Stitches and Glue news

Some news from Stitches and Glue......have to say amazing QiQi custom!

 
2013 is off to a flying start, with a lot of exciting projects in the pipeline and fantastic shows coming up in the next few months, which we can't wait to share with you. We may have already mentioned that we will be one of the exhibitors at the UK's first ever Designer Toy Convention, ToyConUk on April 6th . It's gearing up to be a fabulous show, with many artists showing off their custom creations and exclusive bespoke Art toys as well as group custom toy projects on display. We will also be taking part in Clutter Magazines Plush Art Show in New York in April! Exciting stuff eh. We've got a number of other projects here to show you, that we've been busy making over the last few months since we last shared. Including the latest new pieces in our collectors store, recent customs and works in progres

Only 3 to be ever produced. Rare Luxury Twin Horned monster pelt.

 

Our finished custom Qi Qi, for Toycon Uk Exhib. He’s called Ren, the moth :) A real mix of mediums here. Hand sculpted features with flocked body and antenna. Taxidermy eyes and some crazy mesh wings. 

100 Metre Cage Wheel Champ 2012- limited edition

Seb here recently came out of retirement to compete in this years Monster Olympics. He triumphed and became the 2012, 100 Metre Cage Wheel Champion. This national treasure is now looking for a loving, sporty home to return to his retirement and coach up and coming monster talent in the future.

 

 

And as if that wasn't enough, here are some more large custom monster critters to come out of the studio, that were kindly given as Christmas pressies.

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Mother Of The Womb By Taylored Curiosities...

Welcome the newest series entitled "The Mother Series" to the Aromatherapy Plush line done by the amazing and talented Taylored Curiosities. Each mother is based on a "Feeling" that was created specifically for the Aromatherapy Plush line. The "Mothers" are 8" tall and have contrasting womb colors with 3 tiny babies sewn into each. Both the "Mother" and "Babies" are scented. The faces are made out of an original sculpt using resin and each is hand painted. Each is a unique hand crafted piece as no 2 are the same since all are made by hand. If you are interested in picking up any of these cute and colorful creations please click HERE. 

Freshly Caught Feelings Fruity Strawberry...

I love these! Taylored Curiosities is back with her second installment of the Freshly Caught Feelings series. This time instead of worrisome she came back with a cute and Fruity version. Each Fruity version includes a jam jar, artificial grass, a candy treat and the Fruity itself. Each Fruity measures 1.5" inches tall and is made of super soft red fleece, hand embroidered eyes and hand painted yellow pips. There are also 5 chase versions that are white with red hand painted pips. Each comes tagged and individually numbered and can be purchased HERE for 10 pounds each.

 

Steff Bomb Interview by Tenacious Toys

TENACIOUS TOYS: To start off, what's your name and where are you from?

STEFF BOMB: Hi!  I'm Steff Bomb and I am originally from Philadelphia, PA but about two years ago I moved to Chicago.

TT: What got you into creating designer plushies?

SB: Around 2004, I read about an all plush art show, and something inside of me said, "YES!"...like a light bulb went off or both halves of my brain hi-fived.  I guess I never realized that there was plush life beyond teddy bears.  The next day I bought a really crappy cheap sewing machine, some fabric remnants, and button eyes, and taught myself how to sew.  It was just a hobby then and I was really bad at it (and I am still working on being good at it).  The first toy I ever made was supposed to be a robot, but really just looks like a gray turd with eyes.

TT: So how did you progress from a gray robot turd to food plushies?

SB: I don't know at what point exactly I made the jump from gray robo-turd to food, but it went something like this: robo-turd, ugly square Domo-ish monsters, ugly hour glass shaped monsters, food.  I love eating and I'm always hungry, so I guess it just naturally worked itself out that way.  It's like the Descendents said: I like food, food tastes good.

TT: HA! So how do you choose which foods to turn into plushies? Does it come in a flash while you're eating that food? Or are you sitting around one day on your couch and it suddenly dawns on you that you need to make an ice cream sammich?

SB: Pretty much both. Basically, I was trying to not be a fatty last summer (FAIL), but I wanted to eat an ice cream sandwich so badly.  So, I made a plush one instead...which back fired because it actually made me want to eat one even more...then I did, and it was awesome.  Currently, I'm working on something called "Grumble Buns" which is a grumpy burger...but it's also what I call my boyfriend when he is being a big ol' grumpus. 

 I watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy the day before I made the wizard sandwich.  At the same time, I could be riding my bike and TAH DAH...out of nowhere I wanna make a whatever-bot-thing-wich.  So I carry a notebook with me for that kind of stuff.  Other than that, sometimes my brain turns into a giant fart and I can't think of anything to make...but I am very lucky to have some pretty clever and supportive friends.  They always point me in a good direction.

TT: You're hysterical! So what's next for Steff Bomb? Any new plushes in the works that we should look out for? Do you make any other Steff Bomb products besides plushies?

SB: There are always new plush in the works.  I have a dry erase board & a pocket sized notebook full of ideas that I want to sew.  Grumble Buns is next though.  I've drawn him an official seal, planned out a few friend for him (Would You Like Cries With That), a few variants, blah blah blah, etc. 

 I just love making things so I tend to get a little a head of myself.  I am also debating whether of not I wanna make a color variant of the chainsaws.  Green mayhaps?

 I make some things besides plush.  I am making patches, I have buttons.  I sew an occasional top tube pad for bikes.  I made my very first print of a shark-horse the end of last year, but that was just a small run of 50 so they are long gone.  I am thinking about making shark-horse shirts but I don't know if anyone would want them.  Ha. 

 I just bought a Gocco Printer from my friend James (Veggiesomething), so I am really excited to use that.  Also, I do artwork for records, band shirts, and show posters too.  That's always a nice break from plush.  Sewing may have consumed my life, but drawing is my true love.  There are a lot of things I wanna sew and make.  I always wanna do everything and all at once, but it's never as easy as I think it is.

TT: Ain't that the truth. Well, we're excited for your next plushies! I just received our first shipment of plushes from you and I have to say, I am very impressed with the quality and execution. They are all perfect, every single one. Much better quality than some of the mass-produced plushes we've stocked.

SB: Aww, shucks...thanks.  ((totally blushing))  I don't know about perfect, but I try and make them as nice as possible.

TT: Thanks so much for chatting it up with me!

SB: No way man, thank you!!!  P.S. I know it's a bit of a ways off, but if anyone is going to be at Pitchfork this year, I'll be there peddling my wares...so feel free to stop by and say hello.  <3 <3 <3

To learn more about Steff Bomb, visit her website SteffBomb.com, and support her by shopping for her plushes at Tenacious Toys or the Steff Bomb Etsy shop. And stay tuned for more info on Steff Bomb's Shark Horse and the other fun plushes she makes, by hand, slaving over an overheating sewing machine in the good ole US of A. Go Steff Bomb!

Amanda Visell Jackalope Plush 14-Inch coming soon from Kidrobot

Amanda Visell Jackalope 14-inch plush coming soon from Kidrobot, from whence I yanked the following text:

Taken from the Tic Toc Apocalypse Mini Seriesand made from soft, textured faux fur fabric, LA artist Amanda Visell's limited edition Jackalope is 14-inches of robot-decimating plush from ears to feet.

He has floppy legs, embroidered features, foam teeth, and sits upright for maximum comfort as he munches on evil androids. Limited to 1500 pieces worldwide.

Price will be $29.95.

Jackalope Plush 14-Inch | Kidrobot

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EXCLUSIVE: Lemi the Space Wanderer 10-inch plushes

We are pleased to announce that Tenacious Toys will be the exclusive US retailer of the 10-inch (26 cm) Lemi the Space Wanderer plushes from Thunderpanda in Indonesia!

The Lemi plushes are handmade and will be shipping to us in a month or 2. Retail price will be just $15! An amazing bargain considering these are hand made plushies imported from overseas.

We'll be posting more about the Lemi plushes as we get closer to the arrival date. Of course, feel free to contact us via email to unofficially reserve one. There will be only 100 made so it's certainly a limited release.

You can find out more about Lemi and Eric (the creator) at the following links:

Eric Wirjanata's Twitter

www.thunderpanda.com

www.deathrockstar.info
the latest papertoys designed
Thunderpanda on facebook

deathrockstar on Facebook

INSIDE TOY FAIR: Band Mates plushes shaped like instruments

One of the standout new lines of plushes I found at Toy Fair were these super-soft Band Mates plushies in the shape of musical instruments. From left to right, they are: DJ MC, Mike, Tom & Axe-L. They retail between $14.99 and $19.99 each and you can read their backstories, check out the web comic, download wallpapers, and find out more about the cool people behind this line of plushes on their website.

I'm digging DJ MC the most, I think. Which one do you like best? Drop us an email or leave comment!

New from Jellyface: Jelly Squad, Jelly Mummy & Jelly Crew!

New plushes from JellyFace:

Jelly Squad

Jelly Mummy

Jelly Crew

You might also want to check out Jelly Addict, one of the funniest plushes I've seen in a while!

Noferin expands the Pecanpals line with these plush versions

Noferin's Pecanpals are finally cuddly!

13 inches from head to toe (ears of some make them bigger).

Each Pecanpal has a biography tag.

ASTM and CE certified for all ages.

Retail $20 each. As always, shoot us an email or leave a comment if you dig these plushes.

$20 is a great price for a full-size plush!

TOYTOY FACTORY: Handmade plushies from Brazil!

You may recall that I showed up at GRNY a couple weeks ago for the Jon Burgerman show. While I was there, I met a super cool guy named Daniel who was on vacation from Brasil. Turns out Daniel and his crew back home hand sew plush toys! Their company is called ToyToy Factory.

The next weekend as Daniel was heading back to Brasil, he left a present for me: this AWESOME ToyToy hand-made plush! This one's right up my alley- sort of evil and cute at the same time!
Please visit ToyToy's website or blog to find out more about how to order one of their colorful custom plushes for yourself.

You can find ToyToy's images on Flickr and follow them on Twitter.

I am also friends with some of the ToyToy people on Facebook, so you can contact Daniel Corso there as well.

Thank you SO MUCH Daniel for this very kind gesture!

Jon Burgerman "My American Summer" show at Giant Robot + Kid Lew + custom shoes + ToyToy plushes

I stopped by Giant Robot NY on Saturday evening for the first time to meet Jon Burgerman and check out his show "My American Summer"... it was a lot of fun and I am kicking myself for having been in the designer toy business for 4 years now and never having made the short trip down to GRNY. It's a great location, one block north from the famous St Mark's Place!

Actually the manager of GRNY is named Mark too, and the guy is awesome. He INSISTED upon pouring me a drink, so of course I let him crack open the ginger ale. I'm a badass. Also present was Michael Denicola, who caught me on camera walking in with my Mr. Douchebag t-shirt on... check out his website called InkLungs, he does some great drawings!

Burgerman's show was great- everything hanging in the show was hand-drawn or hand-stiched (there were one-off plushes too, stiched up for Burgerman by the Felt Mistress!)

The orange drawings are apparently snapshot records of Burgerman's trip to the US. Each one is done sort of spur of the moment, wherever he is, and is based upon whatever he sees or hears. Actually really interesting to read the words he's worked in and check out the places he's been! All works by Burgerman are for sale and you can contact GRNY to purchase. Prices range from $99 to $300+ (high end is for the OOAK plushes!).

Burgerman himself was a typical Brit- exceptionally gracious and nice to a fault. I tried to get him to sign my DIY Qee with "Piss off, Benny. -Jon Burgerman" but he declined. Instead he drew one of his little characters on there to accompany drawings by Nolasco, MAD, Sket, Lou Pimentel, Keith Poon... and Kid Lew! I met up with Kid Lew and we actually chatted for the first time for real- we keep showing up at the same events and we finally got a chance to get to know each other. Watch Kid Lew in the near future- he's got plans to turn his characters he's working on into toys/prints/t-shirts etc. We unofficially scheduled him in to sign at our booth during NYCC 2010.

Meanwhile, this guy Arthur Roberts wandered in off the street and showed us his custom-painted Adidas (see below). Art runs an apparel company called Mumz the Werd.

The intricate detail on these shoes warranted pics and a shout-out. I'm not even a sneakerhead and I thought these were dope so there ya go.

Art's wearing one of his Mumzthewerd t-shirts which they are selling.

I dig their logo/character with the tape over his mouth.

After that this guy Daniel from Brazil walked in.. turns out he's on vacation but when he's back in Brazil he makes custom plushes for his company called ToyToy. He hooked me and Mark up with ToyToy stickers so props to him! Definitely check out his characters, they are very cute and colorful in typical Brazilian style!

And finally I gotta give props to my friends at IHeartCoolStuff because they were there at GRNY too, doing an interview with Burgerman! They run a fantastic blog, much more in depth and interesting than the drivel you're reading now, so why don't you pop over there and check it out?

All in all, an excellent trip downtown for me!

Tomorrow I'll post about what I saw Sunday at the NY Gift Fair...