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!

Starting off 2011 with a bang!

There's been a severe lack of posts here and news updates since the holiday rush of 2010 began and we really apologize for that. Caravans of monsters were making their way all up and down the east coast and even a plane-full made the journey out to San Francisco this year for the last show of the season! While the journey was exhausting, every last mile was more than worth it to meet our customers in person and to see the smiles the furrybeasts bring to people's faces all around the country.

We've been taking a bit of breathing time to recover from the non-stop traveling but we're slowly coming out of hibernation and hitting the ground running with some new exciting projects for 2011! Cutesy but not Cutesy already has two gallery shows lined up for January. The first is in Milwaukee, WI for the Etsy Plush Street Team's first ever group show CANDYLAND at Hot*Pop Art and Design Boutique. The grand opening is January 21st and many of the Plush Team members will be making an appearance, including Cutesy but not Cutesy! It's so exciting to be able to make the trip out there to see Milwaukee for the first time and to meet some of the Plush Team members I've never met before! Here is a sneak peek at the monsters that will be making an appearance at Hot*Pop.







The second show Cutesy but not Cutesy has been invited to participate in is Philadelphia Art Alliance's Kickin' Back: Design for Leisure show. This is a juried and invitational show showcasing the work of designers and architects from around the Philadelphia region and their interpretations of leisure in contemporary states of rest and play. We're honored to be amongst so many talented Philadelphia designers in this show opening Thursday January 27th to the public. We'll post pictures just as soon as we see the monsters in their new temporary home at the Philly Art Alliance!

Finally, we'd like to thank all of our friends, fans, and loyal customers for making 2010 the best year yet for the monsters and I. We're hoping it only gets better from here with the new ideas and projects we have in mind and can't wait to have all of you along for the ride!

2011, we welcome you with open arms (and furry paws)!

Stuff This! at Rivet Gallery in Columbus, OH

It was a wonderful surprise to be invited to participate in this year's Stuff This! group show at Rivet Gallery in Columbus, OH! I had the great honor of making my first trip out to Columbus (and to Ohio, for that matter) for the Tiny Canary Indie Design Market. What a wonderful show that was and what a great energy the people of Columbus have! I had an amazing time at the show and Megan Green of Stinkybomb soap, formerly a Plush Team Member, was generous enough to offer me a comfortable place to stay and a good taste of Columbus eats each night I was there. I am looking forward to sending my work there for the Stuff This! show and only wish I could make the trek out there again to see it!

Without further adieu I bring you...

"made for each other."

Crafty Bastards Round-Up

This past weekend I had the amazing opportunity to participate in Washington D.C.'s largest indie craft festival, Crafty Bastards. It was truly an amazing event and I am in awe of how well organized and incredibly well attended it was. The weather was beautiful, though there were threats of rain earlier in the week... I think we all did our best no-rain dances to fight it off together. I met a lot of really wonderful people and saw a lot of fellow craft friends that I always enjoy seeing at these events.

I made some great purchases myself. I bought an adorable ring from Figs and Ginger whose work I always love to peek at. I also took home another creature from fellow Push Team member Phil Barbato... Thorgrimm the Defeated. And my mom brought me a sweet little surprise from Lumpkin.

And now for some pictures!

I made a giant monster to hang from the top of my tent beckoning monster lovers to come in my direction...


I promptly sold said monster 3 hours into the show... but the monster lovers seemed to not need any beckoning...


There were a lot of awesome people wandering around!


A better view of my collaborative prints with my sister Robin Koss of Wind Up Bird Studios.


A monster lover caught in the act of making an adoption!


A close up of some of the handsome fellas...

The last four photos courtesy of Dots, Lines, and Polygons.

Thank you, Crafty Bastards!

Bring on the holidays!

Mortal Plush at Art Whino Gallery

Cutesy but not Cutesy is very excited to be a part of the Mortal Plush show at the Art Whino Gallery in D.C. The opening is tonight and they've just posted some pictures of the work all hung.





Also, if you're in the Anaheim area, the grand opening of Rothick Art Haus is also tonight. Looks like they have some really awesome artists for their opening and my monsters will be available for purchase in their gallery, as well!

And if that's not enough, if you're in South Jersey you can come see me and my monsters on display at theHaddonfield Arts and Crafts Festival!

T-shirts are in!

New Cutesy T-shirts are in early! T-shirts are $15(+ shipping/handling) but will be discounted at $10 up until May 30th. Leave a comment in this blog post with the style and size to order your Cutesy T-shirt!

The American Dream - I am not your toy.

I have been feverishly building up inventory for more upcoming shows, but in the mean time I took a break to create a piece for a gallery submission upcoming in July. The theme is emotion... This was my first attempt at joining two monsters with one antler... and it sure was quite the challenge! This piece is 33" tall and 29" wide and is titled "The American Dream".

Cutesy but not Cutesy featured on Etsy!

Cutesy but not Cutesy is happy to announce that we have been featured on Etsy's Handmade Blog!!! What a wonderful surprise and opportunity it has been! You can check out the feature here about my experience working with animator David Popolow of Right brain Animations to bring my monsters to life!

Thanks David and Etsy!!!

Updates from Cutesy but not Cutesy

I have been working on building up the monster inventory for a busy spring/summer schedule of craft shows. But in the mean time I have finally created some fellas based on my logo/mascot! They are members of the Little Ones, a group of monsters that pop up anywhere they think fun and chaos is needed! Keep an eyes out for Little Ones where ever you go, they tend to pop up where you least expect it...



Available here.

The Recession Monster

It sure has been a while since the last post, the busy holiday season came and went, the hoots and hollers of the New Year gone in a flash, and the President-to-be made his way on the Whistle Stop Tour and is now simply "Mr. President". News from Cutesy but not Cutesy has been slim, but for good reason. We were asked to team up with New York based company,FullSix, and their Paris offshoot, Six and Co, to help them bring to life an idea in the new year. What better than a plush Recession Monster to bring in the new year right? So while these little angsty, adorable fellas are making their way into the offices of art directors and CEOs around the world, I'll leave you with a few images of what I have been up to here on my end... And to top it all off.... Six and Co just launched this Recession Monster website. Enjoy!

New additions to Cutesy but not Cutesy

Cutesy but not Cutesy has been hard at work planning and preparing for her busy busy fall season filled with craft shows, etc. Here are some of the newest additions to the Cutesy collection.

First, T-shirts are in. I have S, M, L, and XL. They are $15 each or $10 with the purchase of a monster! Contact me if you are interested! :)


Next is a new hand-painted stool...


And, finally, free-standing monster #2...Cleveland...

Renegade Chicago

I packed up half of my inventory and shipped it off to Chicago yesterday for the upcoming Renegade Chicago Craft Festival. Ten pounds of Cutesy but not Cutesy monsters are now currently in transit from their origin in New Jersey to their future destination. I hope they're safe and enjoying their time away from home.



...oh...and I hope I didn't pack up my LIVE monster by accident!

Monster Cupcake!

I just wanted to introduce the newest...sweetest addition to the Cutesy family! The Monster Cupcake!!!



and an original painting of the Monster Cupcake!


Now onto real monster cupcakes I can actually eat! Yum!

Cutesy gets pressed....and THREADS!!!

Cutesy but not Cutesy has gotten much blog press as of late. Many thanks to those who appreciate my monsters enough to write a these wonderful blog posts about them!

First, the cutesy monsters were featured on a blog for hip moms and moms-to-be called coolmompicks.com. You can check out that post here... CoolMomPicks

Also, featured this week on a wonderful new blog Kidado which can be viewed here... Kidado

And last but not least on SimplySentimental which you can check out here... Simple Sentimental

Phew...and in other news... Cutesy but not Cutesy finally has GEAR! Sweatshirts, t-shirts, tote bags, and even baby onesies!!! Mix and match your favorite style and color with Cutesy's logo here... Skreened

The next few weeks are going to be filled with flying fuzz and calloused finger tips as I get ready for my full packed late summer-fall craft fair schedule... and, of course, shipping out my items to Renegade Chicago to join the Plush Team in the best craft booth to ever be seen by human eyes!

Monster Cone

Meet the newest edition to the Cutesy but not Cutesy team!

Sonny the Monster Cone!



Sonny is a monster ice cream cone, fully equipped with chocolaty drips and chocolate antlers. Sonny may look intimidating at first but how bad can he be, he's fully built of ice cream! Sonny is the sweetest fella you'll ever meet and he will NEVER do anything to hurt you! He will always be there for you when you need him, no matter what! Sonny is the best friend any person could ever have!

Sonny is about 20" tall and his antlers span about 12". Whoops! Every now and then he gets over-excited and drools chocolate on the carpet! So cute!