Top Questions
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"What are they made of?" The Creatures are made of latex and fiber in a patented process very much like papier mache. Most of the characters we sell are stuffed with dacron, like a stuffed animal, however creatures have been known to be created with a whole host of innards, depending on the situation.
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"What do you do with them?" The answer generally depends upon how the day is going and the demeanor in which the question is asked. The creatures were originally intended to be a toy for boys- the rubber making a tough boy friendly exterior that withstood a good bashing. The creatures are so tough we even had customers buy them for their dogs to chew on. Items like our back-packs are of course made to be functional, and some just want to be loved.
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"Who buys them?" Generally we like to think our customers are people of extremely good taste, with a great sense of style- and of course humor.
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"Can they go outside?" Being a rubber product, they are mostly very weather resistant. The creatures can even be ordered to be made more weather resistant. Anything with fur or feathers is not recommended for outdoor use. Pieces which are to go outside should also be wiped down with a rubber protectant on a regular basis.
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"If I leave my creature in the car, wont it melt?" While the creatures may look like they are made of papier mache or ceramic they don't melt when they get hot; come to think of it neither do papier mache nor ceramic. The rubber we use in our process is industrial grade latex which is very heat resistant. If you should leave a creature in a car window for months at a time there is a possibility, however, that the latex will begin to dry out and crack if it is not properly protected.
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"What if it pops?" The creatures' inherent shape is molded into them, and most are stuffed; the loss of air through a small hole should not make much of a difference. Even if squished down flat, they will generally regain their shape in an instant.
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"Can it go in the pool?" The rubber makes the creatures water resistant, but not waterproof. In terms of floating a fish, for example, in a pool for decorative purposes, that would probably be fine, however the fish would probably list to one side.
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"I see that they are signed- are they art or something?" Each piece is hand made from original molds, and created in limited quantities. The pieces are signed to convey the unique and special quality we feel each piece has. We know of a number of people who collect our work in the belief that it will one day be worth something; however most people collect the pieces because they like the way they look.
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"What if my child (or other loved one) chews on it?" The latex itself is non toxic, as are any of the paints we might use on the creature, so they should be fine; if however someone should chew on a creature with feather on it they will most likely wind up with a mouth full of them. The latex and fiber material is also extremely tough. We have customers who regularly buy smaller creatures for their dogs, and have heard amazing stories about the durability of most of our work. We are happy to report that over the years we have passed all the standard safety tests and meet or exceed all CPSC standards for toys.
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"I have a number of creatures from a few years back and one is starting to crack, is there anything that can be done?" The cracking is due to the latex drying out, which can happen over time. Proper care of your creature can stop this, and ensure a long life for your creature. We have also found that most people that reported this problem are referring to Creatures of Delight which were licensed and manufactured by Enesco. They sold thousands of creatures worldwide which looked amazingly similar to our originals, but were made for a much lower grade of rubber. This has been the source of much confusion since the line debuted in 2000. The cracking process can be halted with the use of a rubber protectant such as Armor All or Son of a Gun. Due to the nature of the material we have been able to refurbish many neglected creatures and return them to their earlier glory.
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"Do you really paint them with cheese?" A lady and her husband came into our Tampa studio some years back, and while touring the studio noticed the many plastic grated cheese containers holding paints of every color imaginable. She got quite excited as she proclaimed to her husband- "Look Harry! They paint them with cheese!" I guess she assumed if we can make creatures out of paper towels we must be able to paint with cheese. We never did have the heart to tell her the truth!