What's new - Huge project in progress

We're in the middle of a gigantic project right now, and I wanted to share progress shots of things as they develop. We love fairy tales: princesses, frogs, witches, disguises, wolves, candy houses and more! Whether everyone agrees on the messages that classic fairy tales deliver, the imagery involved has fascinated artists for centuries. We'd like to put our spin on the classics. This project has evolved a lot over the last few weeks, but I think we finally hit on something pretty great. The look is inspired by Brian's cut paper work, Jen's sewing skills and a bit of toy theatre thrown in. Jen has come up with all of the concepts and initial sketches. Brian has used his critical design skills to improve the compositions and develop the color palettes. The final pieces will be made of fabric with colored top stitching to bring out the details. Here are the first four designs in their computer sketch form. We're hoping for at least 12 total before any stitching begins. It even looks like we have a gallery show lined up for when these are complete! Enjoy this little sneak peek into our process:

Little Red Riding Hood

Hansel & Gretel

Cinderella

The Frog Prince

Custom Dog Collar Mannequin

Our latest custom order is for fellow SoWa vendor Cody's Creations! Kerrie wanted a custom dog collar mannequin that resembled her beagle and her company branding. Standing at 14" tall, this guy is the perfect size for a table top display.

Zooguu is Turning Four - Upgrade Special

Zooguu is turning Four years old on May 1, and we couldn't have done it without your support. Every handmade toy purchased over the last four years has made it possible for us to have this business, and we can't thank you enough. To celebrate four years of being full time artists & business owners, we'd like to extend our thanks by offering an upgrade to your order. Here's how it works:

Order a TINY and get a SMALL - you save $10
Order a SMALL and get a MEDIUM - you save $15
Order a MEDIUM and get a LARGE - you save $20
Order a LARGE and get an EXTRA LARGE - you save $30
Order an EXTRA LARGE and we'll give you a free MEDIUM of your choice - you save $40

All you have to do is write the word UPGRADE in the comments box during checkout. If you are ordering an extra large, please put your medium toy choice in the comments box as well.

Now is the best time to pick up gifts for upcoming birthdays, rewards for a great school year, or even treat yourself to a new office pal to brighten your day!

This offer is good until May 1 - find your new friend today on zooguu.com

Four Years of Custom Work!

Here at Zooguu, we do a lot of custom work. We decided to showcase all of these unique projects into a brand new section on our web site, the Gallery. In the Gallery, you can browse through four years of our one-of-a-kind plush creations - Have fun!

April 2012 Calendar

This month's free desktop wallpaper calendar features my latest series of plush that combine mermaids and animals! I thought a bunny would be appropriate for the upcoming Easter holiday. You can download it free on Zooguu's Free Stuff page. Enjoy!

Fabric Wall Art - Robot

Our latest piece of sewn, fabric wall art. 14" x 17" Stretched on a wooden frame, and ready to hang. This piece and many others will be at the SoWa Winter Market tomorrow from 10am - 3pm | 485 Harrison Ave, Boston

Mer-Animals!

Introducing MerBunny & MerFox!

Gubicza & I have been collaborating on some sewn fabric wall art based on his illustrations. After completing this recent mermaid shown below (20" x 24"), I couldn't wait to combine some of my animal toy designs with a mermaid tail. I've been using upholstery remnants that I received from a local business to create the colorful, patterned tails. I love the way the bunny & the fox came out. I'm planning on adding a MerMonkey and MerBear to the lineup soon.

Recent Custom Work - Rhino Accounting

I just finished this custom plush toy for Rhino Accounting, a Canadian company that develops small business accounting software for Google Apps. They asked me if I could turn their logo/mascot into a plush toy. The most challenging part of this project was creating the head. It took a lot of thinking and drawing on fabric to decide where to place the seams to get the best results. Here is the finished product:

It helps that I had a fun character illustration to work from. The finished rhino guy can stand up on his own and has jointed arms.

Zooguu Chick PDF Pattern now for sale

Just in time for spring, I've finished writing the PDF pattern for my chick design. The 13 page document contains step by step photographs, diagrams and descriptions explaining the process of how to make one of these little guys. The PDF contains pattern pieces for three different sizes, depending on how small/large you want to make it!

You can purchase my pattern at the following places:

Zooguu.com

Zooguu's Etsy Shop

Zooguu's Craftsy Pattern Shop

One of these chicks would be a great handmade addition to any Easter basket!

Eugene the 2' tall jointed dinosaur

Ever since I've been making my shelf-sized, 10" jointed dinosaurs, I've wanted to create one that was much larger. I use little buttons inside each of the limbs on the smaller dinosaurs, so I had to order bigger doll joints for this upcoming project. The day before the joints were scheduled to arrive, I get a message from someone asking if I can make one of my dinosaurs in a larger size, about 2' tall. The timing could not have been better! I love when these things happen! The recipient of my largest jointed creation has already named him Eugene, and he is so happy to be going to a loving home.