I'm Brooke Jesse Roberts a Boulder, Colorado artist and I am so excited to finally release my Sweet Beasties into the wild world! My original idea to create stuffed animals started about 10 years ago when my random and weird hobbies and interests collided with my artistic talent, and I drew up illustrations for adorable hard rock plushies. My favorite hard rock band is Five Finger Death Punch, and they not only rock the hardest, but have the sickest graphic style album artwork, and the entire vibe and sound of the band is so wild, I thought it a hilarious contrast to create cute but rockin' toys in their image. Now those toys (shown above) I have not yet created as I need to make original patterns and I am still working that part out, but in the meantime I'm sewing any other fun ideas and themes that enter "The Mind of Brooke" as my dad calls it!
Stuffed animals are a passion that has always been embedded deep in my heart, and I learned to sew in high school, and then advanced those skills at Savannah College of Art and Design where I majored in Fashion Design, and minored in Accessory Design. I quickly found that fashion was not the world for me, but it gave me understanding of patterns and sewing, which was then jump started around 2021 when I found Choly Knight's plushie patterns and sewing PDFs that allowed this passion to run free. I have grand plans for these toys, and I really appreciate everyone's support and motivation to bring these toys to life!
Below you will find a more detailed breakdown of my process, and I further explain the price points of these one-of-a-kind plush art pieces as well.
PROCESS: I acquire my patterns from Choly Knight (cholyknight.com) who has graciously allowed the public to utilize her spectacular patterns for our own personal projects. I have modified some of the patterns, and will continue to do so until I have the experience to make my own, but until then I am unbelievably thankful to Choly Knight!
1. The first step in my process is to hand sketch the toy design on paper, and then fill in color and details in Procreate for iPad.
2. I then trace the patterns in Adobe Illustrator so I can change colors and details, and lay them out on 12x24" pages to get them ready to be cut out. Once prepped, I use the miracle-that-is the Cricut cutting machine to mechanically cut out my patterns.
3. Once the pattern pieces are all cut, it is time to add the appliqués (the extra fabric designs that are sewn on ironed-on, or embroidered onto the pattern pieces) to create body markings, faces, and more three dimensional details.
4. Next comes the sewing which is basically like solving a 3D puzzle...but inside out! Almost the entire toy is sewn inside out, so this is often where things can get wonky, but it is also what gives each Beastie its own personality. The main head, body, and arms and legs are usually sewn first, and then other appendages such as wings, horns, spikes, etc. are hand sewn onto the fully stuffed toy.
5. Finally finishing touches are added, and I make sure my new furry creation is as perfect as the plush will allow!
*6. I will eventually have packaging that accompanies my toys, however I am still designing all of that!
TIME: One toy can take anywhere from about 10-20 hours from idea conception to toy completion, depending on how many details are involved. There is also time needed to source materials, and for trial and error as I am still learning.
MATERIALS: All my toys are hand made with soft plush or faux fur, filled with poly-fill stuffing and poly-fill plastic beads to help them balance and stand or sit upright.
*Please note I work from home and we do have a dog and a lop bunny in the house, so please be aware of that if you have any pet allergies.*
PRICE: I have priced these toys according to time, materials, originality of the design, and the level of detail. The more a Beastie is modified, the more it costs. But I am human working in this crazy world, and I understand money constraints, so I have tried to price them reasonably, but I appreciate your understanding that to make these toys I have to price them so it allows me to CONTINUE making the toys!
