Monster Factory Week in Review

February 11th – 17th

Studio Sale: Our winter studio sale ran from Saturday to Monday so we spent the weekend tending shop at the studio. Our new monsters Dirk, Beth, and Wayne were on hand for the occasion and they seemed to garner very positive reactions. They will make a more widespread debut at the Spring One of a Kind Show. Thanks to everyone who dropped by to pick up monsters. The sale was a success.

Character Development: Monday was one of those days that the Monster Factory lives for. Adam and Rhya got a chance to sit down and brainstorm ideas for where to take each of the monster series that we have made. They were able to outline ideas for each series' own section of the Monster Factory website. They also brought us one step closer to a fully realized Monster Land. Sneak peek: the Wingbacks compete in the World's Strongest Monster Competition.

Theresa: Theresa (whose name I am hopefully spelling correctly) began her workstudy at the Monster Factory last Tuesday. Bliss wasted no time getting her familiar with the studio, having her sew up a ‘Kevin’ just minutes after she walked in the door. The first monster is always tricky but Theresa did a fine job. After cutting out some ‘Sheldons’ together Bliss and Theresa finished of the afternoon brainstorming some ideas for aprons, bags, and even lunch boxes.

Noémie: Noémie (whose name is pronounced “no amy”) also began her workstudy last Tuesday as part of Adam’s crack ‘Communications Team’. After a full introduction to the Monster Factory, Noémie began working on her first project. She is heading up an effort to create a Monster Factory mailing program.

Marketing and Communications Plan 2006: The Monster Factory has never had much free time, in fact we rarely have time enough to work on everything that we would like to work on. Case in point: there has never been a single effort made to market our plush monsters. Not that you’ll see monster billboards anytime soon, but it would probably be a good idea to get the word out there...just a little bit more. Enter the ‘Communications Team’. Buoyed by the enthusiasm and confidence of his Ryerson Fashion interns, Adam is developing ‘Marketing and Communications Plan 2006’. Hopefully this effort will pay off over the course of the year. At the very least it should be a fun challenge and a chance to work with some talented students. Also, it's fun to say, ‘Marketing and Communications Plan 2006’.

Photoshop Lesson: On Wednesday afternoon we took some time out to get a quick Photoshop lesson from Adam. He tended to get carried away with the ones and zeroes but in the end Bliss, Xandra and Noémie learned a few handy tricks that should save them some time.

New Monster: Friday ended on a high note with the creation of a new prototype pattern. There wasn’t enough time to sew the new guy up, but we have confidence that we’re on to something good. He or she (we name the monsters after they’re completely finished) is going to be a companion to Douglas and Kyle of the Monsternaut series. It seemed that they needed someone to help them fly their spaceship.

Tune in next week for more monster news.