Our pal and fellow JrSoc member, the illustrious Sbritt has just created your new bff - who said making friends was hard? His little lovable mess of a character Eddy Broth is now available as a 16″ doll featuring a “soft cotton body, a big happy smile and several outstanding warrants.” Imbued with Mr. Britt’s keen sense of oddball humor, we think you may want to open your heart and your home to this mischievous little tramp.
["Each wears a bright felt t-shirt featuring one of three delightful phrases and one sad cry for help. Give him a hug but never turn your back on him. Wouldn't you like a friend like Eddy? Each 16-inch Eddy is hand-signed by the artist and comes with a Best Friend Membership Card and free decal! Handmade in the U.S.A. Sold in "blind packs" with additional shirts available individually or in sets." Available here.]
Now you know I think the world of Stephan and so I want to pass along a recently posted Grain Edit featuring my pal, but be forewarned, this interview will leave no doubt in your mind that he is absolutely certifiable. Tall tales abound in this one of a kind artist profile - I guarantee you’ve never read anything like it.
[Note: It has been a very wet week here in Los Angeles and one that reminded me of the following post I wrote for the Mahar Drygoods Blog back in January of 2007. Given the rising flood waters, it seemed appropriate to share this again.]
One of the few manifestations of winter in Southern California is rain - torrential downpours, flooded intersections and mudslides. Occasionally, it reaches Biblical proportions and you begin to wonder if you shouldn’t get to work on your own ark - although more often than not it dissipates in a few days, like most inclement weather around here. But even when the sky is cloudless and the streets are dry, an ark of one’s own remains appealing.
There was a church in the neighborhood where I grew up that we always referred to as the ‘Noah’s Ark Church’ because of its curved boat-like roof-line. And then I read recently about another church in Frostburg, MD whose pastor had a vision in which God instructed him to build a new church as a literal recreation of Noah’s big boat. The idea of an ark has inspired many things including countless animal shelters, horrendous made for TV movies and America’s largest water park in the Wisconsin Dells.
Constructing the ark, illustration from
the Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493
Personally, I’m a fan of the much more modest scale toy arks and model sets. Early toy arks were often referred to as ‘Sunday toys’ - as strict Victorian households forbade playing with toys on the Sabbath, but because of the ark’s religious connection it became an exception. Extremely popular in the 19th Century, many toy arks found their way into American and European homes as result of an ark making tradition rooted in the mountainous southeastern region of Germany. Early German sets that still exist now have a collectible market and can fetch crazy amounts of money.
Knowing my affinity for handmade toys, my mother-in-law recently gave me a ‘happy everything’ present, a contemporary ark set beautifully crafted by German American artist and woodworker Gunther Keil (Thanks Barbsky!). How amazing is this!…
Gunther includes a list with his arks that specify the various woods he uses to craft each animal. There are sycamore giraffes, black walnut buffalo, mahogany kangaroos and zebrawood zebras (of course). The ark itself has a removable roof and sports three divided rooms and an attic.
Noah’s Ark by American folk artist and Quaker, Edward Hicks (1780 - 1849)
Well, this weekend before Christmas marks the second annual World Wide Christmas Toy Drop organized by the Toy Society. (You may recall my posts on the group from January and February of this year: one, two) Their Australian based blog is headquarters for a worldwide, pay-it-forward style street project in which members create handmade toys and disperse them anonymously - leaving them in public places to be found and given homes by complete strangers. I’ve become a regular visitor, reading about the various ‘toy drops’ in places near and far and loving the accounts by those who have discovered and given homes to these toys. It’s such a simple act of kindness and some of the discovery stories are really moving.
In December of 2008, Christmas Drop participants distributed 104 toys around the globe and of course this year they’re hoping to exceed that numbers. As of this moment, it appears that there are 102 toys posted on the Toy Society blog - with, I’m sure, many more to come. I’ve selected a few images showing various drop locations. People are so ingenious and thoughtful, not only in the creation of these handmade toys but in their drop locations - everywhere from the safety seat of a frozen shopping cart to the toy hanging out in the manger of a nativity diorama (both shown below). I can’t tell you how much I love this idea and so have decided to give it a go - scroll down to see my toy.
I’ve been making Sock Elves for my shop this holiday season and decided that one of these fellas should be part of the Toy Society’s Christmas Drop. I left him just a few minutes ago hanging from the fencing that surrounds a child development center playground in my neighborhood. The TS has downloadable labels that read simply, “Take me home, I’m yours!” and a letter that explains the project and encourage the finders to report back and let them know the toy has been claimed - you can see the label mounted on a card in my picture and the letter is affixed inside. Part of me wanted to hang out and see who picks it up, but I also don’t want to be that weird guy loitering around the playground luring children with free toys - so I’ve resolved to just drive by later this afternoon and see if he’s still there or hopefully has gone to a good home.
If you’re interested in participating in the Christmas Drop or the Toy Society’s on-going, year-round toy drops - sign up on their site (scroll down the left hand column fr the sign up form) for complete guideline and instructions. Spread a little handmade love.
Earlier this year Jared Lyon and a couple of his co-workers at the Rochester Institute of Technology created an amazing domino run through their offices, racing along the walls, over shelves and tables, atop cubicle dividers, even employing the use of the copy machine. Apparently not one to rest on his laurels, Jared set up a new challenge for himself and created a holiday themed run (in red and green dominoes, of course) that plays a Christmas carol! I kid you not - watch the video:
If the kids are feeling inspired to created their own domino run (or rally as they’re also known) you might consider these sets created just for them:
People Domino Rally from Play with a Purpose. I don’t know that you technically call these dominoes as they’re people shaped and have no dots on them - but pretty cute nonetheless.
Perhaps a bit more traditional are these rainbow colored Wood Dominoes from Discount School Supply.
And then, I’m loving these old school vintage reproduction Kolor Dot Dominoes from Olliebollen.
While this set won’t work for setting up a rally, it’s awful sweet and looks good enough to eat - Candy Dominoes from Warm Biscuit
And if you’re feeling crafty, you’ll want to check out this make your own dominoes craft tutorial from Odeedoh - created with decoupaged vintage book pages and paint color chips on one side!
I love Etsy’s ‘Handmade Portrait‘ series - beautifully produced videos that offer an inside look at the creative process. Their most recent edition just so happens to be an artist I think very highly of, doll maker extraordinaire Mimi Kirchner.
I’m also sharing a few dolls from Mimi’s recent series called School Girls, which seemed appropriate given the time of year! See more of Mimi’s work in her shop.
“Mimi Kirchner…spent twenty years “being distracted” by ceramics before she discovered her true calling, making dolls. Mimi’s childhood was spent surrounded by crafting materials. Her mother was an avid seamstress interested in high fashion, and she collected an endless array of gorgeous fabrics over the course of her life. After her mother stopped sewing, Mimi decided she wanted to make something out of her mother’s legacy. Thus was the beginning of Mimi’s doll making career.”
Among the many products launched at the New York International Gift Fair this past week were these hysterical temporary tattoos for children’s hands created by designer Héctor Serrano. As of this posting I’ve only been able to find them available online at the UK based shop NPW. Choose from Monster Hands (above) and Animal Hands (below). (via NotCot)
The classic paper doll is a kid craft that’s been around for ages - the first manufactured version (named Little Fanny) appeared in London in 1810. Below, please find an itty bitty selection of modern paper doll kits, downloads and virtual varieties. And read more about the history of the paper doll at the Original Paper Doll Artists Guild.
Brand spankin’ new paper doll kit from the crafty folks at Paper Source. Multi-ethnic kids in a DIY, all-inclusive kit - even include removable adhesive.
Paper dolls by the darling Emily Martin of the Black Apple. Read about her most recent round of dolls here and visit her shop here.
Jennifer Strunge is a one-woman monster making machine. While you might think her Cotton Monsters have faces only a mother could love, the wild success of her handmade line of beasties seems to disprove this old adage. Each creature is a free-form work of art made without a patterns and crafted from recycled clothing and linens. Jennifer just loaded up her shop with a new batch of snaggley-toothed, googley-eyed pals and they’re going quick (as they always do) - go have a look at the recent arrivals. And be sure to visit her site and blog to keep up with her creature crafting.
So I received a lovely email a few weeks back from JrSoc member Molly, buyer and toy guru for Twirl an amazing toy store and playspace in Taos, New Mexico:
“…today while talking to a vendor it occurred to me that their products reminded me of something I might see on a Jr Society post. The company is Liberty Puzzles, out of Boulder, CO. They laser cut wooden puzzles laminated with classic and contemporary art images, and the shapes of the pieces are almost better than the picture on the puzzle- ladies with umbrellas, fireworks, and dogs fit together with a marvelous audible ’snick’ when you drop them in. They’ve just started producing a kids’ line in the last year or so, and have found some great vintage book illustrations and prints. You really have to put one of these puzzles together to get the idea- they’re on my list of top five most pleasing products I’ve found in three years of buying for the store.”
Molly was kind enough to not only share this fantastic find (thank you Molly!), but to pass along my info to the nice folks at Liberty Puzzles. They in turn sent me one of their amazing puzzles (thank you Liberty!). I had a ‘Christmas morning’ moment and immediately dumped the pieces onto my desktop and set about fitting the jigsaw together. The noted skill level on the box is 5-8, but I’ll admit as a 30-something that I had a few challenging moments. I’ve never seen such amazingly fine pieces (courtesy of the laser cutter) and the ‘whimsy pieces‘ definitely make the puzzle something special. Spend a little time browsing the Little Liberty section of their site to see their entire line of childrens puzzles.
Because one act of kindness deserves another, I propose a Little Liberty giveaway! If you have or know a kid in the 5-8ish age range, leave a comment on this post by 11:59pm Friday, July 24th. I’ll select an entry at random and ship the Dish Ran Away With the Spoon to the winner! Thanks to all who entered - the giveaway is now closed and we have a winner.
Oh man, these are my new favorite blocks! The ShapeMaker wooden blocks set from the UK design house Miller & Goodman. Owners have started to download their designs in the Flickr ShapeMaker Group.
And check out the fantastic stop-motion animation they created below (can also be viewed here).
