WTS Creatures

2011 wrap up; 2012 hi-yah!

2012-01-30T17:40:00.000-08:00

First off: Happy Holidays, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Festivus and Happy New Year. Its 2012 where are the flying cars and why don't I have a condo on the moon?

Since we unfortunately didn't get into Holiday Handmade we thought that our November/ December was gonna be pretty relaxed: sip some egg-nog, bake some cookies, sing some yada yada...WRONG! December 15th was the deadline for 6 plush versions of video game characters from Backflip Studios newest game AAAND the deadline for plushie versions of DISH Network's new DVR system: The Hopper. I'm gonna try and do this in chronological order so lets get started:

Denise did most of the video game character plushies and I helped make one. Which is basically a rag doll of sorts. Here it is all in pieces.

Here it is magically sewn together.

Ta-dah! You can see the other characters in our facebook photos.

One day I was at work and the people I work with were all like,

"Hey ricky you make, like, stuffed, like animals. Do you think you could make one from the two DISH "Hopper" logos?"

And I was all,

"Well how do you want me to make them. Like a pillow or with more depth?"

And they were all,

"Make it both ways."

So I did.

Much testing ensued. First I was trying out sizes and how to get the ears and arms right for the pillow. You may have seen this picture briefly on facebook. I had to take it down because of a non-disclosure agreement. Opps!

I built a full prototype to make sure it all worked ok before doing the final.

This is for the 2nd Hopper logo aptly named the "Joey" logo (Joeys are baby kangaroos)

The pillows came together easier than I expected and I'm very happy with the result. The white highlights I glued on with fabric glue. It looked nicer and cleaner than trying to sew them on. Final Hopper logo pillow:

Final Joey logo pillow:

Next was making the logo version with more "depth"; 3 dimensional if you will. This took more testing. Luckily I came across a picture of an old stuffed animal pattern online that planted this seed in my head. The problem was the arms looked like little chicken wings and the head was on backwards.

So I refined it and brought back the ears from the pillows. I sewed the head on separately and sewed the arms into the seams. I actually made foam wrapped wire "bones" for the legs which gave it great support, but didn't work with the final Kangaroo so I took them out.

This is the "3D" Joey pattern 'bout to get sewn up.

The Joey nub that sits in the pocket of the 'roo.

Final "3D" Joey and Hopper Logos. Again I put the white details on with fabric glue. The pillows and these version were give to the client as gifts. They had no idea we were doing this and were pleasantly surprised.

Speaking of pleasantly surprised. This is Natasha and the skull pillow I've been promising her for 20 years. This was the first custom gift of 2012! Play a trumpet if you've got one. Toot! Toooot! Toooot!

Big things in 2012 people! More custom creations! More new designs and hopefully flying cars.

Don't forget you can find us at the I (heart) Denver store at the Denver Pavilions and at Fresh Soap Company up in Breckenridge.

In the immortal words of Chris Rose, "Have Fun!"

Popcorn & Candyland

2011-12-03T19:28:00.000-08:00

With the craft show season over, we thought we'd be able to rest and take it easy. But the gods of plush had different plans for us.

5 more Buster Bears:

We got into a new store. This time in Breckenridge at Fresh Soap. So when you're up in the Summit go check them out. They have the best smelling and most creative handmade soaps.

In other news. We're finishing up plush versions of video game characters from a Backflip Studio's game. Also we're working on a top secret plush version to a certain satellite company's as of yet unreleased DVR system. More pictures when they're available.

In the immortal words of Chris Rose, "Have fun."

Art By Craft-a-rat-a-tat-tat

2011-10-13T09:24:00.000-07:00

So last weekend was Art By Craft: part art show and part craft fair. WTS didn't contribute to the art show portion but we represented hard at the craft show. There were a lot of familiar faces and it was a great time! If you made it out you know it was a very eclectic mix of creative wares: clothes, jewelry, plushies, art, hats, soap, hamburgers, hotdogs.... Ok no hamburgers or hotdogs but there was a lot of cool stuff.

The foot traffic was a bit slow, which I'm going to blame on the Denver Marathon: Most of the major thoroughfares were blocked so traveling thru the city was a debacle. Regardless WTS Creatures had fun. And isn't that all that really matters?

(I apologize in advance for the blurry phone pictures)

WTS "reppin" hard. We were snug in between Bitter o'Clock (in background) and Paisley Bird (not pictured)

This is the first time we've been at a show and we couldn't put all the stock we brought on the table. CAUSE THERE WAS TOO MUCH OF IT! HUZZAAAH!

Yellow Yorg and friends.

Looking down toward the end of our row of crafty crafters. Paisley Bird on the right. Boo yah!

Another shot of the crafty crafters.

Bitter o'Clock and her awesome assortment of crocheted hats.

what! what!

Jennifer Ghormley hard at work as Kurt from Swear Jar Design watches happily.

Beth of Betinworks trying to convince Jenn that she needs to zazz up her wardrobe with a few hand made items. And Jenn is thinking about it. "hmmmm."

Close-up on Beth's dioramas cut into books. NEAT!

And last but not last Banana Creme Instant Pudding exclusively from Clinical Nutrition Center. I'm pretty sure its gourmet 'cause of the accent on the "e" in "Creme".

So there you have it folks. We met new friends(Nicole @ Marmalade Creations and Jesi @ Hip Violet), saw crafts, made smiles, enjoyed art and then there was the banana creme pudding (oh man!). Thanks also to Brett from Vital Industries for helping with the show and for...well....being Brett.

This is WTS' last craft show for the season but I assure you that we won't go dark. The lights will still be on as we toil away making custom creatures for everyone and there mothers.

You can see more pictures from this show and past shows as well as a back log of custom work we've done on our facebook. Get into it and Have fun!

Fall Horseshoe Market

2011-10-03T05:49:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the last Horseshoe Market of the season. It is the largest event we've ever done with over 100 crafters and food vendors! That's like a little village of artsy craftsy goodness living on french fries, pizza and pulled pork sandwiches! The market, the day and the people we're all great! Next year you should definitely check it out!

Now let's go to the slides to see if we can relive the magic that is WTS Creatures at the Fall Horseshoe Market:

Our load in was at 6:45 in the morning, over 2 hours before the event started! No doubt it was earlier but it was great to have enough time to set everything up without feeling like we were under the gun.

Here's the always lovely Denise with the full set up as the sun still rises.

A mere fourth of the Horseshoe Market but still packed with the great vintage and craft goods they're known for.

This little guy didn't know where to start when he walked into our tent. He was shocked into the mumbles and couldn't decide if he wanted to go left or right. Grabbing two Connie Ceptuses, he seemed content with his selection and appeared to be thanking us and assuring himself of how right they felt in his grasp.....before he tried to walk out of the tent. His Mother stepped in, talked him down and made him choose between the two. Here you see a very happy, yet still bewildered, customer.

WTS was snug between the unique handmade stylings of Sister Hipster's tent on the right. And jeweler extraordinaire Maria Sorenson to the left. Both great artists and nice people. Check them out!

This is the tent of our friends, Vital Industries. They have a store front/ workshop at 41st and Tennyson, where they create great hand screened apparel and glass wear. Notice Brett on the right helping this nice lady. Let's listen in on their conversation that I just made up:

Lady, "If my arm was glass could screen stuff on it"

Brett, "umm...yes?"

Lady, "OK, what if it was a shirt. Like, I had a shirt for an arm. Could you still do it?"

Brett, "Yes, most definitely."

Lady, "Super!"

We got coffee and a smoothie at the Cozy Bean. The coolest coffee mobile ever! It's crazy and ingenious how they fit all that machinery into that VW bus!

The view over Finch's shoulder during a lull in the day.

Yummy hand-cut french fries from NZ's Smoking Guns food truck. The were both salty and sweet with a hit of garlic maybe(?) So good!

A glamour shot of yours truly.

The end till next Spring.

The Horseshoe Market was such good fun. We got a lot of compliments on our creations as well as our new display. WTS Creatures hopes to get in again next year. As always, the people and other vendors we met were all very nice. And you should check out everyone I talked about in this here blog.

The holidays are just about to start and WTS has got some great ideas planned so always check back here and our facebook to see what's a brewin'. Have FUN!

Sweet William Market

2011-09-25T16:21:00.000-07:00

Sweet William Market was this past Saturday and it was a beautiful day. Held in Stapleton, It seems we really lucked out with the weather. The previous markets fell on some swelteringly hot days.

The day was a bit slow but we met some good people and the creatures were played with by packs of rabidly fun children on numerous occasions. Good times. Now on to the pictures.

Here is a great shot of Denise modeling in our new tent set up. Notice the keen handmade "WTS" banner thwarting the suns rays behind her. Although you can not tell in this picture, the table display, to the left, sports some fancy baskets "overflowing" with Sumis and LockJaws. Plus the "WTS Tower" is look particularly smashing. The "piece de resistance" is the brand new "WTS Cubby-Comb", (I just made that name up..right now)! Let's go in for a closer look.

Ah, The "WTS Cubby-Comb". Where to begin? Well, its made from only the finest cardboard concrete tubing mold and lovingly spray painted with only the finest colors. Everything is held together with shiny wing nuts, washers and bolts. A lot of people were asking us about it and that is no lie. The "Cubby-Comb" needs a little fine tuning but its function and appeal are straight A's. WTS might become cardboard cabinet makers yet!
Come see us next weekend: October 1st, at the Horseshoe Handmade Market to gaze upon the new "WTS Cubby-Comb" and to say Hi. Its the last Horseshoe of the season so come on out!

Sweet Williams Market - September 24th: 9am - 2pm

2011-09-19T14:59:00.000-07:00

Sweet Williams market is this weekend! You should totally come out, 'cause its gonna be totally awesome! We've been telling everyone at Sweet Williams all about you guys so you gotta make it out. There's gonna be food and music and WTS CREATURES! (cue guitar solo)

Craftin' Carnival

2011-09-13T15:24:00.000-07:00

Like, Whoa. WTS Creatures has been jet setting around the globe and making more of your favorite plush creatures. "Busy" is the word i'm looking for. The one(1). The two(2). and it don't stop.

The past weekend was Denver's very first "Craftin' Carnival". WTS Creatures was lucky enough to join in on this nice event filled with laughter, free cotton candy and many people eating free cotton candy. Lets go to the slides to get a feeling of what was experienced:

the glorious signage proudly displayed on Work Brite's exterior.

Denise getting ready to tell anyone who will listen about WTS Creatures. Notice our new handmade banner? Yeah its new and we made it.

The view of the room. A small but eclectic group of crafty crafters and artists.

Different angle of the room. Here you see Zshanna Kristoff (next to the women in black). A very nice person and talented artist. She draws animals, ladys and hands very well. To the left you can see the delicious free cotton candy.

Free cotton candy and the ladyz who make it.

Cate and Caryn in Cowboy Boots with Cotton Candy.

We were between the free cotton candy and a both that sold middle school kids art. All the kids showed up to see their art and then noticed the free cotton candy. It was all over from there. This picture doesn't do the the mayhem or mob action justice that overcame the cotton candy machine. I saw one small girl eat 9 cotton candy cones. Her mouth was crusted with blue sugar. I think she has diabetes now:(

Anyway. WTS Creatures had a great time! We met new and interesting people and artists as usual and we got to see children gorge themselves on spun sugar. Till next time. Beep Boop Bop Bee Boop.

Awwwwww:)

2011-07-09T22:22:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not know, WTS Creatures started off by doing only custom work. We brought to life the drawings of children.....actually only 2 children. Eventually we created our own cast of characters and "the rest is history".

Denise and I are always quick to say that we do custom work when ever we are doing "business". Unfortunately, it seems that, regardless of the enthusiasm that people express about a custom endeavor they never go thru with it.

Until now!

In the past couple months we've been brought a couple collaborative projects from friends and more recently a new friend.

We met Jeffrey and his family: Amy and Sandoval at the last Project Hello. Jeffrey was impressed with our designs and jumped at the chance for us to create something personal for him. He actually drew up a creature design for us right there. It. was. Awesome.

Jeffrey wanted us to make a cactus monster for his son, Sandoval. According to these specifications:

This is what we made:

And this is Sandoval with his new cactus monster:

I know, right?

Thank you Jeffrey for this wonderful opportunity. Hopefully we can get more people to come to us with there custom designs.

In other custom news: We are making 5 more Buster Bear designs for Alex Bradley Cohen out of Chicago. Here's the pile of patterns that need sewing:

We have some other custom designs and a couple new designs that you can look forward to very soon.

Have Fun!

Project Hello 2011 recap

2011-06-26T12:33:00.000-07:00

June 25th 2011 will go down in history as one of the most fun times in Denver EVER! Project Hello at Redline gallery was such a great time! The gallery was the perfect place to have such a fantastic event. And there was so much to see and do! Project Hello out did itself this year, can't wait till next year!

So for those of you who missed it, this is a little recap somethin' somethin' of all that went down.

represent represent!

So as you may or may not know, Denise and I made our largest creature to date for this event. We enlarged dear old Finch here to over 7x his regular size! For our part of the "introduction" theme of Project Hello, we introduced people to giant Finch and took their pictures with him. The pictures were printed and given to the people as a gift so they could never forget Finch, WTS or Project Hello.

There were a lot of great creatives who turned out some awesome "interactivities." Fun for the whole family (note family in picture)

There were poets and story tellers with words to listen to...

...things to color with new friends, Block printed shirts made right in front of you...

...comic books being drawn as you watched and group art projects(behind dude)...

..as well as live music. And thats only half of it!

I apologize for not being able to truly justify how fun Project Hello was in the above photos. That being said here are some of our most favorite images that we took. (click to enlarge)

Denise and I printed well over 70 pictures, which, for the most, were taken home by some very happy customers. We look forward to Project Hello next year and hopefully we'll be a part of it again. Now that we have a knack for the giant plushie we'll have to figure out how we can out do ourselves.

Have Fun!

- Denise and Ricardo

WTS is Larger Than Life

2011-06-21T17:22:00.000-07:00

First things first, Project Hello is this Saturday from noon - 7pm at Redline Gallery. WTS will be there and we hope you will be there too.

With that being said, Here's a little sneak peak at what we've been working on for this year's installment of Project Hello.

We had some 72 sq feet of giant creature pattern printed up and then took it home, traced it onto over 11 yards of fabric, cut it out and pinned it together.

Then we set up our dueling sewing machines and got to work stitching this bad beast together.

Then I (Denise) got clever and decided to wear the skin of our very large creature ... trying to get an idea of what it'd look like stuffed ... with a human. Everyone keeps asking us, "how much stuffing did it take to stuff that thing?" and the answer is, not very much at all. In fact, our giant creature is pretty light weight considering it's size.

We built a chicken wire frame and covered it with 1 inch thick batting ... it feels nice and soft, and yet it's hollow for the most part.

The whole of making a giant creature has been more like constructing a building or performing surgery more than it has been like making a creature, like we usually do. It's not quite finished just yet so if you want to see the finished creature you'll have to come to Project Hello and meet it,and get your picture taken with it, and have a good time.

In other news, WTS Creatures was commissioned to work with artist, Buster Bear, out of Chicago. He submitted the following sketch.

And Ricardo turned out the following WTS+Buster Bear Creature

I'm going to let those photos do the talking (it's pretty great, huh?)
Whereever you may be in the world, keep your eyes peeled for WTS creatures. You never know when they'll start turning up in your neighborhood ... perhaps in the form of a custom creature, or one of our many classic designs ... or maybe A GIANT CREATURE DANCING IN THE STREETS!

Hope to see you all this Saturday at Project Hello. Until then, Goodbye!

There and Back Again

2011-06-05T21:23:00.000-07:00

Last week was most exciting for us two WTS Creature makers.

First of all we took a road trip out to Seattle.

We were there for only a day and a half, but while we were there we met some great Seattle crafters and got brought up to speed on the craft scene out west. The hotel we were staying at was right next door to a little craft shop called "Shmancy". We spent some time in there chatting and checking out all of the great plush work that filled the store. If you are a fan of plush, art, crafty goodness or just all around fun, we highly suggest you take a peak at their website: www.schmancytoys.com, and if you are ever in Seattle take a minute to drop by and say hello.

Of course, nothing beats home though. We got back to Denver and our first order of business has been to get our creatures back out to all of our friends and fans where they belong. Keep your eyes peeled because, soon, very soon, the newest, latest and greatest installment of WTS Creatures will be up in our Etsy store ... and as usual, in stores around town.

Also, if you haven't heard, WTS Creatures will be at Project Hello again, and this year we're doing it real big. Please say hello on June 25, 2011 at RedLine in Denver, and check out the Project Hello blog and facebook page for updates and a list of all of the great artists you'll see at this year's show.

If you want to see some great art before project hello, go check out the microclimates exhibition.

We went to the opening night events at the super ordinary gallery, and as you can see from the picture, it was awesome.Rob Mack and Samuel Schimek have done it again.

That's all from this corner of the world. WTS Forever!

So many things to do and so little time.

2011-05-24T09:25:00.000-07:00

As the saying goes "When it rains it pours."

A lot of things have been happening and coming into our little WTS world. Big things! Brilliant things!

But first things first: Create Denver Week(which was, like, last last week)

Create Denver Week was the launching of our new pet toy line! Thursday night(May 12th) was the opening party of the whole "week" and a lot of people came out. If you made it out you know how busy it was. Matt Scobey did a great job of building the space and Brian Corrigan did a nice job with over seeing the entire Create Denver Week. WTS Creature "represented" on Thursday and Friday for the symposium and the projection. These photos are from both of those nights:

Denise poses before the place gets packed.

Matt Scobey(with bike hat) amongst is interactive sculpture.

The Vatican sent their best(DJ Savior Breath) to lay down the beats to move our feets.

We're stoked on the new sign that Matt made for us. Thanks Matt!

Thursday crowd.

Cello slaying.

Happy confused people. There wasn't any signage available to explain what our toys were but it was all good.

Friday night.

Denise after the symposium on the 9th floor of the Spire building.

The symposium posed the question "How will technology shape tomorrow's new economy?" There were 3 panels totaling 17 professionals to answer this question. They were all very interesting but not one of them answered the question. Hahaha.

The "3D Projection Showcase" on a wall of the Opera House. A handful of visual artists animated the wall in their own ways to music and then the "film" was projected over the wall. The projection made the wall "come alive". It was very cool and something I hadn't ever seen before.

WTS Creatures is no longer at Mod Livin' but we are at the latest and greatest store for all things Colorado made:

The I (heart) Denver Store is in the Denver Pavilions right across from where the YesPleaseMore store front was. Get into it.

In other news: We got accepted to this years Project Hello! It will be on June 25th at Redline. Save the date because we are gonna unveil something BIG!

Also we've been contracted for some custom work! One for a video game company and another for Chicago artist, Alex Bradley Cohen. Both endeavors will hopefully lead to a line of collaborative stuffies for both parties.

That's all folks!

The 1. The 2 and it don't stop.

2011-05-10T18:53:00.001-07:00

Whoa! Long time no see. Things have been all sorts of crazy in the world of WTS Creatures. You may or may not have notice that our Etsy store is on "vacation". Currently we have all of our stock in actual stores: Tomte Craft, a pop-up shop in Stapleton and Mod Livin(but only till this weekend!). Denise and I are in the midst of creating more of your favorite plushies so we can get the Etsy store back up and running. We are also unveiling a new line of creatures! But I'll get into that a little later.

The craft season is upon us and we're waiting to hear back from a couple art/ craft fairs still. Hopefully we can get out there so we can see all your happy smiling faces!

This past Saturday was a beautiful warm Denver day. The perfect day to go visit our friends at Tomte Craft! Crystal and Beth showed off the new dye printed shirts they're making which are very cool and very limited. We talked world travels, crafts and the crazy things you can find in rural America.

From Tomte we head over to the this:

This was the first Horseshoe Market of the season. The next one is in August. WTS Creatures will be doing it in October. Brett from Tomte Craft/ Vital Industries was there as well as a lot of other familiar faces. Familiar faces like Roxanne from Paisley Bird! We hadn't seen her since Christmas time so it was nice to catch up. Check out her sweet hand fired glass jewelry and night lights.

Jennifer Ghormley(below right) was also there. We hadn't seen her since the Winter months either. Horseshoe was like a reunion of sorts. It was great! From the looks of this picture you'd never guess that it was 85 degrees out...you know?........cause they're so cool.....Right? Right? Anyway. Make sure you check out the next Horseshoe Market on August 6th.

So I'm pretty sure I mentioned this in the last post from way back in April but WTS Creatures are stepping into the pet toy arena! Dog and cat toys will be added to the list of plushie wares we create and you better believe they're true to WTS style.

From top to bottom: StarChild, Uno and Sugar. Made with durable, washable materials, triple stitched at the seems and have a squeeker inside for dog to be entertained eternally! The unveiling of these new toys will be this Thursday, May 12 at the launch of Create Denver Week. From 7pm-10pm at the Spire Building come hang out with us and other creatives as they also unleash their new wares at the Opening Night Celebration of New Ideas! This event is to introduce our new things to the public so we won't be selling our toys per say. There is going to be a lot of awesome and creative things going on this weekend so GET INTO IT.

And thats not all, later this summer WTS Creatures is going to be "teaching" a Plush Creatures 101 "class" at the SUPER OUT OF THE ORDINARY KIDS SUMMER WERKSHOPS! Tran Wills of Fabric Lab and Super Ordinary Gallery fame, asked us to be a part of this awesome endeavor. Thanks Tran! We are very excited about this.

If you live in Denver please come visit us at the Spire Building this Thursday and Friday! Plus follow the links of our creatively inspiration friends.

And remember: Have FUN!

-Ricardo

Spring is in the air!

2011-04-13T10:11:00.000-07:00

OHMAGOODNESS!

It has been way too long since we've updated you on the happenings. A million apologies!

WTS Creatures will be in Mod Livin' until May 15th. If you haven't been there to check out our sweet display Get Into it! Also, Tomte Craft on 41st and Tennyson is another great place to find our wares. That shop is rad and you should go.

Recently Denise moved into a new apartment so WTS Creatures as been uprooted and re-rooted. This is part of the reason we've been quiet on the blog front. Now that the dust has settled we're gonna start the machines a runnin'. Expect some great new things!

In other news: Denver Art Week is on May 12 - 15 . WTS Creatures is participating in the launch party, on May 12th, with a new "product". The party is gonna be in the new Spire building in downtown Denver. This is going to be a very exciting event! There will be a lot of interesting and artistic things to see and do so don't miss out! We'll be giving hints as to what the new product is but don't be surprised at how wonky and awesome its going to be. Ha!

Have fun!

Denver By Design

2011-03-14T20:56:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday was the opening of Denver By Design's pop-up store at Mod Livin'. It was a magical night with lottsa of good people, good friends and cup cakes.

This is the DJ and cupcakes. The cup cakes were spinnin' some heavy beats and the DJ just kinda stood there.

MMMMMMMM Cupcakes! MMMMMMMMMMM!

I ate one!

I believe this is Anya and Jackson: two of WTS Creatures newest and biggest fans! They couldn't get enough of the our display. It was great. Jackson, the kind brother, bought himself and his sister LockJaws. Awwwww right? So nice!

Peoples.

The packed house. All the designers, including yours truly, had to tell everyone about themselves and their designs. It was a bit nerve wrecking but apparently we did good. With the help of Jackson and Anya modeling their LockJaws, we pulled it off.

The fashion show inspired by Mod Livin's furniture.

The evening went off very well. We met new people and made new fans. It was a great night. There was a very eclectic mix of designs: from furniture to photography, jewelry, drawings, fashion and, of course, plushies. The Denver By Design pop-up shop will be up until May, I believe. If you get a chance you should definitely check it out.

Can You Feel The Excitment In The Air?

2011-03-09T17:55:00.000-08:00

If you've been following us over the last month, you may have noticed that we have been hard at work building a new display, installing it and loading it up with creatures over at Mod Livin', located at 5327 E. Colfax Ave. Denver, CO 80220.

You may have asked yourself, why haven't more furniture stores started selling WTS Creatures? The answer is: Mod Livin' isn't just any furniture store, from now through May Denver By Design has a shop that has "Popped Up" right in the middle of the showroom floor.

Brace yourself cause this next part will probably knock your socks right off. This upcoming Saturday, March 12th, From 6-9 pm WTS Creatures and all of the other fantastic creators that are part of Denver By Design, along with the folks at Mod Livin', will be having a "Grand Opening" kick off party. We sure hope to see you all there!!

Get to Mod Livin' this Saturday and check out some of the new WTS Creatures, like Finch, Star Del Face and the designer Sumi Pillows and of course some of the WTS Creatures regulars.

YES PLEASE MORE Last Day Sale!

2011-02-23T19:09:00.000-08:00

Check it. Don't wreck it.

No Pictures

2011-02-23T14:30:00.000-08:00

This is the last month that the pop-up store Yes Please More will be open. This weekend there is a big sale and saturday there will be a closing party of sorts. Come by, visit, buy some WTS Creatures and other great crafts. Watch us get the $500 we won and be happy. Thank you Brian and Samuel for the great opportunities AND for being the best, nicest guys around.

Don't forget that we are on display at Mod Livin' in their Denver By Design pop-up store. Check out the sweet display we made and some of our newest designs.

The days are getting longer and warmer! Craft fair season is upon us. Be on the look-out for WTS Creatures and your favorite crafty markets.

Pizza Pie!

-Ricardo and Denise

Mod Livin'

2011-02-14T13:16:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day everybody! What better way to say "I heart you" than with a WTS Creature.

(ahem)

So remember when I was telling you about getting invited into Mod Livin's Denver By Design pop-up store? And how we were building a display for it? No? Yes? Yes. We'll we finished it this past Saturday along with a slew of new creatures and pillows. That night we boldy walked into Mod Livin' and set it all up. Check it out:

Initially we thought we were going to stack the cabinets on top of each other but that all changed when we arrived at Mod Livin'. All the designers were going to be in an upstairs room until the curator decided to put everyone out in the open on the floor.

Detail shot of Sumi and Finch..

Ginger and The Strongman just "hanging around>" HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (get it?)

Detail of the opposite side.

The lovely Denise posing well with our sweet display.

The "soft launch" is tomorrow February 15th and there will be a big opening March 12th. Go in and check it all out at Mod Livin' on Colfax. Buy a WTS Creature/ pillow, some furniture and be happy!

A-Team

2011-02-10T12:38:00.001-08:00

February 15th marks the opening day of Mod Livin's Denver by Design Pop-Up shop. We are very excited for a such a grand event but there is no time to sit and ponder such glory. Work is begging to be done! And so we invite you to join us on WTS's journey through constructing our first store display:

The WTS Creatures display will consist of two shelving units stacked on each other. It will be about 6 feet tall with a shower rod protruding from the side of the top shelf. We are replacing one side of the shelves with painted plexiglass. The glass will have "windows" in the shape of a "W", "T" and "S" stenciled vertically down the side. Does that make any sense?

Here Denise is scoring the plexiglass so we can break it. Hi-yah!

Then I look awkwardly at the camera before i start drilling the holes for the screws.

Drill. Drill. Drill.

From the shower rod we are hanging 3 baskets which will be filled with stuffies. Denise is making these baskets from resin soaked fabric.

The doctor is ready.

Squish. Squish. Resin. Resin.

This is the bottom part of the shelves. The shelf thats stacks on top of this will have WTS vertically painted in green, yellow and pink.

More to come on this epic build!

Announcements

2011-02-05T15:19:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody! We came through on our promise for new designs and excitement for 2011.
I've had the idea to make luchador pillows for a while and now I'm starting to get into it. I did some tweaks on the original idea and they're finally coming together. There will be at least 4 luchador designs with fun names like "Star Del Face" and "El Taco". This is something I'm really excited about and I hope are you too!

"Star Del Face"
These are the Yorg's that we've made so far. They will come in a rainbow of fruity colors.
This is "El Taco" before he gets stuffed.

The other day we went over to Mod Livin' on Colfax and next door at Deluxe Burger there was a squirrel clinging for is dear life! Apparently some douche with his terrier where terrorizing this poor little fellow. It was shaking and too scared to even move. Eventually we coaxed it down and the squirrel slowly walk away down the side walk. We made sure it didn't go into the street.
The reason we were at Mod Livin' is because they invited us to be apart of their pop-up store! We are very please and excited about this! If you've never been to Mod Livin' you really need to go cause they have a lot of really great vintage furniture and design elements for your home. Anyway, there's going to be some building on our part cause we have to come up with a proper display for the show. Right now, as far as we know, the show will have a "soft launch" on February 15th and will run for 3 months.
When we get more details we'll let you know; so be on the look out.

Beep!

2011-01-26T13:27:00.000-08:00

Everyone I'd like to introduce you to Beep. There is much discussion on what he/ she truly is but there is no denying how awesome Beep is.

There is also no denying that Beep has two heads and some short noodlie legs.

Beep was made for our friend Scott because without him WTS Creature wouldn't be here today.

This is Scott and Beep together at last. Happy birthday Scott.

Right now Beep is one of my favorite creatures! I'm so happy how it turned out that there will definitely be more. Beep might have cousin's or siblings with names like "Boop" and "Brrrring". The sky is the limit!! I don't know but i'm stoked on it. Hooray for Beep!!

Protype

2011-01-23T12:10:00.000-08:00

We're messing with some new and exciting ideas here at WTS Creatures.
This is an idea that I've had on my mind for a while: luchador pillows!
Introducing "Star Del Face"! I made his head especially large because when it sews up it basically shrinks.
This one has a mustache and crazy beady eyes. To me he turned out more French than Spanish and his head is kinda wonky. I don't mind the wonk but there's a time and a place. Regardless, so far so good.
Making perfectly round pillows is a bit tricky. I'm gonna go some more tweaks and tests before we push this out into the market. Expect more crazy luchador pillows like this. Have fun!
luv Ricardo

Introducing "Yorg"

2011-01-09T09:37:00.001-08:00

As with all our little creatures they start out as tiny seeds in our brains. Then the seed blossoms out of our skulls on to paper through our fingers. We pick the fabric, cut the patterns and as they say "the rest is becoming of the history."
This is the newest seed to blossom.

Introducing the first new WTS Creature of 2011: Yorg. He's got a cousin that likes to swim in a lake around Scotland.

late entries and the new year

2011-01-02T08:58:00.000-08:00

Its a brand new year and the holidays are finally over. (sigh)

Here are some highlights from the last days of 2010.

My cousin Este and Nicholas with Sumi on Christmas.

My mom with a custom pillow I made with the likenesses of my brothers and I. Notice the smile of happiness which comes with every WTS design ;)

Tomte Craft has a new location at 41st and Tennyson. Before the holidays they had a potluck gift swap with other great crafters. We swapped some glasses from Vital Industries and a handbag from Tutela. It was a great turn out with good food and friendly faces. Tomte Craft has yet to settle in its new home but everything should be tip-top at the beginning of February.

So that's more or less how WTS Creatures did Christmas in 2010. We were truly fortunate to have such great family and friends to share the spirit and cheer of the season with.

As for 2011, we've resolved to bring the world all sorts of new and exciting WTS creatures as well as keep on creating everyone's favorite creatures from 2010. There will be more craft fairs, more creatures and more fun in 2011 ... Stay posted and share in the fun and excitement that is WTS Creatures.

Denver! Denver!

2010-12-07T14:02:00.000-08:00

Whoa! Its been too long since we last chatted. I promise to do a better job of keeping you in the know as long as you promise to never stop being so wonderful. ha. great!

Between Halloween and the moment that I'm typing this there have been some pretty cool things going down.

First, we did a rather small craft fair in Littleton . It was quite eclectic and small and although not too lucrative, we DID meet some very nice people. Unfortunately I don't have any photos from this event so you'll just have to image Pterodactyls riding bikes and bears doing backflips with pink afro wigs on.

(ahem)

The second pretty cool thing is that Tomte is just as excited about WTS Creatures as we are! So now you can find our little friends on the modern craft shelves of their delightful store. We are really excited about this!

Currently they are located on Platte near 15th right now but are relocating to 41st and Tennyson. Depending on when you read this they might have already moved. December's first friday marked a sort of grand opening event to introduce everyone to Tomte's new space.

Considering it was the same night as Denver's parade of lights there was a really good turn out. Definitely check out their store or browse online cause the have a lot of great gift ideas.

This year was the first year that I attended the Fancy Tiger Holiday Handmade craft fair. Unfortunately WTS Creatures wasn't there with a table because we missed the deadline and it was very sad. Next year will be our time. Regardless it was a pretty awesome event. I attended Saturday kicking myself that we missed out on something so truly great. I visited with Sandra Fettingis and Roxanne of Paisley Bird, while crowds browsed their wares. This picture shows you the amount of crafty sellers and patrons as well as how neat the ballroom of the Sherman Street Event Center is.
In the short time that Denise and I have been enjoying WTS Creatures, we've met some incredibly talented and nice people in Denver's craft scene. Now "Scene" may be too pretentious a word but our experience has been nothing but positive. Going to the Fancy Tiger Handmade Event was excitingly inspirational. It makes me truly thankful to be a part of something so creative,positive and accessible. Walking amongst all those people made me want to go home and start sewing to create something new! I loved it. I think Denver's got it good here and I'm glad to be a part of it.

Don't forget Christmas is upon us! We're going to be flooding etsy with more fun and colorful creatures.

Ricardo

Art by Craft MCA Destruction

2010-10-31T10:31:00.000-07:00

Saturday the 30th of 2010 saw the destruction of the Denver MCA by WTS Creatures and other craft crazy vendors. We owned the night that day in the day. Good times were had by all.

This shot is of Denise closing up all the creatures we made the night before. We scrambled and made about 40 creatures in a week, finishing them up at 1am the night before.

They put most of the vendors in the lower level of the museum. Here is a great shot of the scene after the initial rush of patrons.

Oh look at there! Its a smiling Denise selling cute, cuddly WTS Creatures!

This is me just happy to be there. Tee hee.

This is what happens when you quickly cut some thread with scissors you think aren't sharp.

Craft fair casualty.

A basket of severed heads, made especially for Halloween. But we all know that severed heads are timeless so you'll be seeing more of these.

Denise saying "Well Hello! Welcome to WTS Creatures!"

This is our new friend Jennifer Ghormley. Jen is very nice and makes awesome art and handmade sketchbooks. Do yourself a favor and check out her work.

Jen's handmade sketch books.

The Art by Craft fair went off very well. We always look forward to meeting new people and connecting with creative people like Jen. WTS Creatures can't wait for the next event. Hopefully we'll see you there.

Exciting Things!!!

2010-10-26T21:35:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone! We're going to be at the Denver Museum of Contemporary Art on Saturday selling our lil' creatures. There's gonna be over 30 other crafty individuals along with us so come out and support. Its should be pretty fun.
Check this link to find out a little more:
LINK FOR FINDING OUT MORE ABOUT ART BY CRAFT AT THE MCA DENVER

Also, We here at WTS Creatures have applied for the $500 grant from
Yes Please More.
Its based on votes so the entrepreneur who gets the most votes gets the money. Could you imagine what we could do with all that cold hard cash?

..........(day dream montage)...........

Whoa. Anyway. Go here: CLICK ME and vote for us so we can take over the world. Thank you!

nice nice,

Ricardo and Denise.

YES PLEASE MORE

2010-10-09T13:33:00.000-07:00

Denise and I are proud to announce that WTS Creatures are a part of the newest inception of YES PLEASE MORE!! This pop-up store is located in the Denver Pavilions and showcases the best from some of Colorado's talented crafters and artists.

Our creatures seen from the window hanging out with the Horn Dribbles. In this photo at right you'll see Samuel and his silver shoes. He's one of the guys that makes this whole thing work.

The scene early in the night.

Lots of great stuff!

People stoked on all the great artistically crafted awesomeness.

See that lady right there? She's all "I'm stoked."

There was a DJ in front of the "Spread The Love" wall, spinning some hip and fresh beats. As well as a dance performance which was way too powerful for our camera to catch.

Look at this: two young chaps having a laugh! Ha Ha Ha Ha good on ya' boys!

Oh! what's that in the one chap's hands?

Why its LockJaw, a WTS Creature!

You can tell that all this man's dreams just came true. That's why the picture is so blurry.

I want one! I want one! I want one! I want one!

Brian and Denise. Brian is the other half of YES PLEASE MORE. Him and Samuel are very nice and we're honored to be apart of what they're doing.

Look at this guy checkin' out the merchandise. He's thinking "Ich liebe es."

Just in case you were wondering:

The grand opening of YES PLEASE MORE was a blast! Brian and Samuel are great guys and their excitement for Colorado made goods is genuine and contagious. It was nice to see people checking out our little friends and seeing familiar faces. If you're reading this and you haven't stopped by the store do yourself a favor and get into it!

A new friend & Parker Oktoberfest

2010-09-22T18:57:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for a lengthy post with lots of pictures? I bet you are! Ok. Ok. Calm down. Hold your applause and questions until the end.
So we are welcoming a new friend into the WTS family. This little creature's name is LockJaw or TMJ for short. Notice the one large googlie eye and somewhat floppy ears. It is quite a unique individual and would make the perfect best friend for anyone even your grandpa.
This is the pink albino LockJaw waiting to be stuffed.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Here we see Denise hard at work preparing for the fabled Parker Oktoberfest. These spools of exotic colored thread are just part of our creative arsenal here at WTS Creatures.
We busted out the second machine so we could operated like a well oiled machine of sewing uninhibitation.
I've finished the face on The King and some of his tentacles.
Here I am turning out the remaining King tentacles surrounded by my machine and a pile of pieces of other creatures.
This is The King before I turn him out. He is known as a "needle breaker" because is tentacles are so strong.
Tah-Dah! The King has been turned out and is waiting to be stuffed and closed.
Denise was in such deep work concentration that books and rocks were levitating around the room. It was crazy intense. I got hit in the neck.
Denise sewing Connie Ceptus' body up.
Connie, Peeter and Sumi waiting to be stuffed and closed. The Strongman just needs some closing and they all need their beloved suitcase tags.
* * * * * * * * *
Parker Oktoberfest!!!! Wilkommen!!!!
It was a very nice day with a couple wind spells but over all very pleasant. We were set up between Direct TV and the face painting lady. Both were very nice people.
The obligatory WTS Creatures set up picture.
These were the classically trained Oktoberfest dancers. Similar to the Solid Gold Dancers but with more zazz. (If you know what Sold Gold is then I've given away my age) Anyway. These fine Frauen und Herren burnt a hole in the asphalt dancing the only way the Deutsch know how: Dangerously.
The dynamic duo of accordion shredding. Keeping it real meine Freund.
Speaking of "keeping it real", here's yours truly holding it down WTS style.
The day went off without a hitch despite some windy conditions. We bought a couple steins and wondered why the Guardian Angels were so out of shape. We were rather disappointed that there were no pretzels at the Oktoberfest, but maybe that's just us. But, as usual, we met and experienced a lot of interesting people and brought smiles to the faces of children. It was nice to know that we were able to hold our own in a strange land without the visitation of people we knew.
Danke Oktoberfest! Danke Parker! Auf Wiedersehen!

The last Farmer's Market craft fair of the season.

2010-09-08T22:24:00.000-07:00

September 5th saw the end of the City Park Farmer's Market craft fair. (sigh) Moment of silence........ Its too bad there wasn't a craft fair every weekend with the farmer's market. A lot of people were asking, "are you gonna be here next weekend?" and we had to say "no." Isn't that sad? Regardless, we had a good deal day. The sun was shining. The birds were singing and the wind was blowing.

And we got to show off our new banner:

It was very sunny and although I looked pissed I'm really happy to be there. Really. No really.

This woman flew in from Las Vegas that morning cause she heard we had some fantastic new designs. The lady kept complaining about her arms. (get it? cause she "flew" in....aw jeez)

A basket full of TMJ or Lockjaw our newest little friend.

Denise and our secret master seller weapon from Chicago.
We introduced some of our creatures to new families, made new friends and acquired 2 watermelons, a cantaloupe and a bag of peaches. I don't know about you...but that's a pretty good day.

We are starting to work on some new designs, as well Denise as been making some pretty snazzy pin cushions. WTS Creatures is preparing for the Parker Oktober fest on September 18th. More information when we get it. Have a great day!

Labor Day Weekend !!

2010-08-28T15:47:00.000-07:00

Yes, we've been on hiatus for about a month now, but we're back, bigger and better than ever. We've got great new designs and some great bargains ... and we'll be showing all this greatness off at the Denver Handmade Craft Fair! Come on out for a great farmer's market and an even better craft fair on Sunday September 5th. Hope to see you all there!!

4th of July

2010-07-05T15:48:00.000-07:00

On the morning of the 4th of July WTS Creatures participated in the City Park Esplanade Fresh Market. The market is every sunday but the crafty portion of it is only ever 1st Sunday of the Month. Count on us being there for August and September.
The morning started out a bit chilly and overcast but ended up quite pleasant. Fortunately the rains didn't come till the evening.
The lovely Denise Teele standing by ready to answer any questions and sign autographs from eager customers.

We've built up out little friends in new and exciting colors and fabric that will soon appear on your etsy page.
This is our new an improved Strongman, definitely a crowd favorite. He is wearing a clean pair of tighty-whiteys and has a new style of mustache. I really like the way this guy turned out so you'll be seeing more of those wonderful underpants.
Unfortunately the market was only from 9 - 1pm so we didn't get a lot of time to meet as many people as we would have liked. Regardless it was a pleasant day and we got to meet more of our crafty peers from the Denver area. Check out Xoxi(So-She) Craft she makes awesome proper plush dolls, octopi and bags. Also get into the fantastic knit stylings of Knitschmidt she's magic with the knitting needles.

Crack Bang Pow ...

2010-07-02T07:19:00.000-07:00

No, that's not the sound of fireworks exploding overhead, that's the sound of WTS Creatures kicking some ass! Although, speaking of fireworks, that brings me to this Sunday... This sunday is the 4th of July! and WTS creatures will be celebrating by showcasing their wares at the Colorado Fresh Market at East High. We love visitors, and we think you will all love the fresh market. It's doesn't get much better than WTS creatures, good times and fresh veggies.

WTS Creatures Are Dancing In The Streets

2010-06-11T20:39:00.000-07:00

Yeah, it's been a while. There's good news and there's bad news.

The Good News:

We made our first sale to a local shop here in Denver CO ... Twist and Shout. We encourage you all to go check out our creatures. Twist and Shout is located at 2508 E. Colfax in Denver Colorado. Our creatures are located right inside the front door to the right of the cashier station. For all of you who can't find the time to go check out the awesomeness, we thought we'd give you a picture.WTS Creatures is so on top. :)

And now ...

The Bad News:

We still haven't won the lottery. Thanks to all of you who wrote into the United States lottery commission asking them to send Ricardo and I a couple of winning tickets. We really do appreciate it. Unfortunately, we recently found out that the lottery doesn't work that way. They will not just give away winning tickets...we think that's a bunch of phooey.

Denver Handmade Alliance has teamed up with the City Park Farmers Market and we'll be representing on July 4th 2010. Mark your calendars and tell you friends and family. It's gonna be a hoot!!

Project Hello = Project Success!

2010-05-09T07:32:00.000-07:00

This was the very first PROJECT HELLO and it was a lot of fun. The theme for the show was "introductions"; it was neat to see how artists would use their art to interpret this theme. We made new friends, ate tasty treats, saw great art and heard interesting soundscapes.

In this picture, Denise is creating tags for our creatures before the doors open.

A forest of WTS Creatures.
Just one of many new fans taking pictures of our creatures.
Next to us was Zach from Fancy Tiger. This was his first quilt which he had been working on for a month. People could sit with Zach under his massive quilt and he'd show them how to stitch. Zach is a great guy and you should visit him at Fancy Tiger craft store in Denver.
This is Jen. She got dupped into holding this glass ball until someone else came along and took it. This is a great way to meet people and soon it will take place of social websites and singles gatherings.
There were a lot of great visual artists at the show but we were only able to get photos of a few. Debbie Clapper draws awesome intricate patterns and designs. Debbie and her art are very nice and that is a winning combination in the WTS Creatures book:)
Rob Mack is another amazing artist, creating weathered looking illustrations of animals and such. Very cool.

Thank you Sandra for inviting us to be a part of such a fun event. Thank you to the kids that bought our fine stuffies. Thank you to all the great people we met. Project Hello was a success and we can't wait for the next one! Yippee!

Project Hello and George Raccoony

2010-05-01T15:26:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give to you the one and only George Raccoony, "The one who rubs, scrubs and scratches with its hands" the new WTS creatures mascot. We enjoy watching him dig for worms and scurry about in the backyard ... although we haven't seen him around lately. I think he's off to his summer home in France.
In other news, we here at WTS creatures are, as always, feverishly working round the clock to create the best creatures in all the land. Here's some insight into our process.

We trace and cut out patterns for our fanciful creatures. Ricardo, seen above, is working on "The Strong Man"
Once we have a plethora of patterns traced and cut out of a variety of soft and fluffy fabrics its time to sew them up and get them stuffed.

That's Ricardo again risking his delicate phalanges getting right up next to the perilously sharp needle of the sewing machine and stitching away.

So Sharp .... And Deadly!!

Another WTS creature almost complete. "The strong man" now awaits a bit of fluff and some closure.

Next Saturday, May 8th 2010, Project Hello, WTS creatures is representing!! And if I don't say so myself, it's just in time for Mother's Day. What mom wouldn't want a WTS creature for her very own? Exactly! Hope to see you all there.

Denise & Ricardo

Next Big Thing.

2010-04-21T20:33:00.001-07:00

This is the next project we're working towards. Check it out and tell your friends.

-Denise and Ricardo

Oh You, Crafty Ballyhoo!

2010-04-17T19:35:00.000-07:00

Today was a success by all means ... but we couldn't have done it without all of our loyal friends, family and fans. Thank you all for making today awesome. Now it's time for the thread and needle tattoos! For all of you who wished you were there but were unable to visit us, I would like to take a moment to give you a brief rundown of the days events :

9:30am - we set up our half of a 6 foot table. Looked pretty sweet, if i do say so myself.

11:00am - The Crafty Ballyhoo Market opens and hoards of craft lovers pour into the Flower Garage and begin to peruse all of the fine wares.

Throughout the day happy strangers and friends made the commitment to providing a new home to one of our very special WTS creatures. We were glad to see them go to such lovely people.

We shared our table with another Denver crafter named Roxanne. She made really neat cut & oxidized glass pendants. Denise purchased one ... teal glass with an image of a fixed gear bicycle on it. NEATO. Show our new friend Roxanne Some love and check out her great craft. www.paisleybird.com

7:00 pm - The end of the day. By the looks of our table, we cleaned up pretty good.

Peace Out D Town!!

Work. Work. Work.

2010-04-15T21:31:00.000-07:00

We've been happily slaving away getting ready for Saturday. We've got a good inventory of Connie Ceptuses, The King and Peeter:

Denise working on some new creatures.

Patterns yet to be finished.

Materials for decoupaging and the "work station".

One more day to get everything ready.

OMG! WTS is on tha scene!

2010-04-14T22:05:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the first blog post for WTS Creatures! Amazing isn't it? I know...right?..Who knew?

Its Wednesday night and we've been crafting all week. WTS Creatures is getting ready for Denver's "Crafty Ballyhoo."

We are super excited to hangout with other inspired crafters all day Saturday. Word on the street is there's a crazy cake making contest, a cake walk and a latte' pouring contest! Plus swag bags and crafty how-tos. Did we mention its free? Its going to be INSANITY PEPPERS!!! (thats a good thing)

You can expect the bestest, most cutestest, cuddle-friendly, baby-lovin, fun-huggin', party-pluggin', rug-cuttin' creatures on display for y'all. As well as some of the hip to the hippity hip hop you don't stop stationary woodblock printed handmade envelopedy boogedy beat.

Hope to see you there!!

Denise & Ricardo