We are also having a contest where you can win one of 50 FREE FELLA OR SUPER LLAMA PLUSHIES! It's really easy to enter, plus you get a free Fella badge just for participating! Click here to learn more about the contest!
In fact, our own aunjuli did the design and patterning work on the toy. Read below as she explains the ins and outs of toy design!
How long does it take to hand-stitch a plushie?
It depends on the complexity of the piece. Sometimes, even with a pattern, I mess up the stitching and have to start over. The first llama plush prototype took about four hours to sew, while the second took around seven hours. It was a lot of trial and error to figure out what would work and what wouldn't.
Have you always been a plushie person, or did your desire to create plushies just hit you like a deviant lightning bolt out of the green?
I started plushie-making in 2010, and I've made a fair few since. I create with a lot of media, and making stuffed animals was something I was inspired to try out after seeing all of the amazing plushie creators on deviantART. There's so much talent on dA.
How are they being made now that demand has skyrocketed?
From what I understand, they are hoof-sewn with the loving care of a unicorn and shipped in water-tight containers on the backs of an army of narwhals. I could be wrong, and if I am, that's disappointing, because everyone should have their plushies delivered via narwhal.
Do plushies have a specific use, or are they more of an objet d'art that "simply is"?
Plushies were made to be squished! I mean, it's fine to let them sit proudly atop a desk or mantle or add them to a collection of equally adorable friends, but you must squish them.
Should plushies stay at home or come with you to the workplace?
I bring my plushies to work, but I have an awesome workplace. The Super Llama is known to whisper positive affirmations to help one get through the day, so I don't know what I would do without it!
Now that Fella and Super Llama are becoming world travelers, will plushies become accepted as travel companions?
I think it's highly possible that they ARE the best traveling companions. They're quiet, comforting, and make it through airport metal detectors without so much as a peep! (Well, except for Fella. He giggles ever-so-quietly when TSA agents tickle him.)
What does possessing a Super Llama plushie tell the world about a person?
I think anyone who possesses the Super Llama plushie will be perceived as a fancy individual with fine taste in all things fuzzy and adorable. Even if you don't have one, simply wanting one says that you know Awesome when you see it.
