Smiley

("Smiley" 2013, fleece and aluminum)

"Hello Clarice."

This was a custom bear, made for a friend of mine who is a particularly large fan of the Batman villain, Joker.

This is far from the first toy I've made with sharp aluminum teeth. Pointy metal jaws used to be a staple in all my toys. I stopped using it as much, not because it was unsafe (there is no sweeter irony than making a cuddly toy that can not be cuddled) but because the only way to get aluminum teeth to stick to a bear is with a hot glue gun, and since many of the teeth I made were quite small (unlike this example) it was VERY tricky to glue the teeth in place without getting glue stains all over the fabric. Of course, the toys I make do have a sort of hand-stitched quality to them and that's completely intentional, but glue stains on fabric is much different than sloppy stitching, or button eyes, or torn and patched fabric. There's something artificial and tacky about glue stains.

Anyway, Smiley here is one of my absolute favorites and incidentally, has no glue stains. He's made of fleece which is a great fabric for making toys if you ever feel like giving it a try. It is not only soft and easy to sew, but it's surprisingly firm and holds it's shape, which is why Smiley's grin holds so well on his face.

Remember kids,

Smile and the world smiles with you.