I am proud to return to Buddy Monday with one of my bestest buddies! Casie and I met a few years ago when she contacted me to do some design work for one of her shops, Bebe Babies. Soon after that she asked me to join her and another friend in starting up a PDX Craft Mafia chapter, which ended up in an eventual fail but that's ok because we became really good pals. She is super fun, a really hard worker and awesomely creative and talented. I am in awe of her ability to come up with all kinds of great new ideas for plush and then just make them a reality. I always love getting to see what she's up to at her tiny house, hanging out and trying to get her dog to pretend bite me! So fun!
And so, without further ado, the return of Buddy Monday with Casie "Super Cool" Brabham!
1. Tell us about yourself?
I am amazing. The end. Ok......I am 28 and I make plush dolls and toys. I have been making dolls for around 10 years and have been making exclusively plush dolls/toys for about 6. I am definitely a fabric addict and I collect it with an obsessive urgency. I am the same way with toys. I can’t have enough of either and I have no space in my house to prove it! Other than sewing I am in school studying to be a middle school teacher. I went back to school last year after working too long at an insurance company. I love school but it has seriously cut into my sewing and gelato time. Let’s see what else...I have a dog who is cute and funny and just all around the best doggy ever. If I keep going I will have to tell you how I like long walks on the beach and a glass of wine by the fire while looking longingly into your eyes....
2. What do you make?
I have two shops on etsy. One is called BeBe Babies and Friends and the other I just opened is called Boom!Plush! BeBe Babies are soft baby dolls for children and adult collectors. I opened Boom!Plush! because I have been participating in more and more online plush challenges and I needed a place to sell the creations that really didn’t fit into the BeBe Baby theme. I am hoping to really work on Boom!Plush! and create more interesting, intricate pieces. My current favorite things to make are plush inanimate objects. Right now I am working to finish a plush turntable monster and a boom box.
3. How did you come up with your shop/business/blog name?
BeBe Babies got their name because on the larger dolls I weight them with BBs and my boyfriend said “how about BB Babies?”....I thought that was good but added the e’s to confuse everyone into thinking it is BeBe (the french or something word for baby). This type of confusion works well for me because people say my name wrong already so they should probably also say my business name wrong. And then Boom!Plush! got it’s name because when I am working on a difficult piece I will generally yell “Boom! Done!” to anyone around or just to myself. So there you have it.
4. Influences?
I am influenced by a barn I saw driving to the coast that looked like it had a face on the side of it or by my nephew’s love of sharks. I am constantly influenced by everything around me whether it is the color of something or the shape. As far as other artists influencing me there are a lot of people I really admire and are inspired by. Generally the people I like to throw out on these types of questions though are those that seem to tirelessly work to advance the art they make. Because of that I would like to say the Plushteam is one of my biggest influences collectively. It is a group of some of the best plush makers in the world but more than that they are hardworking, organized and some of the most giving people I have ever met on the internet.
5. Who would you like to collaborate with?
You (Sarah)!!!! Mostly because I think it would be the most fun. If it can’t be Sarah then it would probably be super hard to pick one person. There is one thing I really wanted to do with someone a while ago but I can’t tell you because I still might do it if I can find someone else and I don’t want anyone to steal my idea. Oooooh secrets....!
6. 5 songs you like to work to?
Oh boy lets see what I got cookin’ on iTunes right now...
Undercover Martyn Flexin’ It (Passion Pit Remix) by Two Door Cinema
Something Bigger, Something Better by Amanda Blank
Cold Act III (Extended Mix) by Classixx
Go Outside by Cults
Dance Yrself Clean by LCD Soundsystem
But when I remember I mostly listen to Pandora radio because I don’t have to change anything or think about what to listen to.
To learn more about Casie visit BeBe Babies, Boom Plush, her blog or click on any of the images in this post to go to her Flickr accounts!
That Cults track is my jam of the year (JOTY)! This chick has some class.
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