Reminder

Tonight is the opening for target="_blank">Luv-able and Hug-able in NYC. I really wish I was going to it!

They also just added another event:

Lunchtime crafting!

CWC International is privileged to host the celebrated Ossu! Syugeibu design team from Tokyo, whose works are currently available at the Luv-able+Hug-able Exhibition at gallery hanahou. As a special gift to you, the Ossu! Syugeibu team will host a mini-workshop on Friday, December 5th. Please stop by around noon to satisfy your creative appetite for just $20. The project will be revealed only on the day of! Please let us know if you're interested by contacting info@galleryhanahou.com. We look forward to seeing you there!

What: A Lunchtime Crafting event with Ossu! Syugeibu
When: December 5, 2008 (Friday) at noon
Where: gallery hanahou, 611 Broadway, Suite 730
Cost: $20 for materials
RSVP: info@galleryhanahou.com or (646) 486-6586

Mentions here and there.

Here is a nice little write up over at Craft about the Plush You opening over at Double Punch Gallery Thanks again to Craft!



Gallery Hanahou has their Luv-able and Hug-able show coming up. Mochimochi Land has cute pictures up about her pieces and more on the show.



If you couldn't make it to the You Bazaar...Bazaar Bizarre is right around the corner! In the meantime, go here to see some pictures of this year's You Bazaar!



If you are in Seattle, our next Meet and Greet for Grassroots Business Association is this Thursday! Hope to see some of you there.

Buy online

All pieces still for sale from the Plush You show in SF can be found and bought here

Plush You SF

So SF was great! I had so much fun at Bazaar Bizarre. It was so nice to meet new people including my neighbor Lauren of Sweat Meats fame, see some old friends and see all the wonderful crafts that people make. A HUGE THANK YOU to Jamie for all of her amazing work. She is so on top of things and has a wonderful reputation that is more than well deserved!

The show at Double Punch was so much fun! I met even more new people like Anna Chambers (whom I have wanted to meet forever) and saw new/old friends. It was a nice flow of people. Sometimes it was really crowded and at other times it was mellow so you actually got time to talk with people which was really nice. Apparently they had so much traffic on their site that it crashed. I believe they will be putting all the work on their website but check out the many great pictures from Designs by L or Knit Sonya (whom it was also very very nice to meet!)

Lastly a BIG Thank You to Double Punch for hosting us and to Craft for bringing the most amazing cupcakes ever!

I will also be getting my pictures up today hopefully.

Thank You Thank You

I have been bad about blogging. Sorry, I was totally wiped out after Friday's opening and now I think I am getting sick. My body is telling me to slow down. I need to start listening. Anyways, I want to say thank you to all that made it out. I am shocked how many folks made the opening, it is truly an honor. Here are some people that made it out.

Beetlegirl Design made it up which was awesome.



And Teneisha Sprague which was a wonderful surprise.

And Carey Huffman from Full of Fluff!



And Jessica and Amy from Crabtree Studio



And Missy Kulik

And LaRue



And Michal Wright-Ward

I had a lovely time being able to spend some good qt with Azusa and Koko from Gallery Hanahou

And then of course all the lovely people whom live in Seattle including Mucho, Moxie, Coco Howard, Devout Dolls and the lovely Dawn and family

I loved seeing people hug this big guy and watching you all meet one another. It was a big plush love fest!

Look What I Can Do- Interview and Giveaway

I thought it would be appropriate to have a Plush You! loyal this week as it IS the WEEK of Plush You! It still blows my mind. Anywhooo, Dawn is one of my favorite people on Plush Planet. She came into Schmancy when I just opened with a HUGE bag full of the most amazing plush creatures I had seen. It's been a pleasure to see Dawn grow in the plush community, the craft community and in her art. Her work is similar in a lot of ways to when she started but now it's just more fine tuned and perfected. It's no wonder that she has received a lot of attention. Her work is fantastic! It is my great pleasure to feature the plush-a-holic herself for this special week of Plush You! Leave a comment her with your contact info for your chance
to win your own creature picked by Dawn herself!




S- Why don't you first tell us all a little bit about yourself and how you started your business.

DR- I was home with my daughter and started to sew her some creatures. She had such fantastic reactions to my Plush Art and she was THE reason I was inspired to begin and keep sewing. Plus my friends and family saw them and kept telling me I should sell them. So after a bit of time I decided to open my Etsy shop, January 9th 2006. Etsy was not really that well known at the time, hard to believe now, so I really had to promote myself. I started reading a lot of craft/art related blogs and was really inspired to start my own blog too. That's when www.Plush-a-holic.blogspot.com was born July 22nd 2006 the same day I became a part of the Flickr community and both have really changed my life. I am also an amateur photographer and went to school for almost 4 years for photography so I absolutely loved being a part of flickr (still do) and I really missed the thrill of creating. I used to spend hours and hours in the studio and color darkroom. Sewing changed my life. It made me so happy and gave me a sense of purpose agian. It was something I could do while my daughther was home with me and still feel connected to something bigger than myself. Something I could do for me.



S- You have two kids now but you still amazingly make stuff, update your site, your flickr, etc. How do ya' do it?

DR- Well, if you look at my shop you will see that I have been a bit slow lately. Having a new baby really makes it hard to have the energy to create. I guess I am just driven to keep going so that I feel a part of something bigger than myself and if I am being really honest I don't want to disappear from the Plush Community. I have worked very hard to be involoved in it. The connections I have made in the craft/art world are really, really important to me. Plus I am addicted to making Plush Creatures. I really enjoy the process and the finished product too. It's all so exhilerating!



Go here to read full interview.

Steff Bomb Gives away her Sole

I discovered Steff Bomb when I started carrying her toy, Mr. Lertchman. She makes monsters and who can't appreciate that? I was so glad to see that she had applied to this year's Plush You show (which is next Friday btw??!!!!!). Leave a comment here with your contact info for your chance to win her Sole.



S- First tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into making plush toys?

SB- My name is Steff Bomb & i like making things? ha. i guess that pretty much sums it up. my favorite food is vegetarian corn dogs, my favorite color is brown, i love my boyfriend (his name is Evan & i think he is a dreamboat), and umm...i am allergic to cats (but i will snuggle them anyway).
i got starting making plush toys a few years ago when i lived with a bunch of friends back in Philly. i read about an all plush show called Plushtastrophe, in Pencil Fight #2. the show was amazing and oddly enough, it never dawned on me that you could do something like that. i have been drawing all of my life but never had a medium that i felt comfortable with...but after reading that article, plush just made sense. the next day, i bought a cheap sewing machine from a wholesale liquidator and i have been sewing ever since.
so, i guess, thank you Bwana Spoons. as it turns out, he is the 100% indirectly responsible for who i am today.



S- You haven't updated your site in awhile. What have you been up to since Oct. 2007?

SB- oh...you noticed that too, huh? heh...
i've realized that i am much better at keeping up with myspace than i am with my website, because i can update it on my own. i have never really been good with computer stuff. my friend Meghan Ansbach has been kind enough to offer to help me spruce up my website and even make the "news" section more of a blog...so that even with my lack of computer knowledge, i will be able to update it regularly.
i've been up to a lot, but its all sewing. actually thats pretty much all i have done since...but i am definitely not complaining. ha. i've also very very recently moved from Philly to Chicago. before this year, i have never even left the east coast. i have to be honest, as much as i love living in Chicago so far...i love Philly pizza much better.



S- One of your toys, Mr. Lertchman had an international release through ESC-Toy. How did that come about and how did that change your plush making career?

SB- oh man, it changed everything. completely and totally. late 2006-ish, i received an email from Erick Scarecrow basically saying that he likes my work and was wondering if i ever thought of mass production. coincidentally around that time, i had starting researching mass production because i wasn't able to keep up with orders. i thought it over, decided "what the hell", and starting saving. by April 2007, i had enough money to pay for the production costs. i know it's not the the best toy in the world...but i collect toys too, so it was surreal to actually see mine in stores all over the world, on the same shelves as Friends With You and Uglydoll's. it's opened so many doors for me too. i still cant get over that i get to be in awesome art shows...let alone alongside people that i have admired for years. i am not going to mention any names (cough cough Heidi Kenney cough cough)...but i still get all giddy about that stuff.



Read full interview here

Michal Wright-Ward

I CANNOT wait to see these guys in person!

Trees of Machinery

This awesome squid and these cuttlefish will be at Fancy this year. By Trees of Machinery

Oh Moxie

You are a true genius!

Knitalatte

I can't wait to see these toys in person! By Knitalatte

Here are a few of my favorite things

I am starting to put sneak peaks of this years Plush You show on my flickr. If your stuff is not there...or not all of it, don't fret. My camera isn't great for larger pieces.

Here is some awesomeness

From Feltmates



From Cotton Monster



From Beetlegirl Design



From Diem Chau



To see more go here

Wow

So I am not a total buzz kill to you and myself I thought I would look on the brighter side for a few minutes. I am totally amazed at all the folks saying they are coming out for Plush You! To name a few....

I am really looking forward to meeting Hine! I almost can't believe it.



Several fantastic folks from Gallery Hanahou just informed me they will be making it out which is so exciting because it means I get to hang out with them. They are awesome!



One of the artists that they submitted to this year's show, Ossu Shugeibu is making it out all the way from Japan!

I was also shocked to get Michal's email telling me she was coming!



I know there are others I am spacing on. Let me know and I'll add you to my wow list.

More Information on this year's Plush You show

This year we are so happy to host the Plush You show at Schmancy, Fancy and Nancy in Seattle. The show opens up on Oct. 10th. It sounds like a lot of you will be attending the show. I highly suggest looking into staying at The Moore Hotel. The price is right and it's a hop and skip away from all of our stores. I am really shocked at how many people have been telling me they are coming out for the show. Last year I was surprised how many people came from out of state, this year I can't believe how many folks have mentioned coming from out of the COUNTRY! I am very honored. I thank you from the bottom of my plushie heart. for those of you that will be here, please check in with one of us to get a name tag. I really want this show to be a nice place to socialize with fellow crafters so wearing a name tag will help identify who is who. It gets super crowded too so a lot of mingling happens outside our stores. Even if you are not in the show, if you are a blogger, crafter, etc. get a name tag!

As far as getting your stuff in. I have been getting a lot of emails (thank you) for people's pieces and prices. For the Seattle show, this was due on the 15th. If you haven't gotten it to me yet, PLEASE get it to me asap. I really need this information to start working on tags. Once I get that info I will send you an email with all your information to confirm it is all correct.

I wanted to get your work Sept. 1st but if you are going to be late, do not stress. Once your work is received we will be taking pictures of each piece to get stuff up on a website. What I have decided to do is first put things on my flickr account so that if people want to purchase it they can. I want those people that are attending to see a lot of work and get first dibs on what they want. Some fans of Plush You have a very watchful eye on their favorite artists and that is totally fine. If someone contacts me about a piece before the show opens and wants to buy it, I am totally cool with that. But overall I want most items to still be up for grabs. It gets really hectic with folks coming in trying to get first dibs and whatnot. There is a lot to absorb and I think everyone leaves pretty satisfied.

The SF show stuff is due next month and I will do a more elaborate post on that show soon.

It's getting nuttier and nuttier in here...i can't believe it's after 5:00 already! Where does the time go? I am also working on a few books that are due very soon so please oh please, be patient with me. I am not trying to ignore ya', just got a lot going on.

xoxo, your #1 plush fan

Yuriko Sera

Another fantastic artist participating in this year's show is Yuriko Sera. Check it out! It's fantastic...oh wait, I already said that.

Creep Mouse Toys

It looks like Creep Mouse Toys has gotten herself a cute website! Perhaps it's old news but last time I looked it was in process.

To answer your questions...

As for pricing your pieces. We put these two part tags on each piece. Because the show is so crowded and hectic, the buyer can rip off the bottom of the tag if the choose to buy it. They then fill out the bottom portion with their name and contact info. It makes the selling part pretty quick and efficient. You are welcome to add your own cute tags, business cards, etc. to your pieces but you do NOT have to price them.

If you want to send promotional items, we set up a promo table and put all business cards, postcards, pins, etc. there for people to take. It's a hot spot at the show!

Also, we will be doing our annual workshops before the show. Obviously the You Bazaar! in SF is the one for the SF show. We will also have one in Seattle but details are still being worked out and will most likely be a lot more mellow as I am so busy as is. But it will still be a lot of fun! We are getting grab bags for the SF show to give out to our customers and fans. If you are also interested in sending things that will go in those bags, along with promotional items please mark them so I know.

That's all folks. Thanks again!

You Bazaar!

Alright folks, applications are up for You Bazaar! Apply here. I am pleased to announce that Heidi Kenney will be doing a workshop for this event. Along with my buddy Moxie. If any of you are interested in doing a workshop please contact me! It's going to be a great time!

We Dream of Meat Interview and Giveaway!

I personally don't dream of meat. I was a vegetarian for a long time but then I started feeling too sleepy and someone suggested it was my diet. One day, around the holidays, I had a week of running around. I was exhausted and had to continue playing the part of the energizer bunny. I ordered a burger. It was delicious. My friend was so happy that I was considering meat again that he took me to the famous Salumi's here in Seattle. Needless to say, I was sold. I am now a meat dabbler. Perhaps dreaming of meat is just the next step. If I don't start dreaming of the actual meat itself, I wouldn't be surprised if the creatures created by We Dream of Meat do. It would be pretty magical.

Leave a comment at the end of this interview for your chance to win your own Deadface. Please leave your contact info! Winner will be chosen on June 25th.



S- Who is We Dream of Meat?

WD- James and Stef. We live in Bristol, UK.
James does the drawing and cuts the patterns, Stef puts it together and makes it look nice.



S- You made some plush masks and bling for a Kid Acne video. Have you
continued to make these items?

WD- Those were a one-off we did for a friend of a friend who directed the video.
Kid Acne is perhaps more famous for his street murals in Sheffield and beyond.
If you Google him you can see some of his stuff - his style is pretty distinctive so most of the character design was done already.
The director is another graffiti guy who goes by the handle, Dscreet. He likes owls.



Read full interview here

Fantastic Toys Interview

Sometimes it's all said in the name. Fantastic Toys is an example. They really are fantastic toys! The first time I laid my eyes on them was over on our flickr pool so when I saw that Tim, creator and mastermind behind Fantastic Toys, applied for Plush You! I was overjoyed. I would finally be able to see the fantasticness in person. I am still excited and only wish October was sooner (although it feels like it's October here...why???). I am really happy to present you with this fantastic interview with Tim. Leave a comment with your contact info and your color of choice: Periwinkle, rose, mint, light blue, raspberry, purple. buttercup and pink for your chance to win your very own fawn!



S- I have seen your plush around flickr, etc and knew that you made amazing stuffed toys but looking through your actual website. Well I now have a million questions. First let's get a bit of background on you and your work?

FT- I started making toys about 10 years ago beginning with marionettes then eventually I moved on to miniature animal dolls and hand puppets. After doing a couple of miniature shows the dolls never took off the way I thought they would. About that time I discovered the world of plush and I knew I had to reinvent myself and start playing with felt. I started posting my creations on Craftster and flickr and the feedback was immediate and positive. So just under 2 years I have created a nice little niche for myself making soft toys.



S- Between the plush, the hand puppets and the miniature dolls, where do you spend most of your time?

FT- Currently I'm placing most of the emphasis on plush toys. But right now I'm having fun designing paper toys and DIY patterns. With the way the economy is right now people are holding onto their money. They're spending less and prefer to make it themselves trying to save a buck.



Read full interview here