I'm an American Made - Audiance Choice Award Nominee!

 Voting starts August 26th!

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!

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!

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...

Crazy Toys - A French Publication

I'm super excited to announce Cutesy but not Cutesy's first international publication in a hardcover book! The book is called "Crazy Toys: Les artistes créent des doudous" and is published by one of the oldest publishing companies in the world, Aubanel Publishing as part of La Martiniere. The book is a compilation of the work from plush artists all over the world with various photographs and pages for each artist. Below are some photos of Cutesy but not Cutesy's pages in the book!







The book is available for purchase on the French Amazon site or directly from Aubanel.

Being published in a book was definitely one of the biggest long term goals for Cutesy but not Cutesy and so it's extra exciting that it has happened so soon! Now it's time to mark some other things off the list!

A life in fast forward.

Where has the time gone!?

I haven't had much time to post this summer as we've been traveling all up and down the east coast finding monsters new homes and we're gearing up for a fall chock full of road trips as well. The next stop is Chicago for Renegade Chicago. We're super excited to be a part of the show this year and it feels like we've been looking forward to this show since we missed it LAST year. It'll be our (the monsters and I) first time in Chicago so it will certainly be an adventure.

I'm hoping to return with lots of stories to share but in the mean time, I've made a short video giving you a sneak peek at my process. It's an hour of work in 7 minutes and 35 seconds. Enjoy!

Plush You/Schmancy Olympic Challenge

I've had the great honor of participating in the wonderful plush Olympic Challenge being held by Kristen of Plush You fame. You can read up more on the details here. Over 180 artists have entered and were assigned a competing category. I was assigned opening ceremonies and after much frustration I came up with what I think was the best solution.... the Vancouver Olympic Torch Monster!!! I've named him Vin and he's 52" tall! Holy smokes!!!






Please wish Vin and I luck as we head into competition for gold, silver, and bronze plush metals!

Cutesy Dishware is here!

Like the ambitious artist and crafter that I am, I began planning for new projects for 2010 in the middle of the busiest time of my 2009 year. But it's planning for future exciting projects that I think gets a lot of us through the struggles of the hectic holiday season.

My newest project comes to you in the form of monsters you can eat off of! Yes, that's right, Cutesy dishware is here with mugs, plates, dishes and more to come! The dishware is painted with non-toxic porcelain paints and heat-set to be dishwasher safe!







I have a few more new projects I am working on including new screen-printed t-shirt designs! As soon as I can get my hands on some models to model them for me, I'll have pictures of those, as well!

Happy monstering!

Monster Journeys!

As 2009 winds down, I have been enjoying a bit of rest and relaxation and spending some much needed time with distant friends, friends I've lost touch with, and of course, family. The holiday season always goes by so quickly, making it even more important to try to enjoy every last bit of it. I made a decision last year that I would only ever give handmade gifts for the holidays, not necessarily handmade by me, but handmade by someone, somewhere, like me. There's something so incredibly fulfilling about picking out thoughtful, one-of-kind gifts for the people who are dearest to me. Knowing that I am supporting the handmade movement and an artist and entrepreneur like myself, is more than half the joy. I was able to convince my family to do the same this year making our Christmas morning just a little more fulfilling. I felt, for the first time, like we weren't just giving each other "things" but we were giving one another little works of art that were painstakingly created by someone with an obvious passion for the craft. Also, in doing so, we were supporting the handmade movement and artists who simply love what they do and work hard for what they believe in. It was a warming experience to say the least and I hope it's a tradition that we will continue for year's to come.

With all of that being said, I wanted to send out a huge thank you to all of my wonderfully amazing customers that I have met in the past year both online and traveling here and there. I had the opportunity to travel to cities (and states!) that I had never been to and each one was more welcoming than the next. Not to mention all of the places that my monsters have traveled to without me this year! Some places that I am nearly certain I will never get to travel to myself but I believe they have been welcomed with open arms and made to feel right at home no matter where they are. I feel truly grateful to have met so many amazing people throughout my journeys, both artists and non-artists alike. It's because of the support and encouragement from everyone that I have met that keeps the monsters and I pushing on. So, thank you, again.

As I hunker down for a long winter in the studio, I am hoping to make more frequent posts as I gear up for my many plans for next year. In the mean time, I've mapped out where my monsters have journeyed to just based on online sales. There are hundreds (dare I say thousands???) of other monster homes out there that will probably always remain a mystery to me and I think I'm o.k. with that. :)

Bring on 2010!!!

more...

Luv-able and Hug-able Show at Gallery Hanahou

We're happy to announce that our pieces for the wonderful Luv-able and Hug-able group show at Gallery Hanahou are finally complete and ready to be shipped off to NYC! The show runs from Dec 3rd to Jan 9 so if you're in the area and looking for adorable gifts for very special people, stop in and see the work of many amazing artists from all over the world!