Leather Aviator Hats

Now if you want a really awesome leather aviator hat you need to check out THIS etsy shop. This guy is truly a master of leatherworking and his designs are spectacular!

I haven't seen anything like this ever before. The designs are almost vintage with great colors and remind me of planes and racing cars. Truly inspiring and worth checking out. The prices are very reasonable and worth every penny. I'm already saving up for my first purchase!

Behind the Scenes Dancing

When I'm stressed or when I've been sewing for hours you will suddenly find me like this.



Dancing is a great stress relief!
Also a good way to try out a new hat.



I'm not feeling very productive today. It's been a long week and I think this day will be spent catching up on some personal time and house cleaning. I've been neglecting so much while I've been working away! Enjoy my dancing and most likely this is what I'll still be doing as you read this.



It all started with this bear hat and some innocent music. Now all I want to do is clean and dance all day.

Bear Skin Hat

The idea here was to emulate a bear skin like what the trappers wore or a caveman. I didn't add eyes and I thought the ears and teeth would be enough. It has a closure on the neck so you can pin it up tight.

This week I really feel like I've been super productive and staying on top of things. I came up with a couple fun new designs and made some hats that made ME happy (Gir Hats). This bear hat was also stuck in my head and demanded to be made. What I really was excited about was the teeth and the claws. I made them from fleece as well and they look very plush and fun. Yes success!

Invader Zim Hats

Can you tell what I was watching all day?

I love Gir!

Finn Hat from Adventure Time!

It was requested and now it's here! You can now get your very own Finn Hat from Adventure Time. I'm bringing a few with me this weekend but you can also find them online in my etsy shop!

New Hats

New cool hats available exclusively this weekend at the Portland Saturday Market. Stop on by and get your own octopus hat! Oh and check out this cool furry green monster I just finished up!

Stegosaurus?

This was what got me up in the morning... making this hat. I cut out all the pieces last night and was just itching to sew it up and see what it looked like. And then STOP all sewing and take a photo and post it up where everyone can see. I know I need to get back to work but I couldn't wait to share it with all of you!

I've had the idea in my head for a while ever since I made my first dino hat. What would it look like to have spines on both sides of the middle piece? It's a bit more work but I think the effect is really cool. I want to take it a bit further and add more details to make it look more like a stegosaurus. Maybe a spiky tail at the back of the hat? Maybe mean eyes?

The color choice comes from pieces I had left over from cutting out other hats. I thought the blue and pink would go well together. I love it! It's so much like a cartoon and like nothing I've seen so far with hats. Just one of many awesome new designs to be coming your way this year! Now on to making octopus hats! This is going to be an awesome Friday.

What it really means to run a business

I knew this path would be a difficult one and I would face unknown challenges. Running this little business of mine has really been a epic journey so far.

All the work has finally started to pay off for me. I feel more confident about my work and really proud of my craftsmanship and sewing skills. My mind is buzzing with tons of new designs and ideas. I have a renewed sense of confidence after working on this for 5 months. Now I am taking it to the next step. First it was all was a lot of talking and planning. Then there was time when I rolled up my sleeves and got to work. Now I have truly become a small business owner. I have a daily schedule. I go off to "work" on the weekends and take everything very seriously. It's all become very personal. This is my livelihood! I can't sell myself short on how much my time is worth. I have cut back drastically on spending and focusing on business development and budgeting. I hired an accountant! I'm getting all my paperwork in order.

I am enjoying working for myself. It is more challenging than having a job but for me I really need that. I need to be pushed every day. I need my jobs to differ day to day. I really enjoy having the day to myself to plan. I am exercising more than I ever have before. I am eating very healthy and cooking most of my meals at home. I'm learning how to balance my life with work and play. I'm learning there is not a finish line to reach! This is my life for the next few years and I'm going to enjoy the process and the moments day to day.

I forget what it's like to have a real job.

My coworkers are creative artists and entrepreneurs. They support me, I encourage them. We feed into each others creative drive. These are the people I get to see every week. My customers are very supportive and fun people. I get to make people happy for a living.

I don't know if I'll ever want to go back. For now this has become my new reality and I really do love my life right now. It is difficult yes! I have a very full life right now. I feel very blessed and happy to have this opportunity to make something of myself.

I wish I could express better how much different this is than working for someone else. The primary thing I can hit on is that I'm surrounded by people that work for themselves and make decisions for themselves. When I worked at a job I obeyed orders and wasn't encouraged to think for myself. I worked with others that were better at following orders than me. I worked with those in fear of losing their jobs and trying very hard to be passive and not get angry. That life seemed far more restrictive and oppressive. Now the world is open to me but I must work hard to create boundaries for myself and restrict myself. The possibilities seem so endless. The job made me feel boxed in and there was nowhere to grow and no promotion worth working for. The more I work now the further my business will go. My passion makes other people excited to help me.

Right now I can't say either one is better because I haven't explored the full potential of my business growth. What I do know is that I have endless possibilities of growth and I can go up as far on the ladder as I want. The ceiling opened up and I climbed out of the box that was my life and embraced the wildness of fate. I'm flying through the sky and there are many dangers but I would trade it in an instant for living life in a cage.

Octopus Hat - Finished!

Finally finished the Octopus hat. Added some suckers to the tentacles. Looks awesome with goggles right?

Healthy Eating!

Eating lots of fresh avacado, zuchhini, fresh fruit and tons of home cooking. Now this is DELUXE eating.

Ninja Turtle Hats

Playing around with a few ideas tonight. What do you think about this new style? It's funny.. at least to us. haha.

Octopus Hat

Check out this new style I just finished up! Coming soon to the online store and the Saturday Market. Who wants one?? Everyone right?

Robo Dino Glasses

Cute little juice glasses from BreadandBadger with the lolly-tots famous Robo Dino. Dinosaur approved!

Horns for Summer

I've been playing around with the idea of something fun that I could make that people could wear when it's too hot out for a hat. What to do in the summer months? ACCESSORIES! I love dressing up but making it personalized and something that's not too "costumey" but instead be wearable and subtle. Horns with invisible elastic thread does the trick! What do you think? More to come in different materials. My first versions will be available next weekend to all you lucky local Portlanders.

Lolly-tots At Seaside Oregon!

There was a few reports that monsters were roaming the beaches of Oregon last week.





My brother Pat is wearing a new design I've had in my head for a while. I made the first and only one for his birthday hat. I love how it came out! I will definitly be trying out this new kind of 3-d eye. I have a ton of crazy monster ideas in store for this year.. this is only one of many to come.

I'm enjoying wearing my hats around while we explore and roadtrip around. I hope brings some joy to people and maybe makes them smile for a while afterwards. We were rather a sight climbing up and down the sand dunes and making crazy sandcastles in the mud.

Drawing Comics!

At the Portland Webcomic Meetup
www.meetup.com/Portland-Web-Comic-Group