PIN PALS

Nightcap

Meet our new puppet friend Anna.  She bought some groceries to make dinner,

and the leftovers have lasted for days.

Anna and other loners and lovers will be hung up at Assemble shop in Seattle starting February 11th (Friday), for my show Nightcap.  If you live in the area pay them a visit.

 

Posted by: Sara

Owl mail

 
These are our new mailing labels.  True, it is snail mail but hibou think it's a hoot!

posted by: Sara

Joséphine in her fall dress

A new Jo in the shop.

 

Her dress is made with this sweet vintage fabric I picked up.  The colours are so pretty and suitable for the amazing fall weather we've been having.

 
and the mountains!

I also picked up some great ribbon from Fancy Tiger, and it looks great on Yvette.

Posted by: Sara

With every season comes change

 
A few things have changed these days.  Bringing a whole new meaning to the name Pin Pals,  I've moved far away to Denver, Colorado.  Pin Pals will still be based in Montreal so we'll still be keeping up shop and chatting online.  It's going to be a new and exciting chapter in the land of Pals where one Pal is in Denver (a lot of big mountains) and one in Montreal (one cute little mountain). 

Denver is a great city and I'm living in an amazing area full of used book stores, vintage boutiques and restaurants.  I also live close by to my new favorite craft and fabric shop, Fancy Tiger.  I've already taken advantage of their free craft night and I'm looking forward to taking some of the great workshops they offer so I can learn how to crochet or maybe even to properly sew a skirt!

Well, even though the leaves are turning orange in Montreal it feels like summer here in Denver.  But warm weather can't stop Halloween and in the spirit of Halloween, I've added this sad pumpkin to our Etsy shop.  He's a drawing that I printed on to fabric using Spoonflower, and I stuffed him with cotton from Fancy Tiger.  He's so fun to hold onto and he has lovely long and skinny legs, making him a super fun dance partner.

And in the spirit of the season, wouldn't these sweetly stitched acorn buttons be perfect addition to your fall cardigan?

And, another reason to love this time of year, Puces Pop!  Our favorite craft fair.  It's this weekend.

As the website explains, it's Montreal's largest do-it-yourself festival where people can come and celebrate all types of independent creation! Proudly going into its sixth year, Puces POP takes place during the last two days of the POP Montreal Music Festival, and features a marketplace where over one hundred local and international artists, crafters, and indie record labels come to sell their wares. In addition, Puces POP hosts several other events such as Lil Biz (a business seminar for artists and craftspeople), Fashion POP and the Record Fair & Gear Swap!

Sam will be there with our wares so be sure to stop by.

"Helper"

Have a beer for me at Puces Pop Sam (^_^)

 That's all from Denver!  I'll be sure to post some pics soon, there are some beautiful neon signs in this mile high city.  Phew, I'm out of breath!

Posted by:  Sara

 

Minou Mondain

Our new puppet.

Posted by: Sara

Valley of the Dolls

I've been drawn to primitive dolls these days (you can find some nice ones on flickr). I don't know why I haven't made any cloth dolls before I guess I've been too stuck on paper to consider it.
I decided to make my own version. I bought some fabric pens and paint and drew their faces before I sewed them together.
I'm still figuring a few things out, I'd like to try dying the muslin with tea or coffee and work on some of the finer details. So far it's worked out pretty well and I hope to have lots for my show in September. Speaking of coffee stains, I've been staining my drawings with coffee and I love the way they turn out.
At first after consulting the internet I was drying them in the oven but the oven rack leaves lines on the paper, I don't mind subtle lines but the ones I was getting were too much so I let them air dry. The drawing above is coloured in with Photoshop but I plan to paint the original. Posted by: Sara

A wee bit new

We've been up to some things as of late and we'd like to share them with you!

 
Meet Joséphine, she's a new hanging paper doll, and I was lucky enough to receive the first ever of her for my birthday awhile back. I love her. Look at those pom poms!

The Joséphine's and their beau homme were Sara's entry in the Hiatus group show at the Long Haul.


My entry was a Cross-Stitched piece of a fictional ferris wheel called the Hiatus. 


We're gearing up for Puces Pop Printemps happening this weekend, so we've been stitching, and cutting and pasting away.
 
A couple of new barrettes include watermelon hearts and cat hats.






 Mini Joséphine's will be for sale this weekend, along with other spring Pin Pal goods.
We hope to see you!

Posted by: Sam

Avendano Collaboration

Recently I was contacted through Etsy by Mildred Avendano, a Toronto based fashion designer.  Under her label Avendano, Mildred creates sustainable fashion by using eco friendly fabrics, like pineapple cloth from the Philippines and local bamboo fabric, to make fun and wearable design. Mildred saw our work in Distill in Toronto and approached me to create a paper doll to model her designs. 

It was an interesting project for me.  I couldn't make a doll similar in shape to the regular characters I draw, stick legs and circle bodies would make unflattering models!  So I drew a more realistic sophisticated lady and used some of Sam's origami paper for her gingham bra and panties to match her gingham luggage.

Then I sent the assembled dolls to Mildred and she drew paper clothes based on her designs for her to wear.

So charming!  I love her colourful clothes.

photos by Mildred Avendano

I'm inspired to make more dolls that wears clothes.  What a fun collaboration (^_^)

Posted by:  Sara

The Handsome Owl

In the spirit of Sam's last post, 

One,

Two,

Three,

 

Le Hibou Beau

Posted by: Sara

Bows and Whistles

and hats!  Meet Yvette,

I had the idea to make a paper puppet with a bright summer hat.  She has bare feet because she likes to feel the cool grass on her toes and she  wears a pretty folk bow like our other pal Beau Bear...

Sigh, a handsome pair, Yvette and Beau Bear.

I really can't get enough of this dead stock folk ribbon we've been getting from a store here in Montreal.  I want to buy it all and it saddens me that it will eventually run out.

This will have to do for now.  I will try not to let greed take over.  Yvette and Bear wear it well but I might have to create a bunch of other bow wearing folk... and sew a few bows on a few things of mine too.

Posted by: Sara