The word plushie amuses me and I admit I do have a thing for strange looking toys. In fact, may share my green "Jackie" teddy with red clown lips with you one day soon (named for Jackie Stallone), and reveal my collection of "Bed Head" dolls.
My very part time hobby for plushies explains why I was like a kid in toy shop with excitement when one of my friends Brix Smith Start of the Start Boutique in London's Shoreditch commissioned a woman called the Felt Mistress aka Louise Evans to create a bunch of plushies (felt and fun fur toys to you and me) to adorn her London Fashion Week window. Brix is nothing if not off the wall; she is a woman who made up a song and a dance about the cloaca. What more could you possibly expect from her other than a menagerie of plushies running rampage in her store while all the lights are out?
The toys arrived at Start Boutique yesterday and Brix has already made this short film to showcase them. My favourite plushie so far is Terry, below. Apparently, Terry (who you will meet halfway through) is inspired by Brix; when you shake him, he growls. I like that he is wearing a The Fall T-shirt. Is this how Brix felt after a night playing guitar in the full flow of her Rock n Roll life with The Fall in the 80's? I shall be treating myself to a Terry, and may even commission the Felt Mistress to do a plushie of my girlfriend for her forthcoming significant birthday.
Since the above video was done the plushies have been been made into a window display at Start. The Fashion Junior at Large will be photographing the window on her way to work in the morning. Brix says that "Terry is the naughtiest toy in the shop. He is pulling the wig off one of the mannequins, and earlier was looking up one of their 3.1 Phillip Lim dresses."
The plushies are for sale! From £70 to £600. Find some of them here at the Start website.
Start TV: www.youtube.com/user/starttelevision