As a collective unit, Jill and I have been laying low the past few months. After the conclusion of last year’s holiday season and an incredibly busy year, we desperately needed a break to internalize, refocus and “clear the mechanism”, so to speak.

During our mini-hiatus we’ve been talking a lot about the state of DFF, and where we want to go over the next couple years. How do we expand? What products do we want to concentrate on-just plush, or do we start developing other products featuring our cast of miscreants?

Business decisions are always some of the hardest for both of us. We are by nature firmly housed on the creative side of this endeavor. Developing a business side and mindset has proven more difficult and still feels bit foreign to both of us. But we’re working on it…

I would love to say that we got it down rock solid, but we still have a way to go. We are, however, finally gearing back up, which feels great. Shows for this year have been and are being booked, and we have amassed quite a bit in our sketchbooks that will fuel us through the rest of the year. Whichever direction we end up going we will at least have a partial roadmap. It may not get us all the way there, but it’s enough to keep us going until we need a restroom break.

The Spaces Gallery in Cleveland, Ohio recently asked us to participate in their Get Stuffed! gallery show in December. We gladly accepted and have been working frantically to pull our pieces together in the two short weeks we had to prep for this show.

Normally, we like a bit more time to contemplate our work when preparing for a show, but this was an opportunity to flex our muscles a bit to see if we could “rise to the occasion” as they say. I’m glad to say that our pieces went out last Friday, and while it was a challenge, the work that was produced for this show is unique and definitely carries our mark.

The Get Stuffed! show runs from November 19, 2010 – January 21, 2010 at the Spaces Gallery in Cleveland, Ohio.

Whew! Summer has come and gone, fall is upon us and we find ourselves packing up our playclothes and settling down to our studies once again. Plush You! Seattle opens next Friday and we are so pleased to have some of our work on display at this fabulous venue. Since we live in and LOVE  the Pacific Northwest, we decided to do a piece that expressed how we feel about it, thus the Tree Hugger.

Made from a vast mix of reclaimed fabrics; corduroy, wool, assorted felt, and linen, this piece was great fun to create. And since we have played hooky over the summer, it’s been a great piece to get us going again! Now, we are dreaming of new pieces, better pieces, BIGGER pieces! Yes! Yes!

A little excited to get back to work, and hope you all will like what we will be sharing with you over the next few months, enjoy the day, enjoy the evening, and get some good sleep.

Until we meet again…

We’ve officially been selected to participate in the upcoming Plush You show in Seattle, WA starting on October 8. It’s been a couple of years since we’ve participated in this show, but it feels good to have pulled ourselves and our schedule together enough to participate. There will be some amazing talents side-by-side, and this is sure to be a don’t miss event. So, pack your bags and bring your long britches because this show is guaranteed to be a wonder of plush goodness.