Friday 27 January 2012

Introducing......Lady Monkey of Sock!!!!

As promised here an update on the monkey I am making for Elizabeth McGovern who plays Lady Cora in Downton Abbey.

I definately didn't want to make a caricature monkey...and I hope the finished product doesn't appear to be as such. I spent quite a while online researching appropriate costumes but in the end I took my Downton Abbey book to the fabric shop!!!

Armed with two shades of crushed velvet, some co-ordinating satin and lace I spread it all around me while I made the basic monkey.

I made the decision to leave off the arms and ears while I got her dressed to avoid getting threads tangled. Once I had the skirt and blouse on I added the arms and then the overcoat.


Next stop were ears, and then the hair which is added as 1 whole length stitched in loops.


That's a bit wild and woolly for a Lady so a trip to the hairdressers was in order. In addition to a hair cut and style I added her features, earrings and a tiara. And this is the finished monkey!!!



So she will be off to Elizabeth McGovern on Monday morning!!! I hope she likes her custom monkey.

Monday 23 January 2012

4000 fan giveaway!!!

As soon as my Facebook page hits 4000 likers I will be holding a giveaway through my blog :)

Up for grabs are a monkey, a cat and a dino.

To enter, simply leave a comment below with contact details.

For an additional entry please follow me on Twitter and send me an @ message

Even better..visit my Etsy shop, favourite an item in my shop and let me know by leaving a comment here!!

So you each have 3 chances to win!!!

You can start commenting now but no prizes will be awarded until the fan number hits 4000!!!!

OPEN WORLDWIDE!!!!!

Monday 16 January 2012

The Artisan Group at the GBK Golden Globes Gift Lounge January 2012

This weekend saw artisans from all over the globe glued to their computer screens as we kept track of Founder Valerie and Managing Partner Nikki at the GBK Gift Lounge in honour of Golden Globes nominees held at the Beverley Hills L'Ermitage Hotel.


100 gift bags containing $800 of handmade goodies were gifted to attending celebrities such as Jennifer Love Hewitt, Elizabeth McGovern, Jeremy Irons, Damien Lewis, Chris Noth and many many more.


The press were also gifted mini swag bags with reporters from the The Huffington Post, ABC News, Mingle Media, Hollywood.TV, LA Daily News, LA's The Place, Splash magazines and The Today Show in Australia in attendance.


Artisans participating in the gift bags were BeezKneezDesigns13 Black Cats DesignsSahetah's JeweleryPiccolo ParadisoCherry Tree SoapsJuditB JeweleryBlue Scarab JewelryVilla LussoBarefoot Bath & BodyJewels For HopeJava Jane DesignsDave Dilli PhotographyI Am MaryannExpression Rings of HopeAlexis Studio DesignLuster MetalworksTearDrop PaperieBotjoyLapisBeach Hand-Knit Wearable ArtSimply PaperieThe Crimson PoppySwirly GardenSariBlueCaroline GKath's Elegant AccessoriesThe Write Stuff DesignTaradaraOh Joy! PhotographyWee BinderyCloven Rustic JewelryHearts Of Stone JewelryLongrunnersCassia Aromatics


I was a participant at business card level along with a whole heap of other talented artisans.


Everyone's displays were greeted with such enthusiasm and many celebrities have tweeted the artisans thanking them.


Looking forward to hearing all the success stories that come out of this event!!

Sunday 15 January 2012

Downton Abbey Excitement Overload!

Remember I said I was a HUGE fan of Downton Abbey???

Well on Friday at the GBK Gift Lounge for the Golden Globes the lovely Elizabeth McGovern AKA Lady Cora visited the Artisan Group table. The fabulous Valerie and Nikki mentioned to Elizabeth that I was a massive fan and would love to create something especially for her! She was thrilled and replied that she would be happy to receive a gift!

All of this took place while I was fast asleep and when I read the email from Valerie in the morning I had to read it twice to make sure I wasn't still dreaming!!


So the challenge now is to dress a monkey in period clothing!! I don't want to imitate one of Lady Cora's outfits as I don't want the monkey to be a caricature of her........more along the lines of Lady Sock of Monkey!!!

You can be sure I will update with pictures before I post Lady Sock off to Lady Cora :)

Friday 13 January 2012

Celebrity Tweets!!

I LOVE Downton Abbey - we are talking obsession - I'm a history geek and I read the book in an evening!! So imagine my excitement when I tweeted Hugh Bonneville (Lord Grantham) about his nomination for a Golden Globe and asked if he would be attending the Gift Lounge. This is what happened next!!


Well I nearly fell off my chair I was so excited!! I went on to wish the Downton cast good luck for their nominations and he replied "Thanks!"

Happy Downton fan :D

Golden Weekend!!!

Yes!! It's finally here!!! My Sock Monkey Emporium business cards will be included in the gift bags being given to celebrities by The Artisan Group at the GBK Golden Globes Gift Lounge held in honour of nominees.

Our lovely leaders Valerie and Nikki have been busy setting up our display at the event and sent this photo all the way from Beverley Hills!!!


The artisans who have sent display items have truly done the group proud!! They include Jewels For HopeAlexis Studio DesignThe Crimson PoppySari Blue Jewelry and many many more.

The fun kicks off at 11am LA time and all the members of the group, whether participants or not, are so excited to see which celebrities get their hands on an Artisan Group bag.

Monday 2 January 2012

Happy New Year!!

I really need to do more of this blogging malarky....and now I have my brand spanking new laptop I really don't have much of an excuse!
Managed to spend a pretty quiet Christmas and New Year at home with my kids but now it's back to business and the January order list.

Today's custom order was for a brightly coloured octopus (or soctopus as I like to call them!)


He is available as a custom order in my Etsy shop here. He's pretty big - 70cm across and it was a real challenge to get that last leg sewn on!!! I'm very happy with how he turned out though and so was the customer :)