Signed with Kids Preferred

w00t! We signed a new plush licensing deal! New Squaredy Cats for 2012 will be made by Kids Preferred! We're already working on the spring series, and they look amazing!

See LicenseMag.com.

Squaredy Cats on WPIX 11 Morning News

 We were waiting as patiently as we could since we did this interview with Francesca Maxime around a month ago. It was finally produced, and aired on October 13 on the WPIX channel morning news Dunkin Donuts Studio On The Run segment.

Francesca and her production team made us feel very comfortable on the set, and Elaine did an amazing job explaining what Squaredy Cats are all about. We couldn't have been happier with how it turned out :)
They even flashed our Squaredy Cats Facebook page across the screen.

Francesca Maxime with Elaine de la Mata and Kurt Marquart, the inventors and designers of Squaredy Cats.

It seems everyone there had fun with the new plush line that's out now, and available at Toys R Us. Linda Church held, Tiger Lily, and Frances Rivera and Sukanya Krishnan really had a ball with a few others. Below you'll find a link to the broadcast piece, but directly below that check out what else we found. Someone posted a YouTube link of the team goofing off with the cats on the set, but we think it was terrific! How great that they had so much fun with our fun-loving toys.

Thank you to everyone at the WPIX Channel 11 Morning News in New York!

Here's a link to the embedded video below.

 

And here's the YouTube video of the fun banter.

Frances Rivera and Sukanya Krishnan a few of the Squaredy Cats.

Sukanya Krishnan holding Sandy (not squared to make waves) from series 2.

Sukanya Krishnan holding Honey (not squared to BEE smart) from series 1.

We're going to be on TV :)

Last week we were interviewed by Francesca Maximé of WPIX in their Dunkin' Donuts Studio On The Run. The focus was Squaredy Cats. We're really excited, and can't wait to post a link when it comes up! We're thinking some time this week. The new line of Squaredy Cats plush should be hitting the shelves at any moment.

Here's a sneak peak of one we were able to do by popular demand...

"Doing Their Own Thing"

We're on page 6 in the Art of Licensing supplement to License Global! They even used a picture of Giggles on the Table of Contents page :)

We're thrilled because we couldn't make it to Licensing Expo this year, but this magazine circulates through the show and will supplement two issues. We hope to make some new connections and find new deals. People are buzzing about Squaredy Cats!

Link to article.

Squaredy Cats at Toy Fair 2011

I think we forgot to post this. We found it on parrygamepreserve.com. See their post on Gund showing Squaredy Cats at Toy Fair 2011 or check the direct link on YouTube :)

They introduce Squaredy Cats just after 5:55...

Squaredy Cats on NY1 News

We were so happy with the report that Jeanine Ramirez of NY1 News did on Monkey Doodle Dandy and Squaredy Cats! In case you missed it, we were on New York Tonight on NYC Time Warner Cable station NY1.

Here's a link to the video and article.

And here's the best way we can think of to show our appreciation :)

Interview on Ideas Uploaded

Elaine and Kurt were recently interviewed by Tara of the Ideas Uploaded blog. The blog is a valuable source for creative types. You'll find out what inspires designers, inventors, licensors, and anyone else in the toy industry.

Follow the Ideas Uploaded blog or on Facebook, and subscribe to the podcast.

We were both a bit nervous about being interviewed via Skype, not knowing what to expect. We were given an outline of the questions we'd be asked; but between not being fully prepared despite that fact (because we're always working), and both of us being somewhat "camera shy" we were somewhat nervous. Elaine did a fine job of speaking for both of us as I stumbled through confused thoughts, irrelevant tangents and unfinished run-on sentences ;)

Listen to the podcast interview or take a look at the blog post if you're interested in hearing more about how Squaredy Cats came about and our experiences making it happen.

Squaredy Cats featured in AM New York

Check AM New York's PDF archives. They did a story on Monkey Doodle Dandy and our Squaredy Cats on September 27, 2010. Article by Rachel Stern, photo by Michael Kirby Smith

You might be able to click the image above to read it.

aNb knows the Real Deal!

Four from the first series of Squaredy Cats.

Our best press yet in the trades. aNn Media who publishes Royalties and Toys & Family Entertainment mentioned Squaredy Cats on the Real Deal page of their online version (hoping it makes a printed issue as well).
They were the first to use one of the photos we included with our press release about the deal with GUND. We need people to see these fuzzy creatures, so please pass it along :)

Link to article.

It's officially published. GUND is making Squaredy Cats

We got our first alert since the press release went out. Gift Shop Magazine has published the news on their website. GUND is making Squaredy Cats plush :)
We couldn't be more excited! It's real ;)

Here's the link.

The first series will be nine Squaredy Cats. Below is an image of 4 samples of the plush Squaredy Cats in the first series GUND is making.

Squaredy Cats mention

License Global mentioned our recent licensing deals for Squaredy Cats in their online daily news :)

Another one!

Our first license went to A&A Global who distributes to vending machine companies. Please comment on their blog, and let them know how much you LOVE Squaredy Cats :)

GO HERE!

:)

Interviewed by Ruby Winkle

Meghan Killeen of Ruby Winkle interviewed me about Monkey Doodle Dandy this week.
I was a little late in sending images, so I hope she can still insert what I sent today. We are always so busy, and of course, working on this beautiful Saturday.

What a great feeling to know that what you might have to say is important to someone other than yourself!

Read the interview here.

Thanks for finding us, Meghan :)

I've Never, but Justine has

Click the image above to go to the online Justine Magazine.

Still catching up on news. A client of ours who markets the game I've Never receives press for his items, but I believe this was the first press his I've Never… received for the teen version that we designed. It was featured on page 36 of their April/May issue.

Click the image above to go to the grown-up version of I've Never…
at the Barnes & Noble's online store.

I couldn't find a link to the teen version on the Barnes & Noble website, but it's in stores. The above image is the adult version of the game. I did the illustration for that package a couple of years ago.

I feel like Steve Martin

Remember in The Jerk when Steve Martin found his name in the phone book, and cried out that he was famous? I feel a little like that when I post this, but as much as a mention of our studio in passing should really be no big deal, we feel it's a compliment to have been mentioned at all in a marketing guru's blog along with two other known brands.

After all, you may know who Cookie Jar is, but everyone knows Ugly Dolls. Well, Monkey Doodle Dandy was mentioned in the same sentence in this post in Jason Manwaring's blog talking about Licensing Expo.

It should seem like no big deal, especially considering the sentence was not all that positive (really not negative regarding our studio either). But, hey. We got noticed.
We're famous! ;)