Ever wondered just how the Jellycat Toothies came into existence?
Read on.
So, the question is, 'Do you fire her or give her a huge bonus?'
Imagine for a moment that she works for one of the largest soft toy manufacturers in the world and she has been given the task of helping to produce the brand new Spring designs.
At home that evening she starts sketching slight variations on traditional ideas that have been done a thousand times before, until, with 40-50 sheets of doodles lying screwed up in erratic balls all over the parquet oak floor she decides 'f*** it', grabs her coat and heads straight for the local drinking establishment, in her case this happens to be the 'Cork & Bottle Wine Bar'.
She orders a bottle of something interesting and secretes herself away to avoid unwanted attention for this designer also happens to be drop dead gorgeous. After a couple of glasses she begins to see the world in less stressful terms and starts people watching from the relative safety of her little hideaway. She has a chuckle at a couple remonstrating over the pros and cons of whether this years Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough is better than the Pinot Noir Rosé, and thinks to herself 'actually, who gives a s***'.
She is half way down her third glass when in walks a very congenial, well dressed gentleman, she estimates to be somewhere in his early sixties, in one hand is a copy of 'The Times' and the other is gripping a taught brown leash attached to a ferocious looking beast. A waiter comes over, presumably to inform the gentleman that dogs are most definitely not allowed but doesn't get that far because the dog curls back it's top lip and engages the waiter in what can only be described as a 'death stare'. The waiter eyes up the dog, looks at the relative frailty of the older man, paying particular attention to the great strain being asserted on the leash and makes a hasty retreat. At which point the dog drops it's top lip and appears to adopt an air of self satisfied 'smugness'. The waiter is, however, not to be outdone and re-appears with what looks like the entire kitchen staff, manager and all. There ensues an almighty verbal exchange with remarks flying backwards and forwards, she is loving it, who needs television when you can watch this for real? Finally the gentleman begrudgingly turns on his heels, gives two sharp yanks on the leash and the 'beast' even more begrudgingly follows him out.
Well, that was a bit of fun she says to herself, as she finishes off the wine, grabs her coat and heads for home.
Twenty minutes later she is climbing the stairs to her apartment still grinning to herself, the escapism complete and feeling slightly the worse for wear she decides to call it a day and head straight for bed. It was whilst cleaning her immaculate white teeth in the mirror and thinking of the 'beast' that the metamorphosis occured in her head, she looked long and hard at herself, gave a slightly drunken 'whoop' and headed back to her desk where she (very roughly) sketched out the designs that, after a lot more work, now lie before you. In her slightly drunken, slightly rebellious state she had thought 'to hell with the norm it's time for something different' and these where the result.
As she reflected a little while later, the real difficulty had been in selling her idea to the head of design, to start with there was the obvious reaction, 'they will never sell' and 'who could you possibly send those to?' But as the box finally opened and the design team began to think outside it, they realised that the potential could be huge. 'Lawyers' one had shouted, suddenly engulfed by the moment, you could send them the Toothy Shark and even if your lawyer friend didn't see the funny side you sure did. 'Halloween' shouted up another 'that's the best bat I've ever seen'. 'Pig farmers' were mentioned with the heading 'the pig fights back' along with 'cartoon lovers' especially of Mutley (whoever that was) and lastly the clincher seemed to have been, 'anyone with a slightly unconventional sense of humour will love these'.
The design team took a vote and Voilà here they are.
The real issue is, will they be successful or just another design destined for the sales racks? Remember her job hangs in the balance.
So, what do you think?
For reference:
http://www.fleurtations.uk.com/jellycat_1.asp
http://www.fleurtations.uk.com/Jellycat-Toothy.asp
Read on.
So, the question is, 'Do you fire her or give her a huge bonus?'
Imagine for a moment that she works for one of the largest soft toy manufacturers in the world and she has been given the task of helping to produce the brand new Spring designs.
At home that evening she starts sketching slight variations on traditional ideas that have been done a thousand times before, until, with 40-50 sheets of doodles lying screwed up in erratic balls all over the parquet oak floor she decides 'f*** it', grabs her coat and heads straight for the local drinking establishment, in her case this happens to be the 'Cork & Bottle Wine Bar'.
She orders a bottle of something interesting and secretes herself away to avoid unwanted attention for this designer also happens to be drop dead gorgeous. After a couple of glasses she begins to see the world in less stressful terms and starts people watching from the relative safety of her little hideaway. She has a chuckle at a couple remonstrating over the pros and cons of whether this years Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough is better than the Pinot Noir Rosé, and thinks to herself 'actually, who gives a s***'.
She is half way down her third glass when in walks a very congenial, well dressed gentleman, she estimates to be somewhere in his early sixties, in one hand is a copy of 'The Times' and the other is gripping a taught brown leash attached to a ferocious looking beast. A waiter comes over, presumably to inform the gentleman that dogs are most definitely not allowed but doesn't get that far because the dog curls back it's top lip and engages the waiter in what can only be described as a 'death stare'. The waiter eyes up the dog, looks at the relative frailty of the older man, paying particular attention to the great strain being asserted on the leash and makes a hasty retreat. At which point the dog drops it's top lip and appears to adopt an air of self satisfied 'smugness'. The waiter is, however, not to be outdone and re-appears with what looks like the entire kitchen staff, manager and all. There ensues an almighty verbal exchange with remarks flying backwards and forwards, she is loving it, who needs television when you can watch this for real? Finally the gentleman begrudgingly turns on his heels, gives two sharp yanks on the leash and the 'beast' even more begrudgingly follows him out.
Well, that was a bit of fun she says to herself, as she finishes off the wine, grabs her coat and heads for home.
Twenty minutes later she is climbing the stairs to her apartment still grinning to herself, the escapism complete and feeling slightly the worse for wear she decides to call it a day and head straight for bed. It was whilst cleaning her immaculate white teeth in the mirror and thinking of the 'beast' that the metamorphosis occured in her head, she looked long and hard at herself, gave a slightly drunken 'whoop' and headed back to her desk where she (very roughly) sketched out the designs that, after a lot more work, now lie before you. In her slightly drunken, slightly rebellious state she had thought 'to hell with the norm it's time for something different' and these where the result.
As she reflected a little while later, the real difficulty had been in selling her idea to the head of design, to start with there was the obvious reaction, 'they will never sell' and 'who could you possibly send those to?' But as the box finally opened and the design team began to think outside it, they realised that the potential could be huge. 'Lawyers' one had shouted, suddenly engulfed by the moment, you could send them the Toothy Shark and even if your lawyer friend didn't see the funny side you sure did. 'Halloween' shouted up another 'that's the best bat I've ever seen'. 'Pig farmers' were mentioned with the heading 'the pig fights back' along with 'cartoon lovers' especially of Mutley (whoever that was) and lastly the clincher seemed to have been, 'anyone with a slightly unconventional sense of humour will love these'.
The design team took a vote and Voilà here they are.
The real issue is, will they be successful or just another design destined for the sales racks? Remember her job hangs in the balance.
So, what do you think?
http://www.fleurtations.uk.com/jellycat_1.asp
http://www.fleurtations.uk.com/Jellycat-Toothy.asp
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