Unraveling a creative block results in a lifelong passion for making quirky plush characters!
If you are looking for something a bit different in a stuffed toy, something you don't see on store shelves at the Mall or in a gift shop; a unique and one-of-a-kind handmade gift for your family and friends; this is what you will find here at Plush Goodness.
Custom Plush Portraits of pets and people are listed alongside MerMen with hand-embroidered chest hair, hipsters and geeks, and monsters sporting pop culture t-shirts. Happy Rainclouds hang from the ceiling and their rainbow-colored raindrops smile as they swing in the breeze. Brightly colored Happy Sprites grin at you, and make you smile in return.
All these plush characters spring from my imagination and start as sketches that make me laugh and then get transformed into pillow-style plush characters. My art "origin story" is a bit unusual, finding my passion almost by accident...
What started as an exercise to try and break up a creative block on a painting by drawing a simple doodle of a funky creature, and then deciding on a whim to turn that doodle into a stuffed toy, (by cutting that doodle out of leftover craft felt and hand-sewing it together with an emergency sewing kit found in a travel kit) has become a true passion for plush-making.
That one doodled sketch-turned-plush lightbulb moment resulted in the making of many more plush creatures; and as my skill improved and my designs began to take on a consistent style, I graduated from hand sewing them out of felt to experimenting with all kinds of materials. That growth in skill led to the purchase of my first sewing machine, which vastly improved my technique and skill level, and also saved my hands from repetitive strain injury. Originally schooled in hand drawn character animation, my career took a different turn once I discovered the joys of plush making, and I've never looked back.
I love the interplay of fabrics and textures, and my animation training has come in handy when creating personalities and background information for my work. The thrill of creating a three-dimensional cuddly item out of one of my sketches is something that never gets old, and is a source of deep creative joy for me.
I opened my etsy shop in October, 2008, and have been in love with sewing for my shop and my customers ever since.
You can find me over on instagram, where I share what I am working on almost daily.
http://instagram.com/plushgoodness/
