Today we’d like to introduce you to Stacey Whitney.
Hi Stacey, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Furkid Studio began as “Original Sock Dogs” when I created two handmade sock dogs for Art Unleashed, a Humane Society of Greater KC fundraiser back in 2005. After seeing the joyful reaction to them at the event, I decided to keep sewing more sock dogs and cats and donating a portion of the profits to local rescues. I was working at Hallmark at the time, and enjoyed having a different creative outlet outside of work.
One day, about a year in, a customer asked if I could make a stuffed animal of her tripaw pup for her. She wanted a doll version of her fur kid but of course, three-legged dog plushies aren’t easy to find. Of course, I was thrilled to help her out and I decided to add the custom replicas option to my web site. Eventually, I had so many requests for custom pieces that I focused most of my attention on plush lookalikes!
When I had my daughter in 2007, I left my corporate job and transitioned to being a full time mom and entrepreneur. Over the past 20 years, I’ve made pet replicas for people all over the globe, and have also expanded the business to include other items for pet lovers like portraits, t-shirts, mugs, ornaments, stickers, one of a kind collectible characters and more.
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?
Taking care of my kids when they were little and keeping a business running was definitely a challenge! (And a lot of fun, too.) But as they grew and went off to school, it got a bit easier to focus during the day.
Most of the experience has been great; my customers are all animal lovers who appreciate the artistry and love that goes into the pieces I make for them. I’m so grateful .
It has been tricky balancing all of the aspects of the business on my own–of course product creation takes a huge amount of mental energy, but also accounting, marketing, customer service, shipping, taxes…it’s a lot to juggle on your own. But I also feel a great sense of pride that I built this, and have managed to keep it going and growing for 20 years now. And best of all, I still can’t wait to get up every morning and dig into a new project!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I really enjoy the process of making characters come alive. Initially, as a teenager, I wanted to be an animator. In college, I had an amazing internship at DisneyWorld and was able to meet and talk with some of the animators there. I quickly realized that I needed more freedom to create than Disney would have allowed.
My passion for character design was strong, and I spent about 10 years developing a graphic novel about a rag tag circus menagerie, complete with a Chaplin-esque pig, a diva show horse with anxiety, a kitten moonlighting as a lion, an emotional strongman and other misfits. While it never was published, I further developed my own unique style while working on it, and truly enjoyed creating a personality and a world for each character in the story. (I still have plans for it!)
After spending so many years on a creative endeavor that was personally but not financially fulfilling, when I saw an opportunity to design and make unique plush animals that people could actually buy, I had a lightbulb moment. As a kid I had been obsessed with collecting plushies, so I guess it was a career I’d been preparing for all my life.
When working on a replica, I always ask to hear a story or two about the pet, and find out what they were like; their quirks, their funny moments, the things that made them so special to their people. Customers comment that I am able to capture not only the appearance, but the essence of their pet, and that is the best compliment I could receive.
And when I’m making little plushies and sculptures of my own design, each one ends up having its own personality. I’m never sure what it will be when I start, but a big part of the fun for me is seeing who they become! It’s almost like they are just using me to manifest into the world, and I totally love the surprise.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I think starting a small business at all is a huge risk, especially when you are passionate about it. You invest so much into something that might not work out. The odds are that it won’t! But to be honest, even when things have been financially tight and I’ve had to stay up all night finishing an order, I never looked back. I did the corporate thing, and it was fine, especially the salary and the security of having benefits…but making my own rules, my own hours, and having absolute creative freedom has been SO worth it.
Pricing:
- Custom Pet Replica $239
- Custom Mini Posable Pet $125
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.furkidstudio.com
- Instagram: @furkid.studio
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/thefurkidstudio
