Absolutely Small: A peek inside the creative life of Kaeti Lindquist and Tyler Poncho

Today's interview is a special one. After all, it's not often that a creature gets to be part of an interview.

Kaeti Lindquist and Tyler Poncho at work

First off, a little back story. Who are you? What do you make?
We are Kaeti Lindquist and Tyler Poncho. Kaeti lives in Madison, Wisconsin and loves to sew, draw, paint and make up silly stories. Tyler Poncho originally was born on Peacock City Planet. A few years ago, he teleported into Kaeti's head and gave her instructions on how to recreate his body and bring his visionary toy business to life. In his true birth he was cut by turtles, sewn by birds, and stuffed by bunnies to form the true sentient being of Tyler Poncho as he exists on Peacock City Planet.
Click here to see Tyler Poncho's birth!

We make many distorted Teddy Bears and other monsters. Our favorite is our two-headed bear, the Double Bear. We also have a series of toys based on Kaeti's childhood, Stuffed Animal World. These animals are slightly less frightening than those from Tyler's Amalgamated Menagerie.

What projects are you in the middle of right now that you should probably be working on instead of doing this?

Right now we're making a Tropical Joseph Petticoat for Soft Serve at OhNoDoom! in Chicago. I also have to put together at least 9 pieces for a gallery that is opening down the street from our home. On the 27th we have a Red Heel Sock Monkey workshop at the Overture Center! We're really excited about this, we have reference books prepared (all filled with gorgeous monkeys!), our kits assembled, and Tyler's got his sewing paws ready to show the monkey enthusiasts how to make there own Red Heel Sock Monkey. Seriously, I should be sewing instead of typing.

Where do you primarily create?
I primarily create on my couch. I cut out all the animals, and machine sew their parts up in my work/storage room. I love to do all my embroidery, hand sewing, stuffing while listening to Pandora, or watching some instant movies on Netflix. Last year I made a Where the Wild Things Are full body costume and won a kick-ass LED TV, so I watch that while I make my toys.

Where do you find inspiration?
I love zoos. Right now my favorite animals are camels, alpacas,flamigos, giraffes,....there's a bit of a trend of similar features, so you get the idea. I love awkward looking animals, and always strive for silliness in my designs. My favorite book and illustration of all time is Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne, especially the original illustration by Ernest Shepard. I get a lot of inspiration from my childhood, characters and places I made up, and books I read.