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BISBEE — When Mark Hundley looks at a little child, he sees big wide eyes and a head a bit too big for the body.
By taking that perception and stirring it up with cartoon images, he has created a line of stuffed critters and creatures.
His odyssey into the world of toy making started six years ago when he wanted to make something hand-crafted for his niece and nephew.
“I wanted to give them something that could be an heirloom and be passed down to their kids someday,” Hundley said. “They are made specifically for that.”
 Mark Hundley stands in the Teeny Tiny Toy Store on Main Street in Bisbee Thursday. Hundley handmade the stuffed animals he is holding and the one inset above. (Mark Levy-Herald/Review) |
Knowing nothing about sewing, he set about designing two stuffed animals.
“There’s a lot of engineering that goes into them. I don’t use patterns, I just eyeball the dimensions,” he added. “I had to figure out a way to make them stand up, too. I like them to stand up on their own. Engineering has made it interesting for me.”
It took almost a month to settle in to the needle and thread and achieve a product he was proud to give.
Before long, he became adept with the tools of his new chosen trade and was marketing them over the Internet. He and his charming characters have appeared in several art shows from New York to Washington state.
Now in a teeny tiny shop in the Long Realty building, he and his partner Hywell Logan, a painter, have opened the Teeny Tiny Toy Store on Main Street in Old Bisbee. The shop has been open for a month.
“This is just the right size for us right now,” Logan said. “It’s a nice starter place.”
Logan’s paintings hang on the walls. His speciality is cats, and he is particularly proud of the portrait of his own cat. He also makes the tags for Hundley’s critters that tell about the original design of each and the all-important price.
Hundley’s price range would suit just about any budget. The tiny ones, a few inches tall, start at $12 and the price goes up from there to $300 for a cat critter he is particularly fond of. That one took him two full days of hard work. Even though it’s a slow time in Bisbee, he has made some sales.
His creations are imaginative and colorful. The fabrics he uses often come from donations people give to him as they are cleaning out their closets. From blankets to old velvet dresses, he cuts and snips and sews cats, frogs, dogs, teddy bears and his brightly-colored little critters that resemble alien life-forms.
Hundley starts with a basic idea and makes the body now with a sewing machine that is set up in the living room in their Bisbee home.
“It takes a lot less time to use the machine,” he said. “It can take eight hours to sew one by hand or one hour on the sewing machine. Then I add the layers that make the eyes with hand-stitching. That takes hours.”
He uses a lighted magnifying glass to make the teeny tiny stitches that transform the stuffed shapes into one of his creations adding layer upon layer of fabric for eyes, other facial characteristics or clothing. One of his big sellers is his Barack Obama doll. It has been featured in Venus Zine Magazine.
Inside his shop are three display cases that he has turned into fantasy critters. A giraffe holds his larger items and an elephant his mid-sized toys. Though not for sale, it does give one ideas for a room whether a child’s or the never-grow-up grown-up.
Hundley also will do custom work with the material provided by a customer who may want to preserve memories of their children through his imagination.
Hundley also sells vinyl toys that are safe for children. Toxic materials in many toys has caused a new burgeoning industry to crop up as artists turn images from paintings into toys, he explained.
Information
The Teeny Tiny Toy Store is on Main Street in Bisbee and is open Thursday through Monday from noon to 5 p.m. For information, call 432-3779 or visit bisbeestitches.com
Herald/Review reporter Shar Porier can be reached at 515-4692 or by e-mail at shar.porier@bisbeereview.net.
Jen wrote on Sep 12, 2008 2:40 PM: