Look What I Can Do- Interview and Giveaway

I thought it would be appropriate to have a Plush You! loyal this week as it IS the WEEK of Plush You! It still blows my mind. Anywhooo, Dawn is one of my favorite people on Plush Planet. She came into Schmancy when I just opened with a HUGE bag full of the most amazing plush creatures I had seen. It's been a pleasure to see Dawn grow in the plush community, the craft community and in her art. Her work is similar in a lot of ways to when she started but now it's just more fine tuned and perfected. It's no wonder that she has received a lot of attention. Her work is fantastic! It is my great pleasure to feature the plush-a-holic herself for this special week of Plush You! Leave a comment her with your contact info for your chance
to win your own creature picked by Dawn herself!




S- Why don't you first tell us all a little bit about yourself and how you started your business.

DR- I was home with my daughter and started to sew her some creatures. She had such fantastic reactions to my Plush Art and she was THE reason I was inspired to begin and keep sewing. Plus my friends and family saw them and kept telling me I should sell them. So after a bit of time I decided to open my Etsy shop, January 9th 2006. Etsy was not really that well known at the time, hard to believe now, so I really had to promote myself. I started reading a lot of craft/art related blogs and was really inspired to start my own blog too. That's when www.Plush-a-holic.blogspot.com was born July 22nd 2006 the same day I became a part of the Flickr community and both have really changed my life. I am also an amateur photographer and went to school for almost 4 years for photography so I absolutely loved being a part of flickr (still do) and I really missed the thrill of creating. I used to spend hours and hours in the studio and color darkroom. Sewing changed my life. It made me so happy and gave me a sense of purpose agian. It was something I could do while my daughther was home with me and still feel connected to something bigger than myself. Something I could do for me.



S- You have two kids now but you still amazingly make stuff, update your site, your flickr, etc. How do ya' do it?

DR- Well, if you look at my shop you will see that I have been a bit slow lately. Having a new baby really makes it hard to have the energy to create. I guess I am just driven to keep going so that I feel a part of something bigger than myself and if I am being really honest I don't want to disappear from the Plush Community. I have worked very hard to be involoved in it. The connections I have made in the craft/art world are really, really important to me. Plus I am addicted to making Plush Creatures. I really enjoy the process and the finished product too. It's all so exhilerating!



S- Since I have had the pleasure of seeing you "grow" in the craft world, I feel so happy to see how well received you have always been. Unfortunately I have also seen some people obviously rip off some of your style. How do you deal with that?

DR- Honestly I was not prepared for that part of sharing my craft/art. At first all these really nice people would email me on Etsy alerting me to folks that were doing stuff that was similar to mine. I thanked them of course and just tried to not let it get to me. I mean really we all make stuff from our hearts and if you are just copying someone else you really won't be successful. There is a fine line between stealing someone's ideas and being inspired. So I just keep doing what I do trying to grow and improve as I go and I don't really get involved in any weird stuff. I actually feel really good that people say I have my own 'style and I truly feel I have worked very hard to be recognized in the craft/art community.. We are all inspired by others and as long as we make our craft/art our own and it is coming form within us it will all be good.



S- You have also made some amazing friendships in the craft community. How do you foster these virtual relationships and how has it helped your business and creativity?

DR- I am not very good at networking in real life(although I am getting much better) so when the inter web came into my life to my surprise I was really comfortable with making connections. Being a stay at home Ma can get really lonely especially if you are not a joiner and sadly I am not. So I love Virtual friends and meeting them in real life has been amazing. I really am so very very grateful to all the love I have rec'd from the craft/art community via the web. It has changed my life in so many ways and continues to do so. As far as helping my business or creativity it actually helps me to keep going. It shows me that people think what I do is worth doing and I just love sharing so very much.



S- Since you've started, what have been some of the fondest memories you have had in your business?

DR-My fondest memories really all have to do with the people I have met. I love seeing where my Love=Creatures end up and the folks out there that collect my work and send me gifts. Geez...I could have never imagined any of it. It is truly amazing to connect with so many people. I also love being in Plush You, this will be my 3rd year. Seriously it is such an amazing show and getting to be part of the book was AMAZING. Thanks so very much Kristen for all the opportunities you have given me and so many other Plush Artists.



S- If you and your family were to go on a 3 week road trip, what craft supplies would you have to have with you?

DR- Well....a bunch of sewn bodies that were stuffed and ready to detail, lots of thread and needles of course!! :)



S- What do you look forward to for 2009?

DR- Obama as president, sleeping more, having a social life, more time with family and friends, going out with my hubby...oh you meant in my Plush Life....
Having more time to make all the ideas that are swimming around in my head come to life. Acquiring more sewing skills to bring some of my ideas to a different level. Meeting more and more folks from the craft/art/flickr community and maybe someday getting to be in another book. Mostly though I just want to sew more :)



S- Where to you see your business in the next 5 years?

DR- I see me being able to have the time to fill up my shop more often and diversify. I am nowhere near ready to stop so all I can do is go forward and progress.



S- Where can people find your work?

DR- www.LookWhatICanDo.Etsy.com. www.Plush-a-holic.blogspot.com and again sooooon at www.Supermaggie.com



S-Since Plush You! is this Friday, how do you think shows such as this one, has helped your business grow?

DR- First of all Plush You ROCKS!!!!!!!!! It was one of the first shows of it's kind and I feel so very lucky to be a part of it. It enables you to meet a bunch of Plush folks and really see what they are up to and it definitely gets your work out there where tons of folks have access to it. Sometimes Plush Art gets kind of lumped into a hobby/craft category and shows like Plush You showcase it as an art and I really like that. Thanks so much Kristen for bringing so much attention to all the Plush and Plush artists out there. We Plush You xo

Thanks again Dawn for all your kind words and insight into your work!
Don't forget, leave a comment here for your chance to win your own Look What I Can Do creations!

Hine Mizushima Interview and Giveaway

The second I saw one of Hine's pieces I immediately gasped and smiled. When I asked her to be in my button book and she said yes, I immediately gasped and clapped my hands. The second I read that she had also applied to Plush You! I gasped and jumped up and down. Her work is simply amazing. She is one of those people I think a lot of people are watching and on the edge of their seat wondering what she is going to come up with next. I really enjoyed interviewing her and hope you enjoy reading it. Leave a comment here with contact info for your chance to win one of her amazing camera camera cases!



S- For those Plush You readers who might not know who you are, can you give us a
little background information on you

HM- Hello! My name is Hine (pronounced [hee-neh]) Mizushima. I was born and raised in Japan. I majored in Japanese traditional paintings at an art university, and worked as a designer/Illustrator for paper products in Tokyo. Then after I met my husband, we decided to move to Rome, then Paris, then NY. And two years ago we moved to Vancouver, Canada with our lovely son, and at the same time my creative life was completely changed! I was always just an Illustrator, but now I'm a PSMAVA (Puppet-Stop-Motion-Animation-Video-Artist) and a (slow) crafter as well, and I just LOVE to make things..



S- You have had various bouts of fame, with your video for They Might Be Giants, to your plush creations making the rounds on various craft sites. Why did you decide to get into plush work?

HM- I've never thought of getting into plush work before. I didn't even know what "plush" meant! But when I started to work on the second stop-motion music video for a They Might Be Giants kids DVD a year and a half ago, the wife of one of the band members, Robin, who is a talented musician and also a super crafter, made some great needle-felted number-shaped puppets for the video. So I wanted/needed to make other characters and the props with the same materials to go with them. That was the beginning. It was actually a lot of fun and easy to create 3D stuff with felting wool! Since then, I have been getting into plush work little by little. My plush always has wire inside, so you can pose them however you want!



S- How did you start working with They Might Be Giants?

HM- First of all, I have to say that I REALLY love their music! One day, I stumbled upon 'How to make stop-motion video with your digital camera and iMovie' on the Internet. So I made a video with tiny puppets for their music, just for fun. Then I tried to post it on their My Space page, but I didn't understand how it works. Then I found 'send message' button instead, so I simply sent them the link of my video. Then a few days later, they contacted me, asking me to work on a video project with them! I REALLY freaked out, of course.... I'm working on a different project with them now.



S- Do you favor any medium over another?

HM- Felt, felting wool, wool yarn and printed fabric. I also like matt color paper and printed paper.



S- How often do you try to make new products?

HM- I don't have any scheduled plan, but I always have new ideas in my head and on my sketch book. So if I have time, I try to give my ideas shape. But usually it doesn't work well at first time. So I let it sit, wait until it's ripe, and then try again.



S- Your camera camera cases and Phone iPhone cases are amazing! How fast did those sell out? How do you market your new products?

HM- Thanks! Usually those sell out in a few hours. But it probably wouldn't happen if I could just list more items on my Etsy store on a regular basis! And I'm ashamed to say I don't market now. But I often upload pictures of my new products and artwork on my Flickr page, and actually many customers come to my Etsy store from there and end up buying. And fortunately many people write about my cases on their websites and blogs. It helps me a lot, and I really appreciate that :)



S- Your attention to detail is impeccable. Has this come with a lot of practice or have you always been a perfectionist?

HM- Umm...., if you could see my desk (aka chaos), you would not think I'm a perfectionist! Recently I just happened to find a hand-sewn felt camera case which I made once for my camera 4 or 5 years ago. I was so surprised because it was so ridiculously bad! So it seems I'm getting better now. I always like to make small things. I think it is in my blood from my mother.



S- If you could spend more time on one thing, what do you think you would spend it on?

HM- Creating the same more plush dolls in the series that I made for the Plush You show, and making a short stop-motion video with them, or .... cleaning my desk?



S- What do you want to see for your business in the next few years?

HM- I would love to have a solo show and publish a book of my artwork, and while I have had a few series of zakka produced in Japan, I would love to be able to do the same thing in outside of Japan. But first, I have to make more pieces!



S- Any place folks can find you other than your etsy shop?

HM- My artwork website
My Flickr
My blog (in Japanese!)
You can also watch one of my videos, "The Secret Life Of Six" with many plush (puppets) for TMBG kids music here (my actual video starts at the 1:00 mark) here

Don't forget, Leave a comment here with contact info for your chance to win one of her amazing camera camera cases!. Leave your favorite colors too! Winner will be chosen on Sept. 30th.

Fantastic Toys Interview

Sometimes it's all said in the name. Fantastic Toys is an example. They really are fantastic toys! The first time I laid my eyes on them was over on our flickr pool so when I saw that Tim, creator and mastermind behind Fantastic Toys, applied for Plush You! I was overjoyed. I would finally be able to see the fantasticness in person. I am still excited and only wish October was sooner (although it feels like it's October here...why???). I am really happy to present you with this fantastic interview with Tim. Leave a comment with your contact info and your color of choice: Periwinkle, rose, mint, light blue, raspberry, purple. buttercup and pink for your chance to win your very own fawn!



S- I have seen your plush around flickr, etc and knew that you made amazing stuffed toys but looking through your actual website. Well I now have a million questions. First let's get a bit of background on you and your work?

FT- I started making toys about 10 years ago beginning with marionettes then eventually I moved on to miniature animal dolls and hand puppets. After doing a couple of miniature shows the dolls never took off the way I thought they would. About that time I discovered the world of plush and I knew I had to reinvent myself and start playing with felt. I started posting my creations on Craftster and flickr and the feedback was immediate and positive. So just under 2 years I have created a nice little niche for myself making soft toys.



S- Between the plush, the hand puppets and the miniature dolls, where do you spend most of your time?

FT- Currently I'm placing most of the emphasis on plush toys. But right now I'm having fun designing paper toys and DIY patterns. With the way the economy is right now people are holding onto their money. They're spending less and prefer to make it themselves trying to save a buck.



S- Do you do this full time or do you have other jobs?

FT- I would love to make toys full time but I have a part time job in the floral
industry to pay the bills.



S- What have been some of your favorite plush projects you have worked on?

FT- I usually do a new theme for any of the shows I do. I had fun with the North Pole theme I did last Christmas. Most recently the Story Book plush I made for an upcoming show have been some of my favorite characters.



S- You do beautiful toys. I think a lot of people have a hard time going from 2D to 3D. Any suggestions for how to make that transition?

FT- For the plush I actually do it the other way around. I make the plush and then I do illustrations of them. But I understand what your saying. I don't think its really that difficult. I usually encourage illustrators who want custom work done to try it themselves . Two sided plush are the easiest to make.. its the most common plush out there. Basically its just transferring your drawing to fabric and adding 1/4" - 1/2" seam allowance for sewing. Maybe not quite that simple but thats how I started. There's quite a few books on the subject now including yours. There are also many free patterns online that gave me direction when I first started constructing plush.



S- Your marionette's and hand puppets are amazing. Do you market those to a specific group? Speaking of marketing...how do you market yourself as a plush designer, etc.?

FT- My most recent puppets were made for a gallery show. I wanted to revisit making marionettes after 10 years experience in other areas. There is a significant difference from some of my earlier ones I made. Craftsmanship being the most noteable. I haven't spent a lot of time marketing the puppets. As for the plush, I've been fortunate to be featured on a lot of blogs from people who have seen my work on etsy. Flickr and the many softie groups has also been a great marketing tool. Locally I have done craft shows which have led to other engagements.



S- You seem to have been around the block a few times with craft fairs. How do you prepare for these crafty events, keep up stock, figure out displaying, etc?

FT- Minneapolis has quite a few excellent indie craft shows and hosts some of the finest juried shows. I've limited myself to a couple of shows a year. My main concern has always been having enough inventory. I allow myself at least 4-6 months preparation before a show. I'm not the kind of person that likes to wait till the last minute. I spend a lot of time and thought on my theme and display ... buying props through out the year. I look forward to my participation in the Plush You shows later this year.



S- How do you deal with being a plush artist, etc. in a craft community that is mainly dominated by women?

FT- You know I've been crafty all my life so it really isn't something I think about. The crafting community has been warm and welcoming and very accepting of my creative efforts.



S- If you could do your dream job what would it be or are you already doing it?

FT- I'd like to continue what I'm doing but on a grander scale. I prefer to design toys. It would be nice to have them manufactured by someone else.



S- What are your goals for your business in the next year?

FT- I'm working on a book proposal to submit to publishers. I'd like to finish that up soon. I'm also looking into having a national toy chain carry a line of my toys.

Don't forget...leave a comment with your contact info and your favorite color for your chance to win your own custom fawn!

Thank you Tim for the awesome interview!

Jess Hutch Interview

Jess Hutch is a lovely person. She has participated in Plush You since it began and I am pleased as punch that she is still going strong with her plush making. I had the pleasure of going out to dinner with Jess last year and it was great to be able to sit down with her and chat about her work and to get to know the woman behind these amazing creations. I can't wait until Friday when I will be able to hang out with Jess again as she will be showing her work at Schmancy. In a few hours you can visit our new Schmancy Gallery site to see what will be at the show and to purchase any work before it is up this Friday. Until then, read a little more about Jess.



S- When we met about a year ago you mentioned that you might like to stop blogging. This Jan. you made the plunge and said good bye to the blogging world. How has it helped your creative process? Is it everything you hoped it would be?

JH- It's been great in a lot of ways... using my blog and flickr to show my work to the world was hugely, hugely important for me while I was trying to work out my aesthetic and my creative direction. However, I got to the point where the number of comments or hits I got had an effect on the projects I chose to work on. I felt that as I was creating things, it was almost like I had a hundred people in the room with me. So I decided to step back a bit and create in a more silent, personal space. It's been great. However... I've also found that it's kind of hard to work without the encouragement of other people, artists and people who like my work and pay attention to it. Like I need their support to keep my motivation going. So it's mixed! But I think it's been useful and a good experiment.



S- Looking through your work, you seem to have gone through some phases. From knitting more, embroidery, screen printing and now more painted stuffed toys. Do you just go with your flow or do you dabble in everything all the time?

JH- I get bored pretty easily, at least with various media. I seem to always stay within a pretty narrow range with what I represent (usually weird serene little animal/human hybrid characters) but I am always, always thinking about different ways to go about it. I even want to try wood carving, I'm not even kidding. I think I just want to explore everything... just different ways of depicting what's in my head. Comic books, oil painting, etc. There's so much out there, and I just kind of follow my bliss with it.



S- I noticed that a lot of your work has little stories involving ghosts and spirits. Are you really into ghost stories and mystical beings?

JH- Yes. What I really love is the idea that our normal world, the one that we can study and observe, is just a shell. That unusual beings and strange occurrences occasionally present themselves, and we just have to be open and aware. I'm not sure I really believe any of this, but I'm open to it and love to contemplate the possibilities.



S- One thing I really love about your work is the color palette. It varies but seems to stay within certain families. Where do you get a lot of inspiration for your work and color combinations?

Well, my stuff is very modern and graphic. Super simple. I am always concerned that the cartooniness of what I do, coupled with really bright colors, would just completely shove it out of reality. So I like to use more natural, muted colors, because I think it brings it back a bit. It's a little more relatable (which is always what I'm try to achieve). Rust, grey-green, ocean blue, brown, etc.



S- You giant knitted guy was amazing. When we met you were working on it. How long did it take you and what is he doing now? When did you learn to knit and then go to designing your own patterns?

JH- He took forever. I don't really remember how long - 20-30 hours perhaps? He's in our workroom, just hanging out. I think I'm going to take some more photos with him doing various human things - that was the original idea, then I got sidetracked with some other projects - then I think I'm going to sell him. I want him to hang out with someone else for a while.

I learned to knit about, oh, 5 years ago? My sister taught me. I started doing my own patterns almost immediately, when I realized that no one had written patterns for the types of clothes and toys I wanted to make.



S- You seem to be a very discipled artists that might try something once and realize that it's not for you even if the demand is there or whatnot. How do you decide what works best for you and when to say no?

JH- Heh. Well, the fact that I have a fulfilling full time job (as a data analyst at a non-profit) allows me to be very, very selective about how I spend my creative time. It also, unfortunately, forces me to be very selective. It's kind of a lucky/unlucky thing. I have limited time outside of work and personal commitments, and I want to spend it doing only what is personally fulfilling to me. The worst thing ever is getting home from work, making dinner, taking care of various home things, then slogging through 4-5 hours of creative work that I don't really want to do. It just sucks any enjoyment out of it. So I made a decision fairly early on to only ever do what I enjoy, or what satisfies me creatively. I don't rely on the income from it so I'm able to do this. However, it can alienate people who really want particular things from me, which is something I've never really learned to deal with. It's definitely complicated. But I'm glad that the things I work on are always, always, done with love and care and interest.



S- Every time you have participated in Plush YOu! your work sells like hot cakes. You definitely have a fan base out there. Now that you have stopped your blog and do not use flickr as much, how do you keep connected with your fans?

JH- I don't, really. Which is hard. As I mentioned above, I really miss that interaction and the feedback. I'm currently thinking of ways to have it both ways, if that's even possible.



S- I love your work that is two dimensional with the same thing also three dimensional. How much time difference is there between the two and do you like one more than the other?

JH- It depends on the medium. Recently I've been working on 2D oil paintings and those take just about forever. I think that in general I will always gravitate toward 3D work. There's just a relatability there that I love so much. I create these characters to depict something very personal and I want people to see them and understand. I want them to feel something. We're 3D ourselves, so it just takes that much less effort to relate to something that's three-dimensional. I think.



S- When you started blogging, etc. you said that was your first time sharing your art and showing people. How did that help your art career and do you have any favorite moments?

JH- It helped a lot. I needed to hear from people. And hearing from people who are themselves so, so talented helped a lot too. I think my favorite moment, or series of moments, is looking at something I'm working on and finally feeling like I'm doing what I always wanted to do, which is showing my creative work to people.



S- Anything on your horizon we should be looking out for?

JH- I'd like to show my oil paintings at some point. I want to do more photography of my dudes, perhaps within an actual narrative that I can then print as a little book. Maybe I'll try some more realistic stuff. I don't know, I guess I'm just always doing what seems like the right thing at the moment!

Thanks Kristen, that was great - can't wait to see you this Friday!