Dear Party People,

This is the end, my friend. You may have noticed our neglect of Blobbyfarm.com since, oh, around April of 2006. At that time we moved (again), started new jobs, and just got busy. As we got more and more entrenched in our new lives, we found that there were a number of other things that trumped Blobbies in our lives - curating exhibitions, teaching, getting ready for our first child (woo-hoo!), locksmithing classes, frosting graffiti, etc. Blobbies fell by the wayside.

We recently received an email from our domain registrar notifying us that the URL Blobbyfarm.com expires on October 5th. We have made the decision to just let it go. Blobbyfarm.com will no longer exist. Sure, we’ll make a few Blobby related items for our new baby (we just got a silkscreener after all), and we can make a Blobby every now and again for our friends and family members. But as far as the general public is concerned, Blobby Farm is extinct.

We sincerely appreciate all the support we’ve received and friends we’ve made because of this goofy endeavor. As a final thank you, between now and October 5th, you can purchase anything on the Blobbyfarm.com website for 50% off the original price (sale price is as marked). It’s not like we were ever really in this for the money anyway. Make sure you download your coloring book pages and send your last Blob-E-Grams before October 5th when everything disappears.

Thanks again and we’ll catch you on the flip side.

Thanks and Cheers,
Maria and Chris
(The Blobby Farmers)

NEWBRASKA — We’ve been waiting with baited breath for Lark Book’s latest tome to arrive in our mailbox. Plush-O-Rama: Curious Creatures for Immature Adults finally landed on our doorstep yesterday. Blobby Farm has two tutorials for making your own Blobby inside the pages of the book. We are featured alongside such luminaries as Lizette Greco, Jenny Harada, Creature Co-op, and Beck Wheeler. Pick up a copy for yourself and master the art of plush. Don’t forget, the holidays are right around the corner…

SEATTLE — Apparently the Plush You 2 show at Schmancy in Seattle was a success. We weren’t able to make it to the show as we’re still wading through cardboard boxes at our new digs in Colorado and all of our money was spent to get us here. So, we are just living vicariously through Flickr tours of the show. Peruse out the photos of Snaggs, Mai Le, and Kristen Rask herself to get a sense of the glory of a small room stuffed with people and plush.

Word also has it that if you like what you see, you can contact Kristen at Schmancy and order some plush online (alas, as of this writing, Señor P. is sold, but you can still get the Brown Recluse and/or Moodzilla).

NEWBRASKA — Hundreds of Blobbies reaffirmed their opposition to genocide, rape, plunder and dismemberment Monday by attending the annual Abolish Columbus Day march in downtown Newbraska. The march was a peaceful one, with all the proper demonstration permits obtained ahead of time from the proper Native American tribal authorities. Authorities of neighboring occupational western powers were not consulted.

“We just feel that since Columbus was a sea pirate, he should go down in infamy like Blackbeard or Captain Hook. If kids want to dress up as him on Halloween, we wouldn’t stop them, but we would encourage them to adopt appropriate accessories like a necklace made of slaves’ hands, a vial of small pox around his neck, or a flask of human blood strapped to his thigh. These accouterments will help kids remember the thousands of limbs he cut off and other such destruction he brought,” said event co-planner Señor Pooglins.

While some Blobbies feel the day should be recast as a national day of mourning, others feel that the western consumer’s need to celebrate is too strong and therefore support a renaming effort that would allow people to continue their BBQ and retail sale extravaganzas.

“Personally, I think we have a responsibility to publicly mourn not only the horrendous treatment of indigenous peoples by Columbus and his governing successors, but also the legacy of state-celebrated atrocities. That is why I give my students extra credit for wearing black to school on Columbus day,” said activist and Blobby, Jr. elementary school teacher Mrs. Smelnor.

The Baron of Beef von Espy is in the other camp: “Since I am a baron, I understand the political need to ease the general public into a more enlightened understanding of history. That is why I endorse the renaming of Columbus Day to Columbo Day. It would be very easy for businesses to alter the spelling on their sale banners. We can manufacture consent by facilitating behavior that we approve of. And who doesn’t approve of Columbo? I mean, the guy was an investigative genius!”

For more information on abolishing Columbus Day, visit http://www.transformcolumbusday.org/.

To view or sign anti-Columbus Day petitions, visit Petition Online and The Petition Site. You may also read a discussion with Denver organizers of a Columbus Day protest on Democracy Now!

Craft: Blog interviewed Kristen Rask of Schmancy about her store and the upcoming Plush You II show. We’ve always liked Kristen. She has been a pleasure to work with. In her interview, Kristen talked a bit about some of her plush favorites including Blobby Farm. We’re honored to be mentioned along side Sewdorky, Mark Hundley, Heidi Kenny, Jenny Harada, Jess Hutch, Mr. Pickles, and Shawnimals. Thanks Kristen and thanks Craft: Blog.

Read the interview here.
See our contributions to Plush You II here.

Blobby Farm was featured on Mania TV’s Shop/Surf segment in May. We’re a little late with the news, but what are you gonna’ do? Luckily, Mania TV has archived the clip so you can go watch it now. Poor Matt, the CJ, he had such a hard time with the Blobby names: Mr. Mau instead of Mr. Man, Singer Pooglins instead of Señor Pooglins, and Tooty McHairclip instead of Toothy McHairlip (but we might have to use Tooty McHairclip now). And contrary to popular belief, we do not live in Nebraska, we live in Indiana (soon to be Colorado), but the Blobbies come from NEWbraska (new, new, NEW!). Y’know, The Independent Commonwealth of Newbraska? Capital city: Newrusalem? I’m sure you’ve heard of it. Right off the coast of (mumble, mumble, mumble)…

At any rate we would like to thank Mania TV for kindly doing a segment on Blobby Farm and battling it out with the tongue twister names. Rock on, Matt!

Pick up the new and absolutely free Blobby Farm Mocha Chocolata Ya Ya desktop wallpaper and Flickr buddy icons (48 x 48px) in the Freebies portion of the site.

After a year and a half of rock-bottom prices, necessity unfortunately dictates that the price of Blobbies, Jr. will go from $10 to $15 (USD) starting May 1. So get yours while they are still dirt cheap. Between May 1 and May 31, each Blobby, Jr. order will also receive a set of Blobby Farm postcards to help alleviate the pinch of higher pricing. Don’t panic, the pricing of Blobbies, Jr. Rattles and full-size Blobbies will remain unaffected. Whew.

There are two new coloring pages available in the Freebies section! First off, there are Blobby templates for you to create your own Blobbies. We’ve provided you with pale outlines of Blobby bodies. All you do is add nubs here and there, draw a face, add a splash of hair, and you’ll have your very own Blobby creations! Simple, no? The other is a pastoral scene of Señor Pooglins, Sir Cutlet, and Blobzilla enjoying a quaint picnic of saltines and juice. Download and let the crayon wax fly!

The Art vs. Craft event in Milwaukee is now taking applications. Visit their swanky new website for details and to apply online. The application is free, and there will be a measly $55.00 fee if accepted to the show. The application deadline is April 24th, 2006, and you will be notified of acceptance through email by May 8th, 2006. Fast, cheap, and out of control, yo!

For the new year, we offer you our new 2006 Blobby Coloring Calendar. Download it for free and allow your crayon wishes to be fulfilled every month of the year.

Throw snowballs with Melba Toast in January, take a space walk with Patty in March, step into the wild West with Schmeckler in July, and go trick-or-treating with The Recluse of Beef von Espy and Mr. Tzilla in October.

You can view individual calendar pages on Flickr or download the entire calendar as a 1.4MB ZIP file containing PDF coloring pages for your enjoyment. Just click the calendar image to your left to download.

If you feel so inclined, send us a picture of your handiwork so that we can marvel at your skill and deft aesthetic sensibilities.

As a special festive treat, we offer you a free MP3 download of the DV Cassette Club song, “Holiday Picnic,” from the Blob-E-Gram of the same name. Add this timeless tune to your holiday mix right next to Karen Carpenter crooning about “logs on the fire” filling her with desire. As you let the smooth melodies of DV Cassette Club caress your eardrums, may visions of sugarplums and Señor Pooglins dance in your head. Let this jazzy carol ring out during your holiday parties where your tables are surely decked with cheeses and cakes, but nary a cracker. Make this anthem the soundtrack to your next luncheon revolution!

A portion of this song’s proceeds will go to benefit the Foundation for Understuffed Blobbies, Jr. Remember that at this time of year, the little ones need just a little more stuffing to stay warm. Every penny will help. Oh… the song’s free? How’s that supposed to help keep little Blobbies warm? Stupid marketing department…

Free Track:

• Holiday Picnic MP3 | 1:08

Blobby Farm is featured on the SFist today as part of the SFist Holiday Gift Guide. Aw, yeah! You can even enter a contest to win a Bubba Tatuman, Jr. And may I just say, he is one fine specimen of Bubba Tatuman-ness. It would do you well to enter to win!

We are very pleased to announce the results of the first ever “Design a Blobby” Contest! The competition was fierce and the judging was grueling. After sweat soaked deliberation, ardent debating, and gnashing of teeth, we have emerged from the jury room confident in our decisions and the abilities of all the participants. Seriously, this was tough.

Ages 0-7

Winner

Ciko by Zoe L.

Ciko likes to play dead.
He has three horns on his head.
He uses his blue wings
to fly around and get things.

Honorable Mentions

Noodle, Jr. by Paige R.

Noodle likes to swim in soup. He also likes to slide down your throat. But Noodle, Jr. doesn’t. He’d rather be burped out of your mouth.

Flub by Riley H.

He has blue eyes because he is nice. He eats 19 pounds of chocolate. He likes activities like kickball, tag, soccer. He has fun with me. I like him he is fun. Som times wun I am not looking he takes a bar of chocolate.

Ages 8-12

Winner

Doggy Blue by Eli H.

It lives in the sky. Loves candy. Candy is all he ever eats. Loves to go to parties. He works out. And he can lift a two pound weight. It can eat 18 ponds of candy in 1 second that is why it has two molths. He eyes are very big and he can see over nine miles so he can see his predators. And his predators are a cows, chickens, dogs, cats, and this other animal called a candy monster he tries to eat all my candy. And I can defend by spitting. And my poisonous spit puts them in a deep sleep for twenty days, in less than one second. He has powers that can heal his sickness because he eats lots of candy.

Honorable Mentions

Hannah Hammer by Jane C.

Hannah was born on April fourth 2004. She loves to ski, but hates the cold. Her favorite food is saimen, or, as what she calls “mainlanders” call raman noodles. She may get into your chocolate stash, but looks so ridiculus when she gets her head caught you won’t care. Warning: do not introduce her to your loving pet fish. She was born in the ocean, and would gobble up mr. fish in no time! She may be found lounging on the couch.

Pee Wee, Jr. by Isabel A.

Pee Wee has always enjoyed dancing. He started with jazz and switched to hip-hop and liked hip-hop better and joined all the clubs about hip-hop. Now Pee Wee lives in Italy and his phone number is 545-5455.

Ages 13-18

Winner

Super Bovine by Aubrey M.

She’s a mild mannered cow by day. By night, she’s an udder cover super hero… She’s super Bovine! When she senses distress in the farm, she arrives with her udders of steel and her super sweet shorts to defeat the villians. After a long nights work or protecting her barnyard friends, she returns to Farmer Brown to yet again meet her daily quota… milk.

Honorable Mention

Jasper Fiona by Carly T.

Jasper doesn’t like Thanksgiving very much anymore (there was this one time when he was 6 and someone tried to make a pie out of him… it was all very traumatic). When not telling everyone who’ll listen about “The Secret Life of Bees,” he can be found down at the river, harvesting oysters. Be nice to him and he might share them with you.

Ages 19+

Winner

Aunt Roberta by Jennifer R.

What a firecracker! Aunt Roberta NEVER misses her Tuesday afternoon matinee & lunch at “Taco Bandito” with best friends Edith & Edris. Roberta favors patio dresses, knee-high support stockings and Tangee rouge.

Honorable Mentions

Ye Olde Curmudgeon by Aubrie

Ye Olde Curmudgeon wants nothing more than to feed off your misery. Carry him with you when you are having a bad day, and watch him munch your troubles away! Stubborn and argumentive, he also makes a good gift for enemies!

Alice W. by Amy A.

Sole heir Alice W. rejected her grandfatherâ??s Zinga-Doodle snack cake fortune, turning her back on a destructive legacy of partially hydrogenated oils and high-fructose corn syrup. She is now proprietress of the nutrition boutique â??Panic If It Ainâ??t Organic.â?� Clad in hemp caftans, Alice lives in the moment-sipping rooibos teas, tending her patch of arugula, and teaching at-risk youths empowerment through pottery. She finances her aromatherapy addiction with recorder gigs at weekend renaissance fairs.

Special Mention / Most Derivative

Little Ed vs. Patty

Francois vs. Mrs. Smelnor & Melba Toast

Chomper vs. Smooth Operator

Paul H. receives special mention for his spot-on simulation of the Blobby Farm style. Unfortunately, he wins no actual prizes because he already made the “Blobbies” and he never entered the contest. A friend just pointed these out to us.

See many more fabulous entries on the Blobby Farm Flickr account! Heart-felt thanks to all who entered. We haven’t laughed that hard in a long time.

Today the new ReadyMade magazine appeared on newsstands. Now turn with me to page 83. Observe the grandeur of the first ever Blobby Farm ad! We’re official. You can walk into a Waldenbooks and find our ad within its walls. Now that’s the big time!

You can also peek into the ReadyMade Holiday Gift Guide to see our little blurb and a very stately Blobzilla touting the marvels of Blobby Farm.