Acorn Prototypes!!

Dear Reader,

There is a LOT of activity happening over at Squirrel King headquarters right now! It feels like every day another big milestone is checked off.


And the latest? The prototype acorns have arrived! And they look AWESOME!!

Party squirrel has taken to the dance floor for a quick jig, but rest assured she'll be ready for the big photo shoot later today when the images for our card game come together :)

More on that soon, so stay tuned!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Something from Nothing!

Dear Reader,

The king has arrived!

We're closing in on the last couple of squirrels for the card game to go on the back of our squirrel kits' instruction cards.

One of the big joys of this little operation has been repurposing discarded materials. Careful examination of the throne reveals a cardboard box!

And left, you might see broken sunglasses, but I saw ...

An ice hockey player!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Inspiration: Rotting Fruit

Dear Reader,

I came across this image the other day and suddenly I'm inspired to try incorporating some rotting fruit figures into the world of dreams!

Kind of reminds me of Peter Greenaway's film ZOO ... except family friendly :) Still thinking a lot about the series!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Skating Along

Dear Reader,

Production of our Squirrel Kits continues! A big part being the continued construction of various themed squirrels for the game that we're putting on the back of the instruction cards.

Pictured here is 70's rollergirl, replete with headphones and walkman :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Inspired Slow Motion Dancing

Dear Reader,

Every now and then someone does something different, and they do it really well. It's inspiring! Scott Marquese is one such guy.


Not sure how this fits into The Squirrel King, but I've got my thinking cap on :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

A little detail: 50,000 Stickers!

Dear Reader,

Often it's the little things, that extra attention to detail, that makes something memorable. As some of you no doubt wondered when you saw Alien One holding the small ball of yarn a while back ... what will happen to the end as it rolls about the acorn?

Fear not!

We have stickers!!

A lot of stickers!!!

Yesterday 50,000 mini stickers arrived precisely to secure the balls of yarn, and later the plantable envelopes.

Exciting times, and our first industrial size shipment to arrive :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

PS Speaking of Alien One, I thought might also enjoy her latest poem :)

Ode to a Squirrel Kit

Dear Reader,

As you can see, the Aliens and I have all been hard at work knitting and kitting out our various squirrels for the upcoming game shoot. While we were doing that though, a wonderful poem celebrating the squirrel kits arrived in the post from one of our super special backers!

I just had to share it with all of you :)

Ode to a Squirrel Kit

Wrap some wool around chenille, add some googly eyes,
cardboard paws and feet to stand and pose these squirrely guys.
Each one needs to have a name that suits it to a T -
You alone will choose that name, what ever will it be?
Now let your mind dream up all kinds of things you'd like to do,
then make the props and clothes they need with odds and ends and glue.

And by the way, in case you missed our Kickstarter campaign we now have pre-ordering ability online! Check it out on our Squirrel Kits page.

Hope you like skiing and rodeo squirrels!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Chairs, Big and Small

Dear Reader,

It's been a big week for furniture over here at The Squirrel King headquarters!

Firstly, the Trouble and Strife got her balcony love-seat, though as you can see Alien One has already taken over.

Oh, and yes, some of you may recognize the wood from the scaffolding that held Robin's bathroom together a couple of years ago.




And secondly, grandma squirrel got her rocking chair.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Inspiration: CMA

Dear Reader,

The other day I came across this wonderful blog for CMA, or Childrens Museum of Art. Seems like an inspiring place! Trawling through the site, I was certainly inspired :)

The following clip is long, but I love what they did with simple paper cut-outs of the kids in the first couple of minutes:


I'm kind of inspired to take this rudimentary green-screen technique and use it on The Squirrel King! ... Now for where and how :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Bringing in the Big Brain

Dear Reader,

We've been busily working through all manner of technical details on how to bring the squirrel kits to you, and there are lots of complications! Fortunately a big brain just showed up to help.

As it happens this scientist squirrel is more interested in the game that will go on the back of the instructions - apparently the underpinnings of the game-play are based on intersecting lines in projective space over a finite field!

More characters soon :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Inspiration: Plaster Trees

Dear Reader,

You may recall a month ago, Alien One entered a pie contest at LACMA.

What I didn't mention at the time was another inspiration that I saw in the museum. With development about to move ahead on a new wing, there was a miniature rendition of what is to come. The new buildings look amazing to be sure, but for me the real inspiration was in the trees that accompanied the models!

Made of plaster they were very simple and yet extremely evocative. They kind of reminded me of Alien One's paper tree.

I may have to incorporate them into the series somewhere, at the very least they serve as inspiration to keep reimagining reality!

In the meantime, have a great weekend!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Surfer Squirrel Surveying What's Ahead

Dear Reader,

Standing on the bluff above the beach, this little surfer gal is checking out the day ahead.

For us the next couple of weeks are going to see a slew of squirrels designed for the game on the kits' instructions! Stay tuned, it should be a fun panoply :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims