YNU Group is a Canadian based company founded by Debbie Goodland (Company President) in 2005, that makes a series of dolls with multi-ethnic features called the Mixis.
You can find pdf info sheets on the YNU Group website.
The Mixis even have a “blog” complete with character profiles.
The four main characters at this point in time are
- Emerald Okada – this raven haired girl is Black American, Native American and Japanese
- Houda Degas – this blonde girl is French and Lebanese
- Opal Nkrumah – this girl with dark blonde curls is Nigerian and British
- Rosa Dominguez Katz – this brunette is Latina and Jewish
Emerald, Houda, Opal and Rosa
These dolls have fully articulated arms and legs and a naturally proportioned body. (hmm, are the legs really articulated – no visible joints? – TN)
Aparently four more characters will be released in Northern Hemisphere Spring 2009 – Ruby, Kirsten, Melissa and Pria – wasn’t that supposed to be… last month?
Check out the Philly Collector Blog to see real life photos of these dolls 
Tags: canadian companies, mixis, multi-ethnic dolls, ynu group
The Mixis dolls have bendable legs, but they are NOT jointed at the knee. Think non-poser Barbie legs. Also, only the Sunset Edition dolls have jointed elbows. The Limited Edition Emerald, Opal, and Rosa have straight arms. Houda is only available as a Sunset Edition doll so ALL Houdas will have jointed elbows.
I like how you included the dolls’ full names and ethnic backgrounds in your post.
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Nkrumah is a Ghanaian surname (think: first President of Ghana) so my guess is that Opal is Ghanaian not Nigerian. She is listed as Ghanaian-British on the mixis website.
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