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New monsterspace and brand new monster line!

Hello friends and fans! Once again, it's been quite some time since our last post but with good reason...

Hooray for 2012!

Firstly, we made it through another hectic holiday season with most of our sanity (and hair!)! Hooray!!!  Thank you so much to all of our amazing customers who supported us for the 2012 holiday season, SO many monster goodies unwrapped and getting comfy in their new homes.

New Monsterspace!

Secondly, after 5 years of living and working in the same space where the monsters were first born... we've moved!  We were quickly outgrowing the 2 bedroom apartment where all the magic happened, the monsters and I were tripping over each other's feet on a daily basis and despite their best efforts, their fur found it's way in my coffee every morning... The monsters now have an entire 3 rooms to themselves!  I know, they're spoiled... We're no longer tripping over each other and my coffee (so far) has been fluff free!  This means we'll have more space for making magic (aka, monsters!), more space for more inventory, and room for some helping hands and/or employees!  We're super excited to have a fresh start to 2013, it's going to be a great year!  Here are a few glimpses at the new monsterspace...

And last but not least...

New Monster Line!

Meet The Grumpsters!  The brand new addition to our Cutesy line!  They're a little bit grumpy and a little bit hipster but still just as loveable as ever!

It's been so much fun picking out their little outfits with their flannel shirts, leggings, and skinny jeans!  We're really excited to be adding this new series to our line of furry friends this year!  They are available over at our Etsy shop now! Now go!

Follow the monsters on their holiday adventures!

We've been hard at work gearing up for this year's holiday rush. We're very excited to be doing 2 brand new shows for us this year and to be returning to some of our favorites. So here's the list of where you can find us for the holidays, and of course, don't forget to visit us online if you don't live in any of the cities we'll be traveling to!

1.) Unglued - Fargo, ND

We're excited to have some fuzzy goods in Unglued's permanent shop this year after participating last year in their pop-up shop!

2.) SPACE Monstrose - Houston, TX

The amazing owners behind this awesome shop are so great to work with year round and have a hard time keeping our monster hoodies in stock! If you're in the Houston area stop in and say hi!

3.) Craftland - Providence, RI

We'll be at Craftland's month long market this year!

4.) Bazaart - Baltimore, MD

Bazaart is one of our favorite holiday shows and it's THIS weeking, Black Friday and Small Business Saturday. What better a way to show your appreciation for shopping small than to visit all of the amazing artists at the American Visionary Art Museum this year!

5.) Urban Craft Uprising - Seattle, WA

We're super excited to be heading out to Seattle for Urban Craft Uprising for the first time! We had a blast this summer at West Seattle Summer Fest and can't wait to see what excitement Seattle brings for the holidays.

6.) Crafty Wonderland - Portland, OR

We're very excited to be doing our first EVER show in Portland, OR. The monsters just CAN'T wait!

7.) Handmade Arcade - Pittsburgh, PA

And last but certainly not least, we'll be returning to one of our favorite holiday markets, Handmade Arcade. Can't wait to see all of you amazing Pittsburgh monster lovers!

If you can't make it to see us in person we'll be happy to do any custom orders for you that we can. Please try to get your orders in early so we don't get too backed up! Our little fingers can only sew so fast and the monsters are quite clumsy when they attempt to help... :)

Hurricane Sandy, monsters, and what we can do to help...

Hello friends and fans of the monsters! It's been a long time since our last post but this one is an important one for us.

As many of you may or may not know, the monsters and I are born and bred in New Jersey. As New Jersey residents, our hearts are heavy for those people who have lost so much in the wake of Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey and the surrounding areas. I feel more than fortunate that the worst for me was having to weather the storm stitching monsters by lantern light..

While our family and closest friends are thankfully all safe and sound, many, many, people were not as lucky. I grew up nearly every summer on Long Beach Island finding many small and large adventures to lose myself in... chasing seagulls on the beach, hopping rocks at Barnegat Light, burying myself in the sand because no one else would... Ok, and I still may do those things now...

My mom and I, just a few months ago, decided to take a drive down the coast from my best friend's house in Long Branch, NJ to stop in some of the towns along the way and to see my mom's old stomping grounds. I've heard many a story of her childhood days spent romping around the Asbury Park area at her Aunt's house. I knew taking a trip down memory lane would be a fun thing to do and something we hadn't done in a while. Somewhat typical of adventures with my mom (love you mom!), we got lost more than a few times, turning down dead end streets, sometimes heading in the opposite direction then where we needed to go. And as I was watching some of the aftermath footage from these towns we drove through, some that seem to have lost everything, I remembered getting a little annoyed at my mom for her driving antics. And despite my complaints she just kept saying, "Just look around you. It's so beautiful here. I want you to see all these neat houses." And don't get me wrong, I did. I did appreciate all of the houses and the little adventure my mom was taking me on but maybe not as much as I should have. Maybe I should have complained one less time about the 10th dead end street we turned down and just appreciated the ride for what it was. But in the end, I'm more than glad we took that trip when we did. And I'm happy knowing that someday I'll be able to take my kids on that very drive and explain to them all that it's been through and how beautifully it's been rebuilt (likely all while they're giving me disapproving looks for my wayward driving...).

Ok, ok so what is all this rambling about?? Hmm?

Here in the monster warehouse, we want to help as best we can. Because we can't be there physically to lend our two hands, we're selling these T-shirts to raise money for disaster relief. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to The American Red Cross and The Alliance for a Living Ocean located on Long Beach Island, NJ.

$15, 100% donated

They are adult sizes S-XL. And we have limited toddler sizes in the bunny design. Please leave a comment or email dkoss2@gmail.com with your size and design preference and we can see what we have in stock.

If you don't need or want a t-shirt, please consider donating directly. Every little bit counts and even the smallest amount can make a difference. And a HUGE thank you to everyone who's already helped by purchasing T-shirts and sharing this information via Twitter, Facebook, etc.

Together, let's help rebuild what so many of us have grown to know and love so deeply.

Forever Yours,

Your Friendly Neighborhood NJ Monster Maker

Updates from the Monster world!

We're off to an awesome start this year as the summer of monsters rolls in. We had a blast at our first and favorite local shows of the season, Art Star Craft Bazaar here in the good old City of Brotherly Love. It's always such a great time setting up in the city where both myself (monster maker) and monsters were born! The girls from Art Star put on such an amazing show and their volunteers are simply the best... the BEST! It's always so awesome to start the year out with such great customers and fellow vendors! Here are a few photos from the weekend...

Next up we joined some awesome artists in Baltimore for the Sideshows Market at the American Visionary Art Museum. It was a gorgeous day, the weather couldn't have been more perfect and we had so much fun in our home away from home in Baltimore. The American Visionary Art Museum is a great museum and I can't think of anywhere I'd rather have spent such a beautiful day hanging out with monsters and awesome people. Baltimore always leaves us feeling so loved!

We're also really excited to be a part of The Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts Alternatives Museum shop special exhibition, Featured Creatures. The monsters will have a special display up until August 1st, so if you're in the Wilmington, DE area go check it out!

Last but not least we'll be headed back into Philly for InLiquid's Art for the Cash Poor. We'll be inside both Saturday and Sunday so come by and say hi!

Don't forget to keep an eye on our tumblr monsters that walk and talk. to keep up on the monster mascot's shenanigans!

We've also got come brand new and very exciting products coming out within the next couple of weeks so be sure to follow us on twitter and facebook to keep up to date on when they'll be available and some possible sneak peeks!

A new year for the monsters!

It's been rather quiet here at Cutesy but not Cutesy headquarters as we've been enjoying some much needed rest and relaxation after the hectic holiday season. With the love and support from monster lovers all over the globe, we were able to make it our most successful year yet! We've got a few new things in the works for the upcoming months as well as planning our schedule of our whereabouts this year, so hang tight, this year will be as awesome as ever!

In the mean time, here's an amazing video I received this morning from a customer of a very excited monster lover on Christmas morning.

An Open Letter to USPS and its valued customers

As the holidays grow near, I am finding myself at the local post office, waiting in line with a large Santa-like sac full of packages to be shipped to various parts of the country (and the world) on a daily basis. As a small business owner running my own plush toy company during the holidays, this is a routine that has grown all too familiar to me over the course of the last 4 years.

I'm a regular at the post office. I'm there nearly once or twice a week all year long and make a daily schlep during the months of November and December. All of the workers at the post office know me by name and they recognize my packages as they come through with my quirky bunny drawing on each of them. Their faces light up when they see I'm next in line. A friendly face! A smile! I think I brighten their days and they brighten mine.

With all of that being said, it's disconcerting to stand in line with my fellow small-towners during the holiday season and to hear them complain incessantly about the long lines, the customer service, the lack of stamps, the lack of employees, etc, etc. People so impatient that they can't even wait 20 minutes or less to ship their dearest niece or nephew that brand new shiny toy so that he or she may open it on Christmas morning. What have we come to as a society when during the time of year that we're supposed to be bringing joy and cheer to everyone around us, all anyone can do is complain, impatiently check their watches, and threaten to never use USPS again?

Anybody who knows me in person or even online, for that matter, knows that I've never been one for confrontation. I make monsters for a living for crying out loud! How angry can I get, right? But recently I have been on the verge of standing up on a makeshift pedestal, monster in hand, in the middle of the long line at the post office (somewhat reminiscent of one of Charlie Brown's notorious monologues) and proclaiming my utmost gratitude to the USPS and most importantly the workers who have (probably unknowingly) helped me to grow my business to what it is today. As a regular customer I can honestly and without a doubt say that the USPS has never lost one of my packages in the hundreds, dare I say thousands, that I have shipped over the years. In fact, I've thought about moving many times but cringed at the thought about having to leave MY post office and MY postal worker friends. I can't believe the disrespect I have encountered this holiday season from customers to their postal workers. Treating them as if they make the rules, they're robots, or they're single-handedly out to make sure YOUR package does not arrive safely and on time. Forget the fact that they may even be humans with real feelings and emotions, have families to feed, mortgages to pay, elderly parents to take care of and so on. They're people just like you and I trying to do their job to the best of their ability and thankful every day that they even have a job in this economy. (Cue Charlie Brown music) Have people completely forgotten what the holidays are all about? Is it possible that people just don't know how to be human anymore?

With the threat of lots of changes looming over the US Postal Service, I ask you to remember small businesses like mine who depend on the USPS to get your furry little orders to you in a timely manner. Remember that the USPS, as frustrating as it may be to you at times, keeps so many small businesses alive and growing. So next time you threaten your postal worker with never coming back to USPS and taking "your business" elsewhere, remember me, my little pedestal, monster in hand, and the slow Charlie Brown music, proclaiming thanks to the USPS and its workers who make my days just a little brighter. And as the holidays grow nearer and the lines get longer, please remember that they're humans just like you and I, their job isn't easy, and a smile on your face will most definitely bring a smile to theirs.

So thank you Haddonfield, NJ Post Office and all postal workers around the country for helping me to deliver so many gifts to delighted customers all year long.

Warm, fuzzy wishes for a safe and happy holiday season to all!


Sincerely yours,
Your Friendly Neighborhood Monster Maker

Cutesy but not Cutesy for the Holidays!

If you're wondering if you're ever going to get to see the monsters in person or if you've already met them and wondering when you can see them again, we've got a few opportunities for you!

1.) Philadelphia: We're super excited to announce that we'll have some very special monsters in a brand new pop-up shop in the Philadelphia Museum of Art! Set up by local Philly artist, Alexander Stadler, as an opportunity to showcase local Philadelphia designers, P.POD (Philadelphia Produces Original Design) is a pop-up shop taking over 300sq ft. of the Philadelphia Art Museums main museum shop. The shop will have an opening party on Nov. 11th starting at 5pm and will run all the way through until Dec 25th! So if you're in the Philly area, go and check out some amazing local designers in this unique opportunity.

Here are some brand new exclusive pieces we did for the museum...
"My Tiny Paper Crane" Series #1 and #2



2.) Pittsburgh: If you're in the Pittsburgh area we'll be headed to Handmade Arcade on Nov. 12th! The show runs from 11-7pm, but get there early to make sure things don't sell out!



3.) Houston: Houston! We shipped some hoodies out to SPACE, an exhibition style retail space. So if you're in Houston and want to snatch up some tiny hoodies for the winter, go check it out!

4.) Philadelphia: We're unbearably excited to be a part of the first ever Holiday Art Star Craft Bazaar! We've waited quite some time for a good chance to sell locally for the holidays and here it is, Philly! The show is at the 23rd Street Armory (between Market and Chestnut streets) and will have a preview party on Friday Nov 18th from 6-9pm and will be open Sat. and Sun. the 19th and 20th from 11-6pm. Philly, we want to see you for the holidays!



5.) Fargo: We're super excited to be a part of the Unglued Craft Fest in Fargo, ND! Unglued is a unique pop-up shop in downtown Fargo running from Black Friday through Christmas Eve. We met the organizers of this event in Chicago for Renegade and couldn't resist the urge to send the monsters on an adventure to Fargo! Go check it out if you're in the area!

6.) Baltimore: Next up is Bazaart at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. This will be out second year at this show and we absolutely love it! Great people wandering about in a great relaxed setting. The show starts with a preview party on Nov 25th at 5:30pm and runs Saturday the 26th from 10-5pm. So avoid the malls on Black Friday and come play with us!

7.) Baltimore: We're returning to Holiday Heap this year at St. John's Church in Baltimore on Dec. 3rd. Another one of our very favorite shows!

8.) San Francisco: Last but not least we'll be making our last trip of the season back out to San Francisco for Renegade Craft Fair San Francisco. We had so much fun last year at our last show of the season so if you need any last minute gifts we'll be there Dec. 17th and 18th from 11-6! We're also secretly hoping for another visit to Sightglass Coffee with whom we completely fell in love with last year after just stumbling upon them! Can't wait to see you again, San Francisco!

Here's a picture from last year's Renegade SF with fellow Plush artist APlushPlush.



If you can't make it out to any of these shows, you can always visit us online and contact us for a custom order. Please order early to be sure it will arrive on time, as we have a very packed schedule as you can see!

Chicago, Crafty Bastards, and London, Oh My!

Now for a long overdue update from the Monsterworld! We've been traveling all over the place having a great time meeting new people. We road-tripped out to Chicago for our second Renegade Craft Fair Chicago. We had such a blast! Chicago is filled with tons of monster lovers and friendly faces. I also got to meet some fellow Plushteamers and to go to the Threadless meet-up with my good friends Alvaro and John from Fuzzy Ink. We had a great time hanging out with the Threadless crew and I finally got a tour of the new Threadless Headquarters.


Me in the new Threadless Headquarters (photo courtesy of Randy Aquilizan)

We love Chicago and can't wait for our next excuse to go back!

After Chicago came Crafty Bastards, in D.C., quite possibly one of our favorite shows of the year. Despite the construction around the venue and the slightly unexpected continuous rain, it was one of the best Crafty Bastards yet! The people of D.C. show us so much love and have such a great energy about art and creativity. The organizers of CB also work so hard and do an incredible job at it! Here is a video we made for the Craftiest Bastard of 2011 contest...



Next up and most exciting for us, was our very first trip overseas with the monster gang! Myself, the monsters, and the Fuzzy Ink duo packed up our bags and headed to London for the first EVER Renegade Craft Fair London. We love the Renegade shows more than anything so decided to follow them over the pond, because... why not? What an incredible adventure! The show was on the second floor of the Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane in East London. It was so much fun meeting so many new vendors from all over Europe! I finally had the amazing honor of meeting fellow plush artist Ninon from Berlin, who's work I've coveted for quite some time. She's as lovely as can be and her work is even more beautiful in person! I also met Jess Quin from Bristol, whose work I also love. I also met the amazing man behind Mr. X Stitch, Jamie. We chatted a bit about art and craft in London and he gave me a few laughs. I had met his counterpart Bridget, a.k.a Beefranck last year in Chicago. And last but not least I met the incredible fellow Plush Teamer, Sian, of Siansburys. I've only ever known her online and in forums so it was so amazing to travel so far and to see someone I 'kind of' knew! Here we are...



After the show we had a few good days in London to be tourists and we had a blast running around on the Tube trying to see as much as possible!






Taking the monsters to London had to be one of the most stressful yet rewarding adventures we've had thus far and we're so happy and have had such an awesome opportunity! The monsters really are taking us all over the globe, those little jet-setters!

Now we're gearing up for some holiday adventures so stay-tuned for and update on all the chances to see the monsters live and in the fur before the holidays are over!

Renegade Brooklyn and travel updates from the monster world

It's been a while since an update from us because we've been busy traveling the country yet again for another monster-filled season of craft shows. Handmade Arcade was the first show of the season and the people of Pittsburgh welcomed us with huge open arms. Next up was a trip back to SOWA in Boston closely followed by one of our very favorites in our home town of Philadelphia, Art Star Craft Bazaar. Philadelphia showed us some serious love but this customer was by far the best.



Then my good friends over at Fuzzy Ink and I hopped in the Fuzzy Ink van and drove out to Austin for Renegade Austin. It was my first time out in Austin and I fell in love. What a great city!



And most recently, this past weekend, was our third year back in Brooklyn for Renegade Brooklyn. It being one of the closer shows to home that we do, it was a weekend filled with incredible friends and fans who came out to both help and hang out. It was truly one of the best shows and weekends ever. If only every show could surround me with the things and people I love the most.










It's always so amazing to meet fellow plush artists who I only really know from online. This time I got to meet Megan Barbour of Green Elevator fame. How adorable is she???




And because of all the amazing friends who came out, it was one of the first shows we really got to test out the new mascot head for a long period of time. It made an appearance in Philly at Art Star but the rain limited its face time. The weather was mostly kind to us in Brooklyn and the mascot was really able to romp around as it's meant to do. The response was incredible and below is only a snippet of the amazing memories it created.



I feel like an incredibly lucky monster maker to know and to have met so many incredible people throughout my travels thus far. Thank you to everyone we've met this year and we look forward to seeing and meeting so many more people in the weeks to come!

Kickin' Back - Design for Leisure at the Philadelphia Art Alliance

The other day I finally has the opportunity to visit the show Kickin' Back - Design for Leisure at the Philadelphia Art Alliance in Rittenhouse Square where Cutesy but not Cutesy was amongst some of the finest designers in the Philadelphia area. It's so nice to be in such good company in our very own home city!

Fabric Horse makes some of the most awesome bags we've seen throughout our travels and they're based right here in Philly! We've run into them a couple of times at various craft shows but finally met them out in San Francisco for the Renegade Holiday Show. We laughed at the irony of both being from Philadelphia and finally meeting on the west coast!


These wooden toys also caught our eye by Holgate Toys based out of Pennsylvania. They've been in business since 1789 which is incredibly mind-blowing. It's hard for me to resist any vintage looking toys these days and I just fell in love with these instantly. It took me a while to wrap my brain around sharing a gallery space with a company that has been around that long!


And here's a peek at the monster display! They had the wall directly across from the entrance and staircase so their bright colors were immediate eye-catchers!




Thanks, Philadelphia, for inviting us to take part in yet another amazing show!

Listen to your heart...

A furry snowy Boston weekend

As mentioned in one of the recent blog posts, Cutesy but not Cutesy was due for an adventure out to Milwaukee, WI this past weekend for the opening of the Plush Team's first group gallery show at Hot*Pop Shop Gallery and Boutique called CANDYLAND. Unfortunately, due to some unexpected (somewhat expected) weather in Boston, our flight was canceled and we couldn't book a new flight out to Milwaukee in time for the opening. We desperately tried to find a way out to the mid-west, mid-snowstorm and then diverted our minds to possibly flying someplace warm with our already-paid-for tickets in order to salvage what remained of the weekend. Despite having missed the ultimate mid-west adventure and meeting and hanging out with some of the best plush designers around in -6 degree weather, we managed to kick it in Boston in style and made the most of the weekend we had dealt to us. Below are some pictures posted from some of the people who were able to make it out for the show.




Rest assured, Milwaukee, we will see you some day.

We've also received word that the Get Stuffed show in Cleveland, OH that was up just before the holidays at the SPACES Gallery will remain up until April 1st with some new and updated pieces from some of the artists. They've also sent along some photos from the first hanging.






We're looking forward to heading over to Philly to check out the opening of the Philadelphia Art Alliance's Kickin' Back: Design for Leisure Show opening Thursday Jan 27th. Hopefully more pictures to follow!