Plush You! LA!

Here's a few sneak peeks I have seen of some of the work that will be on exhibit at Munky King starting August 26th!  I can't believe it's so soon.  For any of you wondering, this show is CLOSED.  Sorry.  If you email me, I am happy to add you to my mailing list for next year.  Who KNOW'S what might happen in 2011!!???

Plush Goodness

Robyn Fabsits

LouLou & Oscar

Feltmates

She's done it again

 

Robyn Fabsits kills me over and over again.

Robyn Fabsits

How cute is this? One of Robyn Fabsits finished pieces for Plush You! There are a few FeeJee Mermaids left if you can't wait until October...or even if you can.

WoW!

When I say I am cleaning Schmancy, this time I really mean it. It's getting a makeover. I can't stand looking at the junk I have acquired in the last few years being here. Then there are items that have just been here way too long. I need some new products so people don't leave empty handed and that means I need room. I don't need plush...just throwing that out there...just other items, mainly vinyl but anyways I should not be blogging, I just needed a break.

And I couldn't ignore the awesomeness to be hand over on the Plush You flickr group



like this plush roller skate!



Or the crazy realistic looking corn cobs!



Or the cute new weeds by mochimochi land



Or this amazing Goth girl by Robyn Fabsits



More to come about these toys that will be released July 15th by Hine

FeeJee Mermaid Release!

Our first Schmancy release is today and I am so excited to start this! Our first artist is the fabulous Robyn Fabsits. For Schmancy only we will be selling FeeJee Mermaids while supplies last! We only have 20 so act fast.

Schmancy Exclusive- Robyn Fabsits

A new thing starting at Schmancy this June is our exclusive toy release. I have asked different plush artists to make an exclusive plush toy which will only be sold at Schmancy. I am really excited for this to start. I have folks scheduled through December with room to add as time goes. I want to get it started and see how it goes for awhile and then tweak it if I need to.

Soooo our first person to highlight is the very popular and very talented Robyn Fabsits. Starting June 3rd her amazing Feegee Mermaid will be for sale at the store and online. There are only 20 of these so they are very exclusive. If you want to put one on hold for June 3rd feel free to email me or comment here. Oh and please note if you want the female or male. We caught up with Robyn to see what she has been up to.

S- You usually seem to make larger pieces that are extraordinary. How was it making a smaller piece?

RF- Excruciating. I constantly wanted to do more to them. Make them bigger or add a lot of hand stitching. I found that I couldn’t go crazy because I had 20 to do, I would have crippled my hands if I had tried. I’ve never done that many plush of the same thing. I won’t lie, I struggled with it. I love to do one piece and go crazy with detailing and complexity, be done with it and then move on. I think that’s how people recognize my stuff. I’m jealous of those people who can, who have the patience to make multiples and sell them. I don’t have the patience and am usually thinking
of my next plush while I’m working. This is why I can never sell multiples of my work through my site and I find it hard selling one of a kinds because the price is usually a little higher. So I strive to do the plush shows and do really intricate, well crafted, quirky, one of a kind pieces. I will say that seeing all my FeeJee Mermaids sitting in a pile felt really good.

S- What have you been up to these days?

RF- Things have been a lot slower this year. Last year I took on six plush shows plus a brand new baby. I was crazy. But I got it done. This year I’m taking it a little easier, fewer shows. I’ve also noticed there don’t seem to be as many upcoming plush shows as there have been in the past. I assume the economy has something to do with it. But I’m confident it will pick up again and I’ll be busier. So for now I can just play around. I’ve got some doodles I’d love to turn into plush and with no deadlines I can work on them whenever. I do have two pieces in the second issue of Stuffed: A Gathering of Softies magazine coming out this summer. There is a brief description
about the pieces and some tips on how I work as well as the doodle and illustration these pieces where created from. I believe this issue comes out July 1st.

S- What are you looking forward to for the summer?

RF- Organizing my studio!!! It’s out of control. My husband and I finished our basement 2yrs ago and I had tons of space. Now, two years later, I’ve run out of room. Ugh. So that’s my biggest project. I also look forward to enjoying the weather, my flowers and watching my daughter discover new things since she just learned to walk.


WHAT'S A FEEJEE MERMAID?

The exhibit which created the Fiji mermaid concept was popularized by circus great P.T. Barnum, but has since been copied many times in other attractions, including the collection of famed showman Robert Ripley. The original exhibit was shown around the United States, but was lost in the 1860s when Barnum's museum caught fire. The exhibit has since been acquired by Harvard University's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and
Ethnology and is currently housed in the museum's attic storage area.

The Fiji mermaid came into Barnum's possession via his Boston counterpart Moses Kimball, who brought it down to Barnum in late spring of 1842. On June 18, Barnum and Kimball entered into a written agreement to exploit this "curiosity supposed to be a mermaid." Kimball would remain the creature's sole owner and Barnum would lease it for $12.50 a week. Barnum christened his artifact "The Feejee Mermaid" and began to "puff" her to the skies. In Barnum's exhibit, the mermaid was allegedly caught in 1842 by a "Dr. J. Griffin." Griffin was actually Levi Lyman, one of Barnum's close associates.

Though many people believed Barnum's claim, the "mermaid" was actually the torso and head of a monkey sewn to the back half of a fish.

The Needle

Claire Chambers directed me to an article up on The Needle by the super duper talented Robyn Fabsits about how to get paid, etc. for participating in a show. She rest assured me that this was not a hint. I would like to add that, for myself anyways, that I am a one woman ordeal. No excuses but I am. I get busy and I am more than happy to get a hey, what's up email. No need to be mean but friendly reminders are nice. I even have to send out reminder emails at times saying "hey, ummm don't you want your money". I know we all get busy and I do think I am finding my way in this whole "i own a business" thing but sometimes we all need a little push. So if you are interested or concerned just send out an email first. I think it's awful when folks lie and say your work was NOT sold when it was. That's just dishonest and nutty. Anyways, enough ramble.