Zooguu Catalog is here!

The Zooguu Online Catalog is finally here! It's jam packed full of new product photos, amusing product descriptions and it shows all available sizes & colors. Check it out in the fun, flash page-flip version at zooguu.com. It is also available as a downloadable PDF.

Renegade Craft Fair This Weekend

Visit Zooguu and Reiter8 this weekend at the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn, NY!
We will be vending in booth #16.

New photos are here!

We've been hard at work creating the catalog and new web site to showcase all of our products. While I continue to edit photographs, you can have a sneak peek in the Zooguu Etsy shop to see the wonderful new style. All of the animals have fun, illustrated backgrounds now (thanks for the help, Gubicza) and, I actually have photographs of every animal in every size. Finally!

Enjoy the catalog preview above. Some amazingly cute kids helped by allowing me to photograph them playing with the animals - thanks kids (and parents of adorable kids)!

The online catalog and web site should be launching next week - look for the announcement on Tuesday, June 9.

Seek & Find & Color Hedgehogs

Download the latest activity PDF at zooguu.com. Can you find all 10 hedgehogs? Color in every hedgehog you see.

This activity was very fun to make. I hope you enjoy it!

The Gubicza Character Factory

Gubicza and I have combined our skills (his illustration and my Flash programming) to create the Gubicza Character Factory! You can create amusing characters by mixing and matching illustrated parts. You can even order a 5x7 print of your own unique character! You can also send a message to your friend and invite them to play, too.

Albert Monster Paper Toy

The latest free paper toy download is here! Albert Monster loves to sit on your desk next to your computer and laugh at every one of your jokes. He'll also nibble on any nearby snacks, so you should keep an eye on him. :)
Download, print and play free on zooguu.com

New Activity - What's Different

I'm really excited about the newest activity sheet. I always loved these as a kid (I still do, as a matter of fact!). Look at each row of monsters from left to right. One of them is different from the rest - can you spot all four? Download the free PDF for a larger view here.

Featured on Babble's Droolicious Blog

I'm thrilled to be featured on Babble.com's group blog Droolicious: Modern design for modern parents. Read the entire feature here. Thanks to Aaron Burgess for recommending my Etsy shop.

Featured on "Etsy Item of the Day" Blog

My Albert monster was featured Friday on the Etsy Item of the Day Blog. It's a fantastic blog that features a different Etsy item every day. Jackie wrote a wonderful review of Albert. Click here to see the feature!

Almost Time For Vacation

It's been a busy 2009 so far! Finally, everything is organized!
I have envelopes containing all of the pattern pieces for my 22 main animals in four different sizes. So, that's 88 envelopes, with an average of about 7 pieces in each. That took a lot of time to put together! Also, on the outside of each envelope are printouts of how many of each piece needs to be traced/cut to make an animal. And finally, each size gets a different colored "tag" so that it's easy to identify. Here's a peak:

We've also been building our stock so we can do a giant photo shoot. I've never had photographs of every item before. Now, I will finally be able to have a full shop.

We've been making: 1 XL, 1 large, 3 mediums and 3 smalls of every animal. The total number will be 176 for the photo shoot. The plan is to also make 6 of every animal in ornament size over the summer, for an additional 132 animals. We should be done with the first batch of 176 by this Friday.

Here's a shot of how we've been organizing the "to-do" list of in-progress animals that have been cut, but not sewn:
And, here's a shot of a bin full of animals that are not yet stuffed. This particular one is housing about 60 flattened animals:
We're celebrating our hard work with a trip back home to Boston this weekend. I'm so excited to get back and enjoy a few days off.