Boo! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love the kids dressed in costumes, carving spooky pumpkins and decorating the house. I know I am not alone here. Andrea Harasek of Canadian small shop Fuzzling Monsters is a member of my Halloween-loving tribe. “I started making plush monsters back in early 2013 because my husband and I live Halloween 365 days a year! Our home has skeletons at the dining room table, a coffin coffee table and tons of spiders and bats hanging around all year round. We used to drive a white hearse for fun,” she exclaimed. “I wanted to make something that would ‘go’ with our lifestyle and plush monsters made sense. They are cute, but have a bit of a scare factor because they are monsters.”
Fuzzling Monsters are hand stitched plush creatures with fleece faces and ears, safety eyes and felt teeth. “Since I’m not good with a sewing machine, I needed to make something that could be hand stitched. Faux fur doesn’t mix well with household sewing machines so it was a perfect fit,” said Harasek. With a variety of bright, fun colors and shapes (and a price point of only $35), the Fuzzlings are appealing to all ages. “My Fuzzlings are not really like anything on the market that I have seen. I watched a lot of Jim Henson shows and movies growing up, so I know his work inspired me in my monster making,” Harasek explained. “The very first Fuzzling was round, like a beach ball. I started making them triangle and then tombstone-shaped, but they have evolved over time to an egg-shaped monster. It is an easier shape for me to cut out and stitch up and I love that because they are hand stitched and done one at a time, they each have a personality that shines so brightly!” Each fuzzy friend comes with an adoption certificate with a name, as well as care and safety details. “Recently, I also started making felt chocolate chip cookies as an add-on accessory because Fuzzlings love cookies! They have become a hit. Of course, I think most of us really like cookies,” she shared. The shop also offers limited themed Fuzzlings throughout the year, like in honor of Harasek’s favorite holiday. “Over the years, I have made Fuzzlicorn with a unicorn horn, FuzzliBunn for Easter, FuzzliBee, FuzzliFawn with antlers for the holidays, and for Halloween, I have made WereFuzzlings, FrankenFuzzlings and, of course, FuzzliFang, a vampire Fuzzling.”
Harasek had a hard time identifying what she loves most about the Fuzzling Monsters. “The current shape of their ears is my favorite part…no, I lied. My favorite part is their snaggle tooth. Yes, their little snaggle tooth is my favorite,” she laughed. “I love coming up with new ideas and seeing if I can get the pictures in my mind to work out well in real form. Moments of daydreaming are the best ways for me to think up new ideas, new themed-Fuzzlings or a new story line for my Instagram and Facebook feed.”
Right now, she is stocking up for her favorite season. “Can you keep a secret? I’m working on some new themed Fuzzlings – some for Halloween and some for the holiday season. The Halloween ones will be a reboot of a previous edition with different fur and face colours. The holiday ones are totally new and I’m still working on the prototype, but if I can get my brain and my fingers to communicate and play nicely, the holiday Fuzzlings are going to be awesome!” Adopt a Fuzzling through the Fuzzling Monsters website or Etsy shop and follow the shop on Facebook and Instagram for new Halloween tricks or treats coming soon.
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