Tag: cats

Posted in Home sparks, Sparks in the wild

A Tale of Two Kitties

Posted on by Cate

Helena is the talent behind Tokyo Inspired – selling ‘lovingly handcrafted’ cases for your iphone, camera or pencils. They are very cute and more than a little bit quirky. And they remind me of Zippy from Rainbow. I discovered Tokyo Inspired on etsy and although I can’t claim to be down with the mysteries of the animal kingdom, I am really not sure about the photos that Helena has used to sell her wares…

Take this lovely image of a cute snoozing kitty. The cat looks so happy snuggled up against her soul mate there on the rug. Except – it’s not her soul mate, IT’S A PENCIL CASE. And it has a fairly maniacal-looking zippered smile on its face. And eyes that never sleep. But then, I think there’s probably no harm as long as the (real) cat is happy, right?

Then there’s this pic of a grey cat laughing with his arm tucked around his equally delighted companion. Oh, he’s so chuffed that his partner mirrors his wide smile when he tells his favourite joke about that time with the saucer of milk. They are so happy and in sync and meant to be together. Except – hang on, that’s not a smile, that’s AN OPENING TO STUFF PENCILS OR A SMART PHONE THROUGH. And I start to feel like this is getting a bit out of hand.

And these two grey cousins, caught in a never-ending battle to see who can ‘freeze’ the longest. It’s just not right.

I love your work, Tokyo Inspired – the cases are very cute and I can think of lots of people (myself included) who would like them. But I’m just not sure that it’s fair to the real cats to keep up this charade. Because one day, maybe a zipper will break, or a sequinned eye will drop off, or an ear will unthread, and there will be heartache in the litterbox.

You can check out these very cool cases (and cats) at the Tokyo Inspired shop here.

Posted in Arty sparks

Snappy dressin’ cats (and dogs)

Posted on by Cate

I do like a portrait of an animal in clothes. There’s something about a cleverly matched animal head with a human’s outfit that makes me giggle every time. So, I was delighted to find Heather Mattoon Art on etsy – any shop whose promise is simply, “CATS AND DOGS IN CLOTHES” is alright by me. Here are some of my favourites…

This is George. Apparently, George is quiet, loves science, especially quantum theory, and feels that doctors should be more forthcoming with health advice despite the influence of the pharmaceutical companies.

And Cooper. Cooper is a deep thinker, his thoughts are profound. He walks alone from coffee shop to coffee shop carrying his journal.

Or Henry. Henry is not yet a teenager but likes to hang around the older crowd to feel a little bit cooler. He is wearing his favorite onesie pajamas.

But if dogs are more your thing… Stewart, oh Stewart, such a good natured boy. He enjoys very much organizing community meetings to raise awareness of societal issues. He provides all of the snacks as well.

Then there’s Theo. Theo lives in North Carolina in a newly remodeled home. He confuses people with his ironic sense of humor…he is what some people call a hipster.

And Sven. Sven spends his days looking after his grandmother. She lets him take her scooter to the shops. He is saving up for a motorcycle but right now he enjoys the Vespa.

Love your work, Heather Mattoon. If you’d like to check out more of Heather’s fabulous prints and originals, they are here.