This rant was ACTUALLY written by Liz, but due to some sort of error in the site backend, she is unable to post it. I’m acting as her proxy – so when you read this, do so in the voice you IMAGINE Liz having when you read the comic.
**Let me first start by saying that we’re expecting our Christmas cards in the mail very soon, so there’s still time to donate and get a Christmas card from Greg and myself. All you need to do is click the “Not hungry, just broke” image up top and donate $10 to get us through the debt this move put us into. Plus, it’s a nice tradition. =D)**
Ok guys, in the hopes of trying to get in the habit of blogging on here, I decided to talk about the one of the most awesome of awesomist companies that ever deserved to be named “awesome”. Yup, you might actually recognize this company since they’ve been advertising in our tower spot (if you can’t see the tower spot, then you’re blocking our ads… and shame on you! =P) but if you’re not familiar with them, then you should be. It’s Squishable.com – the cutest and softest stuffed animal you’ll probably ever encounter.
I first discovered these guys awhile ago when they started advertising on Blank Label Comics and
fell in love with the company instantly. When you go to their site, they not only have cute stuffed animals for sale, but they also add personalities to their stuffies with user-submitted photos of the Squishables in the wild, or the travel photo blog of “Horace the Nomadic Monkey”. But I was still a little skeptical since these stuffed animals aren’t the cheap kind that you can buy at Wal-Mart or Target. So I held off buying any. Then Greg and I were lucky enough to meet the owners in person at Comic Con over the summer. The fan-girl in me started to gush over the HUGE pink Octopus that the cute girl was hugging across the table from me. She handed the Squishable over to me when I had worn her down with my patented “grabby hands” tactic.
At that moment, the world slowed (which is a hard thing to accomplish at Comic Con) as I felt the soft, silky fur rub past my cheek as I hugged the most squishy stuffed animal I had ever met. Memories of sitting under a warm blanket on a stormy day rushed into my head and I imagined how nice it would be to have one of these guys to cuddle up next to. As the world began to speed back up, I realized why they were worth the $35-40 that Squishable.com was asking for them – they’re more like companions who are meant to bring a smile to your face when you see that goofy, round face looking back at you. You could say that I was hooked. I reluctantly handed the Octopus back the girl and ordered myself a Squishable Hedgehog on the spot.
Now, ordering him wasn’t just so that I could give in to my child-like desires (it was mostly because of that) but I also wanted to check them out further to make sure that they’re well-made and how time around dirt and cats affected these guys. It’s now been about 6 months and my hedgehog is still in perfect condition. His coat is still super soft (I can’t think of a good analog to describe the feel of the fur, but its akin to petting an extremely soft cat without the shedding, clawing or allergies) and he hasn’t lost any of his squishy-ness. I liked how well he held up that I ordered some for all of our nieces and nephews for Christmas (don’t tell them though!) and I was incredibly impressed with their customer service. The owner, Aaron, has always stayed in contact with me, even when some of my Squishables were back-ordered. So I feel safe purchasing from them again.
OK, so now that I’ve bored you with my really long story, I wanted to share some pictures of my favorite Squishables on their site. One day, Ill have a lot of extra money and can buy a bunch of these guys for myself – until then, I can dream of all the crazy photos that I can take and add to their growing collection. Anyways, you’ve already met the octopus and the hedgehog, but I’m pleased to introduce the cute duck! (I love that picture.)
And my all-time favorite, the Chocolate Moose. I haven’t met him in person, but I hope to one day cross his path. I had better be careful though, look at how freaking big he is!
There are alot more cute lil’ fellas over at their site. Even if you don’t have the money to buy right now, you should go through their site just to see all of the awesome user-photos. Also, if you have a few last-minute gifts to buy, you can still get them to your door (with standard shipping) if you get your order in by 5pm on the 16th (today). You can probably still purchase them later if you ask for expedited shipping, you should probably email them and ask though.
Anyway, ’tis the season for sharing, and if you’re anything like Greg and myself, you probably have a few last-minute gifts to buy – well I can’t think of a better gift for a loved one. Kids will adore them for years, girlfriends will think you’re really thoughtful and if Aaron is any sort of gauge as to how much fun men will have, well I think you could do a lot worse. I like finding unique stores like this one, and I especially enjoy sharing them with people.
Oh! One last thing, if you end up buying one of these suckers, you had better take some cute pictures of you with them and send them to both Squishable.com and me. I wanna see more cute photos!