New kokoleo personalized pieces...

I haven't done a personalized kokoleo update in a while. Here are the new names now decorating little kid rooms across the country....

 

Now I know how Santa's elves feel

It's been a busy month in my studio. In past years I've stopped taking commissions in December so I can focus on making things for my family and preparing for the holidays. This year though I took on every project that came along, and they kept coming. Consequently, there are kids all over the country that will be getting personalized kokoleos for Christmas and Hanukkah and my kids will be having a fabulous Christmas as well thanks to the cash I earned in the process. Here's my latest batch of personalized pillows...

 

Those last two were a last minute project I accepted this weekend. A return customer who lives in Seattle emailed me to ask if there was a possibility I could make a pillow for her by Monday evening. She was going to be in my neighborhood visiting a friend's new baby and wanted to be able to take her a kokoleo pillow, and if I could squeeze it in she wanted the Jonah pillow for another friend's kid too. We exchanged a few emails to determine the best fabrics and I sewed like a banshee and literally snipped my final thread as she arrived at my door to pick them up. It was nice to meet her in person and see her reaction when I handed them to her (she loved them). Usually I just package my work up and send it out into the world and pray they arrive safely and the recipient is happy. 

Another return customer contacted me to make Hanukkah gifts for 4 little boys. She wanted personalized capes like the one I made for a friend years ago. Here's what I came up with...

Modeled by McKenna...

 Then an old friend from Peterkin, our church camp, called me to ask if I would make banners for each of her family members with the Peterkin "Halleuiah Kids" symbol on them. After a few days of exchanging emails with fabric combination options, here are the 4 we came up with:

And now I'm done with my commissions for the year. Last night I made these chocolate pretzel trees for the staff at my kids' school...

 

After teaching two preschool Mother Goose classes plus improv acting classes at 2 different elementary schools the past few months, I remember what it's like to be a teacher. And after what happened in Connecticut, I remember why it's important to tell people you appreciate what they do for your kids. 

For my kids' teachers I made these tiger print totes - one for Sage's teacher, one for McKenna's, and one for the teacher who found this super soft luxe tiger print fabric (their mascot is a tiger) at a yard sale this summer and bought it for me.

 

She knows I collect fabric because she's seen the PTO displays I've created in the front hall of the school. Here's the one I did a few weeks ago:

 Whew! That's a lot of kokoleo for one month. I wonder what I'll make next year..

Summer Games and Baby Names

Oooo the summer is flying by. I haven't posted since April! Sheesh. Where does the time go? For me it's gone into entertaining the kids, organizing a neighborhood bike parade and picnic, gathering materials for a community mosaic in our park, and teaching a craft class at happy delusions every Thursday:

I've also been busy with a steady stream of personalized pillow orders lately. Here are some pics of the ones I've done in the last few months:

 

 

Such great names!

Recent personalized pillows and a banner

I haven't done a kokoleo personalized item update in a while. Here are some recent ones:

A peek into the process of kokoleo personalized pieces

I haven't done an update on my personalized work lately. Every now and then I take the time to gather photos I took of my personalized pieces from their various sources (the good camera, the small camera, my phone, etc.) and put them in the proper folder to upload to the gallery on my website. I know I've forgotten to photograph a few and sometimes I find a photo of one I don't even remember making. It's like encountering old friends when they pop up in my photo files.

Roman! How's it been? It's been months since I made you. I hope you're enjoying your new home.

Lilly! Lovely Lilly, how could I have forgotten your primary colors? 

Dean! It's been weeks since I've seen your blues and greens. 

I found these in my phone :

 

Note to self: Always use the good camera to photograph kokoleos before wrapping them up and shipping them out.

My personalized items have been the backbone of my business since the beginning. I don't advertise my sewing services but thanks to returning customers, word-of-mouth recommendations, and the occasional Googler who finds me, I almost always have a few names on my studio to-do list. It's a manageable amount that lets me give each customer's request the personal attention it deserves.

Finding the perfect color and pattern combination is not as easy as it may seem. After I'm given a color palette to work from, I dive into my  bin-o-fabric scraps and mix-and-match various color combinations so I can offer my customers options from which to choose. Sometimes this is the most time-consuming part.  The final product comes after several back and forth emails and photos with the customer. Thankfully, camera phones have made the process much easier. I just click and send and suddenly it's as if the customer is right there with me in my studio able to give instant feedback.

For example, given the color combo of yellow, purple and green, I came up with these two options for a customer:

and after a request for some pinks and couple more tweaks, here's the final result:

 

Here's an Ava Mae banner in progress, given the color combo of orange, lime green, and pink:

I gave two options, vintage florals, or bold contemporary.

The customer opted for bold contemporary.When she mentioned that Ava Mae's parents call her "sweet pea" I mentioned that I just so happened to have some sweet pea fabric and we ended up with this:

Recently, a customer asked if I had any jungle print fabric with elephants and such to incorporate into a personalized pillow. I didn't, but I offered to do the entire pillow in the shape of an elephant and this guy came about:

 

Sometimes all it takes is a simple suggestion to take a project in a whole new direction. I love when that happens. Collaborating with customers isn't always easy though. It can be frustrating when the right colors and patterns don't come together quickly. Sometimes it takes two or three email exchanges, sometimes it takes 12 or 13. The best part though, is when I read the words, "I love it!" or "It's perfect!" It's then that I know the work was worth it. Having the customer be an integral part of the creative process is what makes a kokoleo personalized piece all the more personal. 

Want a kokoleo personalized item delivered before the holidays? Make sure to get your order in soon. And remember, fans of  kokoleo on facebook get 15% off all personalized orders (and 20% off items in my Etsy shop).