Friday, April 5, 2013

The Earnest Little Mouse


I have been an Etsy buyer and seller for a couple of years now and while I have had some really wonderful experiences with my own customers, periodically I stumble across another artist who is so talented it simply takes my breath away.  This almost always happens by pure happenstance because I am completely special needs when it comes to searching.  If I don't know what I'm looking for, then how can I find it?  This is where it helps to "follow" other people who have similar taste to yours.  The other day I was randomly searching around and came across a little felted critter.  Intrigued, I clicked on the link, which led me to the Felting Dreams shop, or Johana Molina.  Then I found the sweet little mouse pictured above.  I was so overwhelmed with cuteness, I almost fell off my chair.


I mean, come on.  Look at that face.  She is confident, earnest and eager to face the world with nothing but personal gumption and whatever is in that backpack.

Allow me to mention that I am NOT a knick knack person.  The surfaces in my house are covered mostly with books and the idea of having small objects that need dusting does not thrill me.  But I could not get her out of my mind.


This little guy also made an impression since (believe it or not) he really looks like LAM.  Same wire-rimmed glasses and he has a leather bound document carrier that is the exact same color as this one.  I showed them to LAM, who, instead of looking at me like I was crazy, said, "Oh my God, they are so cute."  Uh, what?  You're a guy remember?  You think these are cute???  "Well, yeah--look their little feet really look like mouse feet."  Um, ok.  I went back and looked to see where the seller was located.  Santiago, Chile.  Wow--that's a hike.  Then I read her feedback.  All 800 of them.  Holy Cow!  Each one was more glowing than the next.  Her buyers love her and many, many of them are repeat customers.  I couldn't stand it anymore.  I needed felted mice.  Needed them with all my heart and soul because every single time I looked at them, they made me want to weep with joy, or cuteness or whatever.  Then the problem became WHICH ones to buy?  LAM mentioned that I had a birthday coming up and me ordering a couple would solve this problem for him nicely.  Thanks a lot.  Ok, so here are a few of my favorites:

Not only is Johana a genius at felting small critters, but her photography is brilliant.  The backgrounds somehow make them come alive and look even more adorable.
I'm amazed at how each one seems to have a personality.  This guy looks like he's just seen something delightful that has taken him by surprise.

This sweet girl looks hopeful, but concerned--almost maternal.

This one seems as though he would really like a piece of cheese--so long as it isn't too much trouble...

This one is so glad to see you she can hardly stand herself.

And this one would like it very much if you could just be a little bit quieter while she reads her book aloud to the class.

It was a tough choice, but in the end I went with the first two that caught my attention--the girl in the pink sweater with the pink scarf and the boy who looks like LAM.  I simply cannot wait for them to arrive.

When I pinned these on Pinterest, I had likes and re-pins within nanoseconds.  One woman posted that she thought they were adorable, but really expensive.  Well, not if you think about it.  I don't know how to needle felt wool and I suspect it would take some time to learn it to get this good (and I promise you that it could take FOREVER to learn how to make these facial expressions).  Simply being able to perform the craft is only half of the task.  Also, I suspect they take at least several hours to make--maybe longer depending on the detail.  Once you subtract Etsy fees and Paypal or credit card fees, well, how much do you like to make per hour?  Just some food for thought.


For those on a budget, Johana also offers postcards of her creations.  I wonder, has she ever considered a stop-motion photographic children's book?  Set in their natural environment, the mice and their friends could have wonderful adventures.  What an idea!

~ESM

Muchas Gracias to Johana for allowing me to share these little guys with all of my readers!  I hope you all enjoyed them and will check out her shop.

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