Our Mission is to inspire the expression of compassion, courage and empathy through play, and to create a community of belonging.

Celebrate difference as a source of joy, strength, magic and empowerment.
Imperfect means I’m perfect/you’re perfect – just the way we are.

Be the Xtra in ordinary!

Perfect Rejects®Stories

A photo series that document stories of people who have transformed adversity to a celebration of difference. I walk the streets to collect these stories and ask them to pose with Wilson, the bear.  I made Wilson the bear, in honor of Brian Wilson of the beach boys who is deaf in one ear, nevertheless went on to create the most PERFECT music ever.
Differences can separate us from others, yet it is these differences that make us special and often become our strength. My goal is to drop a few golden seeds of hope and show that the human spirit is resilient.  These daily stories can be viewed on Facebook, Instagram and at the PERFECT REJECT® website.

PERFECT REJECT® is a line of plush toys. Quirky. Authentic. Wonderful. Just like you.
Tattered and torn, vulnerable and soft, Perfect Reject® celebrate the strength in our weaknesses. They cultivate joy and understanding, reflecting difference and empathy for our inner, most tender, human selves.

Open a doorway to your heart and cherish our differences. Perfect Reject® remind us that our flaws can be our greatest source of empowerment and joy. Their Mission is to inspire compassion, courage and empathy to create a community of belonging, where perfection lies in the imperfections of our true selves, just the way we are.
A Perfect Reject® is born from an elaborate creative process of inverting, adding, and subtracting materials that invoke their special character; where play meets art.

We do custom orders. Do you need a doppelgänge made of someone special in your life? – email Nina.
An uncommon gift that makes a memorable impression. Perfect for birthdays or just for you, as a reminder that it is OK to be perfectly imperfect. Each PERFECT REJECT is 100% recycled.
We believe in giving the best customer service and striving for 100% satisfaction.

You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.  ~ Plato

Celebrate Difference. ‬Be the Xtra in ordinary!

PERFECT REJECT® was founded by Los Angeles, California artist Nina Salerno. One day in her studio back in 2011, she began to experiment with a stuffed animal she had found on the sidewalk that had fallen apart. As she tore at it and began to put it back together, she realized how tender and vulnerable this little, rejected toy was becoming. Despite undergoing a natural and forced process of aging, it gained a powerful appeal as it came into its new self. As she puts it, “It was like all its vulnerability came to life and called out: I’m a perfect little reject!” And so, PERFECT REJECT® was born.

The piece resonated with several people, and Nina received many offers to buy her first creation and requests to build new ones. Her friends told her that PERFECT REJECT® expresses that there can be value in something, even if it has been abandoned, and even if it’s not quite perfect. In 2012, Nina began offering hand-made, limited edition Perfect Rejects for sale at museums and art shows all over Los Angeles, and then later through her web site. Each PERFECT REJECT® is 100% recycled.

The growing number of requests for PERFECT REJECT® has inspired Nina to launch a line of affordable versions of her hand-made creations. Keep an eye out for the first in this new line.

Disclaimer : Perfect Reject® toys (one-of-a kind) do not meet the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). They are not toys for children.