It’s so hard to find good Muppet plush toys these days. That may be why artist Emily Engel took to making her own!
Engel managed to create some of the best Muppet plushes I’ve seen in years – including official Muppet merchandise. Her attention to detail and pure crafty talent is astounding, and she even managed to make incredible toys of characters who have never been plushified before, like Sweetums and Yolanda.
Emily’s work really shines a spotlight on what Disney could be doing with the Muppet brand. Each one of her creations would look splendid on any Muppet fan’s shelf, as well as lining the walls of the Disney Store.
We asked Emily for her story behind why and how she built her Muppet plush replicas. In her own words:
Quick back story, I made my first Muppet in 2013, Dr. Teeth, on a dare. Literally. Someone dared me to make him.
I was realizing at that time I had the weird ass ability to look at photos of things I’d Google and recreate them on sight. No patterns, no instructions.
Since then I’ve made probably close to a hundred. All of the Electric Mayhem including Lips, Beaker, Bunsen, Statler & Waldorf, Swedish Chef, Yolanda the Rat, Sweetums, Sam and a couple of custom Muppets I made of actual people, including myself.
I’ve applied to Henson more than once and also have attempted to reach out to Puppet Heap. My dream is to do design work for them and am dying to hear SOMEthing.
You hear that, Henson Company and Puppet Heap?? You’ve got an incredible talent over here, just waiting for your call!
If you like what you see, be sure to follow Emily on Twitter and Instagram, and if you’re interested in purchasing any of her work, check out her Etsy shop!
Click here to cuddle with Sweetums on the ToughPigs forum!
by Joe Hennes – Joe@ToughPigs.com
