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.

The Bird Suit, Jinx and Starfield Narwhal Fish Boy have taken flight to Seattle and I miss them already! I do get attached to all of my creatures but this trio really wormed their way into my affections, they were such a pleasure to create and feel so close to my initial mental picture of them that I can declare myself a happy creature maker. It was such an honour to be accepted into Plush You and I can’t wait to see everyone’s work collected together. There have been some wonderful sneak peeks already. If you follow this link you can view a few of the submissions on Flickr. You must check out Margie Oomen’s pieces if you haven’t already, safe to say that there will be nothing else like them on display, I am in love with them all and wish I could meet them in person.

And Yay! Ninon has released the first image of her work for Plush You. Isn’t the little critter below just wonderful, my favourite colour palette, I am so tempted!

I wanted to share a little bit about my sources of inspiration with you, a strange mix I think but somehow they resonate together, for me at least: Battle of the Planets, Moby Dick, T.S. Eliot, the ocean, the stars (oh and an unconscious influence during the making of Jinx, my cat Stimpy).

** I began this post on the 4th of August, I can at last finish it off and publish it! I expect that there have been many more sneak peeks by now, do let me know if you have spotted any new creatures on the horizon. A little note about life in Lou Lou & Oscar land, I am hoping (cross fingers for me) that the dramas have played themselves out, that I will be able to free up some ‘me’ time to reconnect with my beautiful blog, flickr & etsy friends, do a little crafting and update this space once in a while. I’m not even going to announce that I am back, that I am planning a whole day devoted to email tomorrow and some new things for the shop very soon! So, what have you all been up to?
XXX

We are trying to make some decisions, what do we want to do, where do we want to be? We both like to move around, get itchy after 6 months in the same habitat. I had 12 addresses in London, a testament to my short attention span I suppose. Now we have a child and he needs stability (although he does love to travel!), we are relatively impecunious and just a little odd-birdy; where can we establish ourselves, where would we fit? We have conversations and try to thrash out the above, I always jump for the ideal, Mr Aaron is circumspect! My ideal: a place in the city, white space, wood, a small courtyard, me and a band of creative cohorts open up the space/home to the wider world and run craft nights, exhibitions, workshops, seminars, fairs, films, music, an open house for visiting makers of things, a place to stay, a library too! Mr Aaron’s response: “so what you really need is lots of money then?!” Oh, boo hiss! I must confess that we feel pretty stuck right now. But, things are possible. My remarkable friend K used to live on a converted tug boat, a wonderful space, you could lift the roof off one of the bedrooms and sleep under the stars. With extremely limited means K began opening up the good ship Yerba Buena to the local community, and yes, she even had a little library of books you could borrow. If you are wondering about the image at the top of the post that is La Crête Fort on the North coast of Jersey. Can you imagine my little dream coming to fruition in such a place! We are considering hiring the Fort for a few days once the winter season begins and prices drop, it is about as isolated as it gets on a tiny island.

This room would be perfect for daydreaming in!

The cause of this preamble and possibly over-sharing tale was a post on Ninon’s blog about an exhibition of her Monstris housed in the most incredible home/atelier. Pretty much my heart’s desire!

The home/atelier is Pesci Pneumatici in Bologna, Italy.

You must whizz over and read Tania’s complete post now if you haven’t already, there are amazing softies galore too, a treat!

I think that he looks like Nick Cave back in the days of The Birthday Party! Zebra fabulousness (above) from Skunkboy Creatures of course. Here we are again friends, it is time for another plush gathering. I am feeling so inspired by the wonders on display here, my fingers are itchy and desperate to get snipping and stitching and stuffing! Things have been a little quiet on the creature front for me recently, that is going to change very soon though. I had planned to release a little list of the places you can find my work this year, I am waiting to hear if I have been accepted into one particular show, once I know you will know-keep your fingers crossed for me please kittens. Now, feast your peepers on plush heaven!

“Quand la pluie tombe chez moi” by Cocon

Wonder by Melissa Stanley

Victorian Lady by Junker Jane

Lumi by Le Train Fantome

Family by Matilde Beldroega

I can’t help making up background stories for the new creations from Astulabee. Oh, especially the Show Pony!

Endearing foxes from Oso Polar

Super floral fish by Flora Douville.

Kootoom, Turris & Pecten by Sarah Bourque.

Deer by Takiyaje.

Plushrooms from Kitty Bee.

Beuys Bunny from Das Kaninchen.

Jinx Moon Bunny from Moon’s Creations.

Peascape in Strangeland from Kit Lane

Large Fabric Bird by Abigail Brown

Rabbit from Fawn Potter.

Francis by Flannery O’Kafka

Cat from Red Craft Works.

Miss Black Dahlia from Meeniak.

The Classic Maggot in White with Pink Heart from Pterodactyl Pants.

Feathery Doll by Cathy Cullis.

Doli Mary Chestnut from Misako Mimoko

Crazy cool! I want a plush wall. Collected work by Ninon.

Before I forget please do join me tomorrow for the ever shifting weekly interview, so exciting, meet me in Argentina!

Who is that beautiful person reclining upon a bed of monsters? Why, it is Tania of course, otherwise known as Ninon, plush maker extraordinaire! I have been watching the development of Tania’s work over the past months and every time she uploads an image of her latest creature creation onto Flickr I am blown away. I adore her insistence on spontaneity and the uniqueness of each of her ‘monsters’, there will never be two the same, Tania must plug into some super-saturated well of creative energy! I was desperate to find out some more about Tania’s creative process so you can imagine how thrilled I was when she agreed to appear on LL&O. I am still pining for Nero Bolotovski (the wolfy man bellow), he belongs to another, I would love to know who was lucky enough to scoop him up.

Devastating plush charm!

Only Gaspard E. Pinopine (above) could make up for the loss of Nero. Hmmm, sorry, let’s get on with the interview.

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

“My name is Tania Patritti, I was born in a little town in the Alps in northern Italy almost 31 years ago, but after many moves around italian cities, last year I decided to move to Berlin…and now I am really enjoying it!! I have a degree in History of Art and I am interested in photography, animals, music, cooking vegan food, cinema and, of course, crafting.”

“I started sewing using my mother’s sewing machine in 2001, my first mission was to make my own bags and some clothes for me and my bravest friends… I’ve always liked the idea of wearing things that are unique and I think it’s a bigger satisfaction walking around with something handmade, even if it’s very simple and not perfect. I like imperfections. I can’t stand the idea of “serie”, in fact everything I make is one of a kind. A lot less boring….”

“At the moment I am working full time on my crafting projects. Lately I am mainly focused on my softies “Les Monstrìs”. I started making them 5 years ago and I like the fact that they are evolving everyday…I’ve always been drawing little strange creatures and in the years I felt the need to bring them to the 3rd dimension. My first attempt was with papier mache, but later I decided to make them softier with fabric and polyfill..in fact I am a fabric addict and the part of the job that I enjoy the most is to put colorful fabric together.”

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

“My inspiration comes from everything that surrounds me, my drawings, movies, dreams, insomnia, people, ideas given by friends, internet, memories of my childhood…I like to challenge myself and feel the subtle evolution of my work day by day.”

“I like the fact that the idea of making something in a certain way often comes without even thinking about it! I definitely follow my instinct when I am hand-making something. I don’t use or make patterns. For me the feeling of freedom that comes with this job is very important and for this reason I prefer working on my own projects instead that on commission, even though I am open to work with/for people with whom I feel that there is a common view on things.”

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

“Mmh, to answer this tricky question I went over my archive of pictures of Les Monstris and figured out that maybe Desperate Junino is the one that has something to tell…: I made him in the summer of 2007 when I was living in Turin…it wasn’t a very happy phase of my life and this somehow reflected on the faces of the monsters that I was making at that time. Junino was my first attempt in using a little bit of free hand machine embroidery technique and what I like most about him is that it’s closer to the drawing that I was making and much more expressive. Usually I don’t like softies that are cute just for the sake of it, I appreciate more the ones that have something “twisted” in them.”

“I hope not to sound too immodest with what I am going to say, but, another reason why I am so fond of Desperate Junino is because of the person that bought him from me. I had a booth at a summer festival in Turin where Sonic Youth were playing and at some point in the afternoon Lee Ranaldo came over and we chatted a bit and then he chose Desperate J. and another one for his two children, that are really into softies…now, can you imagine your favorite guitar player of your favorite band since you were 15 taking a picture of you and your stupid monsters? I was so embarassed, but trying to look laid back somehow…yes, in fact here I am, telling you this story 2 years later, eheheh… I was very happy also because he chose my favorite one!”

You can find Tania in the following places:
Flickr
Super Ninon blog
Etsy Shop

That story just kills me! Can you imagine what an incredible rush it must be to have a member of your favourite band take your work home? Thank you so very much Tania, I loved reading your responses and have been inspired to inject a bit more spontaneity into my own work. As both me and Tania share a love of Sonic Youth I thought it would be fun to share our favourite songs with you. Tania’s first and mine to follow. Have fun jumping around to these!

Stagger back in amazement! I actually managed to update my shop with some new creatures. I am running with a bit of a circus theme and jumping on the mustache bandwagon at the same time. In honour of my mini update I have gathered together some wonderful things with mustaches attached. Get out the wax and start twirling in a nefarious fashion! Circus Bear, at the top of the post, from The Good Machinery.

Catty Catty Owl Tamers by Me!

Mustache On A Stick from Something’s Hiding In Here.

Felix from Simpli Jessi.

Moustache Tea Cup and Saucer from Surya Sajnani

Weep with me for Jake the Sad Oneyed Lumberjack from Ninon.

Cedar Mustache Key Hook from Suddenly, its real!

Fis & Flo from Psarokokalo.

Ring from Isette

Heraldo from Pink Cheeks Studios.

Pint Glass from Bread and Badger.

Walrus Mustachioed Amigurumi from Melissa Sue.

Print from Ole Rattlesnake.

Ok, so he doesn’t have a mustache but he would probably do quite well in the circus. Velvet Fish Boy makes his debut in the Lou Lou & Oscar shop today. I am really happy with the switch to this new fabric, velvet seems to suit Fish Boy’s temperament and he is so lovely to stroke now! I have some new Fish Boy designs waiting to hit the scissors, very exciting, for me at least. Please don’t forget to join me here tomorrow for the Monday Interview. Good night kittens.