Display Boxes

Dear Reader,

It all started with the "farm-to-school" produce box; our new in-store display unit that is :)

Over the last few months we've been busy with many things behind the scenes and our new display unit is certainly one of them.

Inspired by the waxed cardboard that our swag of fresh fruit and veges arrives in every week, we decided to take a similar tack with our new in-store display units.

We're pretty excited by the final product, seen here with and without acorns, so keep an eye out for them in stores near you :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

And Then They All Disappeared

Dear Reader,

As we prepared for the big shipment to Canada, it occurred to me that it would be fun to document the chief squirrel overseeing our packing job. And so without further ado, here it is for your viewing pleasure :)

Four pallets in all, and all headed north. If you live in Canada, keep an eye out in your nearest Mastermind Toy store :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Sunshine and Forest Packs!

Dear Reader,

There has been a lot of talk of late of boxes, so I wanted to take a moment to remind everyone what's inside all those boxes ... Acorns!

A big part of our hectic schedule over the last couple of months has been an expansion of color choices and a wonderful overhaul of the tags. So without further ado, I present to you, our Sunshine Pack, that sets you up for pink, yellow and orange squirrels, and ...


our Forest Pack that has the fixings for purple, blue and green!!

Super excited to see the squirrels you guys make with these new colors :) Keep an eye out for them, they're starting to head out into the world!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Boxes and Boxes of Acorns!!

Dear Reader,

The last couple of months have been incredibly hectic, but we're about to lighten our load because ...

Our Canadian shipment is ready to go!!



A thousand acorns and dozens of stowaway squirrels are set to trek north.

With a little luck this will free me up to share more images with you!

Stay tuned for more posts, because there's plenty happening at Squirrel King headquarters :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

The Squirrel King: Title Sequence!!

Dear Reader,

We've been very busy here at Squirrel King headquarters working out production of acorns. In the meantime though, the squirrels themselves were building a title card. Here's what we caught of the action :)


Hope you enjoy this as much as we did making it!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

A Long Overdue Update

Dear Reader,

It's been a chaotic last few weeks and we've traveled far and wide ... and it's been too long since I posted here!

The upside of all this is that The Squirrel King is spreading out across the country :)

We've been flat out attending trade shows for the first time ever and the response we've garnered is a little overwhelming. People - from Florida to LA, from Dallas to Canada - love our product and more generally the philosophy underpinning what we're doing.

To all our new friends, it's been wonderful to meet you!

Stay tuned for more updates, I'll try to get back to at least once a week :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

The Squirrel King Celebrates Soccer!

Dear Reader,

I've been talking about it for a few weeks, teasing you with making of images, well without further ado, here is the final product. Check out our celebration of goalies!


Hope it brings a smile to you. Please share with anyone who enjoys squirrels or soccer :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Kooba Squirrel

Dear Reader,

The last week has been chaos for us! We flew to Dallas to meet McManemin - our new reps in that part of the country - and to partake in our first ever trade show. And did we ever meet a slew of great people!!

Pictured here is Kooba Karl tearing it up in the showroom. Karl comes care of Samm, one of our new favorite peeps. He's is a great ambassador for the game Kooba that amused us to no end. To read more about Karl, click here.

For those of you in the south, thanks for the hospitality and look out for acorns in stores near you :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Our Latest Store

Dear Reader,

Our latest store on the West Coast is in Fairfax, CA. Called Revolution 9 it too strives to foster a community of creativity and they're doing a great job!

The wonderful structure depicted here reminds us of the milk carton community we saw closer to home just a couple of weeks ago. So fun to see young minds being inspired :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

In Amongst the Chaos of Construction ...

Dear Reader,

The last week or so our little apartment has been turned into a hub of construction. We've spilled over into the carport where carefully custom-engineered shelves now dry lids because ...

the living room is bursting at the brim with all manner of action.

If you look carefully though, sitting there in a little pool of light ...

Here, peeking through my yarn balling machine you can catch a better glimpse.

She's busy at work too. In a world of her own, happily chirping away as she crafts another squirrel!!

It warms my heart just how much kids love doing what they're doing and the other world that a little imagination transports them too :)

Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy some special time with your kids!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Behind the Iron Curtain to Pick Up Acorns

Dear Reader,

Recently there's been a lot of action behind the scenes and I think it's time we shared some of the good news! First off, we have signed with a Toyology, one of the best toy reps on the West Coast, so soon acorns and squirrels will start spreading farther and wider :)

In preparation for the impending surge, Justus and I visited our acorn warehouse yesterday:

Secondly, we are looking into what it takes to send internationally!! This is still early days, but for those of you outside the US, know that it is in the works :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Spring Planting

Dear Reader,

The other day I caught a little footage of some industrious squirrels preparing for spring with a little planting. Here's a couple of images of the action as it was being recorded ...

Stay tuned for the clip itself some time in the next couple of weeks. Watching the squirrels get carried away after an initial setback should give you a nice smile :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Website Overhaul!

Dear Reader,

There's a lot of work goes on behind the scenes at Squirrel King headquarters, but every once in a while it culminates in something visible. Today is one of those days :)

Hop on over to www.squirrelking.org and check out our new landing page! It gives a wonderful sense of just how much fun our Squirrel Craft Kits are :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Getting Better All the Time

Dear Reader,

Yesterday I crafted two more squirrels.

Nothing so new about that really, as most of you know I'm constantly crafting squirrels, but these two were special. In a couple of short months their evolution from yarn, pipe cleaners and googlie eyes to fully formed furry balls of mischief will be available for all to see. That's right, we've refined our instructions!

After the crafting of hundreds of squirrels a couple of tiny refinements emerged and I feel compelled to share them with future squirrel crafters :)

In the interim, with the whitebox set up I think I might have to  shoot a couple of fun little things to share in the next week or so ... stay tuned.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Suspended Submarine Shack

Dear Reader,

There's some really exciting things happening behind the scenes right now, and while I can't quite yet share the exact details with you yet, I can say that your squirrels will soon have some options for housing :)

Let's just say for now that these wonderfully whimsical images from Erik Pirolt have inspired me.

Of course in the world of The Squirrel King, we're going to give our own take on this beautiful crafting. Just know for now that things are in the work!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Dressing Up Squirrels

Dear Reader,

As anyone with kids knows, kids pattern off their surroundings. What I only just realized is that in the development of new ideas, this trait can open the door to amazing insights.

Recently we have begun designs for additions to our squirrel craft kits, namely bits boxes which will have everything you need, including instructions, to make costumes for your squirrels.

And while I have been cogitating, little designers in the other room have been crafting!

I'm loving where they've taken it so far. Hopefully it will inspire some of you too :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Our Fantastic New Envelopes!

Dear Reader,

Some of you may have noticed our fantastic new envelopes on Instagram the other day. Well we've now stamped instructions onto them :)

And with painstaking love and attention to detail they've been filled with arms, legs and eyes.

The new batch of acorns are heading out today. Order a kit and see for yourself just how gorgeous they look, that and the yarn balls with "waistbands". Remember it's free shipping from our site :)

Have a great weekend!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Behind the Backboard

Dear Reader,

In life it is often the case that great leaps forward go unseen. So it has been for us recently. Among the developments are plans for adornments for your squirrels. Our gallery of squirrels will soon offer more than simple inspiration!

In the meantime, check out our new improved backboard for the stores. Oh, and we've been working on our supply ... Toy Crazy in the Brentwood Country Mart has a new supply!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Yarn Balls get Waistbands!

Dear Reader,

In life it's important to innovate.

Some of you may recall the great balls of yarn we rolled for the early yarn balls in our kits ... well like all of us, once in a while they would unravel in travel. Happily we've found a solution!

Waistbands!! Don't they look spiffy now :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Our First Review!

Dear Reader,

It's official! Last Friday we got our first product review.

Erica Buteau of Buteau Full Chaos took the time to enjoy our kit with her son. They clearly had a blast. Check out the awesome endorsement here and click around for all manner of wonderful advice on spending time with your kids!

Thanks so much Erica, we're delighted to see you had so much fun and we look forward to seeing how you adorn your squirrel :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims