Plush You! LA Revealed

Today is the opening of Plush You! LA at Munky King Gallery in LA. I really wish I could be there! If you go, please take lots of pictures to share!

The three pieces I sent were inspired by carnivals, circuses, and fairs, if you haven't guessed already.

We've got Boris the Strong Man, with his handlebar mustache, old-timey uniform, and nautical tattoos:

Bartholomew the Juggler, with his bald head, chevron 'stash, and dapper vest:

And Beatrice the Bearded Lady / Trapeze Artist, with her curly locks, pencil 'stash, and dainty heels.

When I first settled on my theme, I knew I wanted it to involve mustaches. Originally, I was just going to make little imps with 'stashes, but then I started thinking about the State Fair coming up, which made me think of kitschy carnival and circus stuff, which led to these guys. I was a bit daunted by my idea, since the only "people" I had made before were Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum and a tiny Alice, but I knew I just had to do it.

I'm happiest with the strong man. He came out the closest to what I had envisioned, and I had so much fun sewing on his facial and chest hair, shaping his muscles, and painting his tattoos. Bartholomew's juggling was a challenge. I was ecstatic when I found his vintage bowling pins and balls on Etsy, and I knew I wanted to string them in an arc to make it look more like he was juggling. But I didn't have the correct wire gauge on hand, and had no time to run out for the right stuff. So it's flimsier than I would like.

Beatrice, oh Beatrice. Her bosom was a huge problem. I thought just doing shaping darts would take care of it, but the stuffing just did not want to stay. I ended up having to gently needle-felt some ball shapes to fill out her bustier, but even those didn't quite do the trick. And saddest of all: I had the perfect little feather boa made for her, but forgot to drape her in it before I snapped pictures and sent her off to LA!

Ah well. I'm glad I took on my own little challenge, as I already have valuable lessons for the next set of carnies. . . .