Wordle and Have a Great Christmas!

Have you ever heard of Wordle?

It's my new favourite thing. Basically it looks at your blog/essay/bunch of text and works out the words you used the most in it: we've used it a lot of educational documents this year. I thought I'd give it a go on the Lugly Blog, and the results are not too surprising, I guess? Lots of use of the word 'bear'! I can't see 'sloth' on there at all though...

Anyway, this post has two actual reasons for being here: the first is to point out that I've started a trial on Bear Pile. Bear Pile is a website that artists can use to list their creations instead of using Ebay or Etsy or their own site... I thought it might help with making sure more people can see my weird creatures. I've added Moreno to the site, as well as a couple of faces you might recognise :) I've also updated the blog layout so that it looks like my website, hurrah!

Last but not least, have a fabulous Christmas and a great New Year! I just finished an essay on the public understanding of the use of dissections in schools, which is the third most boring thing I've ever had to write (just behind my undergraduate literature review "Current Opinions of Multilevel Selection Theory" and my final project "Can a Altruistic Trait Survive in a Population of Selfish Individuals?", sadly!). Now that's over I can pack up and get out of here (I'm the last person left in my student flat!) and finally start to enjoy the feeling of being on holiday.

Merry Christmas!

Chloe and the Luglys' xxx

Moreno: my last sloth of this year!

Moreno Sat Facing, a photo by Je Suis Lugly!

Hello everyone, please meet Moreno!

Moreno is looking for a new home. I know I'm a bit late for Chrismas but I'm going to make him a red and white hat and he can hang out with my flat mates and I until he finds his special someone :P He's 14" tall, with a double neck joint, poseable limb armature, epoxy claws that mean he can LITERALLY hang out and his own rose quartz heart sewn into his chest. There's more photos on my Flickr if you'd like to see them: I will try and get some outdoor pics later this week.

Sadly my University room has a limited capacity for good photography, hence the fetching quilt background... Maybe Father Christmas can bring me some new daylight bulbs and a big light tent this year :P

Moreno's adoption fee is £170. Please contact me for delivery costs to your country: I only charge actual fees and will post as soon as possible so he can get to you before Christmas!

Chloe and the Luglys x

Medals

Medals, a photo by Je Suis Lugly! on Flickr.

After the big British Bear Artist Award news (*cough*1st and 2nd*cough*!) I've been trying to work out a way to get time to work on my creatures, on top of all the Uni work I have to do for teaching.

I've finally found a way of making the medals I want... I had sent some off to a company who were going to cast for me, but they won't reply to me and have kept what I sent to them... so upsetting. The medals I make on my own will naturally be more rustic, but I quite like the cracks and wear on them: makes me think the could actually have been made by the animals themselves somehow?

Anyhoo, I've found a kind of clay that you can use to make metals! This is copper clay: eventually I will make silver versions too... I'll be firing these with a bunsen burner in the practise labs tomorrow :P

In other news, I'm coming to the end of my first teaching placement. For those who don't know, my output of lovely creatures has somewhat slowed because I'm training to teach secondary school science. It's bloomin' hard work! Shown to the left is a selection of work from my Year Sevens: they had to design an organism that lives in a particular habitat. The pic's a bit small, but you can see I have a plant that runs away from its predators, a fire penguin who lives in a volcano and uses his firey head to blast through rock, and a critter that lives inside other animals and eats them from the inside out.

Teaching is AWESOME.

Chloe and the Luglys xxx

British Bear Artist Awards - The Results!

Amazing news everyone!

I entered the British Bear Artist Awards this year with a bear and a hare: no sloths as I'm accustomed to as I've never had much luck with them... I've been really, REALLY hoping for some good news, and now I can reveal...

Bombadier, entered in the Medium sized category, Modern style, has won first place!

The judges said the following about The Bomb:

• "Great comical appearance"
• "Made me giggle when I saw the original photographs"
• "Bursting with personality"
• "Right up to date"
• "It's tough for everyone out there and this bear truly stands out because of the way he makes me feel".

On top of that (as if I need any more happy!) Jack the Hare came second :D My sloths weren't even nominated, so for me this is a BIG deal. The highest I've placed before is Third, so I am dead chuffed!

I am trying to decide if I should sell or keep my lovely winners now.. I'm training to be a teacher right now, and so I have hardly any time to do anything other than lesson plan and write daft essays. My lessons today went brilliantly too, so as far as I'm concerned, this Thursday has been AMAZING. Anyhoo, I've been staring at the same half finished bear head on my desk for well over a month now, so I will be unlikely to finish him in time for Christmas... but usually I keep my winners. What do you guys think?

Woo hoo!

Chloe and the Lugly's xx

Two Lugly nominations at the BBAAs, woo hoo!

Yey! Both Bombardier the Bear and Jack the Hare have been nominated for a British Bear Artist Award!

Bomb is nominated in the Modern Bear category, so I'm sure he'll be up against some pretty cool bears... I'm very excited to have a nomination for him though, as he's such a new concept for me :) I'd be dead chuffed if he won an award! I'm working on a white bear from the same pattern but a little smaller... it's amazing what a difference such a small change makes.

Jack is my first ever animal nomination in the BBAAs, believe it or not. I think that last year my bear and my sloth got lumped into the same category because they both had needlefelted features, which is a bit annoying... surely you shouldn't compare such diverse creations purely because of one technique? I mean, you wouldn't have a seperate category for trapunto toes, or armatures... would you? Anyhoo, Jack is my first animal nomination: I know that'll be a really tough category. I'm likely to be up against some heavy hitters... I hope Jack at least looks like he belongs on the table!

I'm wondering if I should have a stall at the show this year? I'm just starting my teaching qualification and it looks like I'll be in school three or four days a week: eep! I don't know if I'll have time to make a pile of bears and animals in time for the show... I think I'll see how this first week goes and decide after that :)

Anyhoo, hope you're excited! I am! Please let me know if you're going to the fair and if you think I should get a stall or not... I was planning on having this as a pattern year rather than a sale one, but I do like meeting collectors in person...

Cheers,

Chloe and the Luglys xxx

Bombardier!

Do you ever have a moment when something just.... comes together?

I've been working on Bombardier's pattern FOREVER,it seems: I first decided to make a bear with a front neck joint nearly two years ago! Since then I've made three or four draft bears, way more than it took to get my first sloth pattern. It's been a frustrating journey, but I would like you to meet Bombardier the Bear at long last.



I've named him after a train company in the UK, purely because a) I've heard the name a lot recently, and b) he has got a massive BOMB ;)

You may also notice the complete lack of needlefelting on him... I may add felted toes in the future to this design as the embriodered claws are just not showing through, but for now I've left them off as I find more and more that bears with needle felting seem to get pigeon holed into one catagory for competitions and so on, and I would like to enter him (or this pattern at least) in the next year or so, starting with the British Bear Artist Awards. He's just in time to be entered, so please wish us luck!



In other news, I hope you've noticed the big revamp on my website? I'm still ironing out some problems, but I'm so glad to have upgraded at least from the teeny tiny site I had before! Fingers crossed it'll be polished and look really, REALLY fancy before long :)

Love,

Chloe and the Lugly's xxx

Magazine Features for the Summer :)

Magazine 3: Teddy Bear Times, a photo by Gantaeno's epic journey has begun! on Flickr.

Hi everyone! I was wondering why I had a few extra people joining my mailing list this summer... I've worked it out: I'm in two magazines this month!

The first photo is a 'Creature Feature' from Teddy Bear Times Magazine which is in the UK :)



The second photo is from Teddy Bear Review, and it's an article about the design process. I'm currently working on a second hare from the same ideas book, so it's nice to see Jack's face in one magazine, let alone two!

I hope I get more lovely surprises like this in the future too :)

I'm still alive!

Hi everyone,

I'm a month into my stay here in America, staying with friends in Ohio right now :) I'm staying with the lovely Tami Eveslage and her talented hands (and her family too!). I've not had as much drive to work on creatures as I'd like to (Hey! I'm on holiday, right?) but I have started work on a new bear: I hope you like the preview above?

Basically, I'm trying to improve my bear pattern whilst simultaneously removing the needlefelting from my work. I've noticed from competitions I've entered and shows I want to do, that a LOT of emphasis is put on the preference for bears... I see why it happens when it's a 'Bear Competition' but lets be honest: there aren't any animal ones! On top of that, it seems like if I enter an animal with needlefelting on it, I'm not just pigeonholed into the animal category, I am put into the 'needlefelting' category instead... this seems odd to me, especially as there's no category for any other sculpting technique? Like a 'Trapunto' category, or a 'Needle sculpting' category? Anyhoo... to broaden my ability to do more online shows, competitions and the like, I'm trying to come up with a bear pattern that I like, that is individual to my style and my drawings and actually looks like my work, without being felted: it's a challenge!

Here's the head I sculpted as a base for the pattern:



I hope you can see the resemblance? Sadly making him up in fur has been less successful so far, although I think it's mostly down to the fur stretching... I'll keep you up to date as I progress... just wanted to let you know I'm alive and sculpting!

Chloe and the Lugly's xxx

Merle is rehomed :)

I'm very pleased to report that Merle has found himself a new home here in England: in a town my family originally came from :) It's been a crazy week here, moving back home from my life of luxury at the Manor (look at the gardens below... so beautiful), but I'm back now and have only a month before I set off for America! I'm working on one more sloth before I go: a dark haired big 'un who's hopefully going to be finished by the end of next week.



I'm also pleased to say that I have an interview for my PGCE (teaching qualification) coming up: I'm abit scared as there's a lot of pressure on my to ace this one (I fly out only ten days later!). lease keep your fingers crossed for me!

By the way, I am keeping an eye on the poll to the left there: foxes, mice and squirrels say ye? I shall have to see what I can come up with :)

Merle, a new sloth!

Merle Sat Facing Best, a photo by Je Suis Lugly! on Flickr.

Hi everyone!

It's about time there was a new sloth, don't you think?

Merle is a 14" sweetheart who I wanted to give a look of quiet contemplation... I hope oyu think it worked?

He'll be on Ebay tongiht until this coming Sunday: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330557719065

I have some more exciting news: I'm featured in two magazines this year so far! Teddy Bear and Friends covers my design process in its latest issue, and Teddy Bear Times here in the UK will include some of my animals in their upcoming 'creature feature'.

Finally BIG NEWS, in May I'm flying back to America! I'm going to spend two months staying with various friends around the country, including the lovely and immensely talented Tami Eveslage. I will be trying to finish some creatures for sale before I go: need some pennies for stocking up on mohair while I'm away...

That's all for now,

Chloe and the Luglys' xxx

Somber found a new home :)

Thanks everyone for your interest in Somber: I think he had one of those awkward auctions where everyone plans to bid at the last second and everyone misses it! Thankfully a lovely lady who first met him at Hugglets contacted me as soon as his auction ended without that reserve being met, and made an offer for him, so I am happy to announce that he is going to a new home here in England.

In other news, I ordered some of my favourite mohair dyes from America this weekend, I can't wait for them to arrive :D I got lots of lovely browns and oranges for my next hare and for future squirrels. I really want to have one finished in time for Mad March Hare month but of course I have to wait until the dye arrives now (I have a piece of Alpaca with 'Dye Me' written all over it...). I am also starting to work on a baby hare pattern which I think will be closer to the proportions of the beatrix Potter rabbits: shorter legs and arms, tubby belly and all. Hopefully I will also have Jack's outfit finished soon and will be able to show off his outfit!

Thanks for reading,

Chloe and the Luglys x

Somber needs a new home!

Hi all :)

To celebrate the arrival of Jack I have decided to part with another much loved Sloth from my gang. Somber was also at Hugglets with me, but he didn't find his new home there despite being much admired. I love his Eeyore-like face, so I had no problem keeping him around for a while, but now it is time for him to move on (I'm back at home after finishing University and my Mum says I have too many and I'm not meant to be keeping them in her house! :P)

His auction is here and it ends on Sunday at 8pm GMT. As always I have set the reserve at just under the average price attained for these smaller guys: his is set at about £100 I think. Please go and say Hi to him! We need him to cheer up!

Thanks a lot,

Chloe and the Luglys xxx

Jack

Jack Boards
Originally uploaded by Gantaeno

Hi everyone,

My MoHare is complete! Hisname is Jack and his Flickr set is here.

I hope you like him, it's been a long journey but it could have been MUCH longer without the push to get him done in time for the article. As he's a prototype his permanent home is with me (YAY!) but I will begin work on the first one for adoption shortly. The next hare will be alpaca which is a more dense, fluffy fur: should be very nice! I will also work on making the arms a bit skinnier I think, and start on the outfits for these guys. Can't make up my mind if the next one's a boy or a girl though ;)

Any comments or criticisms I'd love to hear them: better I make the changes now before I wreck some REALLY nice fur!

Chloe and the Luglys xxx

What's that I spy?

What's that I spy?
Originally uploaded by Gantaeno

Look who's done!

Or at least, pretty much done :P His name is Jack, I'll give him a military title later once his waistcoat and medals are done. His medals are being cast in pewter in America and I can't wait to see them!

He has full armature in all four limbs and both ears, needlefelted features, realistic brown glass eyes with eyelids, suede inner ears, full Schulte mohair hide... am I leaving anything out?

I'm still needing to work on his pawpads, I'll do that tonight before taing his glamour shots tomorrow!

Anyway, hope you enjoyed meeting Jack....

Chloe and the Luglys xx

Hare Update

Hare Update 2
Originally uploaded by Gantaeno

As you can see we're finally getting somewhere!

I cut out all the limb parts last week, then worked out today that they were all too long. Whoops! Luckily they were realatively simple to cut back to size, especially as I have LITERALLY NONE of this mohair left!

I'm thinking of redoing her tail, making it a bit bigger... Obviously he's missing an arm and an ear, but at east we're getting there now.

Hope you like him :)

Chloe and the Luglys xx

Hare with Plasticene Legs

Hare with Plasticene Legs
Originally uploaded by Gantaeno

I make up plasticene versions of a lot of my creatures before I make my paper patterns... I have a plasticene leg, head and arm for this guy: here you can see the fake limbs underneath the fur body.

I'm trying to work out if they're out of proportion here? The leg will be a little more bent (I love armature!) on the finished hare, but I'm still not certain... opinions? For me personally I have the more problems with the are... I think it's the length of the fore arm...

I'm looking forward to doing the arms actually, as I'm going to put magnets in the paws so he can hold his medals and his uniform :D I kept meaning to do this with a sloth but always forgot before sewing the paws up: trust me, once you've finished a sloth paw the last thing you want to do is open it up again!


As you can see I also attached his finished ear (started the next one too!). It has an internal wire too, perfect for posing :) I recut the inner suede as it was a little puffy towards the ends still: now they're a much better fit.

He's a little sheepish!

More soon hopefully,

Chloe and the Lugly's xx

Hare

Hare
Originally uploaded by Gantaeno

Hi everyone! Another quick update on my mohare. As you can see I've got the first mohair version of his body up and... well, maybe not running but at least wriggling ;) I need to make some changes to the curves of his belly, but otherwise it's headed in the right direction: the back looks lumpy just because of the pins ;)

I also added some whiskers and under eye lids to his face, I will shade those later so they're more subtle.

In other news FINALLY I got my website renewed: apparently you have to remove the last two letters of your post code?! Ridiculous... anyway, it's still not showing my site but hopefully it will come back soon...

Thanks a lot!

Chloe and the Luglys xx

He makes me Blush...

Hiya everyone :)

I can start with some good news: Blush has found a new home at last, hurrah! He'll soon be on his way back to America, meaning that he is returning to his 'birth country' in a way: lets hope he makes his new owner very happy.

In a way Blush's auction is a great thing for me, as it signifies that my lack of advertising, new creature creating and ebaying has not affected the appeal of my weird creatures too much... I was worried that my time away from Ebay during this "recession" would have affected their sales, but when you take into account the change in the dollar to pound conversion rate, Blush's final price was pretty close to that of my first ever auctioned sloth! That sloth was Liebe, also a pink and white guy. Maybe it's the luck of the pink??

In other news, my website is still down, they still don't know why, and I am still totally BORED of trying to get them to sort it out, so if anyone knows of another reliable website company I'd really appreciate it... Webs.com don't seem that bothered, even though I am a premium account holder with them too... for now, I hope this blog will do?

On the Mohare project, I have the paper draft of a leg pattern to add to my progress pile, hopefully I can sew up a mock up of it soon to show you all.

Thanks for watching!

Chloe and the Lugly's xxx

The Mo-hare project!

Help!

Although I've had a blog for quick Je Suis Lugly updates before, I've always run it from my website. Sadly, my website disappeared a few weeks ago and they're not being particularly helpful about getting it back online, so who knows when it will be back up and running...

Anyway, a few days ago I emailed Teddy Bear Review magazine about an editorial on design processes: basically how you end up with a finised product from the idea you atarted with. I don't have much for the sloths as I was very lucky when designing them: their pattern worked pretty much from the word go! Subsequent creatures have been trickier, and as I was halfway through my latest idea, I thought I'd contact them and ask about taking part.

Turns out, the deadline is the 24th of February...

I'm going to attempt to blog a little of the process every few days to keep myself on target and to encourage critiques and comments from other people, as this would usually take me a good few months so I will need all the help I can get!

The basic idea is an anthropomorphic hare, a bit like a Brian Jacques Long Patrol member if you're familiar with his books. I've almost finished the head, I have paper patterns for the body and legs, so in theory it's possible he'll be finished in time, but in practise... fingers crossed! I'm already talking to metal workers about getting some custom medals cast for my first series of 'Mohares' (lol!) and I really hope that this project is going to kick me back into bear making action... all in 18 days!

More on this later, but for now, welcome to the hectic new blog!

Chloe and the Luglys xx