{shop update} a mobile menu...

Everyone has their own story to tell so I was really excited to create a "mobile menu" - a list of mobile characters, colors, & fabrics to create an individual & unique klt:works mobiles for every creative vision. You can find the custom mobile listing here. 

Speaking of mobiles, there is a giveaway over at bloesem kids - you can win a klt:works Friends of the Forest  mobile!  

If you would like a chance to win this mobile, you can stop by bloesem kids for a visit. They will chose a winner & post it on Wednesday. Good luck!  

Hope you had a great weekend!

{Fun} City Dog....

I just got this cool magazine in the mail called City Dog & if you are a dog lover, I recommend checking it out (on the stands until October). It's full of all sorts of great articles & features about life with a dog in the west (Seattle, Portland, & San Francisco). It was particularly fun to open up the magazine to the four page section called {Cool Products} because my Chasing Tails mobile was featured along the side of many, many "cool things for hot dogs"!  Thanks City Dog! Not bad for a Tuesday...

{fun} A family of squirrels...

Having a small business means that not only do I wear many hats, but so does my family.  I got a call Friday at the end of the work day, pretty much telling me what our evening activity would be. I get my tees screen printed locally (about 5 minutes from my house) & my new squirrel tees were ready to pick up. My guys had no idea what I had planned for them when I got home. While it took a while to get into the modeling groove, things picked up quickly with some dancing & harmonica playing... 

Even though I'm sometimes met with resistance to these spontaneous photo shoots, in the end - I think we all have fun. The best part is that I have pretty consistent documentation of our little family. Work & play all at once - that's the name of the game in our house these days. Your can view the new squirrel tees here too. Hope you had a great weekend!

{Fabric Friday} custom colors...

One of my favorite things about making mobiles & nursery decor items, is that people often send me pictures of their nurseries in various stages of their development - both while I am creating a mobile for them or once the mobile is in their room. I can't tell you how many times people have told me that they have created their entire nursery around one of the mobiles that I made. It's  compliment that I don't take lightly as I know how incredibly special & personal  decorating  a nursery for your child is.  

Sometimes I get requests for mobiles with custom colors. I'm always willing to do that if I have the fabrics. I got such a request yesterday for a Flights of Fancy Mobile in light pink, bright pink, and b&w as the main colors. As I was pulling together stacks of fabrics in those colors and data to send this customer, I thought it would make a nice Fabric Friday post. I see this mobile being a lot like the B&W mobile that was Sayer's first mobile (& still in his room- but the Crawling Critters is now over his bed). I would just incorporate some of the fabrics in the stacks pictured. It was fun to think about a different color scheme- particularly this one. When I first started making mobiles & plush for klt:works, I really stuck to gender neutral colors but over the years, the requests for pink have just skyrocketed. So, I do happen to have a nice little selection of pinks that I have acquired. In these stacks you will find some: P&B textiles, Robert Kaufman organics, Westminster Fibers, Michael Miller, Free Spirit, Joel Dewberry, Kai Fabrics, Monaluna Kaufman, and various wool blends & wool felts. Happy Fabric Friday! What four colors are dominant in your room or your child's room?

{giveaway} gazing at the birds...

The new thread drawing mobiles debuted this summer and I am so excited to be giving one away! You can enter to win an "all about birds" mobile over at the Baby Space blog- but be sure to enter before September 30th. 

I love to do giveaways, but quickly realized that I get too involved with the comments and feel badly that I can't give everyone something. So, it's better that I have others do klt:giveaways- that way, I'm not directly involved. Bron, from Baby Space once did such a lovely post about Sayer's room, that I was happy that she would be hosting this mobile giveaway. If you love interior spaces for children, you have to check out her blog. She is always revealing beautiful spaces and things to fill them.  

If you like the idea of gazing at the birds while falling asleep, stop by Baby Space soon.... 

In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying your weekend!

{mobiles} new collection...

I have been working on a new klt:collection of mobiles for a little while now and I am excited to share the results. Back in May, I wrote a blog post that chronicled the process of making  the first mobile from the new collection. You can view the process here.  Since then I have added two more mobiles to the mix. But, the fun part about this collection is that there is a menu of options - from palette to characters. I have created a "cast of characters" to choose from that are all similar in size and can be combined differently- to tell a unique story. The fabrics used for these mobiles are extra special too. They are all hand printed by Helen Rawlinson and Ink & Spindle. 

This is the first mobile of the bunch, The Woodland Creatures :: Ink & Spindle fabrics are used, lime wood base, & a nest, squirrel, sandpiper, & owl.

The, All About Birds Mobile, uses Helen Rawlinson fabrics, yellow wood base, & a nest, owl, sandpiper, & raven. 

This last mobile, Chasing Tails, was a collaborative process between me and the people that "like" klt:works on FB (only they didn't know it yet). We have a cat, and I am not really knowledgeable on different breeds of dogs. So, I threw out the question on FB, "What are your favorite breeds of dogs?". Wow, did I get a lot of feedback! I then researched and came up with some dog drawings which were later thrown out to the group for more feedback. This mobile uses Helen Rawlinson fabric as well, a turquoise wood base, & a french bulldog, beagle, german pointer, & a dog named Macy (a customer's dog). 

What I personally like about these mobiles, is the simplicity of the designs. They are colorful on one side, but offer high contrast B&W on the other side for newborns. These mobiles are also sophisticated enough to be used by people of any age. Because, I really don't think mobiles are just for babies. Do you have favorite character combination?  

{Vintage KLT} Plushies looking for a home...

If you have been reading this blog, you may have figured out that klt:works is a labor of love. Because I make everything by hand, the items that I sell have special meaning to me. When I pack a box or put  plushies in a bag for a customer, I say my private goodbyes with hopes that their journeys are good ones and that they find someone to love them. You could say that "The Velveteen Rabbit" had a profound affect on how I view plush (but that is another post). So, one of the first brick-n-mortar shops to ever carry klt:works is having a huge blow out sale throughout  the  end of August. It is a local shop and I often made plush in special color combinations for them. They also carried some things that are true one of a kinds. Chris popped into the shop yesterday to search out  the klt:works products in their various nooks and crannies, and he found some unique & vintage KLT goodies that I wanted to share.
-Flights of Fancy Mobile - Unique color combo
-Tiptoe Sweeney- Original klt:plush going way back...
-Nest Pillow- Freehand sewing (back has dotted fabric) original design- only a few made.
-Lou the Snail- Original design- dotted fabric on the back.
-Ollie the Owl- Unique fabric.
-Owl Toddler Tee- Thinking it is a size 2T- best seller tee to date.


These special KLT items are looking for loving homes. Everything in the store is on SALE- 30% off until Saturday. Then they will be 40% off until the following Saturday- and then 50% off (you get the idea). I wanted to put the word out there that I am sure these items can be shipped. If you are interested, give Julie or Carol a call or pop them an email. 
Here is the scoop:
www.childhoodbliss.com
Childhood Bliss
521 Morris Street
La Conner, WA  98257
Phone: 360.466.2229

{Creative Process} How the new klt:mobile was made...

There is a new mobile design at klt:works and I am just thrilled about it. This idea has been kicking around in my brain for quite a while now- so it is very gratifying to finally have a finished product under my belt. This is just one of the many ideas in the works right now. My mind tends to move at a much faster pace than my fingers. Most of my studio time is spent filling orders, but every now and then, I sneak in new stuff to keep me excited. My hope is to offer a list of thread drawing characters to choose from - so a person could  choose their own story in a klt:mobile. I loved the idea of using my thread drawing for the floating images for a number of reasons. But having a mobile that is both high contrast (b&w) and modern in color & shape, is a big one (babies are said to see in b&w until they are 3 months). Maybe it is the art professor in me, but I thought that the creative process of how this mobile came to be might be an interesting thing to share.  So here we go....

Thread Drawing from elSage on Vimeo.

It all starts with drawings in thread. I know that I showed this video before, but it was in my first post and I really think it was just my mom who read it. Besides, it is the best way for me to describe how I draw in thread. This was a demo that I did for hutch studio. Most of the time,  a drawing would take a little longer (and I wouldn't have an audience either), but you get the idea. So this is how I created the squirrel, bird, owl, & nest for the klt:works tees, pillows, & now mobile. 

Once I have the images drawn, I take them to a local screen printer (that is 5 minutes away from my studio) and have them screen print my designs for me. It is Chris (not my husband, Chris) that is printing above- he is the one that has worked on a lot of  klt:works projects in 2010. I have been going to the same place for the last 4 years and consider the three of them, part of the klt:works team.

Then comes another fun part of the process, I get to pick out the fabrics for the back of the critters. You might remember me mentioning my love of Ink & Spindle fabrics in one of my Fabric Friday posts. I knew the minute I saw their fabrics, that I wanted to use them for my woodlands mobile (which I fondly think of as the Northwest mobile). I found this video on the Ink & Spindle blog and loved it. 

The last step is something that I really can't leave out. Chris makes all of the wood mobile structures in his little teeny shop area in the garage. He is literally wedged between piles of stuff & the car, when he works on his various house & klt:projects. He then heads upstairs to the klt:studio and methodically strings all of the critters on the mobiles - weighing them carefully with his gram scale from the ceramic studio. He puts the finishing touches on every single mobile that is made. I must pay tribute to those working hands above. Because without them, the mobiles would never be completed.

And that is how the new klt:mobile was made. Hope you enjoyed your creative process tour!  All in a day, right? 

{Studio as a Bedroom} A product testing opportunity...

It is sometimes tricky working from home. We recently had a house guest (Chris' dad) for three weeks. Our house is pretty small so it took some creative thinking to figure out where everyone was going to sleep comfortably for that amount of time. Realizing that we are night owls & work after Sayer goes to bed, it seemed natural for us to sleep in the klt:studio while his dad took our bedroom. The cozy little nook that we created for Sayer, was transformed into a bed that took up most of the studio space. Our toes almost touched the sewing machine. 

However, I enjoyed the fact that I was surrounded by all of the things that I love  and encourage my creative thinking. Admittedly, it was a little difficult to turn off my klt:mind when I went to bed. It's not necessarily a good thing to have the klt:order board looming over me as I am trying to sleep. My night owl status hit an all time high and I found it difficult to put things away. The morning sounds of Sayer came really fast!

One of the cool things that I got to experience, is laying under the klt:mobiles every night. There was a rotating gallery of mobiles as the orders were completed and shipped out. I got to enjoy every design- and often, many at a time. I am going to put it out there that mobiles are not just for babies. I loved watching them. It was ideal product testing! I shared some long stares with Ollie & Steve that were very therapeutic and comforting. 

It is just the three of us tonight and our bedroom is vacant. There is definitely part of me that will miss sleeping in the studio. But I have to say, it will be nice for the studio to start functioning strictly as a working studio, rather than the likes of an art school dorm room. And for those of you that received your orders recently, hope I didn't pack my pajamas in your box on accident (I am just kidding, my quality control policies wouldn't have allowed that).

{A Centipede} Steve from A to Z

When I was pregnant with Sayer, Chris & I decided to design a mobile with him in mind. We thought it should be a mobile with bug characters. Each of us had ideas as to what bugs should be included and we chipped away individually at sketches of our little critters. One day, I found a tiny, white piece of paper sitting on my dresser. It was a sketch of centipede named Steve that Chris had modestly placed in spot where it would be noticed. In a matter of hours, a Steve prototype was created.

Where did this image come from you ask? Apparently, there is a real Steve Centipede who lived in Rhode Island in the 70's. Chris has vivid memories of a real centipede that lived in the corner (on the wall) in his living room. Steve came out at night and hung out while Chris' family  watched TV and it pretty much freaked him out. I asked him who named Steve and he thinks it must have been his mother. He dad doesn't remember and said, "he just was always Steve". Steve made quite an impression on Chris - particularly his "feathery legs" and the way he quickly scampered around. He later vanished about as mysteriously as he had appeared, but had quite a long stay at the Theiss household (from when Chris was 6-12 years old he thinks). There are rumblings that Steve's children live there still. Even though Steve made Chris a bit uneasy, he wanted to include him on a mobile because not many people get to meet a centipede and he wanted to create one that was a little more friendly. It just seemed like a perfect bug to hang out with kids on their ceiling. It's nice that Sayer gets to enjoy one of Chris' childhood memories. (pictures above & below: from sketch to nursery)

We haven't really explained the story of Steve to Sayer yet, but somehow he must have picked up on the special connection that Chris has with the crazy centipede. One night last week, Sayer looked up at his Crawling Critters Mobile and talked to me about Steve. He said he wanted me to make Steve like his Whoo Whoo (Ollie Plush). He told me he wanted red, then he decided that he wanted blue (he is really into colors these days). I took on this challenge last weekend (in between working on orders). I made two to show him. Of course, in toddler fashion, he hasn't really decided. He keeps going back and forth between the two  color combinations.

So, that is how Steve came to be. Regardless of what color the plush ends up, Sayer gave me the kick that I needed to make a pattern for a larger Steve. I always had a plan to do it, but it took a special request from my favorite 2 year old to get the wheels in motion. I think he may have a career as the klt:art director in his future.  Do you have a favorite plush or character from your childhood?