Janie XY

I am a huge collector of a lot of things. Plush creations being just one of them. Especially when they are really cute and handmade. So when I saw these items at Unique L.A. I had to get them. These are handmade plush by Janie XY.

Her booth was almost decked out like a fruit stand. Which matched a lot of her plush items. There were quite a few items to choose from: 2 types of bunnies, whales (small and large), 3 different color cats, eggplants, strawberries, oranges, pears and tomatos. All with names tags and a short bio on them. There was even stackable ice cream cones, which was really cool. The plush ice cream cone had different types of ice cream scoops that go on top of it (each piece sold separately). A magnet is under the material on the tops and bottoms, which helps them to hold together when they stack on each other. It wobbles a little when you have 2-3 ice cream scoops on the cone.

The item that really drew me to her booth was the round plush rabbit, Lars. The moment I saw it on the table I picked it up and gave it a squeeze, then a tiny shake. Thought there was a jingle bell inside, but I was wrong. The girl behind the booth looked at me and said, "It's really cute, huh." Then I said "This would be perfect if it had a bell inside it." She replied, "She can make it with a bell inside." But I was fine without one in it. Found out that the actual creator of these plush items had stepped away from the booth for the moment. So I didn't have a chance to meet the creator. I picked out Lars the bunny and wanted one of the cats, Ramses. There was a gray and pink cat too, but I liked the bright orange color of Ramses. As I was about to make my purchase I was told that if I got another item that totaled $40, I would get Ramses free. So I picked the orange, Nancy.

I may have to get one of the whales through her Etsy store. Thought about getting it when I was at Unique L.A., but I didn't have time to go back to her booth. I did notice some differences with the pics on her items in the Etsy store with the ones I purchased. The orange has a shape and face similar to the tomato. Might be that the pics have not been updated on the site yet. Even with that I think these are some really great plush items.

Kauzbots

Went to Unique L.A. a few Saturdays ago. Been looking forward to going to this for the past few months, since Felt Club was not being held this year. I started to check out the Unique L.A. website and saw photos from a summer show they had earlier in the year. There was this one pic of a booth with these plush robots that I had never seen or heard of. They were called Kauzbots, robots with a heart.

Checked out the Kauzbots website to see more info on them. There are 10 different robots that all begin with the letter "K" and each support a different cause:

Kalvin (dark gray) - Hearts of Gold
Kruz (blue) - Lifewater International
Kale (green) - Arbor Day Foundation
Karthy (yellow) - TACA (Talk About Curing Autism)
Kiefer (black) - IRC (International Rescue Committee)
Karson (red) - AIDS Walk
Kourage (purple) - George Mark Children's House
Khloe (white) - NCOHF (National Children's Oral Health Foundation)
Kaprice (pink) - Breast Cancer Network of Strength
Karissa (orange) - Share Our Strength

10% of the sale price from each robot goes to support its specific cause. Same goes for the apparel and keychains. They all have the same body shape, but different colors, material patterns and antennas. There is also a pocket on the back of all the robots. Inside of the pocket is a little plush heart.

When I got to the booth and saw them, I just had to get me one. Picking out a robot was a tough decision. Do I choose by color or cause? Went with color this time around. Chose Karissa. But as I was waiting to pay for my purchase, I decided to get one more and picked up Karthy. I got a Kalvin keychain too. It looks like a miniature plush version of Kalvin. Found out that the keychain will no longer be produced in that style due to manufacturing complications. Instead they will be in the form of the robot's heads.

Love these guys... how can you not love 'em. They are cute robots that support a cause, which can make a difference in the world. Think my next robot will be Kale. Basing my choice by cause this time...

The Killing of a Chinese Cookie

Did you know that the fortune cookie was actually invented by the Japanese?
It does not even exist in China.

Just went to a screening of The Killing of a Chinese Cookie, earlier this evening. It's a documentary on the history of the fortune cookie. It's a film by my former studio partner and high school friend, Derek Shimoda. He directed, produced and wrote this funny and entertaining look at the mixed up history of the fortune cookie. From its early beginnings in Japan (and its debated origins in San Francisco or Los Angeles) to a permanent staple at the end of a meal in a Chinese restaurant. There are interviews with many people, one of them being Giant Robot publisher Eric Nakamura.

Derek had been working on this for a year and a half, I think. He got to travel to quite a few different places like Japan and San Francisco. The film was released last year, 2008, mostly at film festivals. It is now available on DVD through Amazon.com and for free online at snagfilms.com.

There was also a cook-off before the screening involving fortune cookie inspired desserts. The winning dessert would be featured on the Geisha House menu for a limited time. There were 3 judges: Eric Nakamura, Brian Kito (Fugetsu-Do Confectioners) and a person from Geisha House. Winning dessert was a cheesecake-like dessert and it was very tasty too.

GR2 Post-It 4 Show

GR2 had the opening of the Post-It 4 show on Saturday. Heard there were something like 1300+ pieces submitted by 150+ artists. My camera's battery was dead so I had to take pics with my iPhone, which isn't that great. GR2 pre-show pics here and here. Pieces were priced from $5 to $40 for single post-its and $40-$300 for post-its made up of multiple pieces. This was a great chance to get a piece of original art from an artist at a really great, inexpensive price. All are "cash and carry." So once you bought it, it comes off the wall and you take it home right away. You could only purchase one item from each artist, since some only submitted one and others may have submitted more than one.

I got there about 5:30pm and there was a handful of people already there. At this point you could really get up close to the wall and see the artwork... that would change in the next half-hour at opening. Once Michelle put the sign up sheet out to purchase art a little before 6pm, a line formed quickly. I was last on the first page of the list.

The place got packed really quickly and you could hardly move or get close to the wall to take a good look at the post-its. Michelle started calling names from the sign up list and pieces started coming off the walls. It took people a while to get their pieces because some were still looking and making their decisions right then. Pieces are coded on the back. Unless you know the artists' work or they signed their piece, it could be difficult finding something you wanted. It took about an hour until my name was called.

This was such a great show! Even after I left, about 8pm, there was still a huge crowd there waiting for their chance to make a purchase. I got a David Horvath, Sun-Min Kim, Mina Horvath, APAK, Saelee Oh, Gary Baseman and Le Merde. I got all the ones I wanted to get, although the Baseman one was my second choice. First choice was a post-it with his Toby character in it. I went back the next day and there are still a lot of great pieces left. All of David's were gone. There were a couple of Sun-Min's and Mina's still available. I think I got pics of all of their pieces here.

Friend or Foe

Saw these guys online this past weekend and I just had to get me a couple of them. So cute... They are Friend or Foe blind pack charms from Poketo. About 2.5" tall. Each is a unique and handpainted stuffed charm, so no 2 are alike. There are hundreds of different characters to chose from. But since they are blind packed, you don't know which ones you'll get. $12 each.

I ordered 2 on Sunday and they arrived on Thursday. One looks kinda like a lucky cat, while the other resembles a pig. The material they are made from feels like painters canvas. The whole charm looks to be handpainted too. I'm putting the piggy one on my backpack since the other one is white. Don't want to get that one dirty too fast.

Think I am going to get me 2 more of them later.

Handbags

Haven't been at the studio for a while, with all my daytime job deadlines and the usual stuff that happens at the end of the year bogging me down. I had to stop in over this past weekend to get a couple of supplies. Decided to work on something at home instead of the studio, just in case I get the urge (or time) to work on it. Going to need to pick up one other item from the store if I do get to working on it though.

When I stopped by the studio I saw a couple of handbags that my studio partner, Ty, finished up. They look really nice. The gray one has a zippered pocket in the middle and separates the inside into 2 compartments. The black one is a little longer and doesn't seem to have any compartments. Not sure if he made these for someone or for a show. I never know for sure since he is usually there when I am not, so we very rarely see each other.

We really have to get working on a collaboration of some ideas that have been floating around for quite a few months. Gotta find some time soon... hopefully by the beginning of the year...