JOYENGINE: cause sharing is cool

SOFT&FURRY™ went from nothing to something due to a simple phone call.  We owe a debt of gratitude to Dea Webb and Dave Wendt for ringing us back in April, or maybe it was early May and asking us to show some of our work at their little Plastic Chapel.  It was their interest that inspired this project.

We’d dreamt (as silly as it sounds) of making our own toys since early 2004.  The notion of creating our own canvas and providing it to our friends, both near and far has been one of those little motivators that’s kept us pushing through the rough, not so creative days.  We fully realize that the fruition of S&F™ is a relatively insiginificant accomplishment compared to a great many others, Hilary and Barack for example, but nevertheless the process, most importantly,  will remain forever dear to our twisted little hearts.

An extra-special thanks goes out first and foremost to Kristian Kluver, Mike Dunn, Steven Elmes, Markham Maes, Josh Holland, Shannon Bontakis, Brian Krezel, Joseph Shaeffer, and Scot Lefavor.  For without their continued trust and support we never would’ve completed our strange little quest while at the same time maintaining a vague semblance of sanity and balancing our commercial workload.

Anyone who’s ever been involved in any sort of creative management knows well that wrangling nearly 50 artists/designers for a common goal is no easy feat.  And, it’s these artists and designers from every habitable continent on the globe that made this project a reality.  They’re our real source of inspiration and fuel our passion as creatives, artists, and designers.  We’re truly proud to have provided a platform to highlight their talents and their passions and share them with a great many others.

Those artists include : DeadVolt / deadvoltage.com / DENMARK, DGPH / dgph.com.ar / ARGENTINA, HELLOHIKIMORI / hellohikimori.com / FRANCE, ILK / ilkilkilk.com / FRANCE, Galaxy Bunch / galaxybunch.com / HONG KONG, Morten Andersen / m-andersen.com / DENMARK, StupidLove / stupid-love.com / ARGENTINA, Tilt Design Studio / tiltdesignstudio.com / GERMANY, TOKO / toko.nu / AUSTRALIA, Pulco Mayo / pulcomayo.com / FRANCE, PHU! / phuek.blogspot.com / SINGAPORE, Via Grafik / vgrfk.com / GERMANY, Zeptonn / zeptonn.nl / THE NETHERLANDS, Adam Haynes / stickfort.com / BEND, OR, Celeste Prevost / designis-fine.com / MINNEAPOLIS, MN, Dave Franzese / daveisdrawing.com / BROOKLYN, NY, Dookie-Poo / dookie-poo.com / MONTCLAIR, NJ, Eighthourday / eighthourday.com / MINNEAPOLIS, MN, Grant Gilliland / seegrantdraw.com / SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Mint Condition / iammintcondition.com / MINNEAPOLIS, MN, Lifter Baron / lifterbaron.com / MINNEAPOLIS, MN, Mike HYP / myspace.com/mhyp74 / PORTLAND, OR, Sketchbot / sketchbot.blogspot.com / BROOKLYN, NY, Toothjuice / toothjuice.net / MINNEAPOLIS, MN, Alvin Gregorio / alvingregorio.com / BOULDER, CO, Amanda Marie / artbyam.com / FORT COLLINS, CO, Brian Krezel / briankrezel.com / FORT COLLINS, CO, Chris Ericson / DENVER, CO, Chris McNally / chrismcnally.com / BOULDER, CO, cypher13 / cypher13.com / BOULDER, CO, Dea & Dave / plasticchapel.com / DENVER, CO, Derek Friday / finndustry.blogspot.com / BOULDER, CO, Jason Thielke / jasonthielke.com / DENVER, CO, Joseph Shaeffer / studiojoshephshaeffer.com / BOULDER, CO, Josh Holland / www.josholland.com / BOULDER, CO, Josh Wills / wearesuperordinary.com / DENVER, CO, Kristian Kluver / rocket-fly.com / BOULDER, CO, Magnet Mafia / magnetmafia.com / DENVER, CO, Markham “Shitty Kitten” Maes / shittykitten.com / DENVER, CO, Matthew Doubek / LAFAYETTE, CO, Mike Graves / DENVER, CO, Oscar Woodruff / oscarwoodruff.com / FORT COLLINS, CO, Regan Rosburg / reganrosburg.com / DENVER, CO, Scot Lefavor / scotlefavor.com / DENVER, CO, Shannon Bonatakis / shannonbonatakis.com / BOULDER, CO, Rafa Jenn / rafajenn.com / DENVER, CO, and Ray Young Chu / rayyoungchu.com / WESTMINSTER, CO

Without futher ado… or anymore touchy-feely crap, here’s some pics thanks to Adam Mattivi and Steven Elmes. The super-pro pics are Adam’s… sorry Stevesy - you know we love you:)

Reed and Zach from inkmonstr installing the vinyl and Dave Wendt of Plastic Chapel.

Josh Holland constructed the huge furries for us (there were 3 in total)!

Lucian arranging toys.

Guy with the awesome hair in back is the one and only Oscar Woodruff.

Man in the hat - Dave Smith, owner of Limited Addiction and David B. Smith Gallery.

Markham Maes’ insane diorama he built for DOO.

Hand sewed from StupidLove in Argentina.

Plastic Chapel has everything you need!

Colorado local, Ray Young Chu!  Thriller!

Lucian Foehr, Scot Lefavor and Alex Henry.

Oscar Woodruff’s stunning illustration.

Close up of GROOND.

Close up of LOOFT.

Close up of DOO.

Megan (aka Miz Astrid) and Charlie on the decks!

From Via Grafik in Germany.

The 3 Universal Truths - Hunger, Rest, and Fornication from Dave Franzese.

The cypher13 team.

Making toys!

3 Mythical Beasts by Scot Lefavor.

Dea (back) getting her swerve on.

Left to right: Mike HYP, Amanda Maire and Kristian Kluver.

From Denver local, Mike Graves.

Close up of Markham’s diorama.

Berger and Lefavor, kicking it.

Full house all night!

Markham Maes’ GROOND.

Markham Maes’ insanely detailed mushroom.

Brian Krezel representing Fort Collins.

All three Soft and Furries!

An additional extra-huge thanks goes out to Miz Astrid & Charlie (Lucian’s sister and brother’n'law) for bringin’ the beats to the evening.  You guys are rad!!!

NOTE: Front and back photos of each and every custom (including Josh Holland’s mega-plush) will be up on www.softandfurry.com real soon.

Our friends at The Fabric Lab, The Plastic Chapel, and INDY INK down in Denver have come together and assumed the shape of one super awesome creative monster. They’ve aligned and are using their collective creative powers to collaborate on a number of ultra-fresh events. You can peep all the details below.

SPECIAL NOTE: STEEZ, a solo exhibition at The Fabric Lab by Kelsey Beatrix Dalton oughtta be really rad. Snap! homegirl can paint, yo! Lefavor, get with it kid..

thefabriclab.com | The Plastic Chapel | INDY INK

Scot Lefavor is doin’ it again. This go round he’ll be runnin’ “The Buddy System” at Denver’s very own house of vinyl, The Plastic Chapel on September 7th from 7pm until… late. The big question around here is can he one up EHF Collective crew mate, Markham “Shitty Kitten” Maes… Who the fuck knows? One thing is for sure, “Last Minute” Lefavor is capable of some pretty heavy shit. Our guess is that he’ll be breakin’ out the big guns to represent and raise the bar FAIVER style. You’ll have to show up to find out.

Scot Lefavor | The Plastic Chapel

Tonight is a big night in our arty little world. Two Colorado super heros are having solo shows… Jason Thielke is showing at The 400 and Markham “Shitty Kitten” Maes is showing at The Plastic Chapel. You really wanna make both of these openings… they’re gonna be rad. So, get your shit together, hustle down to Denver and check out WHASSSUP!

Denver local, Mike Graves will be Showing at Dee and Dave’s Plastic Chapel this coming Friday, March 30th. Mike is a master of the highly illustrated Low Brow/Pop Surreal character. Mike’s wild characters are a perfect accompaniment to the designer collectible toys up for grabs at the Plastic Chapel. If you’re down with designer toy culture, and heavily illustrated artwork you wanna be at Mike’s show. Shit, if you aren’t down with toys or wicked cool character design… you wanna be at Mike’s show. We can’t wait.

The Plastic Chapel is located at: 8 W. Ellsworth Ave., Denver, Colorado 80223. You can call Dee and Dave at 303-722-0715.