Funky Friday Favorites: Michelle Last

Hello, and happy Friday! This week's favorite artist is Michelle Last. She's an illustrator and a new softie creator!

Hi, I'm Michelle, an illustrator/artist based in the UK. i draw fun pictures and make felt soft toys and  love it! I'm also a vintage clothes addict and I love drinking tea. Please stop by my shop www.shop.michellelast.com if you like what you see and get yourself a little something! 

Visit her: Portfolio ♥ Blog ♥ Shop ♥ Facebook ♥ Twitter

 

Tell us more about what you make!

 

Michelle: I'm mostly an illustrator, working on paper, but just recently I've started being more serious about making felt softies (soft toys), and other sewn products. The felt work is very much taken from the illustrations I do! My illustrations are available as prints and greetings cards.

How did your crafty business come about? What made you want to start it?

Michelle: I used to just draw for fun until I realized you could make some money from it, so I tried hard to get people interested in my work. It's still hard, but I'm getting there...! I have such a passion for drawing and making my softies that I really want to make something of it. It feels good when people appreciate your art and work, that's what keeps me going!

What inspires you to create? What supplies do you use?

Michelle: A lot of the time I feel like I don't have any inspiration for my illustrations... then I think of things I like or funny stories I've heard and it just comes from that! My softies and felt products are inspired directly from the animal illustrations I create - mostly chickens! I use a lot of felt for my softies, and try to use traditional media for my illustrations, as I'm not too keen on digital work as I used to be for those.

Aside from crafting, what do you do for fun?

Michelle: I love to take photos and bake, but mostly I think my illustration and my crafting is really a hobby as well as a source of income!

What are your favorite blogs or websites that everyone should check out?

Michelle: I have so many, it's too hard to narrow it down! Here are just two of my absolute favourites:
www.sandrajuto.blogspot.com - Sandra Juto is an amazing artist and I love her photos!
www.presentandcorrect.com - An amazing webshop full of stationery and vintage paper goods!

I  have to ask a totally random question, so here goes. If you won millions of dollars tomorrow, what would you do with your little business?

Michelle: I would be able to buy a little shop that would hold my prints, cards, softies and other products for people to buy. I'd have a flat above the shop with a separate huge room as my studio. My dream come true!

• • •     • • •     • • •     • • •

I hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know Michelle! You can find more of her and her plush and illustrations here:  Portfolio ♥ Blog ♥ Shop ♥ Facebook ♥ Twitter

Canadian Plush Makers: Rousskine

Here's her photo where she won first prize Presence of the Fondation du Cégep du Vieux Montreal

 
I came upon Dominique's blog when she found mine! She makes the cutest handmade knitted dolls! They're like little people and animals. I love the patterns inter-weaved in the solids, like fancy Canadian wooly sweaters you love to look at, but hate to wear (cause they're so prickly).

I first saw her at the coveted Salon des métiers d'arts here in Montreal in December. It's a HUGE event full of artisans who make their own product, and display them for a month in this expo. It's stupidly expensive (can be as expensive as $9000 for a booth) and you have to supply it all... lights, supports, walls, shelves, everything! It's an event which requires helpers and a truck (or car).

Anyway, she hand knits everything. I love her different looks, the little details, and the quality of her work. She studied textile arts at the Cégep du Vieux Montréal.

Here's a picture of the before, where she has her knitted object all laid out, eyes are being sewn on, and it's ready to be assembled:

I didn't know they were knitted in the flat and then sewn together! It totally makes for an easier project.

I asked Dominique a few questions about her process...

Q: Do you knit your dolls with needles, or a machine? I know you say it's hand knit, but is it really!? And if so, then WOW!

A: It's machine knitted! Oh my, I would never have the patience to knit all that with needles. I say by hand because it's a domestic machine, hand operated, it doesn't knit all by itself.

Q: how long does one doll take you to do from start of knitting, to the end with the stuffing and closing?

A: Hmm how long it takes is a very good question. The problem is, i never make one at a time, i make them in series, and well rarely time myself. Technically it takes 15 minutes to knit a small doll. And then i would say it takes 20 to 30 minutes to do the rest, but that's just a approximation.


Here's a peek at a few of her finished creations:

The owl, and the little one. The mama is wearing shoes!

Orange and blue, and just one eye, cause the hair's sweeping over. I think this one's a girl. :) She has a flower in her hair.

No post is complete without a kitty, and now you could own your very own Rousskine knitted cat.

This is a really cute bear, who's also wearing shoes. The best part is the belly band with the great pattern!

Visit her:  Blog  Facebook  Etsy

Well I wish this girl loads of luck in starting her business. Although I don't think she'll have too many problems! :) I did a little Google search of her, and found some stuff about her. Her school's done a good job getting her noticed in Montreal. :) Plus, her stuff is super original and cuddly!

It's Tuesday...Now What?

For the past few weeks I've been wracking my brain at what to blog about. I know a few people like the woman who writes the Dainty Squid actually keeps a blogging journal, and I'm starting to think that might be a good idea. She has weekly things, like Monday she talks about nails, Tuesday she'll talk about things she likes? I don't really pay that much attention, but I know she does things weekly. I'm starting to think I should too. This way I'll know what to talk about. :-)

Honestly there hasn't been anything exciting happening this month, hence the lack of posts. As a plush creator, I don't create 1 new unique doll every few days like some of the part timers I've seen on Facebook. I have my set, and I just remake those when I need to. Occasionally if I buy new fur (like last month), I will have a few new ones, but they might end up my regular monsters if they sell.

Here's a new monster I did yesterday for a customer. She lives in Australia, and she's my first Aussie customer. It's very exciting. This monster was made, and then my customer had asked me to make it with a happy face, so I kept this one hoping to find her a nice home. My Facebook fans have named her Cherry.

Cherry the pink monster

• • • •

Alright, so on to today's subject. It's Tuesday. Tomorrow I have a 15 minute presentation at 4 pm of my business plan in front of this committee. I'm to sell myself and my project to them, to hopefully win this grant so I can grow my business. I haven't even started working on my presentation, and it's already 11:30 am.  I should really make breakfast (yeah, I know it's late but I haven't been sleeping well this week) and get cracking on this. I honestly don't want to do this, but I do want the money.

The biggest thing I need to do is advertising to get people to my new store on Big Cartel It's not like Etsy at all. Big Cartel is for professional artists to sell their products. Etsy is a community, and an expensive one at that (one I'm trying to move away from cause it's making me poor). Currently I have 3 Facebook ads circulating the world of Facebook, and I've managed to get over 100 fans in a week which is great, but how many of those people will actually buy something from me? I need to reach even more people. So money is what I need.

I'm really hoping that tomorrow's presentation will go well. I always get nervous in front of people. Wish me luck for this...


• • • •

So there are people out there who blog regularly. They do posts like "What I wore..." and I find that kind of funny. It's funny to know that people reading these blogs like this. Nothing wrong with that, don't get me wrong, it's just funny. So I want to do a quick entry entitled....

What I Didn't Wear

Today I didn't wear my brown suede boots, my Levi Silver jeans with all the funky patches, a stylish t-shirt and a really comfy sweater.

----

I tend to work at home, and I don't feel like I should dress up to sit down and sew or cut fur. But yesterday I did go out to buy more felt, and I did wear most of what I mentioned above, except take away the suede boots and replace them with black and red plaid Rocketdog boots.

(I'd add photos, but it's so hard to photograph one's self without a tripod).


• • • •

As a closing statement, I'd like to post something cute. Of course it'll be of my boys, the kitties. :)

Littleone is sitting on said suede boots. I find this cute when he does this.

This is Squeak's favorite couch spot for relaxing.

I bought some pesticide-free cat nip, and Littleone just went crazy for it (he's currently rolling around in it). Squeak thinks this stuff is no good and would prefer the stuff with pesticides. What a weirdo.

This is Squeak's sitting time. He comes up here at night and will sit like this before lying down for a nap.

Have a great Tuesday!

PS: I would love suggestions of what you'd like to read about in upcoming posts. Maybe I can do joke posts like "What I would be wearing if I went out today" or something. Hahaha

48 Hours Left until the Giveaway

Just a little reminder that the giveaway is 2 days away, and is ending on March 24th at midnight!!

A little recap of what you could win! :)

 

 

To win, all you have to do is comment on the original blog post for MARCH GIVEAWAY

You can increase your chances of winning if you follow my blog (and comment that you have), and the same with Facebook and Twitter. If you blog about my giveaway and post the link, that's yet another entry. 

On Sunday, March 25th I will be announcing the winner via my blog, as well as on Facebook and Twitter. You will have to send me a private email with your full name and address, and I will have you send me the shipping cost via PayPal.

Good luck everyone!!