Ancient Mexican Jumping Beans - exclusive!

I'm pretty excited to announce that my plush exclusive for Schmancy toys in Seattle is on sale now! Celebrate Cinco de Mayo- or just the return of spring with this ancient species- which Plushologists only recently found living deep in the Mexican Rain Forest. They bring an atmosphere of celebration wherever they go, and no two Beans are alike. :D








Ben and I saw this awesome box with a die-cut window in the Container Store while I was working on the Beans, and we thought it would add to the fun to make packaging for them. I designed the elements in Illustrator, and had Ben put them all together for me. His perfectionist quality really came in handy in putting on the stickers- because of him there are no wrinkles or bumps. Which, sadly, probably would not have been the case had I put them on. Truly- I kid you not. So thanks Ben!! :D
Each of the fifteen Beans comes in its own box, which is hand signed and dated by me.



So, what was the inspiration for the Beans, you ask? (Or maybe you don't, but I'm going to tell you anyway. ;D)
Cinco de Mayo was a springboard that got me thinking about Mexico. Having spent a Christmas vacation one year in Cancun when I was 8 years old and visiting the ruins of Chichen Itza and Tulum started a deep respect for "primitive" carvings and art, which has only grown over time. Climbing the steps of an ancient structure and looking out over the ruins is pretty fantastic- even when you are only 8 years old and don't have quite the perspective/knowledge to truly comprehend the amazing achievement and antiquity of what you are standing on. Plus, the beach at Tulum is truly paradise. If you haven't been, I highly recommend you go!!
I really wanted to figure out how to incorporate some of that ancient symbolism into my plush, and when I remembered Mexican Jumping Beans while brainstorming, the two ideas came together. Each Bean has its own authentic ancient Mexican symbol on its belly. It was fortunate that we had a couple of wonderful books in our collection on Ancient Mexican Symbols and Ancient Mexican Art/Civilization, they were invaluable help. So take that, internet and e-books! Score one for real, page turning, library-smelling, books!! Can't live without them.