My creatures for Plush You LA at Munky King have flown off to California. The show opens on 26th August at Munky King, 7308 Melrose Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90046. As usual I find myself wishing I could attend, if you make it, take some pictures for me! I can’t wait to see all the plush excellence on display, I think it is going to be an amazing show. Above and below: Fish Boy-The Shaman, The Sad Fate of Mau of the Octopod Clan and Theodore the Stevedore.

Mau looked very different originally. Upright, with a little helmet, claw socks and gloves-she didn’t look right to me when she was finished. I think I made my pattern much too thin, tried to replicate the slightly wonky aspect of my initial drawing. I was so upset by my perceived ‘failure’ that I almost cried with frustration (it *was* gone 3am!) & then I decided to chop her head off & change her story. Gory, perhaps a little Grand Guignol, but she works much better for me now. In fact I feel very protective of her, I hope she goes to a caring home.

Isn’t ‘stevedore’ the most magical word, euphonious, easy on the ear? I’m pretty sure I first came across it in a song by The Small Faces, the tale of Rene, the docker’s delight! Theodore really couldn’t have had any other job, it fits him like a pair of claw gloves.

I came across this image of a Stevedore on the New York Waterfront over at the MoMA website. I like the look of this gentleman, he reminds me a little of my Great Grandad, whose name was Percival Varnum, a fine Victorian name, always shortened to Perce, never Percy! Perce had the prickliest mustache, like porcupine quills and the twinkliest eyes I have ever seen, roguish and full of life. As I mentioned in a previous post I have been tossing the idea of producing a winter collection around, thoughts of Perce are proving to be an inspiration. Think Alec Scudder in Maurice (below).

Probably the most famous Stevedore in popular culture, Terry Malloy (played by Marlon Brando) in On The Waterfront.

I haven’t written a thing about the Fish Boy, I guess he is self explanatory and I wanted to use those feathers so badly! Wish them all a happy voyage if you please.

Hello, hello, hello! It has been a while since I posted some Etsy finds here, a good way to begin easing myself back into blog land. I have just finished a bunch of work for a pop up gallery and boutique which will be opening here in Edinburgh at the weekend. As soon as I have some images I will reveal all! Keeping half an eye on the deadlines for Plush You LA and an upcoming show in the UK, busy, busy, but so nice to be making some new creatures, wolves are featuring heavily as you can see above. What’s the time Mr Wolf?

Time for Dancing Bears by Alice Gabb.

Vintage alarm clock in an edible colour from Space Jam.

Porcelain Squirrel Brooch from Sarah NcNeil.

The nicest bag I have seen in a long time from Every Eskimo.

I would love to add Dreaming in Yellow to my collection, from Cathy Cullis.

Hmmm, stolen kisses with Antoine Doinel, swoon! Cool tote from I Miss You Already.

These guys would look spiffing in my hallway. From Two String Jane.

Oh, it is nice to be back. Lou Lou & Oscar has undergone a little refresh while I have been away, new logo and bits and bobs. I am not quite ready to share the results with you yet but watch out all will be revealed soon!

Here they are, The Polar Pack, please say hello to Arctic Fox in Spring, Black Lemming, Snowy Owl, Caribou, Ringed Seal, Musk Ox, Bearded Seal, Red Aurora, Arctic Hare and Ice Blink. They don’t have super powers, just a love for the Arctic and the ability to assume an alternate identity, well, that is pretty super I guess. These little guys are available exclusively at Schmancy from the 1st of March, the online store is here. Each member of the polar pack is one of a kind and will never be repeated. In fact Schmancy is the only place you can grab yourself a Fish Boy of any kind at the moment! You can read more about the gang in an interview I did with lovely Kristen over at Plush You. I would love to hear if you have a favourite, I am willing to bribe you to leave a comment letting me know which of the pack you like the best. So, I am giving away a star pin of your choice from my Etsy shop and some other goodies too, a Lou Lou & Oscar treat bag, it will be lovely I promise! The winner will be chosen at random by the number picking gizmo, you have until the 1st of March if you would like to play along.

You can now reserve the guys from the Arctic Exclusive if you feel like adopting one! All the details over at Plush You. It feels good to be a ‘creative heartbreaker’, thank you Kristen! But now I have that Led Zeppelin song in my head!

Can’t embed the live tight trouser action version, so this will have to do!

While revisiting some Led Zeppelin and chuckling at the lyrics to ‘Whole Lotta Love’, hilarious, I remembered the ‘Sex Rap’ scene from Nathan Barley. So, funny and cringe making, it is also quite rude, be warned if you click over, again embedding disabled. Annoying! CLICK HERE!

EEK, super yikes, get your skates on all you super plush stitchy poos because Plush You is coming to LA this summer. Could this news be any more exciting?! If you want to apply visit the Plush You blog for all the necessary information. You don’t want to miss it that’s for sure. Did I mention that I am excited?

Just stopping by to spread the news that the lovely Tania has opened a new shop over at Big Cartel. Pop on over to Ninon super quick.

How I wish I had been in Seattle on Friday for the opening of Plush You 2009. I got the first reports from the show via Danamarie of Green Star Studio fame (I *need* a knitimal!) through Twitter. I couldn’t sleep, I wanted to be with my gang, marvel at the artistry and imaginative power on display, give Kristen a hug and say hello to everyone in person. I really want to know who my creatures are hanging out with over there? Kristen puts such a lot of work and heart into Plush You and I would love to give her a big hug and a very loud *thank you* for all of her support and encouragement. Dawn, you will know her work very well, and her husband took all of the product shots for the show, a huge undertaking and they deserve a super big thank you too. You can view some of the shots over on Dawn’s blog, Plush-a-holic. Dawn took the beautiful picture of The Bird Suit (above) by the way, thanks Dawn.

Yay, some images from the show are up on Flickr here. As you can see my gang are hanging out with Melissa Sue Stanley’s incredible creatures. Jinx looks a little worried, perhaps it is the proximity of Narwhal Fish Boy’s horn? I am happy to say that all three of my little ones are off to new homes, I know they will be well behaved and give lots of love to their new owners. Congratulations to everyone involved, it has been such a privilege to take part. Three cheers!

I am so thrilled that Diane is joining us today, her work is irresistible, a perfect combination of fluffy plush joy and cyclopean monstrosity. I am in love with these guys with the wild antlers and spiral horns. Lets’s join Diane and her creatures now, I can’t wait!

Tell us a little about yourself, the media you work with and your creative process.

I am a full time plush toy designer based in the Philadelphia metro area. I graduated from college in 2005 with a fine arts degree in photography and mixed media and have always been a more 3D oriented artist. I started my company Cutesy but not Cutesy about two years ago and have been stitching my way along ever since. I use felt (made from recycled post-consumer plastic bottles) and faux fur in most of my creations. Everything I do is entirely hand-stitched and I use no machines.

I like the way the fabric feels between my fingers and the way I can build the object from the ground up, it’s more like sculpture to me in that way. I think people can also really appreciate seeing the stitches in my work, it adds to the notion of the object being made completely by hand.

Each piece is one-of-a-kind as I don’t use any patterns. I just grab my scissors and start cutting! I really enjoy working on the larger pieces and pieces made for gallery shows because I can get a little more creative and make the horns and antlers as out of control and detailed as possible.

From where do you draw your inspiration: music, books, people, nature etc?

I’m mostly inspired by people who are doing what they love. People who have started from the ground up and who aren’t afraid to put themselves out there and work as hard as they possibly can to continue to get their creative voices heard whether it be through art, music, writing, etc. The internet makes finding constant inspiration rather easy (and sometimes distracting). I am always following a new blog and discovering a new site for inspiration.

I have always loved the work of Heidi Kenney of My Paper Crane. Her blog is a constant source of inspiration in both plush and non-plush related things. Kit Lane is another huge inspiration. She’s incredibly productive and her work is so quirky and adorable which is right up my alley! I also have a not-so-secret obsession with vinyl toys and my collection is ever growing. Non-plush/toy related, I recently discovered the work of Nava Lubelski which nearly brought tears to my eyes. I learned of her on this amazing blog … talk about inspiring! I’ll stop there because my list of inspirations could go on forever!

If you could talk briefly about the background to one of your pieces which would you choose and why? Please tell us the story behind the piece.

One of my favorite recent pieces was created for the Mortal Plush Show at the Art Whino Gallery in Washington D.C. The piece is called The American Dream (above). I created it with a lot of things in mind with one being a reference to the classic American Gothic painting by Grant Wood… my monster interpretation, if you will.

It was my chance to add a much more personal touch to a piece. I like when I can create work with a personal message that people can either get or not get, it keeps things interesting.

You can find diane in these places:
Etsy
Blog
Flickr

Thank you so much Diane for joining us today, it was such a pleasure to find out some more about you and your incredible work. Make sure you click the links recommended by Diane, I was so pleased that I did, some amazing work to be found!

I’m not sure when the next interview will appear, I am going to be keeping a low profile for a few weeks while I try and get some new creatures out of my sketch book and onto the sewing machine. I also need to get going on some new embroidery pieces, oh, I have plans! It feels wonderful to be so full of enthusiasm again. Another side note, I have wanted to write a post about a book I read over the summer, I don’t think I am going to have time but must urge you all to rush out and borrow/buy a copy of Leviathan by Philip Hoare. Really, it is the most wonderful book, so inspiring, my Sea Ghosts sprang from its pages. Go, rush, now!

Meet the Sea Ghosts, these little beings (non-beings!) have arrived in the Lou Lou & Oscar shop. You can read more about them here. I had planned a slightly bigger update that included some vintage pendents but decided just to list the one you can see in the image below. I balked at the last minute as I didn’t feel I wanted to take Lou Lou & Oscar into the realms of the confused. I love my plush, my embroidery, the occasional vintage dress but the trinkets don’t fit. I think I am just going to give them away, maybe via this blog. Perhaps as extras in my Etsy orders. We will see.

I have the most exciting project incubating (exciting for me at least!), I have decided to enter some work into the Jersey Textile Showcase next March and I want to set myself an embroidery challenge. The piece has to fit into an A3 padded envelop and must relate to the theme: All Is Revealed. I am going to try and chart my progress here at LL&O. Hooray, I am going to reveal my terrible handwriting, even worse sketching and duff preliminary ideas to you all. Now, here is a cool thing to take your mind off the above.

Ode to Harold & Maude from Mary’s Granddaughter via Flickr. I love that film and I love the sweet fringing around the hoop!

Oh, and I would love this little brooch too please secret benefactor!

One of the best makers of soft sculpture around is having an end of summer sale, 15% off the exquisite items in the Astulabee Etsy shop. I wish, wish, wish for the deer above (just incase my secret benefactor is reading this!). This may be your last chance for a while to share your life with a magical, handmade creature. Get thee gone now!
Astulabee