I dropped off the set of Chocolate Box Best Bunnies I've been working on to the Museum of Brisbane Store today. They liked them so much they popped them in the front window straight away. Tomorrow they'll be on their very own display plinth in store :)
I took my beloved sewing machine for a service yesterday, as I've been having trouble with the pedal. The machine would keep sewing after I had stopped.... it was like she was possessed...not good!! She needed to go to the sewing machine doctor - but how long was it going to take to fix?!
Last night, before I fell asleep, a pageant of toy designs flew through my mind's eye like a short film run very fast. I remember being fascinated by their beauty and soft colours. While I no longer remember them distinctly now, I still feel their shapes like a sweet after taste or an aura of perfume.
Best Bunnies in progress. These will be part of a Chocolate Box set of Best Bunnies for the Museum of Brisbane Store....just in time for Easter :)
As I sit here working on some graphic design work for OzFrank Theatre my cat Baby snuggles on my lap purring very loudly. No doubt she's hoping to attract my attention for extra tickles under the ear. Perhaps she's making up for lost time because last week she disappeared to become a Tree Cat. Baby decided she would spend all day perched up in the tree in our front yard. When I wanted to see her I had to walk under the branches to reach up and pat her. It was very funny indeed! Now, however, she has returned to normal and resumed her very pleasant role as Lap Cat..jpg)
This month sees the launch of Best Bunny! Best Bunny sits up straight and tall and is always ready to answer a question or help a friend. You can read the whole story on the Best Bunny Story page.
Best Bunny was designed about 6 months ago and I have been excitedly awaiting their release. I had so many to release last year for the website launch that I had to keep quite a few toys back for this year. Launching one toy a month just doesn't seem enough as more and more fabulous toys keep popping up in my studio!!
Some of the features of Best Bunny include: a variegated fluffy wool tail pompom made from a wool blend called Nepal by Katia (the ones on the left hand side in this image); a sewn in jingle bell and bow so the bow will never untie and slip out of place; hand dyed variegated wool felt eye circles; Japanese sashiko cotton in pink for the bell, eye, nose and mouth details; fine brushed cotton fabrics for soft to the touch textures. So with the special nature of the variegated materials each Best Bunny will have its own unique expression and touches.
It was my birthday the other day and what a wonderful surprise when dear friend and brilliant contemporary jeweller Rebecca Ward (aka Rebecca the Wrecker) gave me the gift above.
Jesika Hanford, a jeweller friend of mine, recently bought a Blue Meringue Biscuit Bunny from me. She sent me some images of her bunny settling into life in her studio and making friends with her gorgeous cat Esmerelda (Ezi for short). I thought they were so cute I had to share them :)
Flying Star Toys is pleased to be invited to participate in the toy exhibition Plushed: Art Gone Soft.web.jpg)
Flying Star Toys online is continuing its 20% off all toys sale for the month of January!!
From me and all the Flying Star Toys I hope all my friends have had a good holiday season and wish everyone the very best for the New Year 2008!!
Heather tagged me a couple of weeks ago with a "five things about me" meme and I promised I'd get to it when things had calmed down.
That's right! As a special Christmas treat the Flying Star Toys online shop will be having a 20% off sale. So if there is a little soft someone you've been secretly coveting then there is no better time to treat yourself.
I was thrilled to have Flying Star Toys featured in the Curios section of the November issue of Craft magazine - super cool DYI craft magazine from the US. Many thanks go to Arwen O'reilly (staff editor) for finding my work via Etsy.
The Umbrella Collective Christmas show was another successful and happy day. Saturday the 17th of November started for me driving into the city watching moody clouds pouring forth a grey column of rain but these visitors were quickly travelling across the skyline soon to pass. They toured across the sky all day so we enjoyed an atmosphere that hadn't been felt in Brisbane for sometime, a wonderful sub-tropical gloaming that brought a sense of magical expectation. Everyone was agreed that it was a prefect setting for the show.
The GOMA show on Sunday the 25th was also an excellent day with a great turn out from the public and I got to meet up with some other of our fellow Queensland artists such as Sarah and Lee from Audrey and Rose, Luke Johnson from Robots Robots, Erin from Blossom Creations and new toy maker Kia Hing Fay. Her toys for children are beautifully made and I was pleased to be able to do a swap with her for one of the very popular show favourite Biscuit Bunnies. Below is a photo she sent me of him in his new home shown with one of Kylie Johnson's ceramic stars. I'm sure we'll be hearing more about Kia in the future.
Finally, I'd like to thank all of those people who came out to support us and those who sent there well wishes or very kind apologies, you are all truly Friends of Flying Star Toys :)
"Improvement makes straight roads; but the crooked roads without improvement are roads of Genius." William Blake
I really need some time to relax today. I can't believe I forgot I live just down the road from this!
This morning I finally caught one of my toys on the front page of Etsy. I was on the front page the other day too but I missed it, so I was quite chuffed (happy) to see Star Boomers featured in such a beautiful collection gathered together by fellow Australian Esty seller Etsasketch.
