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...