Off the Shop: So you've had a vasectomy!

A friend's husband had a vasectomy.

This occasion needed to be celebrated by something that I will likely never sell.

I realize it's not biologically accurate, but it does capture the spirit of things. :)

Off the Shop: A dubious commission.

I've detailed here how I decide who and what to make, and one of those criterion is that it has to fit with my personal philosophies in some way. I wouldn't ever make a Hitler ornament, for instance, because f*ck no.

So when a friend asked me if I was making a Donald Trump ornament, my response was an enthusiastic "absolutely not". When he asked me if I could make one for him, it was a similar response.

But he begged and begged with the absolute caveat that I could make it look like anything I wanted; it didn't have to be reverent (he was not a Trump supporter).

We looked through pictures together and settled on a design that he and I could both tolerate.

I still delayed. I created projects that were placed into the line before this one--every time I would think about doing it I would exclaim an audible "ugh".

But once I say I'll do a thing, I do it.

And here it is.

It's interesting. Because my heart wasn't into it, I didn't really do as quality a job as I would have wanted to . . . and I don't care. I would have re-done the eyes, for sure. And the mouth. (Stitched instead of felt.) Alas, I'm not spending another moment on it.

This is also not my original design. If I had intended to sell this or do anything more than quietly give it to my friend, I wouldn't have blatantly ripped off this street design and I would have put more effort into many elements.

The original "Dump Trump" on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Courtesy of Hanksy. Via Business Insider.

How Do I Decide What/Who to Make?

Patterns in-process

My Etsy shop has a really weird amalgamation of things. Pokemon. Star Wars. Star Trek. Politics. Science Icons (coming...). Feminist symbols. With more being added as they strike my fancy or I get requests.

Why are the things that are there...there?

For lack of a better reason: Because I like them (and also because I made a gift for someone).

I've had a few requests: Can you make so-and-so? Well...maybe?

Here are the criteria I use to decide what to design:

It fits with my personal philosophies in some way (or, at least, I'm neutral on the matter).

My dad suggested that, to pair with the Ruth Bader Ginsberg ornament, I should make an Antonin Scalia ornament. . . . Nope. Not going to happen. Hours of energy go into designing an ornament and making it. I'm not going to spend that much time and effort on someone I'm philosophically opposed to.

The person has a distinct, recognizable look.

There are a lot of awesome, but very generic looking, people in this world. I wanted to make an Elizabeth Warren pattern, but Elizabeth Warren (though I love her) looks kinda like generic soccer mom #5. (FOR THE PURPOSES OF FELT RENDERING.) The same goes for Sonia Sotomayor. She is fab, but isn't instantly recognizable in felt form. Susan B. Anthony sort of has the same issue.

It helps to have a unique phrase/quote. 

Michelle Obama didn't turn out that distinctive-looking. This is my failing as the designer and speaks to my artistic limitations, surely, but still. However, she had a great quote that helped aid in being recognizable. Quotes, unfortunately, also have to be quite short and pithy. "Nolite te bastardes carborundorum." ["Don't let the bastards grind you down."] from Handmaid's Tale was, necessarily, shortened to "BASTARDES".

It brings me some sort of joy.

The things I make are mostly (with the exception of gifts I've made for nieces/nephews) things I really love. It gets to be a pretty eclectic spread. I love Bill Nye the Science Guy. I love powerful, strong women (I have a Notorious RBG maternity shirt). I love Star Trek. And Monty Python. And Firefly. And Julia Child. And RuPaul. And Doctor Who. And a bunch of geeky pursuits. So what I love is what I make.

It has to be able to be rendered in felt.

I don't have my Busy Book patterns up yet, but as I was going through those--taking scenes from things I loved--part of the challenge was to figure out how to render them in felt. A friend suggested I show a Romulan Warbird uncloaking. Awesome! How do I do that...in felt? There's a similar challenge with people--they have to be recognized with simplified features. (Too complex and their faces turn into a big ol' hot mess.)

 So what's coming up, as of right now?

Patterns made, crafts made, awaiting instruction-writing:

• Bill Nye (The Science Guy!)
• The Golden Girls 
• Weeping Angel 
• Crest of Hyrule 
• RuPaul "Werk" 
• Firefly Finger Puppets
• Busy Book: Monty Python Holy Grail
• Busy Book: Monty Python Flying Circus
• Busy Book: Star Trek TOS

Patterns made. Crafts and instructions not yet made: 

• Neil Degrasse Tyson
• Frida Kahlo 
• Lucille Ball (winkin' and drinkin' Vitametavegamin)
• Calvin and Hobbes [Gift.]
• Link (from Legend of Zelda) [Pattern made. Need to make craft and instructions.]

Patterns, crafts and instructions yet unmade: 

• Tina Fey "Bitches get stuff done" (if I can figure out how to render her in felt...she is going to be problematic, I think.)
• Jem (of Jem and the Holograms)
• She-Ra
• Opus 
• Paul Wellstone "We all do better when we all do better"
• Busy Book: Firefly (this has been started, but not enough to count)

Things I'm considering, but seem less likely:

• Elizabeth Cady Stanton/Susan B. Anthony
• Che
• Something Barack Obama
• Dr. Cornel West
• Malala

It's a lot of things! But I'm always open to suggestions--so feel free to send me an email/message if you see a void in the world that must be filled by felt crafts.

Off the Shop: Things I Can't/Won't Sell

Along with the normal round-up of semi-subversive ornaments, there are also several that I likely won't end up putting in my shop/sharing widely.

So they're going to go here.

I have a Happy Uterus Ornament as seen below:

Which is adorable. And a little bit subversive. My mother--the Scandinavian nurse--was amused and baffled, but not totally horrified.

But this one is NOT going into the shop.
(Putting it behind a jump because of mild-NSFW-ish-ness...I mean, it's a felt vulva.)