Monster Factory

2010-11-16T01:20:00.002-05:00

FYI, the Monster Factory Blog has moved to our website.

We've got news and updates at: http://monsterfactory.net/blog

And keep our Facebook page regularly updated: http://www.facebook.com/monsterfactorystudio

2008-12-08T17:02:00.004-05:00

Holiday Open Studio Hours!

In addition to our weekly Monday - Friday hours, our studio will be open to the public for Monster shopping on the following weekend dates:

Saturday, December 13th 11.00am-4.00pm
Sunday, December 14th 11.00am-4.00pm

Saturday, December 20th 11.00am-4.00pm
Sunday, December 21st 11.00am-4.00pm

Please call our email us if you would like to have a specific monster set aside for you.

Our studio is located at 1071 King Street West, Suite 203, Toronto, Ontario.
Link to map and contact info:
http://www.monsterfactory.net/html/contact.htm

Hope to see you soon! Happy happy holiday season,
From the Monster Factory

2008-10-22T12:26:00.007-04:00

Monsters in Flogged Magazine!

Hey check it out, Monster Factory was featured in this months issue of Flogged Magazine! I love this magazine, also known as 'The Designers Recovery Magazine'. They asked us to submit examples of our prototype monsters that never made it to production, and then to show how we recovered from said rejects. We submitted three images of some of our most notorious rejects, who still hang out around the studio, reminding of us of where not to go again. So let me introduce you to Tino, Dwight and Terry.
Tino, a cross between a monster and every unpleasant animal in the world.
Dwight, who looks surprisingly better in the photo than in real life, but trust us something just doesn't work with this guy.

Terry, should not be seen in public!

2008-10-06T14:58:00.004-04:00

Edward and Murphy

Edward and Murphy are a heroic duo who made their classy debut at the SDCC in 2008. These limited edition monsters are available exclusively through Toy Tokyo and the Monster Factory.

Murphy likes to weigh all options before making a decision. It takes him forever to order at restaurants.

Edward has a problem with authority and an unnatural ability of retaining trivial information.

2008-10-06T14:37:00.004-04:00

Format Monster!

Back in September, Format Magazine released their new Monster Factory designed mascot, Clive. He's kinda like Colin's street-wise cousin.

We love the way he turned out! Check it out at Format Magazine!

2008-10-01T14:21:00.011-04:00

ZOMBIES ATTACK THE MF!

Zombie Monsters!

These monsters are for a show at Gallery1988 San Francisco called Monster Art Rally. It opens on October 10th.
Braaaaains!!!

2008-08-23T21:33:00.006-04:00

CRAZY FOR CULT 2

Yesterday was the opening of Crazy for Cult 2, a cult movie themed group show at Gallery1988 in Los Angeles. We took part, creating the Monster Factory's version of Walter, Donny and the Dude from Big Lebowski. The opening night reception was hosted by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier (of Jay and Silent Bob fame) and it sounds like it was a big success. We'll have to make it down next year for Crazy for Cult 3.

Photos of all the work in the show

Gallery 1988's blog of the opening reception

Crazy for Cult site

More Pics:

2008-08-16T00:59:00.004-04:00

PONY MATH

Well it's been a while, but everyone's favourite pickle with an axe to grind is back. We've just posted two new Pickley videos: 'The Internets' and 'The Olympics'. They can be found on Ponymath.com, our new website dedicated to our sketchy video creations. Up next week is the debut of an animated series - Sea Dog. It's... weird.

2008-07-24T17:25:00.004-04:00

Monster Factory Merch Town!!!

For everyone waiting (desperately, no doubt) for a whole wack of Monster Factory Merch available from the comfort of your own internet... the time has come! We are totally rocking a new Cafe Press store with 31 monsters worth of t-shirts, hoodies, bags and more. What's Cafe Press you may ask? Well, it's a website that sells nice quality shirts and stuff for a good price. They take all sorts of payment and are pretty quick about shipping. Check it out, we've got a number of the monsters available already and will be adding more.

Monster Factory T-Shirt Store

Check out some sample designs below:

2008-07-23T00:04:00.003-04:00

Cutest Thing in Toronto!

So this post is a little late, but The Monster Factory just wanted to send out a big thanks to everyone who came out to the Toronto Outdoor Art show a couple of weekends ago to support all the artists. We had a great time participating in this years show, so many good people, amazing art, and delicious ice cream.

But the best thing was being awarded 'The Most Cutest Thing In Toronto' by THE David Fontaine. We are very honored to have received this very estimable award. Thank you so much Mr. David.

2008-06-24T14:23:00.007-04:00

Rhya discussing old school projects:

Rhya - I made a collage out of two hands, holding hands, out of hands.... it blew my mind.

Samantha during a banana flavouring debate (good vs. gross):

Samantha - You don't understand how mad I was when I got my teeth pulled out, because I couldn't put an actual banana in my mouth. You don't understand the rage.

....then trying to recall the quote a few moments later:

Samantha - I don't even remember anymore, something about banana-rage.

Adam regarding Rhya, during a regular monster factory sing-along:

Adam - Your Tina Turner voice sounds like your Chewbacca impression.

Theresa during lunch:

Theresa - If i found out i was allergic to shrimp, i would take six benadryl and go for dim sum.

2008-06-06T19:34:00.004-04:00

When two cats go away...the mice will play!

So Adam and Bliss took off this week for a little vacation on the east side, leaving me in charge of holding down the fort. I figured it would be a breeze, I mean come on, how hard can running the Monster Factory really be? Things started off pretty alright. I mean it was fairly normal, monster making, puppet building, stuffing bags, lunch, laughs...same old same old. But somewhere into the second day it started to get weird and then got weirder and by the end of the week it was just a giant monster mess.

Somehow in all the chaos I managed to document some of the events that unfolded:

First off Samanny EATS LUNCH!

See this is just crazy, she is ordering sushi! Seriously, I should have just called it quits after this very very rare event!

And yes she is dipping that avo roll in soy sauce!

Next our fearless studio manager, actually turned into her alter ego "Princess Grumble Cakes". Up until then it was just a nick name, but with Adam and Bliss gone, Jen turned into a REAL princess, ordering everyone around to do her biddings and making us bring her King Crab meals from the Keg for lunch every day. It was horrible! Absolutely horrible

Princess Grumble Cakes all evil with Keg Take Out!

After that our sweet sweet Catherine went totally UNSWEET, in fact I believe the word is UNSAVOURY! The photo pretty much explains it.

As you can imagine, Catherine didn't make it to lunch that day (and didn't have to pick up the princess' keg meal, so in some ways she was pretty lucky).

Then in an attempt to revolt against Princess Grumble Cakes evil rule, Tally took to hiding in a fort of fabric. She lead a one man revolution against the rein of Grumble Cakes. It got kind of tense there for a second or two.

Commander Tally in position

Calling for back up!

Ok and then this almost put me over the edge, Michelle grew a tail!

A furry tail!

Ok, but what really did it, what really took the cake and made me flip, was our Little Miss Laura. Who earlier in the week had called in sick, but decided to show up for work today...and you wouldn't believe it...Laura had turned into a MONSTER:

She rolled in on her red bike, all cool in her hoodie and shades, but totally a monster!

I have no words.

So as you can imagine I snapped.

I mean really snapped.

Seriously snapped.

Thankfully the week is over, and I made it out of the office. All I can say is the Monster Factory needs two people and there names are Adam and Bliss. So can you please come home now! You are missed!
Yours truly,
Rhya
~
Ok Ok, it was all a joke, none of this really happened...the week was a smiling success, everything got done, no one passed out in a pile of monsters or built a fort in the fabrics, but we did still really miss our friends.

Come home soon A and B, we miss you!
xoxo from the Illustrious Moustache Society A.K.A your staff.

2008-06-03T17:03:00.009-04:00

Misleading Dye Party!

Over the past few weeks Monster Factory has been working on some puppet prototypes. Amidst an ongoing series of trial and error, we are learning lots about foam, sewing mouths, and most recently dying fleece. So, today was spent stirring vats in the kitchen like cauldrens, and attempting not to dye ourselves in the process.

After careful measuring, boiling water, timing (and feeling as though we were part of a grade six science lesson) ... our conclusion of the day is this: Dylon dye is a liar.

...is Reindeer Beige.

...is not Reindeer Beige.

...is Desert Dust.

..is NOT Desert Dust...

...at ALL. So confusing.

2008-05-20T14:33:00.006-04:00

Rhya vs. the increasing use of head math at the Monster Factory:
Rhya - You throw around math like it's currency.

Bliss & comic history:
Bliss - What was that green guy's name? The big hulk?
Adam - The Incredible Hulk?
Bliss - Yeah, that's the guy.

Jess describing her potentially lazy eye:
Jess - I don't want to have an eye that people have to get used to.

2008-05-12T17:32:00.007-04:00

Tremors - Sweded!

Here at the Monster Factory we love not only our own monsters but other creepier ones too. Specifically those dominating the 1990 classic 'Tremors.' So, after a nice morning of stuffing, stitching, and watching Reba McIntire shoot away a wall full of rifles at giant worms... we decided to give tribute to these monsters, in our very own super-ghetto-fabulous-sketchy-remake: Tremors - Sweded.

Those of you who have seen the movie 'Be Kind, Rewind' will be familiar with the concept of Swede-ing. For everyone else, Swede-ing means remaking a movie as fast and cheaply as possible... somewhat in the spirit of making Halloween costumes.

Our other motivating factor was a general love of Kevin Bacon. Or maybe just pretending to be him.

Stay tuned for the final cut of our movie, we'll be posting it as soon as it's edited.

Adam loves Kevin Bacon best.

Whereas Theresa likes the Toronto islands.

And Bliss love the Toronto islands, plus Charlie Chaplin.

Catherine & Theresa aka. Burt & Heather Gummer!

Construction man # 2!

awesome actingness.

awesome sets!

awesome running sequences!

awesome special effects!

awesome driving skills!

and awesomeness in general....

2008-01-29T18:26:00.000-05:00

A monster named Bruce.

Earlier this month we had a chance to participate in Gallery 1988's show "Under the Influence: A tribute to Stan Lee" in Los Angeles. All the artists were asked to interpret the works of Stan Lee in their own style so we decided to give Sebastian the old 'hulk treatment'. The result: A monster named Bruce. The photo doesn't really show it but Bruce is about 4 or five times the size of Sebastian.

To check out more visit Gallery 1988's website or the blog they created with images of all the work in the show.

p.s. we've had a couple of request for Bruce but unfortunately he's a one of a kind.

2007-11-17T23:36:00.001-05:00

Monsters in the National Post

We were fortunate enough to have a feature on the Monster Factory in the Toronto pull out section of last week's National Post. Anyone who read it might have been a little confused to read that Bliss is a man using a nom de plume. She's not. Bliss is her given name and she's not a dude.

Read the article online.

2007-11-15T11:41:00.000-05:00

Holiday Update!

The Monster Factory is ready for the Holidays...for real!

Here is an update of what will be up to over the next while and where to find monsters this season.

Upcoming Shows:

One of a Kind Show
November 22 - Sunday, December 2, 2007
Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place
Toronto, ON

M.A.D.E
December 15th + 16th
The Gladstone Hotel
Toronto, ON

Select monsters are now available in these Canadian Stores:

Alberta
Make 1 Yarns
841 1st Ave NE
Calgary

British Columbia
Dandelion Kids
1206 Commercial Drive
Vancouver

Room 6
4389 Gallant Avenue, Deep Cove
North Vancouver

Manitoba
Desart
117 Osborne Street
Winnipeg

Nova Scotia
Uncommon Kids
1030 South Park Street
Halifax

Ontario
Butter
143 Hurontario Street
Collingwood

Magic Pony
694 Queen Street West
Toronto

Mrs Tiggy Winkles/ Lost Marbles
5 Locations through out Ottawa:
809 Bank Street (in the Glebe shopping district)
Bayshore Shopping Centre
Rideau Shopping Centre
Place D'Orleans
315 Richmond Rd

Oakville Galleries
1306 Lakeshore Rd E
Oakville

Pod Design
75 Metcalfe Street
Elora

Ooh Aah
882 Kingston Rd
Toronto

Propaganda
686 Yonge Street
Toronto

2007-07-18T21:34:00.001-04:00

Monsters at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibit

Monsters made an appearance at the annual Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibit held at Nathan Phillip's Square. At this show we are able to present our limited edition prototype monsters that we sell under the name "Monster Farms". Some may be reincarnated in the Factory, but for the most part we are experimenting and having fun making new monsters. We hope you like!

Hanging out.

Our booth .Wilma

Queenie

Kiera

Brad

Randal

Sally

***We are having a Studio Sale this Saturday, July 21st from 11am - 5pm.

1071 King St. West (at Sudbury)
suite 203
416 913 6673
For more info please visit our website.

2007-06-08T10:48:00.001-04:00

For a map click here

2007-05-08T22:15:00.000-04:00

The Good Catch Motherlode Craft Fair

Please join us at the Good Catch Craft fair this Saturday in Parkdale. We will be there with monsters and so will other lovely artists and designers. And thus begins the onslaught of Spring/Summer outdoor shows... Hopefully the sun will shine!

For more info on the show click here.

2007-04-25T21:32:00.000-04:00

Monsters do M.A.D.E

The Monster Factory will be participating in the Modern Art and Design Exhibit this coming Saturday and Sunday, April 28th and 29th at the Gladstone Hotel. The show includes a number of very talented artists and designers who we love and admire, so come say hello and check out wicked art.

For more info about the show and other artists visit: www.modernartdesignexhibit.com

2007-04-16T16:48:00.000-04:00

Studio Sale

Yeah, I know that the announcement is also on our homepage, but what the heck? Let's be redundant.

2007-04-14T13:50:00.001-04:00

BaseNine in the National Post

It seems like this is fast becoming the BaseNine blog, but I promise we'll get back to Monster news really soon. We've got new monsters launching on April 28th...

But in the meantime let's hear it for Adam and Dimitris who were featured in this Saturday's National Post. They were surprised to see themselves on the cover of the financial section this morning. For the story click here.

test

2007-04-12T16:54:00.000-04:00

Dimitris hits the Big Time

Today's Eye Weekly ran a photo spread entitled "City of Style" and lo and behold Adam's business partner at BaseNine, Dimitris Stubos, turned up dressed as a seedy 70's 'business man'.

Here's to keeping it classy.

Dimitris is on the right and our old friend Caley Tessier is on the left. MF blog enthousiasts may remember Caley's name from a previous post of his wicked Arnold Schwarzenegger drawing.

check out the shoot on Eye's website.

2007-04-02T12:08:00.000-04:00

Gunther and Yohann need your help!

As you may know, we like to release our plush monsters in different series and we like to name those series. Or at least we used to. We've just created Gunther and Johann and are having trouble with the series name. We've decided to ask for help. If anyone has any suggestions please drop us a line at nametheseries@monsterfactory.net. If we pick your name we'll send you a set of the newly named Gunther and Johann.

Thanks.

MF

2007-03-30T00:58:00.000-04:00

And the monsters just keep on coming...

We've added two more new monsters just in time for this weekend. Johann and Gunther took numerous prototypes to get where they ended up. Anyone familiar with Marcel will remember where they started...

2007-03-27T22:54:00.000-04:00

New Monsters!!!

(click on above image to enlarge)

After a exhausting Christmas One of a Kind show we decided we needed to take a break from the show. We've used our time wisely and are releasing four new monsters; Andy and Sebastian, new additions to the "8 Bit" series and Johann and Gunther, of an as yet unnamed (very European looking) series.

Please join us at our studio to help welcome our newest monsters into the world.

for a map to our studio click here

2007-03-22T00:05:00.000-04:00

The Taxman Cometh...

This past week Adam's new venture Base Nine Financial launched its website. Base Nine is a new company that provides financial, tax preparation and accounting services for individuals and small businesses. The company is headed by Dimitris Stubos, who has been the Monster Factory's tax accountant for the past three years while working for an accounting firm that specializes in tax services for actors, writers, designers, artists and other creative types. He's decided to start his own company that specializes in the same areas and Adam is joining him to provide some of his own business experience. Base Nine is also conveniently sharing our studio space on King Street.

baseninefinancial.com

As an added bonus Adam has lent his shaky hand to a series of illustrations for the website:

2007-03-22T00:03:00.000-04:00

Anthony is sold out.

It looks like all the Anthonys are gone, I checked ToyTokyo today and he wasn't there anymore.

2007-03-12T12:33:00.000-04:00

Anthony is Still Available!

A few people have enquired about Gabe and Anthony, the limited edition monsters we did for ToyTokyo at the New York Comicon. While checking their site today I noticed that there are Anthonys available online:

http://www.toytokyo.com/

Anthony's on page 2 right now.

2007-03-09T17:16:00.003-05:00

My Belly Aches!

This is a one of a kind Monster that the Monster Factory made for the upcoming Medical Experiments in Plush show. The show is in Asheville, North Carolina, from March 17 to April 8th, so if you are in the area definitely check it out.

2007-03-02T00:49:00.000-05:00

Last Minute Studio Sale Announcement

Saturday, March 3rd. 11am - 5pm.

2007-02-21T13:12:00.000-05:00

Gabe & Anthony at NY Comic Con

We made a limited run of Gabe & Anthony exclusive to ToyTokyo for the NY Comic Con. The show runs from Friday, February 23rd to Sunday, February 25th. There are only 25 each of these two guys so get there early.

2006-11-21T10:29:00.001-05:00

the Monsters are in a new book
- Dot Dot Dash

Yesterday we received two copies of Dot Dot Dash, a survey of comtemporary three dimensional character design work. It's full of amazing vinyl and plush designs from around the world. Fortunately for us that includes a two page spread on the Monster Factory! It's really a nice book and of course we recommend that everyone runs out and buys one. We'll post a couple of snapshots of it tomorrow, but for now checkout the cover (and look for a familiar face).

visit the publisher's site: DGV

2006-11-07T00:36:00.000-05:00

Monster Factory Launch Party

The time has come again to welcome new monsters into the world. This year we're pleased to announce that Magic Pony will be hosting our party. Please join us on Thursday November 16th to celebrate and meet all the new monsters.

Check out Magic Pony's website: www.magic-pony.com
Click here for directions and info about Magic Pony

2006-10-17T10:05:00.000-04:00

Jeff

"Wanna hang out?"

This photo is dedicated to my spider loving partner Adam.

It should be noted that I had nothing to do with the taking of this photo.
I was about 50ft away cowering like a coward as usual.

I believe this is a dock spider, but I am not 100%.

rhya

2006-10-11T08:07:00.000-04:00

Happy Fall!

From all the monsters at the monster factory, and these two wild guys.

2006-10-04T21:21:00.000-04:00

Nuit Blanche
Hashis have a party in Queen's Park and then vanish!

On Saturday night the Hashi Brothers, came to Toronto to participate in the free festivities of Nuit Blanche, a seriously awesome contemporary art party thing.

setting up the lagoon

With the help of their friends Steve, Kyle and Rhya, The Hashi Brother's trucked downtown with a little bit of their lagoon in tow, (Hashis' like to feel at home as much as possible), including some of the lagoon light bugs, who were too lazy not to come. They set up directly in front of the Royal Ontario Museum off Queens Park, a great central location to enjoy all the night's fun.

all set up

the location

The Nuit Blanch party was a smashing hit.

new friends

Hashi's are very social and they made many new friends.

light show
Even the lazy light bugs got into the groove.

night time

It was heaven in the Hashi lagoon that night!

the fog

Their trusty helpers, decided to leave the brothers' party around 3.00am, since they wanted to check out some of the other events happening around town and maybe catch a couple of zzzzs.

This would be the last time Steve, Kyle and Rhya would ever see the eleven Hashi Brothers.

vanished

When they returned at 7.00am, all the Hashi's had mysteriously vanished, leaving their lagoon and lazy light bugs, totally unattended. The three friends looked all over for their the missing brothers, but came up empty handed. As far as they could tell the Hashi Brothers had become souvenirs of the Nuit Blanche.

We hope they have all found new homes.

For now their abandoned lagoon resides in Rhya and Kyle's basement, and the light bugs live in the upstairs hallway under the stairs...they are still very lazy.

P.S. If you happen to hear from a Hashi please let us know, we miss them.

for more lagoon and nuit blanche photos click here

2006-09-29T11:47:00.000-04:00

Music Time If you are in the Toronto area, come and check it out!
Hashi No Hashi Site
Frank Atom Site
Good + Time + Music = Good Time Music

2006-09-19T14:45:00.000-04:00

Studio Sale: Saturday September 23rd

We're open this Saturday for anyone who needs monsters. Please note that we've moved (within the building) upstairs to suite 203, for anyone who has visited our old studio.

~click on drawing to enlarge~

map to studio here

2006-09-13T22:52:00.000-04:00

Public Shame!

Now you ask, "what does this have to do with monsters?". Well, this is a clear example why you should never mess with us at the Monster Factory. After one of our workstudy students challenged us to find an embarrassing photo of her Anime North costume online she couldn't have expected this. Here's to you Double J.

p.s. We warned her that if we found the picture we'd publish it.

2006-09-13T01:55:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Bliss Man!
From everyone at the Monster Factory and this pitcher guy you like.
May your day be filled with lots of love and laughter.

2006-09-13T00:57:00.000-04:00

Weekend in Cabbagetown

This three day show began on Friday at 6am when the 200 or so exhibitors were allowed to claim their booth space for the weekend. Unfortunately that was just too early for us and we opted for a 7:30am run at it. Being our first time doing this show we had no idea what to expect of this scramble for land. It turns out that bringing our sign would have been helpful or a marker and even a piece of paper. Seeing as we had none of these things we relied on fellow exhibitors and a handy stick to claim our space.
Did I mention we won our first award? I'm very excited about it even though it's only an honorable mention. We got balloons and had some pictures taken of us. Thanks Cabbagetown!

2006-09-06T12:27:00.000-04:00

Cabbagetown Art and Crafts Show

This show will be the last of our outdoor shows for the year. Let's keep our fingers crossed that it won't rain. It should be a fun weekend. It's located right outside the Riverdale farm. I haven't been there since I was a kid, so it'll be a walk down memory lane...

For more info on the show click here

2006-09-05T00:14:00.000-04:00

Monster Factory at Fan Expo 2006

This weekend we ventured into the unknown and participated in our very first comic book expo. It was held here in Toronto at the Metro Convention Center.

Part of coming to this convention is dressing up as your favourite sci-fi/anime/horror character. We were in the company of Darth Vadar, Spiderman, and several Luke Skywalkers. At one point I think I even saw a Goofy and this is just to name a few. All in all, it was an impressive sight.

Princess Leia was also there and I mean the real one, Carrie Fisher. She was there signing autographs. I was personally really excited about seeing Gates McFadden who played Dr. Beverly Crusher on Star Trek the Next Generation. Unfortunately I missed her autograph session and was very disappointed. Other celebrity highlights were: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Linda Blair, Alice Cooper, and Rowdy Roddy Piper. Rhya would probably add the cast of Degrassi.

Okay, so I was a little starstruck...

Here are some pictures from our weekend:

Sad Bliss, Happy Rhya

Happy Bliss, Sad RhyaThe Terminator, sans flesh
Astro Boy a.k.a Joel
Princess Leia and BazStorm Trooper and WayneDarth Vadar and Patty...oh no!

2006-08-28T06:49:00.000-04:00

Get ready for it...Plush ball!!!

It's what happens at the Monster Factory when things get out of hand. Now with a little bit of refinement and some rules it's being realized as a real game thanks to our very cooperative friends who acted as our guinea pigs this weekend.

Let's just say there are teams, goals, and plush balls. Doesn't that just spell F.U.N? And the best part is that getting hit by a plush ball doesn't hurt. Admittedly there are still some things that need figuring, but we expect plush ball to be an Olympic sport very soon.

Apart from the thrill of competition, what I got from the experience is the reminder that I'm exceedingly out of shape, so much so that I still can't walk properly...boo hoo.

Bliss makes a break for it

Rhya tries to sneak one by

Bliss defends her goal by trying to sit on it...not cool

Go Bliss go!

Go Dimitris go!

You gotta pass the ball!!

2006-08-23T14:14:00.000-04:00

Giant Spider Alert!

This giant creature has been lurking in the bushes a couple of doors down from Bliss and Adam's house. We named her Melanie.

Two of the Monster Factory partners are big spider fans. Rhya is not.

2006-08-16T21:30:00.000-04:00

2006-08-09T17:45:00.000-04:00

Design Exchange Camp at The Monster Factory

It was no ordinary day at the Monster Factory studio. We played host to 19 kids from the DX summer camp. It's toy design week there so the kids came to learn about our design process and to get inspired for tomorrow when it's their turn to make plush stuff (at the camp).

As a side note...these kids are so lucky! Back in the day we just took trips to the local pool and made gimp bracelets. Apparently the camp also offers fashion and costume design weeks. I wonder how old you have to be to sign up.....Check out the Design Exchange site at www.dx.org

Unfortunately Rhya was unable to make it, so she played Polkaroo yet again. She was missed very much. We'd like to thank the kids and the organizers who came by today. We had a great time and we hope you did too!

Bliss and Adam talking the talk

Later that day...

What better way to end an already great day, but then with a game of croquet. Even after a hard days work our girls still made it out. What a team...we love them!

Adam won both games before we packed it in...we really have to practice.

2006-07-15T14:44:00.000-04:00

Monster Fans
These girls have lots of love for the Little Blisses

2006-07-10T21:03:00.000-04:00

The Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibit

This weekend the Monster Factory participated in the annual Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibit at Nathan Philip's Square. For the past three years we've had the opportunity to showcase new monster prototypes under the name Monster Farms.

The show gives us a chance to explore new ideas, techniques, shapes, etc. and then see how people respond to them. From there we can decide which monsters are suitable to bring up to the Monster Factory. We have a lot of fun preparing for this show and we always love the collection of funny monsters we make. Here's a sample of what went down. Feel free to leave your comments.

Rhya, taking care of business

Cedric

Kenji

Babushka

Terry

Walt

Sherman Jr.

Andre

Manny & Ruth

Randy the raindrop

2006-06-22T18:56:00.000-04:00

Come One, Come all, to our Studio Sale!!

The Monster Factory is opening its doors this coming Saturday June 24th from 11am - 5pm. Monsters will be available for sale as well as t-shirts and buttons. For a map to our studio click here.

Monster Factory
1071 King St. West (1 block west of Shaw)
Suite 203 (NEW)
Toronto, Ontario

*** to reserve your monster please call us at: 416 913 6673 or e-mail us at: info@monsterfactory.net

2006-06-14T22:40:00.000-04:00

Kyle Follows the Stars!

Hey, check out these upcoming events Kyle found while strolling through the galaxy:

The Kit n' Kaboodle Show and Sale
This Friday, from 12.00pm to 10.00pm
At the Great Hall, 1087 Queen West and Dovercourt
For more info and images, travel here!

Hashi no Hashi in Concert!
Live at the Embassy Bar
223 Augusta Ave
Wednesday, June 21st, 9pm

The Monster Factory loves loves loves Hashi No Hashi.
They make delicious and dance-0-licious, hand clapping and electro pop goodness,
Oh and the drummer is really cute!
Please Listen here!

2006-06-07T22:55:00.000-04:00

Magnus Pumps Iron!!!

by rhya

2006-06-07T22:34:00.000-04:00

Beaches Arts and Crafts Show

Our next show is fast approaching... Look for us on Saturday June 10th and Sunday the 11th at Kew Gardens Park in the Beaches.

The park is located at Queen Street East and Lee Avenue. Click here for a map of the area. Admission is free and it's always nice to hang out near water on sunny days (let's keep our fingers crossed). Monsters will be in attendance and we look forward to seeing you.

For more info about the show go to: http://www.beachesartsandcraftsshow.com/

2006-05-27T23:40:00.000-04:00

A Monster Factory First...

One Man Wrecking Machine was posted on YouTube, marking the first monster appearance on the site. Way to go Kevin.

2006-05-26T10:55:00.000-04:00

Kevin's Big Break

Kevin the Monster took a small step towards international fame this week with the release of Guster's latest video for "One Man Wrecking Machine". Kevin takes a starring role in the production, supported by a host of other Monster Factory characters. We all think that the video turned out wonderfully thanks to diector/animator Drew Lightfoot. Hopefully the band is just as happy. I think we can assume so, as they have wasted no time in posting it on their site.

Check it out at:
http://www.guster.com/splash060518/video.html

Guster:
http://www.guster.com/

2006-05-25T16:39:00.000-04:00

Crafternoon Tea!

The Monster Factory is kicking off it's summer show schedule this weekend in the Beach(es) at an event called Crafternoon Tea. For more in fo on the show check out: nathalie-roze.com

Saturday, May 27th
11am - 6pm
Bellefair United Church
2002 Queen St. East, In the Beaches across from Kew Gardens

2006-05-24T23:37:00.000-04:00

Blast From The Past!

In the spirit of Proto-typing Fun, I thought I would share with you some of our earliest designs. These are the actual proto-types from our first series: The Heartbreakers. As you can see they went through quite a few redesigns before reaching their finalized states. You may also notice that our proto-typing skillz have improved over the years, but I still think these prehistoric monsters have managed to retain some, if not all, of their original charm.

Early Rusty examples.

Sheldon become thicker and shorter.

Trevor changed colours.

Rusty-ish!

Pink Guy.

I suppose this is an example of an early Dudley. So far he is my favorite, especially with his dapper toe tappin.

Dudley's long lost cousins!

2006-05-22T13:29:00.000-04:00

Matt James: Escape > From Toronto

Check out this Toronto artist. We're big fans...

Matt James Escape >From Toronto
OPENS Thursday May 25th. 7-10pm
SHOWING May 25th, - June 4th, 2006
SITE 1080 Queen St. West
HOURS Thursday - Sunday. 12-5PM or by appointment

KATHARINE MULHERIN CONTEMPORARY ART PROJECTS SIDESHOW
1080 QUEEN ST W, TORONTO ON M6J 1H8
CONTACT: KATHARINE MULHERIN @ 416.537.8827

www.mattjames.ca
info@mattjames.ca
416 573 5053

2006-05-16T23:24:00.000-04:00

Proto-typing FUN!!!

When the Monster Factory isn't super busy preparing monsters for shows, we are able to take the time to make new monsters. This involves a lot of sketching, idea storming, and eventually we end up translating a drawing into a three dimentional plush monsters. It's a pretty exciting time because we get to experiment with new shapes and sewing techniques. We do make a lot of prototypes. Not all of them work out, but it's still fun making them and we always get a laugh out of the ones that don't quite work.

Over these past few months we've been fortunate enough to have help from students from Ryerson's Fashion program. They've been essential to the production of monsters, but as much as they must love to make our monsters we were anxious to give them an opportunity to make some of their own. Why else would you ever work for free at the MF?

We are proud to present monster prototypes made by our interns and by us.

Monacle Bunny
by rhya

Bucky
by bliss
Groupies
by Theresa, Samantha, and Hillary

Flying Hightop
by xandra

Rabies and Rabies
by laura

Destructo the Robot
by samantha

made by rhya

2006-05-11T23:39:00.000-04:00

Our First Workshop!

On Tuesday, the entire Monster Factory (plus two sewing machines, some pattern drafting tools, a variety of fabrics and a bag of stuffing) piled into a car and headed north on Yonge Street, all the way to Aurora and our destination: Arts Day at St Andrew's College.

The lovely Randi Berman, who is the middle school arts teacher at St. Andrews, invited us to come up and instruct a couple of workshops on Monster Making 101. We had a busy day, split into two intense 140 minute blocks of creature creation, with 8 students per session. Our goal was to take the students through the process we undergo when making a monster from start to finish. By the end of the day the St. Andrews boys had designed, patterned, cut, sewed, and stuffed four very original and wicked monsters, complete with names and characteristics.

It was an awesome experience. The students were wildly creative and came up with some fantastic ideas: like snake hands, doughnut-holed torso's, double-headed ambition, and mohawked lizard heads!

We would like to thank Randi Berman for giving us the opportunity to participate in such a wonderful event, and the other great staff at St Andrew's who helped us out through out the day, and of course to the middle school students who made our day an amazing monster riot!

We took a few photos of the event that we would like to share:

Mac-FADS!

Awesomeness!

A-JAM!

Hammer Head, and others.

Bliss displaying a masterpiece. Check it out, a hole straight through the centre!

The Mac-FADS team!

Deep in a design brainstorm.

Two of the creators displaying their double headed wonder.

Two members of the A-Jam team.

2006-04-18T12:05:00.000-04:00

Monster Factory Studio Sale

We're opening our doors this Saturday, April 22nd for another studio sale. Please feel free to drop by between 11am and 6pm, hopefully we can satisfy all your pressing monster needs.

If there are any monsters that you NEED to have please drop us a line beforehand so that we can set them aside for you. We plan to have a broad monster selection but some of them have a tendancy to sell out.

Monster Factory:
1071 King Street West
Suite 106
416 913 6673

Click here for a map to our studio

2006-04-14T18:27:00.000-04:00

Happy Easter!

From Everyone at the Monster Factory!

(hand dyed with onion skins, scratch easter eggs by kyle and rhya)

2006-04-05T23:44:00.000-04:00

From The Fields

Over the past couple of months Kyle and I have been hard at work on an instillation for the upcoming Collection of Foreign Object's group exhibition called Generated Habitats, curated by Alexandra Rdest, Reiko Shimizu and Steve Newberry.

The show will take place in a vacant dwelling, Apartment #2-1022 Queen St West Toront, and will run from April 6 through to April 29th. Hours are Thursday to Saturday from 12.00pm-6.00pm.

For more information on the show and other artists involved please check out the website here.

And if you are free, come out to the opening reception on Friday April 7th, from 7.00pm-10.oopm.

Kyle and I cast close to 50 polyurethane scupltures from five silicone molds to produce our instillation which is titled From The Fields. It was a huge learning experience. The antlers were the hardest part, being the trickest to initially cast and mold.
The Field Figurines are placed all about the apartment. I took some pics to illustrate what I mean, but if you are in Toronto, you should definitely check out the show in person, there is a ton of great work, a beautiful bathtub intillation, an artificial lagoon and a room on it's side!

2006-03-29T00:23:00.000-05:00

One of a Kind Show Begins Today

There may have been a noticeable lack of blog entries lately but we've had a good reason. We have been working around the clock in preparation for this year's Spring One of a Kind Show. It starts today at 11:00am and runs until Sunday at 6:00pm. It should be a good few days. I think we generally prefer the spring show to the Christmas show. It's a bit more fun, a bit more fashion-related. Hopefully we'll have a chance to document some of the show and give everyone who hasn't ever been there a sense of what it's all about.

http://www.oneofakindshow.com/

2006-03-27T10:37:00.000-05:00

Berry Bunch Disaster

There is bad news for anyone looking forward to the debut of the Berry Bunch at this week's One of a Kind show. Unfortunately they will not be making an appearance. We made a mistake on their silkscreens which has led to cracking all around their teeth. It's not pretty.

We are all sorry that these new monsters won't be on hand for the show but we do want to have them ready in a few weeks. The plan is to launch them at our studio sale in late April.

On a positive note all the other new monsters have worked out fine and will be at the show. PAX is particularly adorable, though Baz and Emmitt's tattoos are pretty impressive too.

2006-03-20T00:40:00.000-05:00

Our Newest AdditionsWith the One of a Kind Show just ten days away we've finalized the new additions to our Monster Collection. Expect to see all of these new monster along with the old favourites. It brings the total to 46 monsters from 12 different families.

2006-03-16T22:13:00.000-05:00

Rhya after a long day:
Rhya - "Sometimes living in my brain is so hard. Like yesterday when I forgot the spinach, I just wanted to die."

Bliss draws a fine distinction:
Adam - "I'm just going to do one more scan while you tidy"
Bliss - "Oh, I don't want to tidy. I'm just going to clean up my stuff."

Rhya's advice about our friend Caley's facial hair:
Adam - "He’s got a soul patch."
Rhya - "You’ve got to tell him to get rid of it. If you don’t it’s going to get out of control."

2006-03-16T00:05:00.000-05:00

The Ocelot!

Yesterday Rhya played the 'Google Images' game and taught us all a little bit about the majestic Lynx. I thought that it would only be appropriate to return the favour and highlight a lesser-known member of the feline kingdom: the Ocelot. This handsome fellow holds a particular place in my heart because I played for the "Ocelots" soccer team when I was nine.

How could you not love the mighty Ocelot? They live in pairs and make friendly pets (though their terrible smell makes that less of an option)

The Ocelot: a Darker Side

Unfortunately, enthusiasm for the Ocelot can run amok. Google Images provided the following pictures. They all came up searching for "ocelot".

Strange.

Stranger.

???

2006-03-15T12:37:00.000-05:00

The Lynx

Lynxs are cool. They have giant paws and aeordynamic ears.

I played the google images game today using the word "lynx" and these are some of the crazy things that came up...the hat was a little disturbing, but the constellation is awesome!

Yes!

Double Yes!

So Good!

Horrible!

2006-03-13T22:12:00.000-05:00

Mamechiyo Modern at Magic Pony!

So right now, there is a fantastic show happening down at the Magic Pony gallery, exibiting the work of Mamechiyo, the exciting modern Kimono designer. If you are in Toronto you should definitely check it out.

I went to the opening last thursday to check it out myself, and wow wow wow, I know I was kimono crazy before, but now it is out of control!
Also, thanks to Yumiko, kimono dresser and lender extrodinaire, I got to attend in a Kimono, (Yumiko also dressed four other people for the night, including herself). It was so much fun.
The highlight of the evening was meeting Mamechiyo, who was wearing the most beautiful obi, with an astronaut hopping about on the moon.
I love her words on wearing Kimono:
"It's about living kimono as a lifestyle, a philosophy." (this is from this great globe and mail article).
and to close the evening check out these beautiful geta!

2006-03-10T01:38:00.000-05:00

Okay, so Rhya isn't really a cannibal (as last weeks 'Quotes of the Week' may have indicated). She would like the world to know that she was taken "out of context".

In my defense the quote is verbatim and regardless of the context it sounds pretty cannibal-ish.

This week's installment of MFQW should draw some heat away from Rhya's problem, we've got a couple of newcomers to the Monster Factory who seem to fit right in, quotes and all.

Daniela was telling us about a friend who is a particularly unhealthy eater.
Bliss – "Does she look unhealthy?
Daniela – "No, she’s not overweight or anything. I just wouldn’t want to take a trip to her insides."

Noemie offered medical(?) advice to Adam when he noticed his hand shaking.
Adam – "Even when I'm cutting my hand is still shaking."
Noemie – "Do you need some cheese, or juice?"

Bliss and Adam discussing a dubious work-study placement that Bliss had while studying fashion at Ryerson.
Adam - "How could you put down Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory as work study?"
Bliss – "It was visual merchandising."
Adam – "It was chocolate!"
Bliss – "They didn’t know that."
Adam – "But it’s in the name!"

2006-03-08T23:30:00.000-05:00

Under the Sea part 2

Not to be outdone by the Monster Factory's resident underwater creations an American team of marine biologists have discovered a new species of marine creature. It's called the 'Kiwa hirsuta' and it looks like a furry lobster. Apparently it is distinct enough from other species that it warrants a new taxonomic family and a new genus.

The Monster Factory particularly likes it more commonly used name: the Yeti crab.

Check out the story at BBC World News >>>

(Image: Ifremer/A. Fifis)

2006-03-08T01:04:00.000-05:00

Kevin's Sketchbook!

Today we are posting a new section of the Monster Factory website dedicated to the art of Kevin the monster. Consider it a work in progress, not unlike a real sketchbook. Some of the drawings may seem familiar as they have been featured in past installments of 'Sketch of the Week.

Below is a preview image from the new site. To link to the site itself click here.

2006-03-07T11:17:00.000-05:00

Emmitt's Arms

I was up late last night sketching the tattoos for Emmitt's arms. I think the designs are working. This is more or less what they'll look like:

It's took a while to get back into the swing of pencil drawing but by the time I was finished I had just gotten the hang of it again. Stay tuned for Baz's arms, coming soon. (Baz's prototype was previously shown under the name 'Stephen' but we decided to make a switch)

2006-03-05T22:20:00.000-05:00

Under The Sea!

For the past few days the Monster Factory has been host to a group of undersea creatures. A collection of plush creations has been on loan to us from our newest work-study student, Stephanie Yee. She brought them in for her interview and was nice enough to leave them with us for a few weeks. We’ve got a starfish, a jellyfish and an ice cream cone: three mainstays of undersea life.

Needless to say we are glad to have Stephanie on board.

2006-03-04T00:32:00.000-05:00

(Adam asking Bliss about one of her workstudy placements)
Adam - "How did you end up working at Lilliput Hats?"
Bliss – "Well the sign said: “Like Hats?"... And I did.

(Rhya mulling over the possibilities of survivalist cannibalism, if there were no other options)
"If you guys were already really, really dead, well of course I’d eat you. It’s a matter of survival…but I wouldn’t eat you guys alive. That’s just weird."

(While opening the door to our studio)
Adam - "Imagine we are being robbed right now."
Bliss - "I imagine that every time I open the door... It’s a hard life I live."

2006-02-28T23:26:00.001-05:00

About The Office

Ok, so maybe Broadway isn't the best word to describe Bliss, but seriously you name any classic musical or Disney Cartoon and I guarantee Bliss will know at least one of the songs front to back, and will then seranade you with her own rendition.
ps...this is a piece of mouse artwork, i still need a little practice.

The reason I am bringing up Bliss and her lovely singing, is the fact that at the Monster Factory we like to sing, actually we love to sing. Recently we have even begun singing out lines of our conversations rather than saying them...seriously we really are doing this.

I suppose the studio side of the office might have more singing than the office side, long hours hunched over the juki's or cutting out monsters around the table definitely inspire or require a little sing along now and again.

Karaoke, Home-aroke, choral style, pop songs, triple trio, you name it, we are singing it.
So stay tuned all of you who share our passion of singing, you never know when we might start auditioning for more members to the Monster Factory Choir!

And before I go, I thought I would list my current three favorite sing along songs:
(and I am hoping that the rest of the Factory will add their top three aswell!)

1. Fiona Apple ~ Extrodinary Machine
2. Melanie ~ Rollerskates or the Kansas Song
3. Elvis ~ Blue Moon of Kentucky

and what are yours?

2006-02-28T23:09:00.000-05:00

Just in Time for Spring

The Monster Factory is growing once again. Hot on the heels of our recently released 'Little Blisses' come even more monsters. We posted PAX, who will join the 'Monsternauts' series, the other day and today we finished a last round of prototyping on six more monsters. We're not sure on names yet but there will be two new monster families.

With the Spring One of a Kind Show only 4 weeks away we've got a lot of work to do but we plan to have all these new additions on hand for the show.

These guys are pretty manic. Picture them running around throughout monster world being chased by various field creatures. They're probably also sceaming. The coloured scribbles on their heads are berries so I guess they'll be a source of food (just the berries, not the whole monster). The line work on the monsters in the photo will all be replaced with silkscreened drawings once these guys are in production. Around the studio they've been known as the 'berry bunch'.

Emmitt and Stephen. These two guys are big favourites. Again, the sloppy marker drawings will be replaced with silkscreening, but generally this is what Emmitt and Stephen are going to look like. They're twin brothers and a little thug-ish but beyond that that we're still working on their story.

Emmitt's close-up.

Here's PAX again, just so he doesn't feel left out.

2006-02-27T23:25:00.000-05:00

Artist of The Week:

Tara Donovan

Colony, 2002

A few weeks back I stumbled upon the most amazing work, via a link on illustrator and fellow blogger Shannon Lowry's site. The artist's name is Tara Donovan, and she creates these incredible and unbelievable sculptural instillations from common everyday objects.

Untitled, 2003

Viewed from afar her pieces look like bizarre and beautiful abstract landscapes.

Untitled, Detail, 2003

It is not until you get up close, that you realize what these delicate cloudy masses or jagged sculptural terrains, are actually made up of; Donovan uses a variety of ordinary materials, such as styrophoam cups, pencils, or tooth pics, grouped together in large quantities to create her site specific and "site responsive" pieces.

Moire, 1999

Each material's properties are explored and put to the test, coils of adding machine paper are stacked in large piles of varying heights, and steel pins are arranged in a large cube, held together by only "friction and gravity"... it is all really quite outstanding!

I hope you enjoy her work as much as I have.

You can read more and see more about New York artist Tara Donavan's work here and here.

2006-02-26T23:23:00.000-05:00

Week in Review:
(February 20 - 24th)

Reading Week: It's that time of the year again when university students get to take a break from their hectic schedules. I wish the Monster Factory had a reading week... we'd probably have to become a university first. While some of them stayed in the city, others took the opportunity to do other fun and exciting things.

So, what did some of our workstudy students get up to? Xandra took off for the sun in California. She spent her week visiting Orange County, home of the O.C and Gwen Stefani. She's a big fan so it only seems appropriate.

Meanwhile, Daniela spent her week visiting her hometown so that she could take care of some dental work. Probably not the most ideal way to spend a week off, but we all know how important taking care of our pearly whites are.

Needless to say, we miss them and look forward to their return.

Production: People often ask us how long it takes to make a monster and it's usually a round about kind of answer. The Spring One of a Kind show begins in four weeks and three days and we need to make a lot of monsters. We'd like to have a nice amount of stock there so we're aiming for 600 monsters. So, the answer to that question is that it takes 4 weeks and 3 days to make 600 monsters...and we're keeping our fingers crossed on that one.

New Monsters: They're on their way and we're really excited. So far, we are anticipating the arrival of two thug-like monsters named Emitt and Stephen, and a few monsters we've taken to calling the "berry bunch". They look like bushes with berries in them...you probably have to see them to believe them. Let's not forget little Pax. He's our addition to the Monsternaut series... and he's very cute.

We've got our work cut out for us, but we will persevere and there will be monsters at the One of a Kind Show!

2006-02-25T22:42:00.000-05:00

The Latest Obsession in the Studio

Tracksy may be old news to some bloggers, but it's become a mild addiction at the Monster Factory so we though we'd pass the word around. Tracksy is a simple online web stats tracker. Anyone can get an account at tracksy.com that shows you straightforward web traffic statistics for your site. It's a free service for sites with less than 25000 page views a month. You just copy some html code from their site into the code of your blog template or website. Most web hosts provide similar programs that can be found in the c-panel but we prefer tracksy for its cleanliness and legibility. It's also pretty fun to sign-in and see how your traffic is doing. We recommend eight or nine time a day. Not that we have a problem...

This is a sample screen shot.

2006-02-24T00:56:00.000-05:00

Sculptures of The Week!

These are sculpy prototypes for an upcoming project. These guys will eventually be made into silicone molds and then cast in plastic.

2006-02-22T19:44:00.000-05:00

(Our friend Tomislava dropped by the studio the other day. She mentioned to us how her boyfriend Karim knew way more about computers than she did)
Tomislava - "When Karim was eight he was in his room programming video games. When I was eight I was in the forest, jumping out of trees."

(Rhya describing an Elvis dance move that prominently featured his guitar)
"That’s such a crazy dance move; you can tell he’s got no formal training!"

(Confusion between Rhya, Bliss, and Jay-Z)
Rhya - "I’ve got a heart-on for Jay-Z"
Bliss - "(shocked) WHOA!!!"
Rhya - "No, no, no, a HEART-on!"
Bliss - "Oh. (pause) Hey can that be a quote of the day?"

2006-02-21T17:25:00.000-05:00

the Monster Factory in Action

Our friend Caley Tessier recently sent us this photo, taken not long after we moved into our new studio. Thanks Caley.

2006-02-20T18:35:00.000-05:00

New Monster in the Works

Here's a look at the newest edition to the Monsternauts family. We've been calling him"PAX" for now (because of his pack and our new Ikea shelving unit: 'Pax) but that name is destined to change. He is going to assist Kyle and Douglas as they explore the universe. Expect him this spring.

2006-02-20T16:57:00.000-05:00

Monster Factory Website Back Online

Sorry to everyone who couldn't reach www.monsterfactory.net for the past few days. We were switching hosts and unfortunately the transition was not smooth.

We are now back up and running. Hooray.

p.s. we also lost some emails, so if you sent anything on Friday please send again. Thanks.

2006-02-20T00:02:00.000-05:00

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.

2006-02-17T02:08:00.000-05:00

Sketch of the Week

Today marks the dawn of a new era at the Monster Factory: the Hightop Era. We're talking ankle support to spare! Not to mention extra long laces. And also (we hope) some nasty dunks.

2006-02-16T11:15:00.000-05:00

Here we go again, more strange talkin' from the studio:

(Last week there was an unpleasant smell in our building. Someone was coming from office to office trying to find the source, though they didn't knock on ours. Bliss figured out why.)
"I wonder why they didn’t knock on our door? I guess we do have a reputation for smelling good."

(A fairly random outburst from Rhya while she was sewing)
"You know what? I’m through with compromise!"

(Xandra describing the foods she doesn't like. Lettuce is one of them)
"I don’t like iceberg it makes me throw up."

(A girl named Beatrix came by our studio sale with her mother. She decided she wanted to get a Stanley monster who reminded her of a friend)
Beatrix - "He’s like the Stanley in my class."
Rhya – "Is Stanley afraid of spiders too?"
Beatrix - "Stanley’s afraid of everything!"

2006-02-14T23:22:00.000-05:00

Things We Make: Buttons!

Since Adam did such a good job of showcasing our button machine the other day, I thought it only fitting to show you what our buttons look like. Please keep in mind that this is only a small cross section of our selection. Every Monster Factory character has their own solo button, and there is a variety of other interesting monsters who can be seen chilling, hanging, or lounging about here and there.

Wall Flower, semi-formal let down.

Friendly.

Kevin's socks.
Sooo good.

Hibernating.

We make 1 inch buttons, and they are guaranteed to snazz up any jacket, bag, or well where ever you decide to pin them. The entire selection, and there are many more, will eventually be available on line. If you are interested in purchasing some buttons, email info@monsterfactory.net, for more information.

2006-02-14T01:20:00.000-05:00

About the Studio
by Bliss Man

This is the bulletin board that sits next to my desk in the Monster Factory studio. I have a ten year old sister named Adriana who is super amazing. She wrote this poem for school and I keep it close by. It's a good poem so I recommend that you read it. Click on it to make it bigger and more legible.

P.S. Did you know that writing Rhya's name so often makes me want to spell Ryerson with an "h"? Rhyerson, that's better.

2006-02-12T21:21:00.000-05:00

Week in Review

(February 6th - 10th)

Production: This week was spent mostly 'in production' due to our up coming studio sale. We had set our goals and were trying to meet them. This meant long hours cutting out and sewing up monsters. It was a pretty tight race but in the end we made it thanks to Xandra, who stayed extra late with us on Friday. Heroine indeed.

Daniela: She's the newest member to our super awesome workstudy crew. She'll be giving Adam a hand in executing the Monster Factory marketing plan 2006. We're all excited about taking over the world...

New Monsters: The greatest achievement of the week was finalizing our newest monsters. It was certainly a challenge, seeing as we were knee deep in production. We managed to give the patterns a final tweek and off they were to be sewn...by us. One day we'll have an army of sewers! I've promised myself this many times while sewing the many monsters we sew. It gives me comfort.

After giving the monsters their names (the fun part) we had the difficult task of naming the series. Sometimes this is easy and sometimes not...this time it was not. We were coming up with abysmal names and kept on suggesting names like, the "Heartbreakers" which, of course, was already taken. We were kicking ourselves over that one. How perfect would that have been?

We finally settled on the "Little Blisses". This was the name of an original series Rhya made for my birthday way back when. They were very sweet monsters made out of some fabric I'd given her a few months before. So, for the record, these monsters were not named after me...but you have to admit it is a pretty awesome name...tee hee.

Monster traits can also be a very fun part of monster making. Again, we had trouble. I think it was due to the distraction of sewing and thinking at the same time. We knew that they looked kind of slow and were intense in showing their affection, but sometimes that's hard to put into words. Adam came through once again and we were off to the printers!

Alas, it turns out that one of our biggest lessons this week is that many printers are closed on the weekend. Boo-urns! The story has a good ending though. Adam ended up at a Staples not too far away and the tags were printed. He then made it back to the studio where we tagged the "Little Blisses". Please give Beth, Dirk, and Wayne a warm welcome to the Monster Factory.

The End

2006-02-12T13:16:00.000-05:00

Greetings from the Studio Sale

The new monsters finally have names! Meet “the Little Blisses”. Wayne is the big green fellow, Dirk is the purple guy who looks like an angler fish, and Beth is the little blue sweetheart. So far they have had a warm reception from everyone who has dropped by this weekend.

The new monsters are settling in well.

Beth tries to “keep it together” but her enthusiasm has a way of getting the best of her.

Wayne regards himself as a good listener but his attention has been known to wander.

Dirk is a known instigator who is usually able to charm his way out of trouble.

The rest of the fellows have welcomed them with open arms.

2006-02-10T11:03:00.000-05:00

Studio Sale Correction!

The Monster Factory dropped the ball this week. We sent out an announcement for our studio sale a few days ago with the wrong days of the week. The dates were right but no one really looks at the dates. We sent out a corrected invite but inevitably it won't reach everyone. So, to clarify, the studio days and hours are as follows:

Saturday, February 11th - 11am to 5pm
Sunday, February 12th - 12pm to 5pm
Monday, February 13th - 12pm to 8pm

Sorry if we inconvenienced anyone.

2006-02-10T00:52:00.000-05:00

Greatest Drawing Ever!

No offence to Rhya's Sketch of the Week but this drawing needs attention. In the upcoming weeks we may do a feature on the Monster Factory's little art collection but there can be no delay in posting the newest jewel in our collection's crown. A birthday gift to me, this pencil crayon masterpiece was created by Caley Tessier. He may be horrified that we are posting it in public view but the Monster Factory loves this drawing. Mr. Tessier possesses considerable talents, and though he considers this one of the worst drawings he has ever done we believe that everyone will see what we see, a work of genius. And yes, your eyes do not deceive you, it IS a picture of Arnold Schwarzenegger dressed as Caesar.

2006-02-09T23:30:00.000-05:00

Sketch of The Week

Enemy meets Friends

2006-02-09T01:01:00.000-05:00

Two Days Until the Newest Monsters Arrive

They are unnamed as of right now but the newest additions to the Monster Factory are on schedule to be launched this weekend. We are having a Valentines Day studio sale and monster launch this Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Please click on the invite below for more information. Also, I have included a link for a map to our studio.

Studio Location: http://www.monsterfactory.net/html/contact.htm