Hello!
How are you doing? I hope you’re well. Thank you so much for signing up for my newsletter! I haven’t done this newsletter thing in a while, so I suppose I should start with an introduction.
I’m Alexandra Gallant-Lee, I’m a cartoonist, a sculptor, a science communicator, a web designer and I’m based in Boston, Massachusetts. You can read more about me on my website, but I do a lot of creative things and a lot of involves in the web or making art on the computer.
One thing that definitely doesn’t involve a computer, though, is these frogs! These frogs are each handmade by me. I’ve been really enjoying making them for myself and have decided to share them with others by making them available for purchase online for the very first time.
That means that is also first ‘Letters from Frogby’ which is both a way to keep you updated on what’s going on in the shop with all my felted frogs and for me to share what I’m doing with my art and comics. So, technically it’s letters from Frogby and me.
This first email is a hello, an introduction to Frogby and me and to let you know that you will be receiving a second email this week (and then probably not another one for like 2-3 months, this will be a sporadic newsletter!) This email will have an announcement, to let you know that the frogs are available for purchase in my shop on my website!
You’ll be the very first to know about the shop launch, so you’ll have the first opportunity to snag a Frogby pal before anybody else. The shop will be opening this week, I’m aiming for Thursday! You’ll be able to shop immediately, and then I’ll officially launch it on my website and social media a few hours after the announcement email goes out, so if you want to make sure you get the frog you’re hoping for, be sure to snag that frog early!
How are the frogs made?
The frogs are needle felted sculptures. It starts with wool roving and taking special needles with barbs on the tips to snag the wool and then ‘felt’ it together. If you’ve ever had a sweater felt, you know how rubbing bits of wool together can blend the fibers tightly together. This is also how felting works with needle felting, you’re just doing it manually with a tool to get the fibers to intentionally felt and come together into a shape.
Frogby’s eye comes together with the pupil being added to the eyeball. The other eye has already been finished and you can see the contrast, there is a tuft of wool roving sticking out that has yet to be felted into the pupil. Also, despite how horrifying that looks, please know, no felted frogs were harmed in the making of this photo.
How are the frogs priced?
Each frog is priced differently because they are each made a little differently, but I’ve found that the time it takes me to make each one varies and so finding a balance between that and having some sort of standard for pricing was tricky, but I think I’ve done a good job. I’ve also found that the more wool I use, the longer it takes, the more complex the felt, so the weight of each felted frog is another metric I use to determine the price. The frogs will range in price from $25 - $150 (I’m making some very large Frogby), so I hope that there will be something for everyone if they’re looking for one.
Each frog also comes the mini comic for you and the mini-mini comic for your frog pal!
There will be a flat rate for shipping of $5 for every order.
Where will they ship?
For right now, I am really sorry, but I’m shipping only to the United States. The reason for this is primarily that having a shop is new for me and so while I figure out what I can handle in terms of managing that, it makes the most sense to start small before I start tackling everything that is involved with shipping internationally as a small business. But keep reading cause the news is not all bad…
Do you take commissions?
Yes! I will be taking commissions for felted creations. I am figuring out how that will work and will be setting up a form soon. For commissions, I will ship internationally because we can figure that part out together through the process of collaborating on the sculpture.
I am currently looking for unique proposals for commissions, particularly larger scale felts, if you have grand ideas.
What else will you have in the shop?
In addition to felted frogs, I will also soon have a limited selection of signed comics and zines for sale, as well as some original art. Like I said, I’m trying to take this whole shop thing a little slowly, but I do have a lot of art kicking around my studio (and a lot of it does happen to feature Frogby, so this is the place for it to go) so I will be slowly adding those things as well over the next few weeks and months.
Letter from Frogby
Now, what you’ve all been waiting for - the letter from Frogby. He’s the star of the show.
Hello! I hope you are staying cool, my friends. I have been spending lots of time at the library because they have a lot of books and excellent air conditioning. It’s important to stay cool! I’ve also been hanging out with friends by the riverbank. I love spending time just relaxing near water. That’s kind of my thing, I am a frog, but it can be so peaceful to listen to the sounds of the ducks, the sound of the water rushing the shallows and splashing against the earth as it meets the shore.
If you can, I hope you will take a moment to sit near a river or pond lake or ocean or with some determination and imagination, a large bathtub, and watch and listen to the way the waves crest with the wind, dotting the water as the tides and currents carry them in to greet you, like an old friend, saying hello.
Thank you so much for reading the first Letters from Frogby (and me)!
Until next time!
Alexandra & Frogby