The Grateful Thread

Mae Rocks!

2010-09-08T06:41:00.002+01:00

My daughter Mae has been a little spoiled with the rattles. Seeing as mum is owner of The Grateful Thread, she has a handful of different colours. Here she is rocking away with the baby blue stripey one. Rock on Mae whoohooo!

Welcome Clare!

2010-09-08T06:31:00.002+01:00

Clare Cade has joined the Grateful Thread team as our new partner and European Representative! Clare is a wonderful asset to the team and will be taking over most active business throughout Europe as we have relocated to Vancouver, Canada. Please give her a warm welcome!

Kids Rock in Catalunya Spain!

2010-01-28T16:39:00.003Z

These fabulous photos were sent to us by Maria Novelles of Catalunya, Spain. What absolutely gorgeous models! These kids are such rock stars! Muchas Gracias gracias gracias! I love to see kids having fun with our products. This is exactly the reason why we make them!

Paris Sale!

2009-12-11T10:27:00.003Z

My sister-in-law helped throw an amazing Parisian sale of The Grateful Thread goodies. Just in time for Christmas! Here's some pics of the fab display. Many thanks to all those that came despite the rain! It was a success!

Lena Rockin' Out

2009-11-19T18:21:00.002Z

This little girl can ROCK! She's so adorable!

The Grateful Thread in Paris!

2009-11-19T18:05:00.002Z

This is the window to La Sardine a Lire, a fabulous kids shop in the heart of Paris! . We are delighted they chose The Monsters to be part of their window display! (Johnny Fandango must be off chasing the ladies).

The Grateful Thread On Tour With Motley Crue

2009-10-22T17:17:00.004+01:00

Check it out! Vince Neil, Tommy Lee and Mick Mars all checking out The Grateful Thread goodies at the Backstage Artist Lounge on the Cruefest tour. We were so bummed we couldn't go, but with the bambino fresh out of the oven it was too difficult to get to New York. Hey, and Big Tone has become the official mascot of the tour! Check out his facebook page and add him as a friend if you want to follow him on tour http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000297557998&ref=nf

Mae Lilian Worth - Welcome to the world!

2009-08-28T18:53:00.003+01:00

Our gorgeous baby girl was born Sunday August 23rd at 10:58 pm.

We are all doing well and at home getting to know each other. I am so in love with her, and excited about this new phase in our lives!

Evie Munchin'

2009-08-28T18:52:00.001+01:00

Just thought this was a cute photo.

Evie doesn't quite get it yet, but she will no doubt soon!

PlushYou! Interview on Bluebottles Art Craft and Design Blog

2009-08-18T11:44:00.006+01:00

Bluebottle Art Gallery in Seattle have kindly posted an interview with The Grateful Thread on their blog in part of promotion for the PlushYou! exhibition in October. Please take a wander over to check it out, as well as all the other interviews, and interesting tidbits from the creative minds over at Bluebottle.

http://artcraftanddesign.blogspot.com/2009/08/plush-you-interview-with-grateful.html

KiosKiosk

2009-08-18T11:35:00.007+01:00

Many thanks to Hemmingway Design and other sponsors of KiosKiosk, a project designed to help up and coming new businesses by providing them a place to vend their goods for free. We spent 2 days at the Kiosk to vend our wares. Its located on the boardwalk of the Thames just near the mayor's office. We had lovely weather and were happy to promote our brand and products. We made a few sales and overall had a good experience. The Kiosk itself is remarkably well designed and adaptable. For more information regarding the Kiosk go to http://www.kioskiosk.co.uk/

Motown Martians

2009-08-04T16:45:00.002+01:00

This is my contribution to the "Plush You" exhibition this year. Its not perfect, but turned out alright considering I have been 8 plus months pregnant nad been working full time until last week! Anyways, its a fun piece! Hope you like it :)

Nice Window Display

2009-07-14T22:30:00.003+01:00

Our friends over at Carry Me Home, a shop in Kingly Court just off Carnaby street in central London have created this fab window rock and roll themed window display showcasing some of our guitars and some other great items. I love the "Glastonbaby" theme. NICE!

Another Happy Crazy Guitarist

2009-06-24T23:27:00.002+01:00

Thanks Melissa of http://www.whatnowbaby.blogspot.com/ for sending these great pics of her superstar in action. Rock star quality!

KiosKiosk!

2009-06-16T21:53:00.003+01:00

The Grateful Thread will be participating in KiosKiosk this summer. The concept behind KiosKiosk is to provide a venue for creative makers/designers to sell their wares. The Kiosk

is located next to the Mayor's office and the Design Museum on Queen's Walk (closest tube London Bridge or Tower Hill). We will be selling Saturday July 25th, and Saturday August 8th. Stop by and say hello if you have a chance! For more information on KiosKiosk, a list of the various exhibitors, or how you can get involved check out the website, http://www.kioskiosk.co.uk/

PULSE tradeshow 2009

2009-06-14T11:03:00.004+01:00

So after much anticipation and preparation, we finally took part in our first big trade show. Pulse is primarily for gifts and design led products and was a good one to choose because it specializes in new product launches. We were pretty nervous at first, but we got a great reaction to our products and the look of our stand which made us feel pretty good. We had several orders for small boutiques around the UK and met some really interesting people. Overall it was a really great experience for us, and has really helped to give The Grateful Thread that extra push into the public eye. For a list of retail shops now selling our goods, please visit our website. http://www.the-gratefulthread.com/

Baby Blocks!

2009-06-14T10:59:00.002+01:00

I have a lot of friends having babies lately, and I'm always stuck for ideas of what I can get for them. It's nice to do something a little personal if I can squeeze in the time. I made these little baby stacking blocks for my friend's beautiful little girl Lena. Hopefully the different textures and the bells I put inside will help entertain her. This is a really easy project and took only a little time, but I really enjoyed it.

Guitar baby rattles!

2009-05-21T15:02:00.004+01:00

If your bambino likes rattles, why not let them shake in style?! You can start the little one on a road to rockstardom with these stylish rattles. Our latest invention. They are made from fabric remnants and come in 3 sizes and whatever fabric happens to be leftover. They will be available for purchase very soon from our online shop! http://www.the-gratefulthread.com/

More Spectacular Photos!

2009-04-27T20:05:00.006+01:00

Some more wonderful style/action photos from my brother-in-law Akim. Aren't these fab? These little rock stars have been caught in some sweet rock n' roll poses. Watch out, I think a new Elvis is in the making! And how about that pooch? Please check out Akim's other fantastic photos and his short filmwork at http://www.akimzerouali.com/.

Great Photos!

2009-04-23T13:18:00.003+01:00

My brother in law is a fantastic photographer. Check out this great style shot! He took a bunch of photos for us to use in our new upcoming catalogue. I can't thank him, or the bunch of crazy kid posers enough :)!

2009-04-23T10:58:00.009+01:00

It was a very exciting weekend indeed! We went to Siaulai, Lithuania over the weekend to meet with Gintas and the fine folks they have over at our manufacturing plant. We wanted the chance to visit the factory first hand so we could get an idea what its like, how the working environment is, and learn some of the in and outs of the toy making pipeline before placing an order. The staff were incredibly helpful and friendly, and the quality of the toys was excellent. We had a terrific experience overall and Gintas kindly showed us around not only the manufacturing plant, but also the entire lovely city of Siaulai!

Here are some photos to give an idea of what it was like:

After our initial meeting in the offices, we were taken on a tour. This a photo of Nicolas and Gintas next to the amazing embroidery machines. Check out all the different colours of thread. These machines can do any embroidery task.

Next we have the main working area where the toys are sewn together with high quality industrial sewing machines.

Here we have the cutting room where patterns are cut out using an electric blade. The worker wears a sort of chainmail glove for protection and feeds the material through the cutter.

Finally there is a photo of the fabric storage area where rolls upon rolls of fur, felt, linen and and cotton made up a ceiling high array of colors and textures.

There were many more cool things to see as well such as the storeroom filled with fun toys and a child's dream come true, the detail area where workers did little extras to ensure each piece was top quality, and the giant machine that took fabric scraps and whipped it into a fiber filling like cotton candy. It was truely a fantastic adventure for us and great to see everything behind the scenes. We are looking forward to getting our first batch of softies created here!

PLUSH YOU exhibition!

2009-04-16T19:43:00.005+01:00

The Grateful Thread is very happy to announce that we have been selected to exhibit at the Plush You! exhibition that will take place in Seattle later this year. I'm really excited about this. We will be submitting 3 new handmade softies of our own designs. All sorts of ideas racing through my head for projects, and I've already brought out the sketchbook to jot them down. I think I'm going to try something really different this time and explore with some new methods and materials. Now that we've bought a brand new embroidery sewing machine I feel a boost in confidence too!
Luckily I have a few months to get them designed and created. Congratulations to all the other wonderful fellow softie makers that will also be exhibiting. We are looking forward to seeing all the amazing and inspiring pieces! For updates on the show and cool softie related news follow the Plush You! blog at http://plushyou.blogspot.com/

On The Stage and Ready to Rock!

2009-04-14T17:26:00.005+01:00

Here's a little preview of the stage we have designed for our exhibition stand at the Pulse tradeshow. The picture here is slightly misleading as it will be approximately a full 2 meters in length! We will be showcasing our "The Monsters of Rock" softie series to thousands of prospective buyers for the first time. Yikes, we sure hope they are well received! I think they look monstrously cool myself, but I am a little biased :)!

I'm the New Bambino Goodies Contributor!

2009-04-14T15:30:00.004+01:00

So, I've started to do some part time contribution to the The Bambino Goodies web blog (http://www.bambinogoodies.co.uk/). It's a great resource for finding some really unique things geared in particular for families with or/and expecting little ones. So far it's been pretty fun poking around the internet and finding things that really catch my interest, getting recommendations from friends on products they like, and generally helping to promote like minded small businesses.

New Clocks Hands in Stainless Steel

2009-04-14T15:24:00.004+01:00

We have received our new clock hands from the laser cutter. I definately think they are a step up from the plastic ones. We also got them enlarged for the larger clocks. I've been doing lots of clock making in preparation for the PULSE tradeshow which is rapidly approaching and takes place the first weekend of June at Earl's Court in London. Check out more about the show here: http://www.pulse-london.com/

Crammed Organisms Book finally arrived!

2009-03-23T11:40:00.003Z

So after a very long wait, and some worry about whether we would receive our promised and much anticipated book "Crammed Organisms", it has finally arrived and we are happy we were a part of it. There is a 2 page spread of our "The Monsters of Rock" series, and a multitude of images from fantastic artists and softie makers from across the globe. Perusing through the images has given me so much inspiration, and reminded me how silly, quirky and fun making softies can be. Thank you all the fantastic designers who contributed!

Shops shops shops!

2009-03-23T11:33:00.003Z

Well, we are excited to say that The Grateful Thread is finally getting our products into stores. We are now stocked in several London boutiques, a couple of shops in North America and are soon to be stocked in very cool shop called Nieuws Innoventions in Amsterdam as well. Things are moving moving moving, and shipping shipping shipping all the time it seems.

Special softie for baby Lux!

2009-03-06T15:54:00.003Z

I just received these photos from a happy customer in The Netherlands. We customized a Rock Star softie with her new baby's name. I just love the way its hanging with the rest of the guitars. How incredibly cool is that?! Wow, this baby is already a star in the making . . . . Lux, when you get rich and famous, please remember the little people like those at The Grateful Thread :)

Last Call for entries

2009-03-05T17:19:00.004Z

Someone's junk really is someones else's treasure. Especially when it is reused or made into something new and totally original. 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse is almost ready to shut the doors on entries. We just snuck in there with some of our repurposed vinyl record gear. A book is being published with the best selections and I think its going to be fabulous to see all the wonderful and clever ways people are reusing, recycling and repurposing everyday things.

check it out here http://extremecraft.typepad.com/ Entries are still accepted through March 13th

Beautiful Fabric

2009-02-26T16:39:00.002Z

I love a gorgeous piece of fabric what can I say.

Check out the designs at http://Volksfaden.de
and try to find inspiration for ideas. I'm already thinking about
what to make for baby bumps arrival . . . . . . .

From sad to rad!

2009-02-19T19:42:00.005Z

I found this nice but somewhat sad little commode at a thrift store awhile back and finally got around to giving it a little makeover. I covered it with this fab wallpaper I found on ebay and am really happy with the results. I would highly recommend doing this project. Its easy with quick and fabulous results. Shamon!

How do I love you? . . . Let me count the ways

2009-02-19T18:33:00.003Z

I think this is the most thoughtful and sweetest gift I have ever received.
From my sweet hubby, a special Valentine's day book. Take a tip boys, she'll be putty in your hands after this one.

custom orders for clocks!

2009-02-16T15:48:00.002Z

Know someone's fav band of all time? We try to source what we can so if you have a special request don't hesitate to ask and we'll see what we can do! (unless its something truly obscure!)Here's a special Blondie request we did for a custom order.

Have a favorite photo of your boyfriend rocking out his guitar? We can do custom labels with your photos and/or text too!

New GT website up and running

2009-02-11T09:48:00.004Z

I have been working very hard on integrating e-commerce functionality to our website. You can now buy products direct from the site!
Check it out!

http://www.the-gratefulthread.com/

Pulse Spring 2009

2009-02-11T09:44:00.002Z

We are officially signed on to the PULSE tradeshow here in London at Earls Court.
We are both slightly terrified since this will be our first major show. At least we have 3 months to prepare our booth and get everything in order. So much to do!
We will be showcasing our new vinyl jewelry range as well our signature clocks, and softies. Hope to see you there!

Things are starting to move!

2009-02-11T09:34:00.003Z

So I have now finished the film I was working on "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus". It was an interesting project and gave me the opportunity to meet and work with Terry Gilliam, an inspiring man. But alas, now I have time to work on The Grateful thread full time!

We have taken a brave and scary step and got some of the guitars manufactured!
these are the 3 designs -

More Guitar Softies

2008-06-26T21:58:00.002+01:00

After many requests from various magazines and newspapers, I took some more photos of our latest series of guitars to pass to the press. This group are all custom made by us. My personal fav is the red with white polka!

Elliot and Big Tone

2008-06-26T21:56:00.003+01:00

We had such a great time when Nico's sister Sophie and her 2 boys came and stayed with us. Heres Eliott and Big Tone in a monster hug!

Recycled Vinyl Jewelry

2008-06-26T21:42:00.004+01:00

Our latest endeavor! We had some vinyl cut by water jet and then bent it into shape if necessary. We also had some very cool necklaces cut that we still need to finish the chains on, but they should be here soon!

New Character Art!

2008-06-01T14:21:00.005+01:00

Courtesy of our young new friend Fiona, who we met at the Craft Guerilla Market. She seemed to really enjoy our monsters, and drew two fantastic portraits of Johnny Fandango and Betsy Bones in action.

Great stuff Fiona! thanks again!

Craft Guerilla Market in Walthamstow!

2008-05-18T12:16:00.002+01:00

We will be there March 31st selling our wares. I really hope we get a good turnout and the weathers nice. I visited the first edition which seemed to go well. Always nice to see what other crafters are doing and getting our products exposure! Will let you know how it goes!

Monsters of Rock!

2008-04-27T22:24:00.003+01:00

We have finally finished the entire band, and have sent these out for "Crammed Organisms" - The World's Largest Plush Show in Saint Louis. Its great seeing the whole band together!

We've been accepted to Crammed Organisms yea!

2008-04-11T23:21:00.005+01:00

I'm really excited about this! Crammed Organisms are hosting "The World's Largest Plush Show". A total of 4 shows at various venues in St. Louis. There will also be a limited edition coffee table book to compliment the show showcasing all the artists, and we've been accepted! Its really an honor to be showcased with such amazing talent - Thank you Crammed Organisms!

Check out the link for more info
http://www.crammedorganisms.com/about.html

The Monsters of Rock with Betsy Bones

2008-04-10T21:46:00.002+01:00

Betsy Bones

2008-04-10T21:34:00.003+01:00

Finally, I have put together a design of our next band member. I am in the process of sewing her up now, so more to post soon! She's bad, she rocks, and plays bass with style!

2008-04-03T16:35:00.001+01:00

Fabulous Blogs of the Etsy Plush Team Members
Power By Ringsurf

The Backyard Market!

2008-03-23T17:16:00.003Z

Hello fellow craftsters and friends! We've made our first few sales. We decided last minute to throw a stall together for "The Backyard Market" off of Brick Lane. The weather was lousy so there wasn't a lot of people, but we got a great response, particularly for the clocks. It was an excellent day all around even if our little toesies were a little frozen :)

More Guitar Softies!

2008-03-02T13:39:00.003Z

We are continuing to crank these out and they will very soon be available for sale at www.the-gratefulthread.com, and through our Etsy page. Hope you like 'em!

Custom Labels!

2008-03-02T13:31:00.003Z

We ordered some of these fab custom embroidered labels.
Pretty happy with the results!

THE MONSTERS OF ROCK! up to date

2008-02-10T12:17:00.000Z

So here they are . . . ready to rock your world. There's a new gal pal coming to town soon too to strut her stuff.

Elvis Beastly

2008-02-10T12:16:00.000Z

Make it funky now!

Big Tone

2008-02-10T12:14:00.001Z

"Uh . . . hey guys I think I forgot my drumsticks somewhere . . . . guys?"

Don't worry Big Tone, we'll find them for you!

Johnny Fandango

2008-02-10T12:13:00.001Z

He's such a rock star!

Mr.Funkenstein

2008-02-10T12:06:00.000Z

Here is the first protype for Mr.Funkenstein. Some small details to iron out like the synth. Also, we've decided to increase his size and switch the main body to fleece instead of felt. Another one is on the way!

Vinyl Record Inspired Couch Cushions

2008-02-10T11:59:00.000Z

Super cozy felted cushions.

Funky Guitar Brooches

2008-02-06T23:17:00.001Z

So, we have started making a few brooches. They are made of layered felt with beadwork and custom embroidery for the details. Also, so they don't go all floppy, we've inserted a small section of wire in the neck. So far we've only done flying V brooches, but other guitar types are on the way! Both of us have been sporting them around on our jackets to spruce up our attire. It's all about the accessories people :)!

Custom Clock Hands

2008-02-06T23:05:00.000Z

They've finally arrived! Very exciting. The shape is finalized, and we've put in an order for a bunch of custom clock hands. We will be painting some of them depending on the look of the record.

Cuddle Monsters

2008-02-03T23:56:00.000Z

Nico and Big Tone hanging out.

MONSTERS OF ROCK!!!!!

2008-02-03T23:14:00.001Z

Okay, so this is a bit of a teaser but . . . . Meet the monsters: Johnny Fandango, Mr.Funkenstein, Elvis Beastly and Big Tone are happy to make your acquaintance! These are some of our designs for soft toys we are working on at the moment. The prototypes are nearly done. We have decided to go with soft fleece so they are super cozy and cuddleable. More on this to come soon. And don't worry we are adding a girl monster soon too!

Guitar Softies

2008-02-03T22:49:00.000Z

We have been busy busy busy! I am posting the 3 different varieties of our guitar softies. Gibson, Les Paul and the Flying V have been our inspiration for these. They are great fun to make, as there are so many cool little options for knobs and details.

Clutch Purse Stocking Stuffers

2008-01-17T23:06:00.000Z

I found this great little clutch purse tutorial from u-handbag (thanks guys!), and thought I'd try a couple different patterns myself, with some pretty fabric we got in Japan this summer. They turned out great and I gave them to Nico's sisters as stocking stuffers this year. Try for yourself, tutorial here.

http://u-handbag.typepad.com/uhandblog/2006/12/purse_frames_de.html

The Vinyl Wall

2008-01-17T22:56:00.000Z

Here's a few more. We are getting quite the collection on our dining room wall. They actually look pretty cool as a set I think. Way to go Nicolas!

Recycling Vinyl

2008-01-17T21:23:00.000Z

So Nico had the idea of making clocks out of old vinyl, and we have been scavenging through piles at the Oxfam and digging out the interesting ones. Every once in a while we find colored ones. Joy!

My Lil' Monster Dude!

2008-01-16T22:36:00.000Z

I made this for a friends new baby. My first softie and loads of fun.

It's inspiring me to do more crafts !