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.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Cat's got a tongue.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
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!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
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.
Monday, December 8, 2008
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.