Further Confusion

As a brand new resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, I couldn't help but take advantage of my proximity to Further Confusion, the annual San Jose furry extravaganza. This past Saturday I drove down to San Jose to see what all the fuss was about.

We got to the show just in time to catch the parade, which was a perfect way to start the day. Then I got a chance to cruise around the Dealers' Room and ogle all the furry art. I bought this print from Thornwolf, whose work I've admired for a long time. I also got to say hi to the folks at BunnyWarez and see their work in person. Seemed like there was plenty of furry porn and leather collars and I even saw a booth selling amazing dragon dildos. And by dragon dildos I don't mean dildos shaped like cute little dragons, I mean dildos styled to look like actual dragon cock! This makes me think that Wolf Princess Designs might do well at an event like this and I'm planning on applying to vend there next year.

I didn't see any classes and the panel that I went to about dragons was pretty dull, so I can't say much about the programming- except for the dessert buffet that appeared at one point which was pretty awesome! The highlight for me was viewing the art in the Dealers' Room and silent auction and seeing the range of costumes. There were creatures of all species, shapes, and colors and some of them were rather inspiring. Everyone looked like they were having a great time- lots of smiles and hugs everywhere!

I'll end this post with some of my favorite costumes:


This puppy was the cutest thing- a hands-and-knees design that looked absolutely adorable toddling around the convention (photo by Pup Ajax).


I developed a particular fondness for this well-dressed hare (this photo also by Pup Ajax).


But the quadruped razorback stole the show- incredible!

Check out the Further Confusion Flickr pool for more photos of the event.

Cat and Mouse

I just received two fabulous photos from a customer that I have to share with you, not because the white fluffy kitten set I made for her came out so well (although it did), but because of how much fun she's having with it:


Look at that sneaky smile! Now there's a cat who knows how to have a good time. What you can't see in the picture are the ten sharp metal claws at the tips of her paws- that mouse doesn't stand a chance!



Kitten wrote:

I loved how the feeling of being a kitten came over me when I put everything on. I had so much fun!

Thanks so much for the photo, Kitten! You wear it well.

An Udderly A-moo-sing Commission

Apologies for the bad puns- I'm really milking the cow theme.

This was a fun commission I just completed for Neoclassic, a darling cow girl. She's just starting to explore her cow persona so we came up with a few key costume components to get her into cow space: a headband with soft ears and vinyl horns, a collar with a tiny vintage cow-bell, and an adjustable elastic belt with a shapely cow tail on it.



I met up with her at a class and play party the other night at The Water Hole Custom Leather, which is a really great space. Buck, owner of the Water Hole, creates some truly incredible tack for human ponies and the building houses his studio and the playspace. One of my favorite parts of the evening was walking through the leather studio and ogling the sewing machines! Of course the other highlight of the evening was meeting Neoclassic, handing her the costume in person, and getting to see her in it. She looked fantastic!

Raider's Puppy Suit

Yesterday I sent Raider the Pup home with a suit he and I have been working on for a long time now. It's the first full suit commission I've ever done and I'm really pleased with the result.

Raider has been a long-time customer of mine and it's always such a pleasure working with him. He was gracious enough to let me use these photos we snapped of him in the finished suit and the cute factor is beyond description!





We started with a swatch of supersoft honey-colored faux fur and an inspirational image:


From that, I created costume sketches:




And used those sketches to make the pattern for the final suit.


The hood is separate, lined in polar fleece and secured under the chin with two snaps. In traditional fursuit fashion (if fursuiting techniques can be considered traditional), the tail is held on with a belt under the suit for maximum wagging and minimum sagging. The suit zips down the front and there's a flap just below it that snaps on and off for easy access.












Both the fore and hind paws are lined with soft polar fleece. I chose to make the paw pads in vinyl so they would hold up to some abuse. The vinyl is easily wiped clean and will stay looking nice far longer than fur or polar fleece.




Doesn't he look fetching?

Wearin' fur pajamas

I don't know about you, but I'm really excited about the Where the Wild Things Are movie. I'm also always excited to see fursuits in the vanilla world, so you can understand my being doubly thrilled to see this article my dad (he knows me well) sent me about how director Spike Jonze commissioned a collection of Wild-Thing-style garments for the opening ceremony inspired by the book by Maurice Sendak. From what I can tell, all of the pieces are vegan.

Of course, the Max Suit is my favorite piece from the collection:


Are you as in love as I am? Apparently I'm not alone, they're completely sold out!

Tabling: Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health

On Saturday I tabled at the grand opening for the Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health, a nonprofit sexual resource center started by friend of mine, Megan Andelloux. Banned from their headquarters in Pawtucket, the opening celebration was held in Providence RI- read the full story here.

Similar to my setup at Kink For All Boston, my table featured pet food bowls full of NOMZ. I picked out human food that resembled pet food and I guess I did too good of a job- hardly anyone helped themselves to my treats! Oh well... at least the table looked snazzy:


And that's me in the silly hat. Thanks to Christopher Stetson Wilson for the photos!


If the idea of human treats that look like pet treats is inspiring to you and you want to use them in your play, here's a quick list of some good options:

Dog treats:

• Scooby snacks: bone-shaped graham crackers
• pretzel nuggets

Cat food (dry):

• Goldfish crackers- especially Goldfish Colors- look just like cat kibble
• Alpha-bits: cereal in the shape of letters
  

Any other ideas?

Pet Sounds

So I’ve been listening to a lot of country music lately- maybe it’s because these days I feel like these folks are singing to me. They remind me that love is the most important thing, they assure me that I’m better off without all my ex-boyfriends, they console me about not having much money, and yesterday they sang to me about taking a human pet for a walk. Yeah so maybe that’s not what Brad Paisley had in mind when he was writing his song Ticks, (from his 2008 album 5th Gear) but we kinksters tend to find perverse pleasure in even the purest of places. I was driving to the hardware store, listening to CAT Country 98.1 when I heard the lyrics:

I’d like to kiss you
Way back in the sticks
I’d like to walk you through a field of wildflowers
And check you for ticks.

I smiled to myself and imagined taking my puppy out for a little adventure on a bright afternoon. It may seem like a bit of a stretch, but give it a listen with that image in mind. Paisley’s singing about taking his partner for a walk and grooming her afterward- tell me that’s not puppy love. Plus look at that mischievous smile in the video! Priceless.



There are a few other songs that give me this same feeling. They are explicitly about a human with a non-human companion and they toe the line between familial and romantic love. There seem to be quite a few songs out there about people being animal-like in bed, like Bloodhound Gang’s Bad Touch (featuring the artists dressed as monkeys), Nine Inch Nails’ Closer, (featuring Trent Reznor tied up and blindfolded) and The Cure’s The Lovecats (featuring band members in cat costumes), but songs with a human/animal relationship theme are a bit more elusive.

The first one that comes to mind is Nellie McKay’s Dog Song from her 2004 album Get Away From Me. I love how she incorporates panting and paw-steps into her performance, and the lyrics suggest she and her dog are soul mates, eternal companions, and (I perversely extrapolate) lovers:

I said woof, be mine
And you gave a wail
And then I was no longer alone
And I was no more a boozer
We'll make the happiest home

I also remembered the Eels song My Beloved Monster from their 1996 album Beautiful Freak. This one reminds me of a friend of mine, Heliotrope. She’s not a puppy or a kitty cat- she’s a monster. Perhaps a little monster. Maybe even a pet monster. But a monster. This song is about having a girlfriend who is a creature:

My beloved monster is tough
If she wants she will destroy you
But if you lay her down for a kiss
Her little heart, it could explode

And it’s probably one of the sweetest songs ever. Rawr!

Lastly, my favorite song with this obscure theme is Caitlin Cary’s Pony from her 2001 album While You Weren’t Looking. I think you’ll know why this is my favorite as soon as you read these lyrics:

My baby, he’s a pony
He’s the one who loves me only
My baby is the only one
My pony

This is clearly a love story about a girl and her pony. And the song features catchy, percussive hand-clapping which makes it an automatic winner in my book.

I’m certainly not a music buff, and there are probably many more songs out there about human/creature relationships that I’ve not heard. What songs remind you of pet play?