This little creature used to live on a company logo. The company asked us to make it real, so we sewed it by hand as a custom mascot plush: the first prototype for a future production run, made to order from the logo and nothing else.
You won't find it in any shop. Every toy we make is sewn for one customer and their idea, and a brand mascot is about as personal as it gets. It has to look like their character, not a cute animal that happens to be similar.
Half cat, half owl
It has a cat's body: four legs, round haunches and a long thin tail. On its back sit two small wings. And then there's the face, which belongs to an owl. Two huge round eyes with bright yellow rings and a white dot of light in each, a small orange beak, and pointed ears that could be cat ears or owl tufts, depending on how you look at it.
It's sewn from soft black fleece. On a logo black is easy. In fabric, a black toy can turn into a shapeless blob in photos, so the shape has to do the work: separate legs, a clear line where the head meets the body, wings that stand off the back. The yellow eyes do the rest. You notice them from across the room.
From a flat logo to a toy you can hold
A logo is drawn to be read in a second, usually from one side only. A plush has to work from every side. So before sewing we have to answer questions the logo never asked: how long is the tail, where do the wings go, what does the back of the head look like, how does it sit?
That's what a prototype is for. It turns those guesses into one real sample the team can pick up, photograph, show around and approve. After that, a factory has something exact to match, instead of a picture.
Your logo could be next
Maybe your company has an animal, a creature or a small odd character on its sign, its packaging or its app icon. Send us the logo and anything else you have: brand colors, sketches, notes on the character's personality. We'll tell you honestly how it will translate into fabric and sew the first sample.
How prototypes and sewing patterns for factories work, and what they cost: Patterns & Prototypes. More brand characters we've sewn are in Mascots, like the Khinkali plush, and more first samples are in Plush Prototypes.
The owl-cat is made from fleece and stuffing, and that's all it needs.
Fleece is soft, holds a shape well and takes a deep, even black, which matters when the whole character is one color. It doesn't fray at the seams, so small parts like the ear tufts, the wings and the thin tail keep clean edges.
- Black fleece for the body, head, legs, wings and tail.
- Yellow rings, white highlights and an orange beak for the face: the only color on the toy, and the part of the logo people remember.
- Stuffing packed firmly enough for the toy to sit upright on its own.
For your own mascot we pick fabric with the production run in mind: colors that match your brand as closely as possible, and materials a factory can buy in bulk.
A prototype like the owl-cat usually takes 4–6 weeks. Part of that is a safety reserve, because handmade work always brings a surprise or two.
Most of the time goes into the pattern. We build it from scratch from your logo, sew a first version, check the shape from the front, the side and the back, and adjust. A character that only exists as a flat logo needs more of this than one that already has turnaround drawings.
If your brief is clear and the image is finished, one change is included. A rough idea or a very complex character may need a few rounds of refinements; in our experience 2–3 rounds get a result the client is happy with. The full terms are on the Patterns & Prototypes page.
We ship prototypes worldwide. Once the sample leaves us, delivery usually takes 7 to 20 business days, depending on your country, the carrier and customs.
Around big holidays couriers get busy and parcels can run late. If you need the mascot by a set date, for a factory meeting, a trade show, a company event or a product launch, tell us the date when you ask for a quote and we'll say straight away whether it fits.
The prototype stays with you. Your factory can use it as the sample to match. And if you'd rather skip the factory for a first run of gifts or merch, we can sew small batches ourselves, usually up to 200 pieces.
We've been sewing toys to order since 2009, and mascots and prototypes for companies are part of that work.
Prototype orders run under their own business terms. Before we start, we agree on what "true to the logo" means for your character. You see photos of the finished sample, and with a clear brief and a finished image one change is included. Extra rounds of refinements are priced separately and cost less than the first sample.
Your character stays yours. The patterns belong to you fully, you can take them to any factory, and we sign an NDA so your mascot stays private until you're ready to show it. Details: Patterns & Prototypes.
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