Monster pillows I have known

Over the last few weeks I have found fire to start a new product line. I am making pillows.

For a couple of years now, I've had boxes of Karlstad sofa covers from Ikea sitting around my office. They were on sale for like, $1 each, and I bought a couple on spec. I assumed I would make monsters from them at some point, but the fabric is sort of upholstery-grade, tricky business on the 6-12 inch scale I usually work in.

I made a round back pillow out of a t-shirt for a show a while back, and it set my mind to thinking about pillows. Then I went to Shanghai to visit a friend, and saw some cool pillow/monsters with a certain shape. I sketched it in my notebook and brought the idea home.

After modifications and trials with fabric and various shapes, I hit upon this design, which I'm pretty happy with. We've had a prototype on our sofa for a few weeks now, and we both really enjoy it. It's not just weird looking, it's comfortable. I'm leaning on it now as I write this.

The production units are going up on Etsy as I get them done and photographed. Check 'em out while they last!

I also have vague plans to try to advertise this batch around crafty places the Web. That's new territory for me, but last time I put up a bunch of stuff on Etsy, nothing moved for 3 months. I also barely told anyone it was there, so I have to consider that I could be partly responsible.

WiiWaa WOW!

I don't know anything else about WiiWaa than what this video shows -- and apparently neither does anyone else -- but this looks amazing. I watched the video four times in a row.



Know what else would be amazing? Having your very own individualized plush dude to use with this game.

Here's the official site at Zoink Games.

Homunculi -- Available Now!

Are you looking for a little human representative that might one day grow up into a full-size being? Sounds like you want a homunculus!


I cannot actually promise that these creatures will grow up to be anything like human. Or even that they'll grow up.


I CAN promise if you send me $20 + postage by the end of the week (via Paypal), I can have one of these cute, handmade, one-of-a-kind monsters to you in time for Christmas.


These grainy cell phone pictures are merely representative of the kinds of homunculi out there. Who knows what yours will look like?

Whatever it looks like, I am sure that it will be colorful, and friendly, and have buttons for eyes (unless you'd like it as a gift for a child under 3, in which case it will have carefully sewn on cloth eyes).

Email me at jef@freyq.com with questions and comments. You can still have one by Christmas if you hurry! Or you can have one by later than Christmas at regular speed. Your choice! Email today!

Monsters at the Artery

At Art Shop a couple weeks ago, the... owner? proprieter? curator? a representative from the Square Peg Artery came by my booth and asked if I'd be interested in selling on consignment.

I pretty much didn't need to hear past the word "selling" in that sentence, so we traded business cards.

After further conversation, my monsters are now on display for sale at the shop! Hoooray! The Artery is at 108 S. 20th St -- a pleasant walk from Rittenhouse Square. Here are some of the homunculi for sale (this was in their pre-mouth condition. They all have big smiles now).

To terrorize y'all's neighborhood

Oh, the Japanese! Is there anything you can't make a little weirder? Below is a wondermous video of people in kaiju costumes dancing to Thriller.

kaiju dance

According to the crack reporting at Pink Tentacle, this is a skit of various monsters auditioning to be in the upcoming Ultraman vehicle, Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legend The Movie.

I'm a little awed by that title.

Link to the PT post.

Welcome Art Shoppers 2009!

Hey, I hope you had a good time at Art Shop this year.

This is my occasionally-updated blog of monster-related info. Over the next few weeks, I'll probably be more active here, posting pictures and maybe even updating to a completely different look, depending on how stubborn WordPress continues to be. We'll just see about that.

IN THE MEANTIME, browse the entries and email if you have questions or commissions. Thanks!

The Tootsie Monster

Man, this is pretty great. This tootsie monster is fantastically creepy. Done by Melissa Sue Stanley, she's got creativity falling off her, apparently.

Take a look at more pictures of this beast here. IT CAN STAND UP.

She also has some positively inspirational baba yaga huts that stand on lil tiny chicken feet. Go. Go look.

Her blog in general.
Her etsy listing.

Anatomically incorrect

Becky Stern has made a model of a plush knee based on MRI scans, arthroscopy images, and anatomical illustrations. It's cute and ooky at the same time. Cyooky.



Check it out.

Where the Wild Things Are trailer!

It's up on Apple's site.

Compare to the "leaked" test footage from last year. Got a preference?

I was never a big Maurice Sendak fan as a kid... I didn't dislike his stuff, just never really sparked for me. But I'm really interested in seeing this movie. I think it's the Dave Eggers fan in me that does it.

Give me your answer do

After more delay than strictly required, I finished a commissioned monster for a friend this week. I named her Daisy. Daisy will be whisked off to her new home some time in the next few days.

I have begun on the next monster, which I've already had to rip up and start over once, with no promises that attempt #2 will fare better.

This is the latest wisdom: When you're making it up as you go, you pretty much have to assume that your first two tries won't work.

If either of them do, you totally win. But don't count on it, and for the love of Tom Bosley, don't PLAN on it. Just be happy when it shows up.

Also, let this serve as a plain reminder that I do commissions.

(Note the flower on the tail. Thank you, good night.)

Skull duggery

Lana Crooks is queen of plush, for-serious. As an illustrator and costume designer, she has an eye for making things look fantastic, whereas I am still learning which end of the needle is the pointy one.

Here's some info and a short interview with her.

I've been working on making plush skulls for a few months, off and on. I'm simultaneously disheartened and intrigued to hear that she's going to work at it more seriously.

Disheartened, because I don't think anyone else in the small, fertile world of plush is doing that, and I was totally going to corner that market. Intrigued because she'll make them look fantastic, and maybe I can study her work and learn. And, you know, second place behind Lana Crooks is still pretty damn great.

I DO already have a good product-line name for my skulls. She better not steal that too.

Lana's site.
Lana's blog.

Cat's got a tongue.

Caleb here, named his monster "Cat." Normally I try to name monsters, but this guy was snapped up before I had a chance.

I'm told Cat and Caleb are getting along great, although Cat keeps getting lost, probably from wandering off when no one is looking.

Fortunately no one is offended that Cat sticks his tongue out at everyone, all the time.

Monsters Class of 2007

I started making monsters sort of on a whim last year. Then they became my Christmas gifts to some close friends. Now, it seems to be a bit of a growth industry.

With the end of 2008 fast approaching, I thought I'd post a shot of the class of 2007:



Somewhere around here, I have a group shot of most of the 2008 monsters. It's a bigger picture!

Art Shop Confidential

Art Shop this past weekend was great! It was my first show, and I sold a bunch of monsters.

Children were drawn like moths, and I'm way happy to send a cushy monster home with an age-appropriate child. But let's face it, I really make these things for... you know, me. Adults who like whimsy and strangeness.

A professor at Temple and his wife spent 15 minutes agonizing over which monster to take home, because they liked them ALL. One college girl kept circling back to the table every few minutes, watching from a distance until she swooped in and gave me her last dollar to buy one.

These are not just my target audience, these are my people. I feel a little bad charging them money.

I'm still gonna! But capitalism doesn't come naturally to me.

Looking for a new sewing machine?

I went looking to buy a new sewing machine a few weeks back, and I had no idea how much it would be like car shopping. Like, down to the dealer not telling you what the price is until you've gone for a test drive. It is not a simple job for the underinformed.

Unlike cars, there's precious little unbiased info online. There's lots of people who will tell you, "It depends on what you want to do." which is not helpful, or, "It depends on what manufacturer I get a commission from," which is a completely different kind of unhelpful. Consumer Reports hasn't even tested sewing machines in years (although there's a new report coming in February 2009, they say).

The best info I found was at craftster.org, in a post comparing sewing machine manufacturers.

Here's the quick version:

Buying a sewing machine is like buying a car, your level of skill, mechanical needs and budget dictate what you get in your machine. Sewing machines vary in price and quality much like cars. Bernina = Mercedez-Benz, Janome = Toyota, Kenmore = Buick, Pfaff = Volvo, Viking/ Husqvarna = Volkswagon. (Ok, most of the countries didn't line up perfectly, meh)

There's a lot more there too if you're interested. Thanks, Penlowe!


P.S. I wound up getting a Pfaff Hobby 1142. (I'm a Volvo kind of guy, basically.) If you're in the Philly area, check out Fabrics on the Hill for help getting a Pfaff.

Hark, an otyugh!

Been working on non-cute, D&D-esque monsters lately too. Here's my first one, an otyugh. Otyughs are Dungeons & Dragons monsters that live in refuse piles and collect treasure. I'm kind of a junk hoarder myself, so I can relate.


I finished this dude a while back, but it took me a long time to get pictures and transfer them to where I could post them. It's a prototype (his eyestalk doesn't stand up on its own... oops), but full of valuable lessons for the next round.



A guy I played Living Forgotten Realms with a few weeks ago told me sight unseen that he would buy a handmade plush otyugh. I hope there's more like him!

Cycloptopus

Saturday I made my favorite monster yet: Cycloptopus. It's not actually that tricky, but it does embody the sudden, unexpected confluence of a lot of things I've learned.

Very little of my output is unusable -- it's hard to screw up something that's meant to look monstrous. But I see more blemish than finish in most of my production.

This guy is different. I'm pretty proud of him!

Anatomy of a kaiju

Are you into Kaiju? Of course you are! All men, women, and children are fans of giant Japanese monster movie monsters, so the answer is automatically yes. In fact, forget I asked.

The reason I even bring it up is that thanks to boingboing, I tripped across this fantastic set of kaiju pics, including the snazzy internal anatomy drawing seen at right. Thank goodness we have quality naturalists working on these things.

Link to kaiju eiga picture set

Monsters for sale: Dec. 5 & 6

I'll be showing and selling monsters and other hand-made artifacts at Art Shop this year! I'm pretty damn excited about my first show.

THE DEETS (in jpg form)


Also, some other people will be there. Maybe you might want to look at their stuff too.

31 flavors

My old friend, Rob McClurkan, is a snazzy illustrator. During October, he's doing 31 days of monsters at his blog, illustration brain. I've stolen one of his drawings to show you a sample at right. He's got a great style, and a sense of whimsy that you will love, or your internet money back.

You can also see his portfolio which includes some non-monster-related pictures at seerobdraw.com. If you were into that sort of thing.

Link