Originally dubbed "Fifi Mosaik", polymer clay was developed by a German dollmaker named Fifi Rehbinder in the 1930's, who used it to sculpt doll heads. In 1964 Eberhard Faber purchased the formula from Fifi Rehbinder, and manufactured it under the brand Fimo. It was marketed and distributed to toy stores as a medium for sculpting dollhouse miniatures.
It first debuted in the United States in the 1970's, when a family German immigrants named Shaups began importing Fimo clay for friends and neighbors that were intrigued by their clay creations in 1975. Soon after, American companies began to market and sell similar products.
Several American inventors had also discovered similar vinyl clays in the 1950's and 1960's, including Gordon Swenarton, whose father was a chemist, and a company called Zenith Products, developer of polyform products. The original intention of polyform products was to create a thermal transfer compound. When that failed, it was thought to have potential in the arts and crafts market.
Popularized in the 1990's, there are several American distributers of polymer clay in existence today. It is still used for dollhouse miniatures, and is also used for creating polymer clay canes, used decorate object surfaces or create unique beads. It has also found use for creating sculptures and figurines.
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