Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Connell.
Hi Emily, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’m Australian and moved to San Diego in 2005. I have been making hand-sewn toys since 2001 as a fun hobby! Seven years ago I started making animatronic toy sculptures and had my first art show at Fall Brewing Company called Plush Rock Art Show. I made nine huge plush 3D versions of my favorite records and they were displayed in the brewery for over a year! The most intricate one was an animatronic version of Iron Maiden’s The Number of the Beast, which is currently on display at Vinyl Junkies in South Park. The other records included The Misfits, Parliament, AC/DC, Hot Snakes, Rocket from the Crypt, The Clash, The Descendents and The Cramps, which are currently on display in my garage 😉 I also made Fall Brewing’s mascot, named Eggmund (based on Humpty Dumpty). I love making Halloween costumes for him each year based on puns – e.g. Hannibal Leggter, Eggward Scissorhands, Freggy Kruger, Pinhegg (Shellraiser), The Eggcorcist & Fried Egg the 13th. I’ve been in group art shows in Los Angeles, Long Beach and New York, creating mainly pop culture inspired pieces inspired by movies/TV like Mad Max Fury Road, Robocop, Bob’s Burgers, Midsommar, Back To The Future, The Thing and IT.
A rushed video I made of my animatronic toy sculpture of Pennywise and Georgie went viral on YouTube and has over 9.5 million views! It was also a great privilege to meet Tim Curry in person, as the artwork was part of a show in his honor. He said how much he loved my artwork and I teared up! I’m a huge fan of his, he is such a wonderful actor! I also got to meet Bart Mixon who designed Pennywise for the 1990’s TV version – WoW! Sometimes it feels surreal as I’m from a small city in Australia called Wollongong and never thought I’d end up living in California and being a part of real art shows and meeting all these talented people! It’s like a dream sometimes! Early this year I created a new range of plush toys called Snapadillies. They are 11″ tall cuddly plush toys, with plastic snaps in their hands – they hold fun objects, and also hold hands! And they have GLOW IN THE DARK eyes and teeth! (For ages 3+) I launched them as gifts for Valentine’s Day as each toy comes with a plush heart. For Springtime I made a three piece snap-pack that includes a Shamrock for St. Patrick’s Day, and Easter Egg and Flower. My living room has turned into a mini toy factory that my friend said reminded her of Willy Wonka from the photos! I’m really enjoying making them and am so happy when I hear that people’s kids love them! 🙂 Currently, just available online at my website: snapadillies.com
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Making toys and sculptures has always been so rewarding for me. I love the engineering challenges that arise, and testing out different ways to make things work. My fav phrase is “elegant solution” – when something really simple turns out to work the best. Many times I have had luck on my side where the PERFECT piece I need comes to me magically! One of those times was at San Diego county fair… I had just seen Joan Jett play and was leaving the fair with my husband when out of the corner of my eye I saw a light up LED wand toy. I had been needing something to add into an ED-209 Robocop toy piece, and when I saw the wand I just knew it was perfect! I bought two of them for $10 and they were literally the exact size I needed. Other times I’ll just wander around the house thinking of what I’m working on, and I’ll see an object that will work out. I really love when that happens! The largest piece I ever made was based on the Doof Warrior Wagon from Mad Max Fury Road. It had real drums attached with four little drummer guys. And the Doof Warrior toy at the front moved and played his guitar, with LED lights inside that glowed to make it look like it was a flamethrower. It was for an art show at Creature Features in Burbank. I worked on it constantly for 6 and a half weeks. I’d even take my art supplies out and watch bands play in parks whilst still working on it… we would have friends over and I’d just keep working on it whilst trying to be half social… 😀 The day before the show I realized I hadn’t measured if it would actually fit in our car! aaaaah! I thought we may need to hire a van to drive it up to the gallery. Luckily I had made it in sections, and by taking it apart it just fit in the car… without an inch to spare! The art show was one of the best nights of my life. A show dedicated to all the Mad Max movies! My piece was displayed on a golden table in the middle of the gallery and everyone loved it! Especially the little drummer guys! I got to meet Junkie XL who wrote the amazing soundtrack to the movie, and he even posted a video of my art to his YouTube!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Known for over the top toy sculptures with lots of details. I’m most proud of the amount of work I put into my creations as they take a loooong time to make, but I enjoy every minute. I think what sets me apart in the art shows is that my pieces are usual quite large and many have moving parts, lights, sound effects etc.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The last year has been strange with “virtual” gallery events. The gallery owners are really trying their best to keep supporting artists in this way. But I hope things open back up again, as things never really look as good as they do in real life compared to a live stream video. I also miss the social part of the art shows, as many ones I have been a part of have the same artists and it’s always been fun to catch up with them in person at these events.
Contact Info:
- Email: snapadillies@gmail.com
- Website: snapadillies.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/snapadillies and instagram.com/whatemilymade
- Facebook: facebook.com/snapadillies
- Twitter: @whatemilymade
- Youtube: youtube.com/channel/UCT12NnLYEmF7VpUoHagcUMQ
- Other: lookwhatemilymade.com/
