Rag Pets

4 years of Rag Pets

It's been four years today since I made the very first Rag Pet as a present for my best friend's daughter on her naming day. (You can see Molly, the first ever rag-cat here: photo!) These four years have really just flown by, and even after all this time, I'm still loving making Rag Pets and my love and appreciation of soft toys has grown all the greater too.

I think I'm not even a year old in this photo, taken by my dad. My grandmother made both me and my brother a pair of teddybears when we were born, and I do believe that my lifelong love of soft toys got started then and there! Gran also taught me to sew when I was about six years old, so I could make my own soft toys and she wouldn't have to hop behind the sewing machine every time I came up with an idea for a toy I wanted.

As a kid, when all my friends would push about baby dolls in their toy prams, I would proudly cart around a soft toy in mine, and I slept with so many soft toys in my bed that it was a wonder I fitted in there among them at all! Then, in my late teens – early twenties I believed that I was much too grown up for soft toys, yet I still slept with a little stuffed cow I had made for myself. I would have been mortified had anyone found that out though.
Now, in my thirties, I've come to the conclusion that you're never too old for anything you enjoy and once again hold my head up high amongst my plushies and I'm proud to be a toy maker.

I'm going to be making Rag Pets and soft toys for many, many years yet to come, and I hope that I can share the love for soft toys with many, many people all over the world! :)

Oh hello there!

It's been a while since I last popped by here, but I'm trying not to feel bad about not blogging all that often. Tartx has a really great post about blogging without obligation: http://www.tartx.com/blog/?page_id=233 and it's a philosophy I fully support. I don't want this blog that's so very dear to me to become something of a burden, and I don't want to have to churn out posts if I don't have a reason to post.

This post does have a reason, and that reason is a super one: I'm going to be exhibiting at PlushYou! in Seattle this fall! I'm really chuffed to be a part of the show again, and to get to share my work with the world. :)

I'm famously bad at making decisions; I will take forever to pick what to eat at a restaurant, and then change my mind once more while I'm ordering and choosing what to wear can take ages and many a wardrobe change before I make it out the door, wishing I would have worn something else instead. So I'm hoping you lot would be able to help me to make up my mind as to what theme I should go with for my pieces. To that end, here's a little poll:

a) circus
b) forest
c) space

Leave a comment with your vote as to which theme would be best, I'll tally up the results, and hope not to change my mind too many times over! :)

Candy for the ears

This and the previous month have been not so good creative-wise for me. I have a strong yearning to create, but my lack of motivation and energy seems to be even stronger. I really wish I knew the "why" for this absence of drive, and had the "how" to get my creative groove back... As a result, this poor blog has been quite forgotten and neglected.
So, in an effort to break out of the blahs and to start making my way around this block, and to share more about myself and my life asides from the Rag Pets too, I thought I'd post about something that inspires me no end and that I can not do without while at the workroom: music.

In addition to abundant amounts of musicals and Disney soundtracks (there's nothing better to pick you up when you're feeling down!) I mostly listen to artists and bands very few others have heard of or music that is, in a manner of speaking, an acquired taste. I try to pick music to fit what I'm doing or how I'm feeling at the moment, be it good or bad. And there's no other who seems to always have a song to fit any mood I'm in than Tom Waits. I'm a huge, big fan of Mr Waits, and his music has kept me company at the work room more often than not.

I like this particular song ("Everything you can think of is true" from the album "Alice"), because I firmly believe that nothing is impossible if you just try, that you can do anything you can think of if you just set your mind to it!
The world of Tom Waits' songs might not always be the happiest nor the brightest, but there's always hope there, a silver lining to every strange, raspy, whiskey soaked cloud; you might be in the gutter, but you're still looking up at the stars. I also very much enjoy the moody "circus from the wrong side of the tracks" feel of Waits' songs.

Speaking of twisted carnival music, I also listen to a lot of The Tiger Lillies. This is very much music that you either love or hate, for sordid songs about unfortunate souls who often meet rather unsavory fates, all sung in a falsetto aren't really to everyone's tastes.

This particular song is from The Tiger Lillies' "Shockheaded Peter" show, with songs based on the cautionary children's tales from the book of the same name.
A word of warning though, a lot of The Tiger Lillies' music is not safe for work or delicate sensibilities. Their sense of humor is really very dark and the subject matter of some songs could make a sailor blush!

As for music that's suitable for even younger ears and that's pretty sure to make you giggle a little bit, there's always Twink.

The beauty of Twink's music is that most of the instruments they use are toys and ordinary household objects, with one of Mike Langlie's (who's the band's leader) many toy pianos featuring in every song. You can learn more about Twink, and experience their wonderful candy coloured rainbow aesthetic on their own site, here: http://www.twink.net/

To wrap up this musical post, here's a song that always makes me smile:

Boku wa kuma = I am a bear

While I don't actually understand much Japanese, or know anything asides from this one song of Utada Hikari's music, I do know that at one point in the song the bear sings something to the effect of:
"In the evening I say "Good night Mr Pillow!"
In the morning I say "Good morning Mr Pillow!""
and that always gives me a giggle. :)

blank

I've been feeling a bit blah lately, finding it hard to rustle up inspiration and motivation. Hence, it's been a bit quiet here, despite my determination to post more.

You'd think that there was nothing scary about a blank piece of paper, because really, the worst it can do is give you a paper-cut, right? But when you're lacking in inspiration, it's a scary thing indeed. Much like any idea that's waiting to be made real, it just sits there and... expects things from you. And you know you can do it, it's just so very hard to get things done when you're feeling blank and blah and you end up sort of paralysed by it all. I love making plushies, but getting to the actual making bit is sometimes overwhelmingly hard.

There are times I wish that there was a pill that would give you limitless motivation and fire up your inspiration!

Happy Doll Festival!

I've been meaning to share more about my life outside of the Rag Pets, since I'm a lot more things besides being a toy making elf.
So, as today is Hinamatsuri, the festival of dolls, I thought I'd post a bit about my dolls here. I've been collecting Blythe dolls for about 5 years now and currently have 8½ of them (the ½ is because one of them is a "Petite Blythe", a much littler version of the full sized ones). I also have an Una Moof and a bunch of old and new Barbies hanging around too.

(You can see more pictures of my dolls in my Flickr, here: Dolls!)

I've been a big fan of dolls ever since I was a kid, even though soft toys were (and still are) number one in my heart, so much so that when my friends would tote around baby dolls in their toy prams, I would have a teddy bear or other plushie in mine! Still, I played with Barbies well into my teens, and one of the reasons I wanted to learn how to sew was so I could make clothes for them myself.
I quite enjoy fiddling with tiny little bits of fabric when making doll clothing, there's just something oddly relaxing about working in miniature! Of course having cute and quirky dolls as my muses makes it all the more marvelous too. My love of making mini-clothes is also why the Rag Pets have clothing that can be taken off and put on; I like the challenge of making actual working items of clothing in a tiny scale.

It's also thanks to dolls that I've made a whole bunch of wonderful friends all over the world, and starting to collect dolls again relit my love of photographing as well. It's quite amazing how big an impact dolls have had on my life really, and it's also the main reason I like to celebrate Hinamatsuri, even if it's not a holiday that's observed here in Finland.

Happy Hinamatsuri everyone! :)

love, love, love

Here in Finland Valentine's Day is called "Ystävänpäivä", Friend's Day, and we not only celebrate love, but friendship too. I love and cherish dearly all of my friends very much. I can honestly say that I wouldn't be who I am today and that my life would be a whole lot poorer and duller without them.
With that in mind, J. added a list of the blogs I follow to the sidebar over there on the right for me. The people behind these blogs are amazingly talented, endlessly inspiring and very friendly one and all, and I'm glad I have the chance to know them and to enjoy their wonderful work, and to count them as my online friends.

I've spent this day simply at home with J., who I love beyond measure and BooBoo Kitty, who is the apple of my eye (and a pain in the neck too on occasion!). We've had a lovely relaxing day just spending time together, eating yummy food and playing a game or two on our new PS3. I plan on watching some mushy movies later on and I also plan on eating lots of chocolate as well!

I wish you all a lovely Valentine's Day! :)

To the future!

Now that we've entered a new year, and a new decade at that, it's time to look into the future. I've lots of plans for this year, both big ones and little ones, and it's exciting to have a new, shiny year ahead of me.

I occasionally find it hard to muster up the energy and motivation to do things and I was a little disappointed in how little I got done last year. So, in an effort to keep creating and to get things done this year, I made myself a chart to keep a log of all the days I do something creative, be it sewing, taking photos, drawing or even making a quick doodle to jot down an idea. Every day I create, I get to colour in on my chart and I hope it will be a riot of colour with nary a white square to be seen by the end of the year!

I'm also thinking about the future of Rag Pets, and I truly hope to finally get a shop up and running this year, our bookcase is fairly bursting with Rag Pets eager to move to new homes!
I also just re-drew my base Rag Pet pattern, the old one was in rather bad shape after years of use. While at it, I thought about trying something similar I did with the rag-snowflakes, and maybe drawing patterns for Rag Pets completely freehand. I really liked the sketch-like, more organic looking quality doing patterns that way gives and it's something I'd like to translate to the rest of my work too.

I'm really looking forward to the rest of this year and what it might bring!

Well, hello there 2010!

The first day of the new year, and the new decade, has been sunny, frosty and beautiful here.

We bid goodbye to 2009 and rang in the new year by sitting on our sofa and watching the fireworks outside and then going to bed after midnight. If our New Year's celebration had been any more sedate, I'm afraid we would have slept through the whole day! We're not much for big parties and such, so simply watching telly, eating yummy food and spending time together was the perfect way to say farewell to the old year and welcome in the new one for us.

This is what the year 2009 looked like for me.
It wasn't all super and roses, but looking back, it was a great year all in all. I wish I had gotten the Rag Pet shop up and running (this is something I hope to accomplish this year), and I wish I had had more motivation and energy to make more, to do more. I'm glad that the past year bought with it lots new & amazing things, wonderful experiences, so much happiness and so much love.

My favourite thing to do on the first day of the new year is to fill in my new calendar. It's a great way to look back on the past year, and to see all the untold potential that the year ahead holds and I'm hoping the year twenty ten will be filled with creativity, energy, and wonder.

I wish 2010 and this new decade will be awesome for all of you! :)

Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone a very merry Christmas, Kwanzaa, Solstice, Hanukkah, Festivus, Yule, Saturnalia or which ever holiday you wish to celebrate!
May this holiday time bring you lots of joy and happiness. :)

Bye bye November!

Hello December!

With December only a day away and Christmas just around the corner, this is shaping up to be one to the busiest times of the year for me. There's a lot happening; in just two days it's Giveaway Day. It's a super way to discover lots of great new crafters, blogs and shops and to try your luck getting your hands on a whole lot of handmade items, crafty goodies and even yummy homemade food! I'm taking part again this year, so keep your eyes peeled for a chance of nabbing something cute on the 2nd. :)

Right after Giveaway Day has commenced, the Luv-able + Hug-able show opens on the 3rd. If you're able to make it to Gallery Hanahou, do go see the show, it'll be awesome!

Luv-able and Hug-able
New 2009 theme: medium and mini!

December 3 - January 9
Opening party: Dec 3, 6-9 pm RSVP info@galleryhanahou.com

gallery hanahou / 611 Broadway, Suite 730, NYC / galleryhanahou.com
extended holiday hours Mon-Sat: 12 - 6 pm

The popular NY holiday plush show is returning to gallery hanahou with oodles of handmade plushes for you and yours! Spread warm holiday cheer with adorable, strange, and funny unique plush toys made by more than 50 top plush artists from around the world.

The plushes will be even cuter and more affordable at this year's 3rd annual "Luv-able and Hug-able," with the special theme of "Medium and Mini!": toys that are either just the right size for hugging or small enough to fit in your pocket, swing from a keychain, or be worn on a pin.

Many favorite artists from the past two years are returning with cuter-than-ever plushes, and gallery hanahou is thrilled to present plushes from a bunch of hug-able new artists too! As in previous years, the gallery will also exhibit plushes by Japanese artists whose original works are rarely available in the US - this year, that also includes designer toy giants Devil Robots and noriya takeyama!

Plushes will be available for immediate take-home, so come early to the December 3rd opening to nab your favorites! Items in the show will also be available online via galleryhanahou.com starting the week following the opening.

So, so many amazing plush-artists have their work on show (and for sale too!) there, including such great plushie-makers as Christina Gordon (Jam Fancy), Sandra Monat (herzensart), Hine Mizushima and Tania of Super Ninon and many, many others! I'm incredibly honoured to have my rag-snowflakes rub shoulders with such famous artists!

After all this, I have parties to attend almost every week the whole month, friends and family to visit too and to top it all off, Christmas things to prepare as well! I don't mind being busy though, I like the holiday season and I really enjoy Christmas and all that goes with it so having Christmassy things to putter about with is a joy.

And with that, I bid farewell to November and look forward to a December filled to the brim with wonder, excitement and fun! :)