Little Brass Bird | Mr X Stitch

Little Brass Bird is a mixed media collective from Chicago. In a nut shell they are an animated stop motion show featuring their own line of plush toys as the characters. I got to meet them at the Chicago Comic Con this year, and asked Rhodrick from the group to tell us all about it: "We actually started as a plush toy company; participating in craft fairs etc. Two years after doing that, we decided to take our toy designs into another direction and developed the show. Robin majored in fiber & paper arts and I graduated from film school, so in the end, the ideas for the show came easily. However, since it's literally only the two of us, the time it takes to do everything is extra exhausting. Everything is crafted and drawn by hand; from the wall decor to the character features. Both our business and show production are all done in house (literally). "We collaborate with special guest artists on each episode and weave their style of work (no matter what field they concentrate in) into our storyline and art direction. Every episode also features music from a local bands and we use the show and website as a sort of central hub for local artists to join forces and reach a wider range of viewers. "The show is highly inspired by our love of creepy 70's stop motion children shows. Many of the characters, jokes and settings are inspired mostly by real life experiences Robin and I have had while together. Our logo and mascot: Half Cat is a slightly morbid symbol of "finding your other half" which is the show's underlining theme. Our product line is in direct relation to the show. We reveal new characters with every episode so as the show progresses; more characters will become available through our etsy store. "We're always looking for local talent, if people want to be a part of the project, to just email us via the website. However, in the end, all we really ask for is for support. The money we make from our products goes directly into making the next episodes. And if people don't want to buy but still really enjoy the show, at least subscribe to our facebook or youtube etc. to show us that the material is being received and appreciated. And finally there's our custom plush line. On top of pre-made plush, we specialize in custom plush toys; where people send us descriptions, pictures or photos and we create that for them (but still within the constructs of our plush style). We've already made a bunch of customs, some people bought them for others as gifts, others got it for themselves. The custom pics can all be found on Flickr." I think Little Brass Bird is an excellent project, filled with communal love and crafty humour. Go and enjoy them and tell your friends - it's a terrific idea. Here's to more multi-media shenanigans! ----- The Cutting (& Stitching) Edge is brought to you in association with PUSH: Stitchery, the contemporary embroidered art book curated by Jamie Chalmers. Featuring 30 textile-based artists from around the world, it's a must have for needlework fans.