Tigsy Does Portsmouth!

During the Summer Tigsy was lucky enough to go on 2 holidays! One of those began with a sunny afternoon in Portsmouth and an overnight stay in a hotel, ready for an early morning ferry to France.

We started out with a trip up the Spinnaker tower, a 170m building overlooking Portsmouth harbour. Tigsy was amazed by the great views, and he was even brave enough to walk over the glass floor!

He also made a new friend here called Spinny, a plush version of the Spinnaker tower (what a cool idea!), who joined him on the rest of the holiday.

It was an early night back at the hotel, ready for the adventures to come on Tigsy's first trip abroad! More to follow soon........

New Notebook Designs!

I have 2 new notebooks for sale at the moment - 1 shows the 'On the Origin of Plush...' design of 4 evolving plushies, and the other shows a selection of plush science!

Find them at:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15413684

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15733563

It's hard to say goodbye

I have to confess that when I first started making plushies to sell on Etsy, I wasn't totally convinced I could actually part with them! Generally once something has a face and a name, that's it, they're with me for life. Somehow I've managed to get over this and am happy sending my plushies off to a better life. After all, most of them are jetting off to America, and having much more fun than they would sitting on a shelf in Kent.

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Although, every now and then, I list something that I'm secretly hoping won't sell and I'll have to keep forever! Sadly those plushies nearly always sell immediately, and our time together is cut short.

The plushie I've been most sad to see leave so far was Lionel the Leopard-Pig - I really had grown quite fond of him, with his cute little face and funny little tail. He flew off on his big adventure to America, and it was really tough for us left behind. However, it was all made a little more bearable when his new owner left feedback saying how much she adored him -that makes it all worthwhile!

Hope you're having fun out there Lionel!

Tigsy Wins Gold!

Tigsy decided to try his hand, or rather his feet, at running an organised race the other evening. It was a tough course, and he was the only plushie participant. He didn't quite manage the whole 5km course, but was very proud of himself nonetheless. He even won a medal!

The Usual Plushpects!

Four Naughty Plushies. One Line Up . No Coincidence.

Here is my latest creation of Plush Art. Based on the famous 'Usual Suspects' scene, this is a line up with a difference! Which one do you think is the guilty plushie?

Please visit http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15155642 for more details on how to buy this item!

Discovering Etsy

I remember our first encounter like it was yesterday, those first hours spent together when everything was exciting and new....and it's still pretty damn great now! I'm talking about Etsy of course, and I'm sure most of you are already well acquainted. However, if you're not yet familiar with the site, please follow this link to find out more:

http://www.etsy.com/about.php

When I first started making plushies I planned to sell them on eBay, since I've already sold half my worldly goods on there, but I soon discovered that it wouldn't be as easy as I thought. There didn't seem to be a market for handmade goods on there, especially not toys. Most buyers (me included) have got that 'boot-fair attitude' too, where they want to pay 20p for everything and won't part with a decent sum of money.

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So I found Etsy by searching on eBay, because someone selling handmade toys had a link to her Etsy shop. I soon discovered just how great Etsy was, and was so excited to open my shop and make my first sales!

Tigsy in the Big City!

Tigsy kept me company on a very important trip to London yesterday, but I made sure we had time to take a walk along the River Thames. It was his first train journey too, and he especially enjoyed having his own seat!

We walked quite a way along the river, taking in all the famous buildings and sites - past the Globe theatre and the Clink prison, on to the London Eye and a view of the Houses of Parliament.

There was a bit of a tantrum when Tigsy realised we weren't actually going on the London Eye, but I've promised him a trip on it one day soon!

What's the deal with the 1 eye?

If you've visited my Etsy shop, you've probably noticed that all my plushies have only 1 eye. And you've probably wondered, 'what's the deal with that?'. Well, read on my friend.

Finding my plushie style...

After Gumdrop I carried on making plushies out of my mum's cast off fabrics, and this is the rest of the first batch.

I kept designing more robots and funny shaped animals, but was starting to get a little worried. I just couldn't find my own style - they all looked pretty different and nothing tied them all together. Then I took another look at these guys and realised the answer was staring back at me (literally) - they all look so cute with 1 eye!

I started scribbling out the second eye in all my sketches, and suddenly they all looked like a crazy little family! I actually can’t even draw a 2 eyed plushie anymore – it just looks too weird!

See, it's not because I don't have enough buttons.

Tigsy on Tour!

Tigsy is a Tiger-Moose, a member of the Hybrids family. As the breed suggests, he is part tiger, part moose, and was created in the Fur Will Fly lab. I am a biologist after all, so hybrid plushies are no big deal. Tigsy is my very own Tiger-Moose and he regularly enjoys trips out and holidays. You might notice that he is the star of my banner. He would like to share his adventures with you, and aims to make this a regular series of blog posts.

So, this is Tigsy on Hastings beach, on an incredibly windy, showery day (Saturday 6th). He managed to keep out of the rain and wind for most of the day by hiding in my bag. Unfortunately I was too big join him, and had to brave the gusts. The sea was certainly choppy and we enjoyed watching the huge waves on the beach. Tigsy remarked how glad he was that the ferry ride he recently enjoyed wasn't in weather like this, but more about that later.....

How it all began...

Quite simply, I love cuddly toys. I always have done. As a little girl my bedroom was full of them, and they all had names and different personalities. I even put them into little friendship groups. I always had a favourite of course, and I still have her now. She is a knitted doll called Goldie, and has been through an awful lot. She lost an eye, got her hair all tangled up in knots, put up with being carried around by the neck for years, and was even hung up by her neck on a washing line. But she's survived to tell the story, and here she is:

I know she'd benefit from a bit of TLC but I can't bear to try and change her - I remember one day my mum tried to glue on a new felt eye and I threw a bit of a wobbler because she didn't look like my Goldie anymore!

I was also really into making-and-doing when I was little - something which I continued right through school, taking a GCSE in Textiles. Then I suddenly decided to study Science subjects at A-level, and my creative days appeared to be over. It wasn't until January of this year when I realised I was missing out on something I love doing, and decided to start a creative hobby again - with the hope of making a few pounds out of it too. I discovered Etsy, bought a couple of craft books and got my sewing machine out!

The first attempt

My mum gave me a huge bag full of odd scraps of fabric, a big tin of buttons and a packet of old Kapok stuffing and, after I'd reminded myself how to use a sewing machine, I got to work.

She might not look much to you, but this is Gumdrop, my first handmade plushie! I was very pleased with myself. In fact, I think I'll make a Gumdrop#2 soon, a bit more in keeping with my other plushies - she'll have to lose one of those eyes for a start.....

My First Blog

Welcome to the Fur Will Fly blog.....

Now I confess I've got no idea what I'm doing with all this blog business, and have been stumbling around Blogger aimlessly for a few days just to get this far! Let's hope it's a steep learning curve.

When I first heard of blogs I did wonder what sort of saddos want to read the daily exploits of a bunch of self-obsessed idiots, writing about what colour socks they are wearing and where they went on holiday. And while I expect a certain amount of that does go on, since starting my little plush business, I now know how fab creative blogs can be and how fun they are to explore.

Although, I still feel a little silly writing this now - like I'm writing to an imaginery friend or something. It feels a bit weird. Well hopefully I'll get over it.

So, what is this Fur Will Fly anyway?

It's the name of my Etsy shop where I sell my handmade plush creatures. They're a bit odd, and each have their own story to tell. I get my inspiration from all sorts of places, from science (I studied Biology), TV shows and everyday objects!

Have a quick look in my shop to see if this is the blog for you...
http://www.furwillfly.etsy.com