Knitimals Plush Exclusive and Interview!

Danamarie of Knitimals fame came to Plush You! the first year that people seemed to really make the treck out to see the show.  I was so honored and humbled to have folks come out from far and wide.  Ironically her little brother was with her, fell in love with the city and moved out here and now works across the street from little old Schmancy.  The world is small and full of good surprises.  This is only one of many surprises that Knitimals represents.  We will be releasing these adorable little guys on Sept. 15th.  In the meantime, let's see what's been up with the artist.

S- What was your inspiration behind this exclusive?

K- I knew I wanted to do something colorful & bright (which is pretty easy for me), and it had to be soft and snuggly (so I decided to go with uber soft fleece). The Knitimals always have a red heart on their chests, and the OoAKies always have a heart on their cheeks, so a heart SOMEWHERE seemed inevitable. I started thinking about love and the way we carry love around with us. Being 7 months pregnant, these day I am carrying MY love around in my belly! So, it all kinda clicked for me--- my exclusives would carry love in their bellies & sort of commemorate the way I'm feeling right now.

S- Did you do anything fun and exciting this summer?

K- I did! Aside from a few road trips to Boston & Maine, which we love, and catching up with friends all up and down the east coast, I was super busy with art shows & craft fairs. We saw some great concerts & went to the farmer's market a lot. AND my husband and I got to go on the first REAL vacation we've had in a long time. We spent a week at the beach in Delaware & played skee-bal and ate fries with vinegar and watched the fireworks over the ocean. It was like being 10, but with more freedom & extra pocket money for the boardwalk. I didn't bring any work with me (and I NEVER do that) and we spent our evenings reading to each other. It was fantastic. Then at the end of August, I shared a booth with some of the other gals in the Baltimore Etsy Street Team, at the Buyers Market of American Craft and got to introduce my work to a new group of retail buyers... different from a beach vacation, but still pretty fun & exciting.

S- Where would you like to see your plushies on vacation?

K- Ooh, all this vacation talk is making me want a summer do-over. Well, *I* would like to go to Hawaii, so, I think it would only be polite to help them plan a trip there. I could see these guys enjoying a good luau. I imagine they'd be good surfers and I know they like pineapple. Then, of course, there's Germany. I've always wanted to go and my brother just got back from a trip there... I was jealous, and I could sense the Love Bellies were jealous too. And Iceland! Sweaters and green hills and Sigur Ros? Yeah, I think the Love Bellies would enjoy a three pronged vacation. Can we set that up?

S- If your little guys could talk, what do you think they would talk about?

K- Mostly they'd make small talk. They're friendly & generally open to learning about new things. But when they're left alone, to talk amongst themselves, I think they'd talk about baked goods. I can't tell you how many times I've walked into my studio and been convinced that I had just interrupted a colorful debate over brownies versus cookies. Some of them strike me as staunch banana bread types, while others have cupcake written all over them. It's not my place to get involved. I think they're all right.

 

 

S- Any exciting plans for the rest of the year?

K- um, yeah... what was it again? something pretty exciting... but what was it? what was... oh yeah, a BABY! We're less than a couple months away from finally meeting our little boy and I am SO excited! I am, admittedly, a little bummed that I won't be able to come out for Plush You this year, but otherwise the timing is really great. I'm doing one more big show and then I'll be putting my shop on vacation so my husband and I can just focus on our little dude. We're looking forward to just being at home & soaking in all the sweetness. He's due a week before our anniversary and we can't think of a better present. Plus, we'll have all that extra love around us for the holidays (and we won't have to cook!). I've been making him some pretty awesome dolls and blankets & stuff too and I can't wait to finally have an "excuse" to KEEP the *really* cute stuff I've made. I'm in full on nesting mode-- painting a mural, sorting the tiny little clothes we've been given, preparing our dachshund for his new brother and just generally getting ready for all kinds of  awesomeness. And I've heard that Scorpios are super cool people (right, Kristen?). (kristen says "hahaha YES!)

Urban Craft Uprising.

Applications are due for Urban Craft Uprising this MONDAY!  I'm not just saying this because I work at UCU but this show is amazing!  The people of Seattle really love to support handmade and come out in droves for the show.  If you are debating any shows out of state, choose this one!  We had over 9,000 people attend last winter's show and it continues to grow each show!

MY Plush You! LA! Experience

Alright peeps, I am gonna admit something.  I was really scared to go to LA!  I have never been and I guess I had a warped sense of what LA means.  And boy was I glad to discover that I was all kinds of wrong!  LA was great!  Michal let us stay with her for the first three days and was a great host.  We got to see Reform School which was kinda like meeting a celebrity.  We then drove to Disneyland and let me just say that I loved it there!  I think I always kinda thought of Disneyland as being this super corporate place with Disney being so up in your face.  Instead I found it super kitsch in the best way, old and well, AWESOME!  I totally see where people get inspired by it there and well I just can't wait to go again.  I was also super brave and sat in the front on Splash Mountain and loved it so much we went three times!  yeah, I was soaked.

Anyways, most importantly Plush You! was awesome.  The folks at Munky King Toys were so nice!  They were really impressed with all of the artists work.  Not only by the skills you all have but how organized you all are.  I got to meet so many nice people that I have talked with, blogged about, etc. so that was very special.  It's funny because I always say to myself, if I don't make enough money, I can't do this again.  I mean, let's face it, it's money to get myself down there, get an intern down there to help me, rent a car, get hotel rooms, etc.  BUT after the show, I decided, it was worth it.  Of course I would like to make enough to get paid back at least but #1 you never know who might shop there (i mean celebrities do live there) and #2 sometimes I just gotta look at this stuff as advertising and fun!  It was so so fun!  I think it impressed a lot of people too!  As one person told me, "my friend told me about this show and said I should come tonight but I was a bit apprehensive as it sounded too juvenile but I am so glad I did, it's magical".  Good work gang!  Let's make gang shirts soon :)

The Examiner

Check out the article on the Plush You! LA! show here.  And don't forget to tell all your friends, family and fans that you can now purchase work from the show here

Amy Gaines Video!

I just bought a flip camera as I need to jump on this bandwagon!  Look how cute Amy Gaine's video is!