After years of creating animated short films that struggled to find an audience, the 28-year-old Qwabe sought a sustainable way to fund his creativity, leading to the birth of Kind Kid. 

Representation is a cornerstone of his work, though he resists using it as a marketing tool. 

“If I was making toys of white kids, no one would ask why I’m doing it,” he points out.

The name Kind Kid stems from a desire for self-improvement: “I wanted to be a kinder person.” 

This sentiment resonates through his art, which he describes as a manifestation of kindness and nostalgia. 

With a background in information design at the University of Pretoria School of the Arts, Qwabe says he channels his “creativity and technical skills in crafting toys that are not merely playthings but vessels of memory, emotion and storytelling”.

For Qwabe, Kind Kid is more than just a toy brand — it is a manifestation of a lifetime of experiences, emotions and aspirations. 

“This is something I wanted to be really proud of — to leave a legacy,” he says. 

His journey began as a filmmaker creating animated shorts inspired by his life and culture. His films were often inspired by shows like The Proud Family, which depicted the everyday lives of black people without leaning into stereotypes of struggle. 

However, financial challenges forced him to search for a different creative outlet. 

“I needed to find a way for the creativity to sort of fund itself, which led me to the toys,” Qwabe explains. 

Toys that invite people to reconnect with their inner child. He realised that the characters he brought to life in animation could also exist as physical pieces of art. 

With toys, he found a way to make his work accessible and relatable, 

enabling people to bring a piece of his creativity into their homes. 

At the heart of Kind Kid lies nostalgia. Qwabe draws heavily on his own childhood and the those around him. 

One of his earliest toys was inspired by a childhood memory of his sister perched on his shoulders, draped in their father’s oversized sweater. 

“The pieces I make take you back to that younger self,” he says. “I think it’s cool to know that the little girl or boy is still somewhere in your heart.” 

Each toy is designed to evoke these emotions, from its colours to its form, using a meticulous process that begins with a feeling and ends with a hand-painted masterpiece. 

Qwabe is deliberate about the values Kind Kid represents. The brand reflects his personal ethos, which includes a commitment to authenticity and integrity. He has turned down lucrative collaborations with alcohol and vape brands to protect the image and message of his creations.