The Art Lounge was filled with cuddles and snuggles as we found ourselves surrounded with our guest artist’s, Natalie Bichler, plushie display. Natalie, a toy designer, led us along her journey from an Illustration major at Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) to her fantastical leap into the plushie toy industry.
Our recent Scholarship winner also made a repeat visit bringing samples from his Art Camp experience last summer. You can find that story on our Scholarship page.
After graduation, Natalie worked many jobs: mural painter, screenprinter, even working with Stacie at Uptown Art in Sussex! But Natalie craved to develop her own products versus fabricating from other people’s ideas.
Natalie’s senior thesis back at MIAD was to create plushie to go with the cartoon characters she had illustrated. She had learned to sew from her grandmother who was a seamstress. She dipped her toes by first creating a “froggy hat.” Her handsewn knit hats were a hit, but found that sourcing out the embroidery was the way to make the product profitable.
As an apprentice under a Milwaukee toy inventor, Natalie applied for an open position with Kidrobot and landed on their design team. Kidrobot produces and sells designer toys.
Kidrobot’s sales team will propose what character to produce and how to fashion it (mood, pose, etc.). As a designer, Natalie will modify the character utilizing several computer programs into Kidrobot style, “cutifying” them with big eyes and head. Final specifications and sketches are sent overseas for production and packaging.
You can learn more about Natalie’s talents on her website, NattyBic.com.
