Shawnimals is an enigma comprised of felt, stuffing
and unabated creative synergy. Well, maybe not – but
you may still have a couple of unanswered questions. Read below for
the info you
seek as answered by Shawnimal, and if by
chance it's not below, send us a message via
our handy contact page.
PLEASE NOTE: Some of this info may very
well be out of date. Apologies for that! Refer
to the shop FAQ if you have a question regarding your order or
how ordering works.
Are
Shawnimals handmade? What does that really mean?
As of November 28th, some Shawnimals are and some Shawnimals aren't. Currently
Pocket Ninja, Wee Ninja, Pocket Stache, and Moustachio are part of our
'regular line' which means they're manufactured in a factory. Other special
edition plush like Relaxed Kicky, Stumpy the Bear Cub and other are part
of our
'handmade line' and are made in-house by Shawnimals. More info is available
on our shop page. Whether
you call it handmade or artistmade or whatever, the point is there's a
difference between made in a factory and made by a handful of artists and
designers at Shawnimals, and we think either way is A-OK so long as it's
transparent.
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What about the vinyl toys?
Shawnimals has teamed up the prolific and all-around good guy Eddi Yipp
from adFunture Workshop to bring three characters to store shelves (probably)
in late 2005. Look for Wee Ninja, Wee Sticker and Slippery Splug. You can find
info on the Shawnimals vinyl toys as well as other projects in which we're involved
on our projects page.
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What do you get when you buy a Shawnimal?
 In
addition to the warm fuzzy feeling you'll experience, here's what
you get: 1 brand-new, handmade Shawnimal and
1 fancy hang tag with the full story (shown right). Sometimes we also give
you free stickers and/or buttons depending on availability. Limited Edition
Shawnimals
or exclusive plush (from stores)
will have a numbered and hand-signed tag.
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Does your mom make any Shawnimals?
From Shawnimal: "While some think my mom makes Shawnimals
alongside myself and Jen, that's not the case. She did
give me my very first sewing lesson though, and continues
to help
by finding
interesting fabrics for use in the Shawnimals
you see on this site. For this and many other reasons,
I love my mom
very much."
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How
many Shawnimals have you made so far?
Not
counting multiple versions of the same Shawnimal or
custom
orders (we used to do in the early days, but not anymore),
there have been close to 400 unique Shawnimals created. You can
view all of
these
Shawnimals
in
the archives section in fun
stuff (huge project that's
coming soon ... or late).
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Do
you take custom orders?
At this time, we do not take custom
orders.
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Why do use a fairly liberal
amount of orange on the site?
Well, we like it. Beyond that? It all happened a long
time ago when red and yellow spent a lot of
time together and eventually fell in love. When
two colors fall in love, sometimes they hold each other in
a very special way. And sometimes when
they hold each other
long enough,
a new color is born. This particular
time, orange came along. And they all lived happily
ever after.
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Is there any other kind of Shawnimals
merchandise?
You bet there is. Check out
the merchandise
section for that sorta thing. Buttons,
T-shirts and stickers currently, with
more stuff on the way all of the time.
In most cases, these items will be
limited, so act fast if you want some.
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Who makes up the Shawnimals staff?
More information about
this is available on the About
Us page.
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Is
shipping included in the cost of
a Shawnimal?
Nope, not any more. We used to combine shipping
in with the price, but for business reasons, that's
now separate. In most cases, shipping will be $5 for
Priority Mail (2 - 3 day service). Beyond that, or
if you're ordering from outside the US, shipping will
be anywhere from $8 - $20 or so.
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How long
does it take to get my Shawnimal?
Priority Mail takes between 2
to 3 business days from the time we ship
(3 - 5 business days after ordering in most cases). We ship twice
a week, usually on Wednesday and Friday. If you
need your Shawnimal or Shawnimal merchandise
faster, let me know. The USPS has extremely
competitively-priced next-day
service.
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So where are you located? Are Shawnimals
in stores?
We're kicking it in Chicago. Shawnimals
are available directly from us here, and
from a growing number of stores around
the world. You can view the list here.
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How do you order and then pay?
In the Shop section,
when you click on individual Shawnimals
to view, you'll see an 'add to cart' button.
Click this, and it will add that item to a Paypal shopping cart.
Once you've shopped enough, you can check out and complete your
transaction via Paypal. You can pay with Paypal funds, credit card
or eCheck using Paypal, so it's nice
and easy, and similar to most any ecommerce site.
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What's Paypal and
how does it work?
Paypal is
an online service that allows people to
securely send money to other people
electronically. The service allows you
to deposit money into an online account
directly
from your existing bank account,
or you can simply
sign up at Paypal and
use your credit card for payment as you
would at an online store. You tell them
who you
want the money to go to with
that
person's email address. You can obtain additional
information from Paypal.
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Just
how big are Shawnimals?
In general, Shawnimals
are between 8" - 14" in
their longest direction. However, there are
times when certain Shawnimals fall above
and below this range. Approximate sizes
are listed alongside each
item found in the shop
section.
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Where can I find a chimp
holding a bouquet of roses?
Today's your lucky day. Click here.
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Are
these as good as store-bought stuffed animals?
We used to think they weren't, but that was way off base. The
longer we've made Shawnimals, the most we realize just how closely
they stand up to other plush you find out there. But remember:
we're making artist-made, designer plush here. They're not the same
as some no-name bear from a big chain toy store. As such, treat
them nicely, and hug them gently, and think of them as much as
decoration as anything else. In general, Shawnimals are not
made for babies or pets because of the delicate nature and use
of plastic parts.
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Where did you come up with this idea?
From the lips of Shawnimals: "The story of Shawnimals is quite simple
really. It all started in the Summer
of 2001 when
I wanted to do something completely
different than I had been with painting
and drawing. You see, I was enjoying
my first
Summer off, since I was a college student
again. And if you've been a college student
without a summer job,
you know how easy it is to become consumed
by boredom. So instead of wallowing in
this boredom, I started brainstorming."
"That's when I pondered the question, 'How
can I bring to life these characters I draw all of the time?' Could
I do it with a 3D program on a computer?
No, that's not tactile
enough.
Could I do it with paint or pencil?
I could, but I wanted to do
something different. That's when I
saw some stuffed animals based on Japanese
cartoon
characters at a friend's house.
There it
was
-- the solution I was looking for:
Make little stuffed animals of the creatures
I've been
drawing
for so
long. So with the
help of some friends (and my Mom),
I started making Shawnimals.
This site features all of the Shawnimals we
complete. Remember Shawnimals lie somewhere
between the
stuffed animals you find at big toy chains,
fine art and craft."
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How
do I care for my Shawnimal?
Whatever
you
do, don't
wash them. While
the
filling I use is washable,
some
of the fabric glue is not
-- you wouldn't want
an eye or mouth to fall off after all.
If your Shawnimal gets exceptionally
dirty, try cleaning
it with
a
slightly damp rag.
Or lets say a friend stops by who smokes,
and
you
just can't
get the stink
out
of your Shawnimal.
No problem—just
try a fabric spray. I've found this
works really well. Then there's the
issue of little "fuzzies" that
develop over time. Those electric fuzz
remover things work like a charm.
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How
do you make Shawnimals?
Very carefully. 
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Where
did the name 'Shawnimals' come from?
From Shawnimals: "This
is great. A long
time ago my brother
Scott came
up with the name Shawnimal
for me out of
the
blue (my name is
Shawn,
in
case you didn't figure that out already).
It never really stuck
as
a nickname, but
I
always liked it. Later
on, a guy I worked with
named Cyril called
me Shawnimal for
whatever reason. I thought
it was hilarious, but again, the nickname
didn't stick."
"Fast
forward
to the present, and here I am making
stuffed animals without
a
unifying name. Then it
happened again: Someone mentioned
Shawnimal...but in regards to the stuffed
creatures I was making.
I wasn't sure I liked it at first, but
then I
thought 'what
the hell...I am the one
making
them after all.'"
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Where
do you come up with the names of the
Shawnimals?
Well,
as I'm
coming up with a
particular
Shawnimal
(as I'm
sketching and especially
during
the construction
process),
a
certain personality inevitably comes
out. It usually
has
to do with the eyes, mouth or overall
shape. Once I'm
finished,
I take a long,
hard look at that Shawnimal and take
it from there.
If it
looks shy, chances
are the
word shy will
end up
in there.
If it kind of looks like a goat, chances
are the word goat will
turn
up in there. But there's some level of mystery to
it, so you never know what will come along. Get
the picture?
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Are
these dolls or are they art?
This
is another
tough
question.
However
light-hearted they may seem, I do believe
Shawnimals are a form
of fine art...for a few reasons. First, they're handmade.
They're
not
being mass-produced
in a factory—I'm sitting in my home
or studio with a sewing machine and needle
and
thread making
Shawnimals.
Hence,
it's
a level of craft, which I think can be
an aspect of visual art.
Next, they're one-of-a-kind, like a painting
or sculpture. They're not mass-produced.
I may make
a Shawnimal that
is somewhat similar
to another
(maybe
a name, a look or a general shape) but
I do not make the same one twice. Now,
before you
get all
hot and bothered,
let me say the qualities I mention don't
necessarily
apply
to
all art forms (look at Koons and Warhol,
and the serial aspects of printmaking to
name a few).
I'm
just talking
about my little
part of visual art. And before I get too
long-winded, I also want to mention I like
keeping Shawnimals
relatively small-time
without a lot of money floating around.
I started it for the love ya'll,
and didn't start selling them until friends
started showing insterest.
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Will
my grandma like Shawnimals?
Maybe.
Grandmas, mothers,
and others (male
and female)
who make fabric-type
crafts have an amazing
amount of
patience and
skill—two things I'm still working
at in regards to making Shawnimals. That
said,
Shawnimals
probably
won't make
the cover
of Master Sewer any time soon.
I'm only average with the sewing machine,
and
probably below average with
hand-sewing.
I do
what
I can. But what I lack in technical
skill, I make up with in creativity (at
least
I'd like
to
think
so) and
hopefully
humor.
This is my take on stuffed animals.
And being a twenty something guy, I might
get
lucky and
find a few other
people out there
who are into these things—which is
very much appreciated by
the way. That's about the best way I
can describe it.
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What
do you use as stuffing?
Usually
what we have lying
around
the house. You know,
fish hooks and shards
of beer bottles.
No,
seriously we use a
fairly standard polyester fiber fill found at most
crafting stores. It's non-allergenic and tastes
great, too. That is, tastes great to something that
eats polyester – like a goat and a chimp that has
gone insane.
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My
Shawnimal is hurt…what do I do?
Uh-oh. Did you hug your Shawnimal
too hard? Or maybe, for some strange
reason, something on your Shawnimal
fell off? Maybe
a thread broke? I wish I could tell you this sort of stuff
will never happen, but since we're
dealing
with stuffed animals (read:
lots of throwing, squeezing and
what not), wear and tear is bound
to develop. But don't
worry – we're very reasonable
people.
Just click here to
send us an e-mail about it, and
we'll work it out.
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How should
I display my Shawnimal?
I usually just have mine sitting around my apartment...on
the couch, in a chair, on the bed, etc. But I've heard
of people
hanging them on the wall, which is a cool idea, too. A real
slap in the face for elitist art snobs.
Anyway,
if you are going to hang them, try two curtain hooks with a
length of string or picture hanging wire
in between. Pop your
Shawnimal on a nail or tack, and voila. You could probably
put it on a pedestal...now that would be
hilarious.
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