Squid Wool

Puces Pop & Drumsticks

2010-12-14T15:57:00.003-05:00

I'm needle-felting like a madman for the upcoming Holiday Puces Pop. It has changed location this year, you can see where it's at here.
At the Smart Design Mart my wool-drumsticks sold out quickly. I have made quite a few for the upcoming Puces Pop... I even made a reverse drumstick ... or maybe it's a Bizarro Drumstick... or an Albino-Drumstick?

in the middle of Smart Design Mart

2010-12-05T08:22:00.004-05:00

Day 2 of the Smart Design Mart is over and it was simply delightful! The wind and snow did not scare off anybody. Lots of my critters have found new homes for the cold winter... yay!
The chicken legs are almost all gone too... everyone who picks it up takes a (pretend) bite out of it... Chomp! and I giggle every time.
Day 3 of the Mart will start at 11h see you soon! Now I'm off to make a custom order... a wool sausage! But I forgot to ask what kind... and cooked how? the pressure is on.

Smart Design Mart

2010-11-24T09:39:00.003-05:00

Just a quick message to let you all know I will be at the Smart Design Mart December 3-4-5. You can find additional info on the Facebook Event Page ... click on "attending" if you're into clicking buttons.

It's a hectic November at Squid Wool Headquarters preparing for the holiday shows. See you soon.

reason # 386 why Jim Henson is awesome

2010-10-07T14:11:00.006-04:00

I didn't mention enough my adoration for Jim Henson and the Muppet Show but believe me... It influenced me plenty! Anyhoot... I recently found this bed sheets at a thrift store and here is why it's so cool:

first it just looks like plenty of Banjo playing Kermits on a sheet which is pretty sweet already.

then upon inspection there are two different Kermit. One merrily strumming on the banjo and the other banjo picking so much he breaks a string! Come on! How many bed sheets can brag that there is a banjo playing frog that breaks a sting on it? answer : One

And his expression is priceless... That is a Kermit the Frog saying to himself "#$%?$"!

Post-Puces-Pop

2010-10-05T14:52:00.010-04:00

!!MERCI!!

A big !!MERCI!! to everyone who stopped and smiled at my table this past weekend at Puces Pop. It was fun as always! It is impossible to complain... a weekend surrounded by lovely and friendly neighbours! The crowd and crafters are as awesome as ever.

I didn't have much time to shop as the previous years so my sweetheart did most of the shopping. Here is our selection:

A Foxy tee-shirt made by Moon and Sparrow .
I'm a sucker for handmade plush dolls and grabbed a couple from So Cuute !

Can't have enough Tea Towels!!
Shown above are some from Coucou Salut who is a friend of Moley Guy ! And some made by Bookhou , who were back again this year straight from Toronto.

The beautiful ceramic-ware made by Restez pour Souper were in front of me all weekend and I just had to snag something before everything was gone!

and finally a catnip-filled felt-cheeseburger for Irma and... well... as you can see, it's a hit!

photos galore!

2010-09-27T14:30:00.005-04:00

stickers galore!

2010-09-13T14:52:00.008-04:00

Another year...another Squid-Wool sticker colouring get-together with my oh-so talented friends!!! Check out the cool stickers that could be on your very own Squid-Wool bag!
Here is a selection of my favs:

See you soon at Puces Pop... I have to get back to my wool and needles to make actual Squids. Pics of the sea-creatures will come soon.

Squid Wool factory open again!

2010-08-15T10:54:00.002-04:00

Long time no see! Just a quick note to mention that the Squid Wool factory is back in full swing and photos of new models should pop up here on a more regular basis. I'm making more food characters these days including the Egg-Bear and Egg-Bunny shown on the photo.
I can't wait to see you at the Puces Pop craft fair , October 2-3!

odd incense & Peas

2010-03-19T10:59:00.006-04:00

Did you ever buy something simply because it made you laugh?

I did a little bit of cleaning yesterday and found these incense sticks, which were bought for that reason. This, and also because it is such an improbable smell we were afraid nobody would believe us. Anybody has ever wished his home smelled a little bit more like "pussy"?

Another improbable find was done by Christopher today at our local thrift store, in the shape of sweet peas:

They are called Vegimals and were made in the U.S.A. by Freemountain toys c.1976. Who knew this kind of toy was made outside of Japan! In any case, they should make lovely friends for Aokubi Daikon.

lucky day

2010-03-08T07:22:00.008-05:00

yesterday was truly a lucky day... first I find the absolute best beach towel in the history of beach towels at my local thrift store (there are not enough moustached men on towels anymore).
And later in the afternoon I spot an albino squirrel chillin' in the park with a white pigeon. Spring love is upon us.

I know my blog posts and Etsy listings are becoming scarce these weeks/months, it's all due to my needle felting free time going down (it has been replaced with either rest or playtime with my son).
I have not completely stopped making Squid Wool oddities but I think I am on a indefinite hiatus for now.

ta-da! Moley Guy

2010-02-05T13:24:00.003-05:00

tada! Moley-Guy is no longer extra fuzzy and his limbs are as good as new! He'll be in the mail soon back to his loving owner.

Moley-Guy repair

2010-02-04T13:02:00.002-05:00

A felted Mole (aka: Moley-Guy) received a little too much love during the holidays and is in dire need of some TLC. I'll fix him up real good and post the "after" pics tomorrow.
"To the operating table! Give me 10cc of wool stat"

Gift exchange 2010

2010-01-31T11:21:00.002-05:00

The Marcoux Sisters gave me some grief last night because I don't update my blog often enough... so here I am with a new blog post. I guess I do need the occasional kick in the rear to get things done.

We recently had a handmade gift exchange party among friends (or as we call it "jour de l'an des chats") and shown below are our contribution.

I painted some blocks to make a mix-em-up block toy

Gen made a lovely travel photo frame out of felt.

We also had fun making our boxes, Gen made a box inside a box inside a box for her photo frame. Cool photos courtesy of vintage Eaton's catalogues. The two men in hoodies is a mix of odd, funny and a little creepy!

This was my box.

Craft Hope

2010-01-23T06:18:00.002-05:00

I donated this grey rabbit to the successful shop Craft Hope for Haiti. It has already sold and items sell very quickly. There are plenty of great items in the shop, check it out!
All proceeds go to Doctors without Borders and they have raised $20,000 in about a week and it's still going strong. Go crafters Go!!

Puces Pop/Rusty Plum craftastic fair!

2009-12-07T13:04:00.005-05:00

Okay... now that was fun!

Puces Pop / Rusty Plum craft fair has come and gone and it was yet again a big ball of fun! I'm super glad that many animals have found great homes to keep them warm for the winter. I wanted to take more outdoor pictures of the animals but didn't have time before the fair... so these pics are the only ones I have since they are almost all gone. Fear not... I'll get cracking and make more soon enough.
Thanks again to everyone who stopped and smiled at my soft and colorful thingamajigs (you know who you are)

Here are some goodies I bought or traded this weekend... I was in a paper toy kinda mood. A RoboGhost , Blockheads paper toys, the PinPals paper puppets, an awesome print, a cool Bübü plush made out of socks and a great t-shirt by RéCréation with a bad ass robot on it!

Puces Pop de Noël

2009-11-25T15:27:00.003-05:00

man o man... the weeks go by soooo fast! The lack of blog posts does not reflect my wooly production though. I've been making larger animal pieces these days (bears, skunks, moles, rabbits) Here is the new Bear model I've been making these days, I will post more pics soon!
You can also come and see them for yourself at the winter Puces Pop edition (December 5-6th)... see you soon!

Halloween!

2009-11-02T13:39:00.006-05:00

Halloween has come and gone and I didn't even eat one mini candy bar... what's up with that?

We were invited at the last minute (the last minute part sort of explains our costumes) to go play scary games with our friends. Gen was disguised as cardboard crocodile and I was disguised as the art toy Danboard . Our son was disguised as a jolly accountant with his briefcase and fuzzy moustache, I think the wool moustache tickled his nose a lot because he laughed the whole time. Even if our costumes are simple we had a blast making them and I can't wait to build my son's costume for next year... so far I'm leaning towards the Lego Space Man... but which color??? white, yellow, red... decisions decisions

Souvenir...

2009-10-13T11:25:00.002-04:00

Rediscovering old pictures is so much fun!

A rat and another great find!

2009-10-07T11:57:00.009-04:00

This is the new Squid Wool rat. It is a clean rat, he has never visited the sewage system (and hopefully he never will).
According to Wikipedia, the main difference between mice and rats is the size. Here is a demonstration:

On another subject, Christopher has once again made a great find at our local VdeV. A lot of French volumes by Miroslav Sasek published by Casterman in the 60's. They are in perfect condition, which means clean inside but they have wear on the covers. If they were in mint condition maybe we would be afraid to let our kid have them. Of course he doesn't read yet- he can barely grab objects - and already books overflow on each side of his library.

I'm in love with Sasek's representation of cities! They seem so alive. And there are always a lot of architectural elements depicted. I have learned that Sasek trained as an architect in Prague (his parents didn't want him to become a painter). It could explain why there are so many architectural elements in his illustrations and their quality. Not every illustrator likes to draw buildings over and over. I like cities and architecture, so I feel spoiled with Sasek's work!

New York Times Square

London tube

Parisian concierge

Venitian pigeons

Puces Pop Bounty!

2009-10-05T11:39:00.007-04:00

First off... a HUGE thank you to everyone who stopped by my colorful stand with the brown background! I know I said this before but it's a blast for me to see people smile or outright laugh when they look at my schtuff!

Second off... shown below are our weekend purchases or trades. It's hard to resist buying from each table but one must set a budget or else one will have to trade one's clothes for a barrel.

This year's Puce Pop Bounty are: a lovely Stitch Face plaid beaver, books from the Colosse table, sexy tea towels from Bespoke Uprising, When I was Young book from illustrator Lea Heinrich, a fridge wallet from Broundoor that I had my eye on for a while, two beautiful capsules by artist Vanessa Yanow and a sweet acrorn necklace from Nea.

Third off... I made these new brooches right before the fair and they were gone pretty quickly... so I'll be making more donkeys and foxes in the next weeks.

Inspiration Friday / Pokémon

2009-10-02T11:06:00.010-04:00

These are old pictures from a lot of Pokémon Christopher once sold on ebay. Not everybody likes the Pokémon (i.e. my father used to think they were too violent), but we do. They are contemporary mainstream toys with lots of creativity in them. Designers in Japan must have had a blast creating many of them. Throughout the years, we even ended up keeping the ones we found interesting.

Like this fish, who rather looks like it could be from a Czech animation movie from the 60's...

or these very simple ones.

For sure, when our son will grow up, we will not like everything he likes. And it's alright. But if he ends up liking Pokémon figures (if they are still around by then) I'll be happy since Pokémon can probably trigger imagination more than most of the licensed toys we are seeing on the shelves today.

Psych Mice

2009-10-01T11:13:00.005-04:00

I feel a little mousey these days and have been making mice non-stop. I keep making the brown and grey mice but I've been having fun making these psychedelic mice too! I'll bring my new rodent friends at the Puce Pop craft fair this weekend.

Bonus Pics. Scud was jealous and decided to come and pose with the mice... or maybe he's waiting for me to go away to take a bite out of one.

Coloring Day

2009-09-28T16:11:00.011-04:00

What to do on a cold&rainy Sunday afternoon? Invite friends over for a coloring get-together of course!
I know what you are thinking... and you're right, my friends ARE awesome!
These colored Squid Wool stickers will be for my swanky bags for the upcoming Puces Pop fair.
If you are in Montreal next weekend (3-4 October) come on over and say hey. 105 St-Viateur Ouest - 11h-19h.

These stickers below are a selection of my favs (in no particular order)

Inspiration Friday / Squirrel

2009-09-25T10:21:00.015-04:00

Sitting on a park bench with a bag of peanuts...
If you live in Montreal, you know that the real rulers of the city are the grey squirrel gangs.

Yesterday we found ourselves with an hour to kill in an neighbourhood which is not our own. I was thirsty, so we stopped at the corner shop to buy a drink. Christopher who was getting hungry also bought a bag of peanuts. We then went to the park across the street to drink and snack.
It didn't took long before a grey squirrel came to us, with his nose moving up and down - clearly smelling the bag of peanuts. We didn't call him or offered him anything, he just found us.
Eating peanuts in a park, what an idea! Of course the squirrel just wouldn't let go. After I finished my drink, and because we should not get too cozy with wild animals, we left. To our amusement, and even if we did not feed him, Squirrly followed us like a lost puppy until we finally crossed the invisible limit of his territory.

I kind of like squirrels. We share the same urban space and most of the time they just keep doing their business. Observing them can be entertaining. Soon will be the season when they get really fat and sometimes slower and clumsier.

From a purely aesthetic point of view, squirrels have some qualities. Just look at their elegant wavy run. It makes sense that squirrel are really popular in children's literature or in design in general.

Jadwiga Wernerova (text) and Janusz Grabianski (ill.). Rotfellchen. Berlin; Der Kinderbuchverlag. No date, but it's from the DDR...

Candy wrap. Gift from Belarus 2002.

For Squid Wool, the idea of a needle felted squirrel came quite naturally. Not only it is a popular animal, which characteristic make it easily recognizable, but it is also a symbol of the city we live in.

Other yard sale find

2009-09-23T14:10:00.007-04:00

Picture bought at a yard sale recently...
At the same place, Christopher bought a family album for a big 2$ with a lot of great pictures from different periods (early 70's to 90's).
For exemple this...
this...this...this...
and finaly this one (for Sara).

Inspiration Friday /Moomin

2009-09-18T14:42:00.007-04:00

It must be impossible not to love Tove Jansson's work. Moomin's universe is so imaginative, both in term of the aesthetics and in term of the story being told. Everybody should read Moomin (and the complete comic strip published by Drawn and Quarterly is probably the best way to do it).

Christopher made this Moomin for me about two years ago. In Squid Wool time, 2 years is a long time... He is far from perfect and he can't stand alone, but I think it is part of his charm.

Newcomers!

2009-09-09T09:22:00.005-04:00

Donkeys!

Village des Valeurs (V de V) find

2009-08-20T15:57:00.007-04:00

I found a great collection of vintage YPR and CRG children records at my local Value Village this week. The cover art is outstanding and they are in great condition to boot. It is refreshing to find children records that are not scratched and torn to shreds. My turntable is currently on the fritz... so I can't even listen to them... I can only enjoy the artwork for now. enjoy.

Hypno-Cat?

New member in the Squid Wool family

2009-08-18T15:00:00.004-04:00

Squid Wool's "new associate" is now 2 weeks old. In about 3 years, we have great hope he will become the main Squid Wool product tester.
Of course Christopher has less time to work on wooly things, but he's back to it whenever he can (you should have seen him earlier felting a squirel with the baby sleeping on his lap).

useless nursery

2009-07-26T15:01:00.017-04:00

As promised, here are some pics of our soon to be active nursery.... or as we call it these days a "useless nursery" since the baby doesn't seem to be interested in coming out.

The nursery was made on a budget. It is a mix of things we already had, Ikea, thrift shop and yard sale buys, the shelves were custom made by Gen's father.

Our cat Scud loves this room and I'm pretty sure he thinks we made it for him.

Wish Come True toys. I'm a little frightened when I think how many toys he will have, since my job is buying and selling vintage toys I've already put aside oodles of cool toys for various ages.

We snagged this awsome Zirma wooden figure from Taru Design. Actually it was a present from Gen to me but I guess now all my toys are now his.

The cute alligator booties were purchased on etsy, made by Jennifer Ladd

Original drawings by friend Sarah Butler, from her 50¢ Photocopy drawing exhibition.

We already collected children books but since Gen is pregnant we took it up a notch and I purchased every book that I liked the design (again my job helps me find great books at a great price).

My Squid Wool mobile between two Polish Posters

Plush-Partners in crime: Tri-Bunny by Velvet Moustache and Evil-Eye-Guy made by From to From

This is where he currently lives but his rent is overdue, we can't wait that he is evicted and joins us in our home.

animal party

2009-07-16T14:30:00.004-04:00

I took a break making brooches and dabbled this week making larger animals. It'll take me a while to get the right form for facial expression. One bear has stumpy arms, I'll have to redo them.... these ones are still a work in progress.
I also started to make larger balls/marbles, the ones shown measure about 2" diameter and the cats just love them (and we do to... wool is quiet!)

Inspiration Friday : V de V

2009-07-10T20:25:00.008-04:00

We are regulars at our local "V de V" -short for Village des Valeurs- our Value Village thrift store. We always buy all kind of stuff, often for Christopher's business but also things that we keep for ourselves.

Here are some of our recent find:

Last week's lot of Czechoslovak coloured pencils boxes

And today's craft book "Felt Toy" (1971)

rabbit mobile

2009-07-06T15:45:00.003-04:00

I made another mobile... this time it's with flying bunny rabbits. However this mobile is not for a friend, it is for our very own soon-to-be-arriving bundle of joy. I will post more pics of the nursery soon (which was quite fun to decorate). As you can see there is a Tri-Bunny and an evil-eye Plush already in the crib.

daily photos

2009-07-02T13:43:00.003-04:00

Six days ago I (finally) started to take pictures of what I make every morning, if anyone is interested you can check it out at my Flickr or Twitter accounts for past and future daily pics.

mouse house

2009-07-01T11:06:00.004-04:00

My nephew came for a visit last week and did his usual hectic run-around as he always does when he sets foot in our apartment. He ran as the Tasmanian devil to the toys, video games, Squid Wool table, cats, toys again... and then after about 30 minutes he comes to see me and said "did you know you have a mouse house in your apartment?". "Of course I do..." I replied "...but no mice lives there yet". He then grabbed a few felt mice and helped them move to their new home. He's such a cutie.
Today is Canada Day but in Québec it is also known as moving day since everybody moves on this day. It is quite amusing seeing all the trucks and people move around on the same day. Little brown mice family also found their new home in my apt.

new model: starfishies

2009-06-03T14:27:00.007-04:00

A new model is in the works: the starfish! starfishes? starfishies? The ones above will travel to the east of Quebec all the way to Percé. They will be available this summer at l'Atelier Galerie Mylène Henry in Percé. More will be made for my etsy shop and I will try to make it a regular in the Squid Wool collection. However they are quite painful to make, my fingers are still sore from all the needle jabs I gave myself making them.

On a unrelated cat story: Our cat Irma loves chives but I think she mostly loves to give us heart attacks jumping on the edge of our 2nd floor balcony to munch on it. arg

Inspiration Friday / Lost and Found

2009-05-29T09:49:00.009-04:00

Christopher has been quite busy recently and say he’s sorry he can’t post more often these day. I almost feel like I am high-jacking his blog, but this should be temporary!

I have many years of experience as a housekeeper and head housekeeper (gouvernante). This might sound like a crappy job, and sometimes it is, but personally I always thought this work was more something like as a social study. Getting into private spaces, and getting to know people via their belongings (no joke, I couldn’t recognize regular guests by their face, but by their stuff and mess…) can be quite fascinating. One of the best part was the lost and found, a gold mine of anecdotes. Among many things, and throughout the years, I found a couple of interesting pictures which I set aside for our lost photo collection.

Christopher's eBay job has similarities, since he’s dealing with people’s past material life. Sometimes he can find family pictures left in books or in board games. With excitement we take them out and place them with the others.

So far our use of these images of total strangers has been to place them on the fridge and pretend they are our family (we did this for some time). Eventually I would like to do a scrap book party where we could scrap book their life the way we imagine them. All we would need are good pairs of scissors, glue, and a couple of Sears catalogues from the 70’s and 80’s.

Here are some of the material we could work from:

Finnish Toddler

Two colour shopping sprees

Kitty cats

Family picnic

Wedding thank you note: "Thanks for this nice gift that makes such good coffee"

And finally... Always check books and board games (or maybe tell your mom) for lost pictures before giving them away. Or somebody could put them on the net... And always be polite with your housekeeper, you don't know what she might know about you.

yay... i'm not a liar

2009-05-22T14:37:00.005-04:00

as promised... twelve more brooches listed in the Etsy Shop! hooray! More brooches will pop up in the shop next week.

Inspiration Friday / Reversed Inspiration

2009-05-22T09:03:00.025-04:00

Last week the last issue of Punisher Max, Six Hours to Kill (no. 66-70) came out.

I wanted to talk about it, because I think it is pretty funny...

We have a few friends working in the comic book industry. About a year ago, our friend Michel Lacombe asked Christopher if he could use him as a model and that is how Christopher ended up being a villain in The Punisher.

Christopher became Jon Cavalier, an "evil" lawyer and to my utter pleasure I even made a quick appearance as Mrs Cavalier. To become a comic book character always makes a good story to tell, especially when those character are so far from our reality!

Punisher Max has explicit content and I can only assume it is addressed to mature readers. Being softies, we literally can get uncomfortable reading what Christopher, as Mr. Cavalier, can be thinking or saying. But, hey, villains are not suppose to make us comfortable, right? Still rather than the final product, I prefer to look at these less offensive pencilled versions, without text and colours.

From Punisher Max, No 67, pencil & ink by Michel Lacombe

Christopher's picture also by Michel Lacombe

From Punisher Max, No 68, pencil & ink by Michel Lacombe
(In Cavalier's office. There is my quick appearance, in the framed photos of the Cavalier Family and of Mrs. Cavalier)

A big thanks to Michel for giving us the pleasure to be in a comic book at least once in our life.

And next week I will tell the tale of how one of our cats made it in the Magazine Animal...

new items in shop

2009-05-21T12:34:00.004-04:00

I seariously neglected my etsy shop these past months... that ends today! I listed the twelve brooches above and will list another twelve brooches tomorrow.

I missed the Puces Pop craft fair this passed weekend (I was on a much needed vacation in New York City)... I can't wait to do another craft fair.

Inspiration Friday / Marc Boutavant

2009-05-01T08:22:00.007-04:00

Marc Boutavant is a French illustrator whose work we get to see more and more. Since its publication in October 2007, his book Le Tour du Monde de Mouk, à vélo et en gomettes ! has already been talked about quite a lot and there are good chances that you already heard about it.

It is a book we highly recommend to people like us who love kid's book and animals - yes, that's a huge category! There are so much detail in this book that we haven't finished looking at it yet. Which makes me think it is a good investment...

But to bring something new about this illustrator, I thought maybe I could share something old...

My love for Boutavant's illustrations goes back to the fall of 2000, when you could find his work on flyers for la Guingette Pirate, a Parisian venue. You are less likely to know about these... enjoy. I wish I had the October flyer to know who else falls from the tree.

Does your cat...

2009-04-30T10:02:00.006-04:00

... steal your bags?

... read your stuff?

... wear your shoes?

a mess... and I love it

2009-04-29T15:38:00.003-04:00

before

after:

ok... so I just noticed the photo I took February 11th (the photo at the top) and it does not represent my work environment at all! After 3 months in our new apartment this is how it actually looks like.
I'm not ashamed of my mess... I'm one of those people that works best in an "organized mess". I guess I'm addicted to clutter... or as I like to call it "aesthetic-chaos".

Inspiration Friday / Fruits, Veggies and a Toast surprise

2009-04-24T17:40:00.008-04:00

You probably already know, but we do have very ecclectic taste and interest. Among all, ceramic is a medium we really enjoy.

Here are some 18th century ceramic plates and other kitchen ware of marginal use from Paris' les Arts décoratifs . Althought there is definitively something kitshy about them, they were one of the highlight of my visit.

I highly recommend the visit, if you happen to be in Paris and have some interest in the decorative arts....

On a humbler scale, this is what happens when Christopher mixes ceramic and food...

Fried Eggs @ Good Egg

2009-04-14T17:33:00.002-04:00

I mentioned this before but I just noticed that Good Egg now has their website up and running. It's worth the look-see!
It looks like a swell food-boutique, I'm definitely dropping by next time I'm in Toronto. They have a nice selection of Squid Wool brooches.

a little less soft... Play Doh

2009-04-09T16:43:00.005-04:00

As Gen mentioned a couple of weeks ago, my previous obsession to keep my hands busy was making little Play-Doh figures. This was all the fault of my pal Serge who made the first one (he made the Pirate-Bear, Mario Bros, Madman, Batman, Captain America, Hulk and Zombie bear).
I bought a Play-Doh kit a couple of years ago and it came with a bear mold, we would mold the bear and customize it from there, at one point I stopped making them bear shapped and just made miniature figures (with the same shape). I planned to make only Jim Henson Muppets at first but couldn't resist making more (I stopped when my shelves were full). If you want to see more check out my Flickr page.

Play Doh is rarely liked as a medium since it dries up and crackles up easily, but I find that this makes it's charm. The figures would shrink about 1cm and become rock hard and become very fragile (I repaired a few with crazy glue).

On another note, I just opened a Twitter account here . So far it is just a list of what I make everyday... I'm a Twitter newbie.

Inspiration Friday / Cereal Boxes and a Meteorite Surprise

2009-04-02T19:56:00.011-04:00

Earlier this week we had the visit of a friend who commented on the impressive quantity of cereal boxes we have lined on our kitchen table. Worst, it was not even that bad on that particular day...

I guess he is right, we do hold an abnormal quantity of breakfast cereal at home, probably because Christopher tends to buy three boxes every time we finish one. But his interest in breakfast cereal is not limited to a heavy consumption (to which I contribute generously).

When we cross borders, Christopher likes to take pictures of breakfast cereal alleys. Maybe the attraction comes from the very loud marketing and the bright colours. And the weirder it gets, the happier we are.

You can also find all kind of surprises in cereal box. A couple of years ago, one surprise came in the shape of a sugar and flake rock falling into my bowl. We lovingly named it the "Meteorite". For some reasons, we never threw it away.

The other day Christopher couldn't close one of the drawer of his desk. The desk is quite old, so we didn't wonder too much why. Until... lo and behold, Christopher found the Meteorite stuck behind the drawer. Cereals are fun, they even play tricks on you.

Anyway, since Squid Wool speciality is probably felted food, it would be a great idea to felt some cereal one day. Fruit Loops could be a good starting point.

mobile

2009-03-31T16:30:00.004-04:00

I recently made the mobile above for my friend's baby room. It was fun to make but once it's assembled those strings get tangled by themselves! I suspect a ghost comes at night to tangle them up. (that... or the cat).
I should eventually make more mobiles, it is something I wanted to do for a while but they are quite time-consuming.
I will also make brooches of these flat veggies. They look like vegetable shaped cookies!

Inspiration Friday / Sendak, Henson and Play-Doh

2009-03-27T08:27:00.006-04:00

First, I want to apologize for my irregular Friday posting and thank you for your patience. For my defence, I am trying to finish my master's thesis before the summer, and that is what keep me busy.

You already know about our love of monsters. Maybe you know less about our love of puppets. Now imagine monsters and puppets together...

Yesterday I saw for the first time the trailer for Where The Wild Things Are, which you can find here. Maurie Sendak's wild things always make me think of Jim Henson's muppet ogres, and every time I see Henson's muppet ogres I think of Sendak's wild things.

But Sendak and Henson knew each other, they worked together and Henson never hid the fact that Sendak's creatures were an inspiration.

And now, why Play-Doh?

This bring me to about two winter ago, before our discovery of needle felt. Christopher, who has a compulsive need to keep his hands busy was in the middle of his Play-Doh phase. This meant that almost every evening, while watching tv, he would be doing Play-Doh creatures. And since the same winter we watched the complete first season of the Muppet Show, he ended up doing his Play-Doh version of pretty much all the Muppets you can think about.

And of all that winter production, his ogres are by far my favourites.

Christopher said he would blog about his Play-Doh creature soon, so keep posted if you are curious about his production. But for now, I thought it would be great to share with you the ogres, which look a lot like Sendak's wild things...

Sweetums

Doglion

Thog

mice infestation

2009-03-17T14:28:00.003-04:00

short'n'sweet: A little mouse reunion on the rug.

Inspiration Friday/ Tanuki

2009-03-06T10:34:00.007-05:00

Tanuki, or Japanese raccoon dog, are an important part of Japanese folklore.

From Wikipedia:
Statues of tanuki can be found outside many Japanese temples and restaurants, especially noodle shops. These statues often wear big, cone-shaped hats and carry bottles of sake in one hand, and a promissory note or empty purse in the other hand. Tanuki statues always have large bellies. The statues also usually show humorously large testicles, typically hanging down to the floor or ground...
In metalworking, tanuki skins were often used for thinning gold. As a result, tanuki became associated with precious metals and metalwork. Small tanuki statues were marketed as front yard decoration and good luck charm for bringing in prosperity. Also, this is why tanuki is described as having large kintama (lit. gold ball, means a testicle in Japanese slang).

Our first encounter with tanuki was many years ago with the film Pom Poko. I probably rented the movie because there was animals on the cover and it was by Studio Ghibli. I had never heard of it, neither did I knew anything about tanuki. Being confronted with a kid's movie showing raccoons with magical power using their "balls" to fly, kind of left our North American sensibility puzzled. It was not a cultural "shock", but it did feel like there was a major cultural difference.

We met tanuki again while visiting our friends in their small Japanese town. Over there, these raccoon dogs with big testicles are nothing more than common garden gnomes and can be found in front of many homes. Still, it was hard for us not to notice them.

Since then we decided that, we too, needed more gold into our home. Chris found these wonderful tanuki ceramic mugs at a yard sale. We think they were made for a Japanese restaurant in Quebec city, as we found the logo of this restaurant under one of them. Everyday, they nicely carry our dish-washing equipment for us.

Thank you tanuki.... thanuki!

red & green & a moustache surprise

2009-02-23T16:04:00.007-05:00

A little red & green selection for today: a radish brooch and the top of a tomato brooch (or as we say in French "un cap de tomate". I'm struggling with my tomato models, I made a few sliced tomato brooches but people almost never recognize it.... try try again.

And I just have to show you this weekend's second-hand-toy-find. I bought a box of vintage barbie dolls this weekend and when I got home to take a closer look this hilarious doll was looking at me with it's big brown eyes and cool 'stash. We had a good laugh and I'm still trying to imagine the girl playing with this doll in the 70s. The doll is copyright 1975 Universal Associated (I don't know from which series it is from yet). The dolls/figures today don't have enough moustaches.

Inspiration Friday/ Flea Market

2009-02-20T10:53:00.001-05:00

After a two months break, I am back with our weekly inspiration Friday! At last, I also created my blogger I.D. so our dear readers know who's blogging. Shame on us, it took us some time to figure how to add a second writer to the blog.

This week, and in picture (from our personnal archives) let's explore flea markets. Hope you enjoy!

photo by: Jirina Cernikova

photo by: Jirina Cernikova

photo by: Jirina Cernikova

Kolbenova flea market, Prague.

Takoyaki stand in a monthly flea market in Kyoto.

Yard sale, somewhere in Québec.

A good flea market will tell you more about a place and its people and than a touristic guide. Flea markets are where things meet: things like aristocratic baby's painting and the smell of smoking sausages, or a pile of tires and erotic paintings. Is there anything more that needs to be said?

new in Etsy Shop

2009-02-16T15:27:00.001-05:00

New models have been listed in my Etsy shop: Mouse, Yummy Bacon and my personal favourite slice'o'Cucumber.

moved

2009-02-11T13:21:00.001-05:00

whew... it was a rough two weeks but we are now in our new apartment.
My needle-felting habit was on hiatus with all of the boxes , the painting and whatnot but I finally managed to make a few things this morning. I should get back into the groove now that I have my own little corner for my wool thingies (my previous work place was the dining room table).

Also... you can find Squid Wool brooches in two more shops:

General 54 is a lovely boutique that has a great selection of vintage clothing and many hand made goodies. Located in Montreal's Mile End (54 St. Viateur W)

Toronto folks can now find my brooches in the Kensington Market at Good Egg (267 Augusta). It is a cookbook store with plenty of food/kitchen related products. Food = Fun so it's worth dropping by.

kneading wool

2009-01-26T11:43:00.000-05:00

Our cat (Irma) just loves it when I buy new wool. As soon as I plop the wool on the table she instantly jumps into it and starts "kneading". I took the time to snap some pictures and then I have to take her off or else the wool would all be felted :)

A great place in Montreal to buy wool is the store Bure & Linon. Their store-woorkshop is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday and has a great selection of wool on hand and they can order a wide variety of wool as well. They also have a lovely selection of hand-made items for sale. Check it out!

a little less soft

2009-01-20T08:36:00.000-05:00

While I was on my wool break during the holidays I had fun painting this vintage toy bear squeak-toy. It was for a DIY gift exchange among friends. I wonder what he's doing right now... probably creeping somebody out with his hypno-eyes.
I forgot to take a picture of the box I made for it.... it was even more psychy than the bear.

I will be moving in a couple of weeks... so I may neglect the blog since I'll be up to my elbows in boxes and covered in paint. At least I have an excuse this time... wink.

Happy New Year

2009-01-08T10:04:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year! (am I still allowed 8 days after New Year day? : answer... "no")
I know I know... I neglected keeping you informed these past few days. I took a woolly break these past weeks, and started to needle felt again on January 5th. My production since then is shown above... lots of bunnies!!! Can't get enough bunnies! The brooch that sold the most in 2008 is the heart, Bunny Rabbit came in a close second.

You will see more animals in the weeks to come, I've sketched some new models for 2009 and mice, bears, lions, hedgehogs and jellyfish brooches will be coming your way. Of course many fruits'n'veggies will be on the menu as well.

The Squid Wool Etsy shop opened in may 2008 , it started slow but around Christmas time it really took off... and the two craft shows in Montreal I attended in October and December went amazingly well. I can't wait to see what will happen in 2009. Many cool shops have contacted me to hold Squid Wool items and I will try to attend many more craft shows as well.

Thank you very much for a great woolly year, I love this soft and cute adventure I've embarked on.

Inspiration Friday / hedgehog

2008-12-11T19:36:00.001-05:00

I saw my first "wild" hedgehog last spring in Prague. It was at dusk. Me and my roommate were on our way home when we decided to go check in Letna park for hedgehog (we are both animal lovers). She saw one there the night before, and we tough maybe we could see it again. And just as we thought... there it was at the same spot.

The following days I spoke about this very special event of my life with some European friends. They all seem to think my great enthusiasm was odd: it seems that they all grew up feeding hedgehogs in their backyard. Where I grew up, we had porcupines, and believe me, it is one of the scariest animal I have ever encountered in my backyard. Even the babies...

Hedgehogs are frequent guests in children literature. They are often very cute, but check this glutton hedgehog in this episode of Krtek the Mole (by Zdenek Miler, b.1921) Kretk a jezek (1970).

Hedgehogs are also very difficult to needle felt. And it's not that Squid Wool didn't try. Never satisfied with the result, I was barely allowed to post the picture of today's inspiration Friday. It is definitely something we are still working on...

Puces Pop December 6th

2008-12-09T13:54:00.001-05:00

I had a wonderful time again at Puces Pop, thanks again to everyone who stopped by my colorful table. It's always a joy to see your reaction and hear your comments. The best sellers this time around were the peas in the pod and bunny brooches.

My neighbours had great stuff too, so many talented people resembled together.... I will show off my bounty in a future blog this week. I also found some great stuff at Expozine the weekend before... I'll show that off at the same time.

Shown above is all of the brooches and hair pins brought to the show... all laid out on the dining room table (aka... my workspace)

sorry for the short'n'sweet message... I thought I would have more free time after the show but I'm still running around like crazy... ahhh the holidays

Thanks again people... you guys ROCK!

Inspiration Friday / Aokubi Daikon

2008-12-05T09:49:00.000-05:00

Today, two of our most recurrent themes: Japan and food! All taking the shape of a stuffed Japanese giant white radish...

When it comes to branding characters, Japan can be surprising and refreshing. Forget about Disney's Princess, Diego, Dora or Star Wars, let's teach our kids that veggies are cool.
ok ok, I know, they are different things and we cannot compare them... Still Aokubi Daikon, a commodities made for Kiddie Land, kicks ass and he is part of our "family".

And now that my big brother is officially going to Tokyo, we will definitely work hard to have another Daikon sibling repatriated home. Why? Because we are addicted.

Here is the Squid Wool version of this very cool vegetable!

new models

2008-12-03T13:31:00.001-05:00

Here is a small selection of the new models I will have at the Puces Pop craft fair this weekend. Come early... cuz some models are very limited... and by limited I mean I have only one.
:)

see you soon I hope

Squid Wool Cards

2008-12-02T13:58:00.001-05:00

Another big "Thank You" goes out my friends for helping me out colour my Squid Wool blister cards. Thank goodness I have friends who still like colouring, whew. Here is a small selection of my favourite ones... maybe it will be on your next purchase!

Only a few more days of felting before the Puces Pop Saturday... chop chop.

Inspiration Friday / "Le petit renard en boule de Jungnickel"

2008-11-28T09:42:00.002-05:00

Squid Wool's Fox

Design for the boy's room of the Palais Stoclet, Bruxelle, 1908/1909, by Jungnickel (in Gabriele Fahr-Becker. Wiener Werkstätte. Köln : Taschen, 2003, p.61).

Printed Silk executed by the Wiener Werktätte, design in 1913 by Jungnickel (in Charlotte & Peter Fiell ed. 1900's 1910' Decorative Art. Köln : Taschen, 2000, p.533).

Wine glass' project by Jungnickel, 1911 (in Gabriele Fahr-Becker. Wiener Werkstätte. Köln : Taschen, 2003, p.120).

Vases, by Urban Janke, Jungnickel and Lobmeyr, 1910-1911 (in Werner J. Schweiger. Art Nouveau a Vienne, Le Wiener Werkstätte. Paris : Herscher, 1990, p.57).

Ludwig Heinrich Jungnickel (1881-1965), was a German painter and printmaker trained as a wildlife artist. Unsatisfactory amount of information can be found about him, probably because the wildlife genre was not always taken very seriously. Like everybody else, I got to know him because of his collaboration with the Wiener Werkstätte, a largely documented production community of visual artists established in Vienna in 1903.

Jungnickel is an artist that certainly has left a big impression on us. Every time we see an animal sleeping in a ball shape (most of the time, my cat) we call it the Jungnickel's fox position or "le petite renard en boule de Jungnickel". This expression is the origin of Christopher's fox design.

Looking at it now, I realize that the original version -the fox in the oval shape of the vases- is not so round (but still the cutest thing in the world) and that the two foxes are very different from each other. Creative process is something very interesting...

Homage or insult to the work of this great man, I'll let you decide.

Pimp Hats, Top Hats & Toothbrushes

2008-11-26T13:53:00.001-05:00

I received a few requests for custom items , and am always amused by them. The most recent was a "pimp hat" for a plastic lab-rat (their mascot I think)... I laughed for at least a minute after reading the request. It's fun to make custom items, I love the challenge.
The toothbrush hair-clip is still a little odd to me (this from the guy who has a wool chicken leg on his jacket).
Anyhoot... keep those requests coming :)

Puces Pop

2008-11-25T13:44:00.001-05:00

There will be a bonus Puces Pop edition on December 6th. yay!
@ St. Michel Church Hall, Corner of St. Viateur & St. Urbain. Montreal

I got the news about this bonus fair right after bringing all of my extra items at a couple of stores in Montreal... so since the past week, I have been trying to build an inventory so my table doesn't look too empty. I'm needle felting like a madman... and that can sometimes be painful!
I don't stab my finger as often as before but when I do stab it... ouchy!
This past Saturday I was felting with vigour and I actually broke a needle on my finger. The needle was sticking out of my finger like a splinter. Crafting can be painful :)

etsy main showcase

2008-11-20T11:48:00.000-05:00

I recently started to promote my Etsy Store with showcases, I'm far from being an Etsy-pro yet and I'm just learning how to promote the shop.

Etsy has various showcases and categories on their main page and sellers have to purchase "slots" to appear there.
I first purchased a showcase slot to advertise my shop in the needlecraft section with no major impact. I then purchased slots in the Storque and Gift sections , it didn't translate into any sales but I did get some questions from clients and more "heart's me" clicks.
The next step would be the main showcase section but as many people know... it's quite a challenge to book a slot there. I decided last week to stay at my computer and at noon (the hour they are available) purchase a main page showcase. I waited patiently and at precisely noon, as the rookie I am , I take my time and ponder which day to choose. When I finally decide on the date and click on purchase , it's sold out (in less than a minute). I click refresh and almost half of the 400+ possible slots are taken. I then go in panic mode and choose and day available, at the end of it all I was able to get today (Nov20th) and November 26th. The whole Main section was sold out in less than five minutes! It was to say the least and exciting five minutes.

PS : I guess the main section is indeed worth it, as I am writing I received an email that the pear brooch has sold.

I am making lots brooches and hair clips these days for an upcoming craft-fair (Dec. 6th). More details will come in future posts.
Some new models are: sliced eggplant, daikon, jalapeño and yellow pear.

Inspiration Friday / Bandai

2008-11-14T09:55:00.001-05:00

I don't have much to say about Bandai. There are serious fans out there who know all about the characters, their names, skills, if they good or evil. I simply like their shapes and colours.

I just found out that Bandai museum in Matsudo is now closed (our pictures are from 2006). They're at another location, but I don't know if it's as much fun as the first one. Nevertheless, I put these picture for you to enjoy, I hope you will!

We also have pictures of us with the Red Power Rangers but it comes of very geeky...

in Shops ... continued

2008-11-13T14:13:00.000-05:00

I brought a small selection (shown above) to Woodenapples today.
Including new models: the starfish, lemon and bunny rabbit.
Check it out! 5403 ave. du Parc

in Shops

2008-11-12T13:34:00.000-05:00

You can now purchase Squid Wool brooches, hair pins or 3D objets at Zone Orange located in the old Montreal (410 rue St-Pierre). The gallery/café/shop is well worth the detour , they have a lovely and wide selection of many lovely items and artwork.

AND... very soon I will have some items at Woodenapples, another great arts&crafts shop located at 5403 ave du Parc in Mtl.

Thanks!

Marbles Galore

2008-11-11T13:10:00.000-05:00

This is my needle-felted marble collection.

When I make felted objets (or as some say: thingamajigs) I always have small quantities of leftover wool that I put aside. When I have enough, I make a marble.
I loved to play marbles when I was a kid (until that gloomy day I almost lost my whole collection to the new kid on the block).
I sometimes get requests to make necklaces or bracelets with these marbles but I just can't part with them. My obsesive side can't wait to see the day I have thousands of these things in jars....

News Flash

2008-11-07T12:12:00.000-05:00

We found Irma's Mousey!

Inspiration Friday / Prentend play toy: Food

2008-11-07T08:45:00.001-05:00

Haba play food

Wiener Schnitzel with French fries
Doner kebab
Sandwich includes magnetic slices of toast

Since the beginning of Squid Wool, Christopher has been felting food. And sure enough, we are huge fan of "pretend food".

Some of the best play food we came across so far is from the German company Haba. If you have seen two adults with no kids getting over excited in the kid's Kaufladen section of the Karstadt store in Dresden, and buying the equivalent of a grocery of fake food, it was probably us.

There is also a lot of great "pretend food" on etsy. Those made by BeckyM and Go Buggy are really impressive.

yellow & green

2008-11-06T14:30:00.000-05:00

I've been making larger "useless" fruits these days. I'm trying to build up a fruit basket but it's long to make! The pear measures 4.5 inch (11 cm) and the banana measures 5" (12cm).
These past couple of weeks I've been making bunny rabbits and fruits non-stop.

Autumn cleaning!

2008-11-03T10:46:00.001-05:00

I neglected the blog and Squid Wool this week, my lame excuse is : "cleaning". My office mess was getting so out of hand I couldn't work anymore. So I got some heavy duty shelves and spent the past week sorting everything.

It's always rewarding doing some major cleaning... I found lots of stuff I was sure I lost or sold.
Above are some Jim Woodring figures I bought a while ago but couldn't find them until now.
My memory is not the best and I remembered I once had them when I came across the capsule machine shown above while vacationing in Japan. The capsule machines in Japan are the best and kept my pockets filled with change to be ready when I came across a cool machine! To my utter disappointment The Crazy Newts dispenser was empty!
But alas I found them again! Huzzah!
That is a good part of having a bad memory... I save money by hiding my toys or re-reading old books. um... except when I buy stuff in double because I forgot I already had it.

I made some new felted projects recently and will post them this week ... promise.

Inspiration Friday /Calico Critters- Sylvanian Families

2008-10-24T11:25:00.001-04:00

Papa bear brings doggy for a walk, with is mushroom umbrella.

Baby squirrel should not eat hot-dog in front of the TV like that. What a bad education from papa bear and mama rabbit!

Papa bear talks on the phone.

Tofa Semily wooden living room ensemble

Calico Critters or Sylvanian Families (depending where you are from) are some of our favourite toys (somewhere with Lego and Playmobil). We probably rediscovered them while in Japan, where they seem to be a lot more popular than here. In Montreal, they are a bit harder to find. I remember seeing them in a shop window somewhere in Westmount and screaming to Christopher to "STOP THE CAR". That's how rare they used to be here (it might have change by now).

But they were not always hard to find in Québec. Probably at the end of the 80's, my parents bought me a bear family for Christmas. My father, thinking that Calico Critter's plastic house and furniture were not of good quality, built me a wooden house and the furniture to go in it instead. It is probably one of my favourite gift ever.

If it is true that Calico Critters makes the perfect little families of fuzzy creature (the reindeer family or the otter family are incredible), their plastic accessories are not the best. That's why I like to match them with better wooden equipment.

Talking of wooden equipment... I found this living room set (above) at the Kolbenova flea market in Prague 9. It was made by the Czech company, Tofa Semily, in a modernist style that could be from the 60's although with communist toys, it's hard to tell. It is a perfect size for the Calico creatures Christopher found in yard sales. Felted phone, food and dog complete the set (I really enjoyed taking pictures for today's blog!)

I still have my Calico Critter bears, but they lost patches of fur when (long time ago) I lent them to a friend with a younger sibling who sucked the fur out of them. They are still at my parents house, in their wooden home my father built.

board games

2008-10-23T16:45:00.001-04:00

Yesterday a few board games came crashing down on me when I tried to take one out from the bottom pile. So I decided it was clean up time... and believe it or not the photo above is the cleaned-up version... I now regret not taking a "before photo" but imagine that big pile even more messed up. (by the way that pile continues about 3-4 feet to the right).
Once in a while some games come crashing down on me, much to my girlfriend's delight. She giggles when it happens and sings a circus tune... yea... I guess it is kinda funny.

Also, yesterday's Charles Christopher sold after a few hours I listed it... so a new one is up just for you!

ABOMINABLE CHARLES CHRISTOPHER

2008-10-22T12:50:00.001-04:00

The Abominable Charles Christopher. by Karl Kerschl

It's the Abominable Charles Christopher!

I'm a weekly reader of Karl Kerschl's webcomic (and you should be too!) and thought that Charles Christopher would be fitting to be made out of wool. He's so soft and cuddly.
I showed Karl the one I made for him a couple of weeks ago and he gave me the thumbs up to offer them on etsy.
Now I just have to get my sewing machine out and try to make a plush doll! An A.C.C. plush would be sooo cool.

new friend in the family

2008-10-21T15:52:00.001-04:00

Tri-Bunny is in da house!!! Aokubi Daikon is calmly leaning on him... just chillin'.
This ginormous bunny was made by Velvet Moustache. I've mentioned them here before and will probably do it again, I just love their stuff. This past weekend I gave Pop-Eye to my nine year old neice for her birthday and she just loved it! It was a hit!

Life with cats

2008-10-17T11:10:00.000-04:00

Irma sleeping with the first Mousey

Three mice for Jirina's three cats

Yes, this inspiration Friday is dedicated to cats.

I have been talking to my Czech ex-roommate this morning and she told me that her Siamese cat still plays with the blue mousey I felted when I was there. She usually gets very noisy when she carries the thing in her mouth. Before I crafted the blue one, Christopher visited me and brought with him three mice, one for each cat in the apartment. I have some lame videos of cats playing with the mice. The two Bengals cats are quite athletic and what they can do -throwing the mouse in the air and catching it- can be impressive. Since cats are uncollaborative, these moments of incredible acrobatic agility usually happen off camera.

Just running (and with a puffy tail)...

Another cat video. This time, this one prefers to lick her toe.

We didn't neglect our cats in Montréal. Irma was the first to have one, but poor Mousey has been lost for a while now. Our male cat seems to prefer balls and plastic springs. Is it me or is it mostly female cats -the hunters- that likes to play with with mouse toy?

useless items

2008-10-16T16:01:00.001-04:00

At the Puces Pop festival I found myself explaining the use of certain items I had for sale. It made me laugh because I didn't have any answer and found myself saying: "ummm none". Is a decorative piece useful? It's funny that paintings are useful decoration but small sculptures / toys are useless :)

I think boys have less of a problem buying useless things. I buy/bought a lot of toys in my adult life and the thought that these thingamajigs were useless never crossed my mind.

So from now on I will try to find uses for my items. The avocado above is now a three piece puzzle.

MONSTER

2008-10-15T10:49:00.001-04:00

I made this orange monster guy a couple times and I'm starting getting attached to him. I didn't name him yet... I fear that if I name him I won't be able to sell them.

I love to pack them with accessories, the first one has an Ice cream cone attached to his hand (if you try to grab it he'll probably rip your hand off).
I glued a magnet to the second guy's hand and made three accessories (chicken drumstick, iPhone and a 12" LP) . Now he's a multi-taskin' monster.
I'm a sucker for accessories and will probably pack them next one with oodles of goodies.

Inspiration Friday : Bears!

2008-10-09T19:49:00.001-04:00

Squid Wool, Bruno with fishy

Very well mannered bear couple.
From Richard Scarry. "The Polite Elephant", in Things to Know. New York: Golden Press, 1971.

Hungry beary.
From Marcelle Vérité (text) and Elisabeth Ivanovsky (illustration). Contes Illustrés. Paris: Casterman 1956.

Another hungry beary?
From Russian book, 1966

For the credit...

Bears with fur coat!
From Margaret Wise Brown (text) and Garth William (illustration). Little Fur Family. New York: Harper & Row Publisher, 1946.

One of the first animal Christopher felted was a bear named Bruno (I guess from the French "brun"), and to this day it is my favourite Squid Wool object. It's mine, mine, mine!

We can't get enough of children books. We keep buying them, some new, but most are vintage books purchased in thrift shops and yard sales. They are like gold mines.

I found some representations of bears from some of our books, some more classical than others. But what about the little bear family wearing fur coats! I'm surprised every time I take the book out of the shelf and I kind of love the "un"correctness of it.

Tripod Peapod

2008-10-08T13:44:00.000-04:00

anyone?... no? ....

-cricket cricket-

sorry about that.

nostalgia

2008-10-07T14:59:00.000-04:00

My full-time job is selling vintage toys, books and records. Many buyers are adults who want to find their old favourite toys their parents threw away or gave to their cousins.

Every once in a while I come across a toy from MY childhood, the game above is one of them (Up the Creek card game by Waddingtons, 1979). I completely forgot about this game and when I found it last Friday in a thrift shop I looked at the box for several seconds wondering why it was so familiar. I just loved to play this game and remember adoring the drawings. Even now I am blown away by the illustrations! Look at that bear chillin' in the canoe, he is the coolest! The pelt card is awesome too.

Now I have to read the instructions and play again... I hope it fun or else my childhood souvenir might be crushed.

THANKS !!!!!!

2008-10-06T10:40:00.000-04:00

I would like to say a HUGE "Thank You" to everyone who stopped at my Squid Wool corner at Puces Pop this past weekend.
It was an amazing, I just loved to see the reaction of people to my soft-oddities. Every time someone stopped and laughed it would confirm that I am not the only one who sees the humour in this. Since I work from home I rarely get any reaction to my work so this weekend was encouraging to continue my woolly adventure.

Some models were more of a success that I expected... I wasn't sure the chicken leg would catch on... but by-golly it did! I think that was the first thing I needle-felted when I started about a year ago (that or a mushroom) and both worked well. In the week coming I see myself making many kiwis, avocados, mushrooms, pears, apples, peas. I will open the grocery flyer for inspiration.

Puces Pop is a great DIY festival, so many cool designs/designers under one roof it's mind-blowing! It was hard to choose what to purchase, my top three "coup-de-coeur" were Velvet Moustache ,The Pin-Pals and Sweet Grognasse.

Thanks again to everyone and hope to see you again very soon.

inspiration friday

2008-10-03T13:23:00.000-04:00

Crafty sign for a travel agency, Kyoto train station

Fire prevention sign close to our friend's "secret beach" , Mie prefecture

Shop (cookie shop?) in Shibuya, Tokyo

The theme for this first inspiration Friday is JAPAN!

Certainly the worst kept secret, Japan is the land of cute. So why blog about it?
Well, it might not be "original" nevertheless Japan is a very rich source of inspiration for Squid Wool and our experience of it has left a huge impression on us. The mix of tradition/ technology, too much/ simplicity is quite fascinating.

Cute in this country seems to be a lifestyle. It is everywhere and in every situation.

Expect things from Japan to be a recurrent theme on these inspiration's Friday

*Pictures from our personal archives, sorry for the bad quality.

Squid Wool's Other Half : About Me

2008-10-03T10:12:00.000-04:00

Hello there,

I stoped producing felted object the day I decided my production could'nt stand the comparison with cutness of the objects created by my dear boyfriend. Needle felt is a very accessible medium, but having the "touch" is simply another story.

I am also an art historian who by "de"formation tend to look at the socio-historical context of everything that has been created. I am a firm believer that creation is not an autonomus process and may it be councious or not, environment has a huge impact on it. Every inspiration's Friday, my intention is to look at the creative ecology of Squid Wool. I know it very well, I live in it. The sources are quite eclectic and the exploration has no limit. Hope you will enjoy.

inspiration friday

2008-10-03T08:39:00.000-04:00

I have neglected this blog this past week, hopefully next week I won't be as lazy. My lazy excuse is that it's crunch-time before the Puces-Pop fair (starts tomorrow!).

My girlfriend suggested to blog one day a week (yay), so every Friday she will write about my inspiration to transform the wool (shown above) into thingamajigs. Our interests are so wide and eclectic that she will have enough ideas for weeks to come.

Now I'm off for some last minute work and errands before the show.

Puces Pop

2008-09-30T13:08:00.000-04:00

I've been running around a lot these past few days getting ready for the "do-it yourself Puces Pop fair". I'm anxious to see my neighbours, there will be oodles of cool stuff... anyone how loves "stuff" should go:
Puces Pop
104 St-Viateur O , in Montreal. October 4-5 from 11h-19h

Also I'd like to send a "big-up" to Gen, LGB and Sara for helping me colour and paint my "Squid Wool" cards. A colouring night is always fun.

iPhone

2008-09-25T16:51:00.000-04:00

My girlfriend keeps buggin' me "where's the blog" "where's the blog". She's the only one who reads it anyway ;)

I listed a needle-felted iPhone today on eBay. I had a blast doing it, I hope it will find a good home.

eBay anecdote:
I once sold a cool Super-Grover plush doll on eBay over a year ago. It was a used vintage plush from the late 70s and my girlfriend would crack me up making it talk every time she came in my office.
Anyway... the lady who bought it was really upset about the condition (she thought it was new) and said it was only good for the garbage pail. I offered that she return it but she never replied. We were (and still are) bummed out that ol' Super-Grover ended up in the trash. sigh

One item per day

2008-09-24T07:42:00.000-04:00

My new challenge is to list one item per day on Etsy (I wonder how long I'll keep that up). I suppose it will be a good habit to have.
I ordered more wool yesterday, I can't wait to see the new colours.

I love these macro photos of my wool-thingies... It would be great if they were life-size and we could jump into them.

eBay 5 cent sale

2008-09-23T08:31:00.000-04:00

Today won't be a good day for Squid Wool, there is a 5cent listing sale on eBay today and during thoses days I always list like a madman.

I've been having fun combining magnets and wool recently... I'll be chopping my fruits'n'veggies in bite sizes from now on. hazzah!

why hello there

2008-09-22T07:45:00.000-04:00

Here it goes...

I will be mainly posting my new Squid-Wool felt projects here but once in a while I will post some funny or cool stuff I find to list on eBay.
I've been selling on eBay for about 10 years now and over the years some cool stuff have come and gone. And man, Toy-box design from the 60-70s was sooo cool.

that's that.