The NEW new studio

It's been a while since we've posted regularly, but that's probably a good sign because we are so busy or because SO MUCH is a SECRET! There's so much "mum" is the word on so much of what we're doing. We've been hoping to make some big announcements recently, but there seems to be a lot of hurry up and wait in the world of licensing.

Because we've been so sporadic in posting to the blog, I'm pretty sure we never got around to posting much about our new studio…that we moved into…in January, 2009 :P   -   and of course, we have since left that studio, and moved into a new studio after that…in October, 2009. It's now April, 2010, and I'm getting around to posting pix of our brand new empty studio. We've filled it with all our stuff since then, and maybe by the time we move out of this one we'll find the time to post those pix ;)

Here's what our studio on 2nd Avenue in Brooklyn looked like a few days before we moved in:

That's our Mini Cooper. Our studio is the fifth window in (without the AC).

The front door of Studio 35 looking into the hallway.

The building our studio used to be a textile factory, and is in is under the F,N,R trains.

By the way, this blog now feeds directly into our Facebook page. Fan us there for other updates, and you can follow us more closely as we monkey around.

Monday is fun day

The monkeys are back in the new studio trying to catch up on emails. Then we have to sort everything out that we learned at Licensing Expo. The show was a success for us. We came home with a stack of business cards as big as an Uno deck. Now comes the follow-through.

We are very excited about it all. We'll likely sign with our licensing agent for the US and UK this week or next, then they'll take some of our leads and make things happen.

*fingers crossed*

Donk, Bitzy and Clup are GO!

Kurt wearing Donk's Eyes.

Clup, Bitzy and Donk as plushies!

Terry cloth Squarey Monster, Bitzy… she's a bath buddy!

Terry cloth Squarey Monster, Donk… he's a bath buddy!

Plush Squarey Monster, Donk trying to use Kurt's mouse.

We are so excited to fly to Las Vegas for the Licensing Expo Sunday morning. We worked in the studio today for some last minute finishes. A few product mock-ups, labels and details for… YES! THREE MORE plush Squarey Monsters!
My brother-in-law has a tuxedo shop, and we hired his seamstress to work up Bitzy and Clup as pocket mouthed bath buddies and Donk as a plush pillow. I made simple patterns for reference, and Maria did a great job interpreting my mess :)
We printed some eyes on board to simulate plastic, and set up some labels for a mini-shampoo, soap bar, etc. to go in the mouths of the bath buddies.

Flitz is my bag

Squarey Monster, Flitz as a plush bag (sitting on Squaredy Cats postcards).

Karen Goetsch in our new studio with the commissioned Squarey Monsters plush bag, Flitz.

Karen of Karen's Monsters came through again with this last minute sample for Licensing Expo.
We are less than a week away from the show, and we couldn't be happier with all the concepts we have. This plush Flitz bag came out perfect!
We shipped everything else a week ago, but we still had some last minute postcards, giveaway pins and mock-ups to finish.

Clup and Dodger are for real

Karen Goetsch in our new studio with the commissioned Squarey Monsters, Clup and Dodger.

Plush Squarey Monster, Dodger.

Plush Squarey Monster, Clup.

We hired Karen of Karen's Monsters to make plush versions of three of our Squarey Monsters. She's finished Clup and Dodger already (shipping to the Licensing Expo today), and Flitz is still to come. We love how they turned out, and can't wait for the show.

Check out Karen's Monsters.
See more pictures of Karen's Monsters.
Heck, even Betty Bones is loving her work.

Matt Likes This

The bright yellow Squarey Monster, Bitzy was hanging on our studio door for a while. One night when we left the studio to head home we found out that Facebook had crossed over from the digital world into real life.
A recognizable image of a thumbs up with the words, “Matt likes this,” was taped below Bitzy’s image. It took a while to post this, but we were certainly amused.
Look closely for Elaine poking her head into the picture.

Wildlife Control

The studio is still new enough that it's still kind of messy. That explains why I was outside in a t-shirt in the snow breaking down cardboard boxes for recycling. That doesn't explain the funky Wildlife Control vehicle parked across the street.
I hightailed it back inside for fear that someone reported wild monkeys running around in the neighborhood. Hey, at least these monkeys recycle!

New studio!

Monkey Doodle Dandy has moved into a new studio. We still have the 17th Street address in Park Slope, Brooklyn; but now we have another small space on 5th Avenue in Park Slope.

I’ll post pictures when the place is more presentable. Right now, we have things in working order, but we are having shelves put in. We’ll pose once the floor is cleared, and boxes are unpacked.

Hopefully there won’t be any more setbacks like the one where I started a fire in the shredder. That was a close one. Lesson learned. Keep screw drivers away from uncovered light switches ;) Phew! That was a close one!