Plushroom Soup

No Coast Wrap-Up

 
No Coast was lots of fun again this year, despite a rather slower than usual pace. More shoppers came out Friday than Saturday, or at least the per-sale average was higher on Friday than Saturday. This despite the 8 inches of snow that fell throughout the afternoon and evening!

I was in a new area this year; most of section B was tucked into the area formerly known as the Jade Restaurant. It was a slightly tricky space, but I think we all made it work. I had lots of fun hamming it up with my neighbors, most notably Maya from Roxiedoggie.

Her wooden pet food bowls are AMAZING. Plus, she's super sweet and fun. I made a few purchases this year: an awesome Robot T-shirt (with its own origin comic!) from Minty Fresh Monster, a fun red dress from Mary Pass Clothing Design, and two adorable note cards from Happy Go Lucky Creations. I also made a fun trade with my other booth neighbor, Breaksea Upcycle, for the sewing machine T-shirt and hairclip (matches my new red dress!). Breaksea makes awesome mittens out of recycled childrens pants (pockets on the back of the mitten!). 


There were lots and lots of new vendors this year among the old favorites like Adam Turman, Crafty Planet, I Like You, and My Friend Jess. I wish I had taken pictures of the newbies; they were all very sweet and their booths looked awesome!

Amy was able to help me out on Saturday this year. I really missed vending with her last year, so even if she wasn't selling anything, it was super fun to have her in the booth with me again!

And, even if it was a little slow, I completely sold out of yeti ornaments (as has I Like You. Again!). The regular yetis received a lot of love also, and I have only one left (will be listing in my Etsy shop in the next few days). Boris the Strongman was pretty popular as well. He sold Friday night, but the buyer let me display him on Saturday as well, and I think I could have sold four more of him! Mental note: more cirucs "freaks" next year.

Thanks again to everyone who braved the weather to come out! I'll be making more yeti ornaments this week, so don't despair if you missed out! I'll make as many as I possibly can this week and have them back in stock at I Like You by early next week at the latest.

Now on to filling Christmas orders and making my pieces for the Plush Team show at Hot Pop in January! Whew!

The Goods, Part Two

Here's another sneaky peek at what I'll have available at No Coast this weekend.

A few dragons, like this guy:

A funny mustachiod monster; let's call him Harry Handlebar:

A few circus "freaks," like Boris the Strongman:

And, of course, my booth wouldn't be complete without an assortment of yetis:

Plus much more!

Hope to see you at No Coast this weekend!

The Goods, Part One

As promised, here's a taste of what this one-woman plush factory will be selling at No Coast this weekend.

First up, back by (very) popular demand: yeti ornaments! In colors too! I wasn't able to keep these in stock for long at last year's show, and they've sold out twice at I Like You already this season. So get to the show early if you're hoping for one of these fellas, as they're sure to go fast!

I'll also have owl and frog ornaments, and a newcomer this year: alpaca ornaments!

And your last sneak peek of the day: wee horned imps!

Stay tuned tomorrow for a final No Coast sneak peek!

Plush Factory

I'm chained to my sewing machine this week. My craft room looks like a cyclone came through. Twice, maybe even thrice. Cut out critters are everywhere, as well as machine-sewn critters awaiting faces and stuffing. Piles of fabric are haphazardly strewn about. The floor is littered with scraps. All this can mean only one thing—No Coast is but a few short days away!

Am I ready? (Don't answer that.)

As usual when on a self-imposed deadline, inspiration keeps hitting. I keep thinking up fabulous new twists on critters, and I must admit, I crack myself up sometimes. Whether I'll actually have time to bring these ideas to fruition before Friday is another matter. Back to the sewing machine with me, where this small pile of owls awaits sewing.

I'll be back tomorrow with some sneaky peeks of what I'm bringing to No Coast on Friday and Saturday.

 

Ornamented

I spent all weekend making ornaments. Cut, sew, turn, hand-stitch; rinse and repeat. Ad nauseum. And I'm not finished yet! Many more have been added to the pile since I took this shot:

You may notice this year's newcomer: the tiny alpaca. It's such a pain in the butt to cut and sew an alpaca that small, but I think it's well worth it!

A good portion of this batch was dropped off at I Like You for their annual ornament show, which opens on November 20. The rest will be at No Coast!

Speaking of, I'm in booth B-19 this year. This year promises to be better than ever, with more new vendors than I've ever seen! Don't miss out!

Quickie Recap: No Coast Day 1

The first day of No Coast was a huge success! It seemed a lot more crowded than Friday night last year. Business at the booth was really steady. I'm so glad I made ornaments this year, because it seems that you guys really love your ornaments! All yeti ornaments sold out in under an hour, and almost all of the owl ornaments sold too. I whipped up a scant few more of each tonight.

Zombie critters were also very popular; there's only one left (zombie yeti)!

I was so busy tonight that I didn't get a chance to look around at any of the other vendors' wares, but I have some helpers for the booth tomorrow, so will be able to do some shopping of my own.

See you there!

In Which You Clamor for Yetis

The results of my little poll are in, and yetis beat out the competition by a small margin:

You asked for it, you got it! Introducing Cotton Candy Yetis!

These guys will be available at No Coast, but there's only six of 'em, so get to the booth early!

And for those of you who were really hoping for more frogs and owls, no worries. I have plenty of both of those as well.

See you at No Coast! I'm booth D-2 this year, in the main hallway near the security desk.

Introducing Owlets and Froglets!

Two of the items debuting at No Coast this year are owlets and froglets. I shrunk my usual owl and frog patterns by 30 percent for the new critters. Not only because shrinking my imps and yetis by 30 percent last year was so successful, but because tiny things are endlessly adorable, no? Also, given the still less than stellar economy, I figured the more items I have at a lower price point, the better.

Well, enough rambling, on with the pictures!

 

 

So, how much smaller is 30 percent, exactly? For comparison:

 

Busy Bee

There are only 16 days until No Coast (ack!). Which means it's officially the time of year when I put most of my life on hold to sew pretty much every spare moment. My sleep, house, and social calendar all suffer. This year is a little extra stressful since my pieces for the Go Ask Alice show are due close to the same time as well. Yikes!

I've been carving out windows of time wherever I can to get some sewing done. I sew in my craft room

at friend's houses

even during my lunch break at work!

It's amazing what just an hour here or there can do for both my sanity and my productivity. Tomorrow, I'll post some pictures of what I've been cranking out. For now, here's a sneak peek:

No Coast, Here I Come!

So last week I was happily (and very thankfully!) un-wait listed for No Coast. Which means my typical month of manic stitching sessions begins. I will make as many plushies as I possibly can before the big event. Which brings me to the real reason I'm posting today. Given that I have limited sewing time (22 days! Ack!), where should I focus my energy? Which critters do you like best? If you were coming to the show to buy a critter (and I sure hope you are!), what would you most hope to see on my table? I've installed a handy little poll below, so you can anonymously let me know what you think. If you choose "other," please do leave a comment on the post explaining what the "other" should be.

Thanks so much for your participation!

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