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.

You can read a mini interview with me over at Calm Air All Ice ahead of the exhibition Fifty Two. I have just worked out that ‘Calm Air All Ice’ is an anagram of the names of the two curators, Claire and Camilla. I feel a little dense now!

I love this sad ghost guy by Marcel Dzama.

I love 100000 Years of Revenge too. I may never have discovered the work of Canadian artist Marcel Dzama if it weren’t for an exhibition I am taking part in next month.

Calm Air All Ice are curating the exhibition entitled Fifty Two which will run from 28th of March- 3rd of April at Room 212 in Bristol. I am so excited to be taking part in my first show based in the UK! The premise of the show is quite ambitious, Claire & Camilla have invited Fifty Two artists and makers from around the world to take part. Fifty two, that is going to be a lot of work to hang, especially as the gallery is the smallest in Bristol! I read the mini interviews with some of the artists taking part over on the Fifty Two blog and clicked a link to Dzama’s work. I confess that I haven’t written my interview yet, soon, soon. Pop on over to Calm Air All Ice, you may discover a new love too.

I had some postcards made of the fish boys and the two wall hangings pictured above and below. It was so exciting seeing my work in a new format, I think I am going to make some prints next. Oh yes!

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.

Do you remember the secret project I was working on a while back, well look above and you will see what I have been up to. I have been asked by the lovely Amy Borrell to take part in the latest round of Bakers Dozen. Do fly over there now to wave hello to the limited edition of 13 Libertine Banners I contributed. I am so honoured to be surrounded by the amazing pieces work you will find at Bakers Dozen, some of my favourite artists too!

I have a big faux fur throw at the bottom of my bed, I call it the “wolf throw” and it has been with me for what seems like an eternity. It must be pretty passe by now but I love it! Pulling it around my shoulders and tucking my feet underneath this soft skin makes me feel comforted and safe. I am going to be spending as much time as possible over the next week enclosed in my wolf tipi so things will be a little quiet at the LL&O blog. After posting today’s interview I am off for a rest and some general re-calibration (hmmm, makes me sound rather like a robot!). I will be back very soon for a super birthday week extravaganza, I will be joined by some wonderful friends and hope that you will meet us here to celebrate the coming of spring. Hooray, let’s make like March Hares!

My, What A Big Heart You Have print (above) from Hide n Seek.

Kitty card above from Frantic Meerkat for insecure types everywhere.

I have been tagged by Nicoletter and Encore Petite, hello Nico & Mathyld! I am going to tag Eerika and Maria, you don’t have to do it unless you really want to loves!

1. The chat up line with which I snagged Adam, my husband, was “you’re so pretty” (I can’t believe it worked-I am so smooth!)
2. I think that said husband looks just like The Medici Madonna by Michelangelo. I had a picture of this sculpture hanging on various walls for years before we met! (Adam asked me not to include this random fact incase everyone imagined him to be rippling with muscle, when I reminded him that the sculpture is a representation of a woman he was fine!).
3. I am terrified of birds, especially dead ones
4. A famous British playwright taught me how to tie cherry stalks into knots with my tongue (not as hard as it sounds)
5. I swing from being horribly shy and unconfident to excesses of over confidence and gregariousness. This can be very confusing and annoying for others.
6. I have always wanted to live in Paris. My French is terrible.
7. I am lazy. My best friend is half french and bilingual, I have had my opportunity to learn!
8. My son Ishi was inadvertently blessed by the hand of Iggy Pop during a stage invasion at a Stooges gig, I was 3 weeks pregnant and didn’t know it! (I hope he loves The Stooges when he is a bit older so that I can amaze him with this information!).
9. I developed an aversion to having my photograph taken in my early 30′s. I still find it excruciating and avoid at all costs. See below!
10. My first cat was named “Hera” as we thought our beautiful tabby kitten was a girl, over the course of a few months it became very obvious that ‘she’ was in fact a ‘he’. Hera kept his name though.
11. I spent the whole of my twenties and the first half of my thirties proclaiming that I never wanted to have a serious relationship or children!
12. I once ate ciabatta, mozzarella, tomato and basil sandwiches everyday for nearly 6 months.
13. I am quite obsessive
14. I am often described as being ‘frosty’ and intimidating by people who meet me for the first time. People who know me will tell you that I am a soft and fuzzy kitten and a jelly-head!
15. I always wanted to have my hair just like Debbie Harry’s circa 1978 (Heart of Glass specifically!).
16. People often tell me that I “remind” them of… insert the name of various random actresses and singers in this space… none of whom resemble each other, let alone me, in the slightest!

A note on the ancient pictures! See random fact #9-The photo above is the last picture taken of myself that I can stand to look at. I look fairly relaxed, natural and happy (I’m in Paris, who wouldn’t!) here. Around this time, my early thirties, I went through a period of being horribly shy and self-conscious, I am still this way sporadically. Since then, in every single photograph I have seen of myself, I look stiff and uncomfortable and unnatural. I do let people snap me but with extreme reluctance and I ask not to be shown the results. I am awaiting the arrival of my wedding pictures with a mixture of hope and trepidation. I feel very silly that this is such a big issue for me and no I don’t dislike the way I look and I’m not afraid of the aging process either. I wouldn’t want to look like any one else (OK except maybe Marianne Faithfull or Anita Pallenberg in the 1960′s). Perhaps I should start posting those horrid, stiff checked, stretched-mouthed photographs as a kind of aversion therapy. I should also say that I’m not ‘blonde’ any more, can you believe that the roots in my hair you can see in the pictures above are artificial, yes, I let the hairdresser paint in roots because it was ‘cool’ and oh so ‘street’ at the time.

Ok, before we have a little look at what I look like with dark hair I have to say that I whacked the contrast up on this in Picnik, so that the terrible “mirror” face I am pulling is not so glaringly obvious. I took this a couple of weeks ago and this is why I can’t stand having my picture taken, I don’t look ‘natural’ because I am so self-conscious and always end up with that awful, stiff expression. I may take this down quite soon by the way!

Here is an image of The Medici Madonna incase you have never seen it.

Marianne Faithfull & Anita Pallenberg.

Whilst I am being so self-obsessed I thought I would share two small landmarks for Lou Lou & Oscar with you. I wasn’t able to post about them when they actually occurred so now seems to be the perfect time.

My little Etsy shop clocked up its 600th heart the other day. Hooray! I am so happy that people are finding my creatures, a big thank you to everyone who has hearted Lou Lou & Oscar.

Image above: Polaroid Land Camera 1000 by Angel Caido on Flickr.

Good news for my fledgling blog too which has now had over 1,000 visits! I will be celebrating 1 month of blogging on February the 1st and I am so grateful to everyone who has contributed to making this such a fun and rewarding process. Thank you all so much for visiting, commenting and cheering me on, it means so much knowing you are taking a peek every now and then. I have some incredible interviews coming up over the next few weeks, please do join me for these, they are the highlight of my blogging week. Who knows who I will be badgering next with my 3 little questions?!

I am sick of myself now and off to watch some more Planet Earth with Adam (thanks to lovely Margie for inspiring me to revisit this series). See you all soon. X

There is a recurring theme here at Lou Lou & Oscar today and some exciting news about a new adventure my creatures have embarked upon.

Today sees the launch of a beautifully curated online emporium called Paper and Pine. The creators of Paper and Pine, Jenny and Amy, work together to curate and run Puces POP a huge craft fair that happens annually during the POP Montreal International Music Festival so they have plenty of experience rooting out the best handmade delights. I am very excited to have been asked to contribute some of my work to Paper and Pine and am giddy with joy that Catty- Catty, Marcel and Lapin de Lune have found a place in such wonderful company.

Congratulations to Amy and Jenny on the launch of Paper and Pine and good luck to all of the vendors involved. Here is a peek at just a few of the gorgeous goodies on offer at Paper and Pine today.

I would love a pair of these clever bird hooks by JivJiv for my hallway.

The ‘Sally Coat’ by Little Houses is on my wish list. I love the styling of these photographs. I have such a girly-handmade-clothes-crush on this model too!

Also on my ever expanding Paper and Pine wish list is the Ornate Blue Deer Pendant by Poodlebreath.

Fabulous, fabulous Rabbit pendants and brooches from Poodlebreath. Swoon!

And for my kitchen, Cloud Tea Towels from Chez-Sucre-Chez.

Beautiful hand-glazed ceramics from Horn of Plenty.

Hooray, just time to wedge in yet another fox at Lou Lou & Oscar! What a playful and sweet little fellow, add this necklace from Fleathers to the list too.

Make sure you click on over to Paper and Pine to wave hello to Catty-Catty, Lapin and Marcel!

I am so excited and honoured to be featured on Resurrection Fern today as part of Margie’s ‘Inspiration Week’. Margie’s beautiful work is such an inspiration and source of joy for so many of us, I am so looking forward to following her adventures over the coming year. Be sure to read the interview with the unbelievably talented Elsita whose work was featured yesterday. I am so in love with the paper bee below, simply stunning!

I would scoop up just about everything in Elsita’s shop if I could! Look at these delights.

Last one coming up but I could happily be here all day!

Thank you so much again Margie for sending me your wonderful questions. It was such a fulfilling process for me and has allowed me to clarify the direction in which I would like to take Lou Lou and Oscar.