"Our business will be until I'm a grown up. And then I'll do it with my children!"

- Amalia, Age 6, President, NYC Lovey Repair

Monday, August 27, 2012

How to Clean a Stuffed Animal

It took us a minute to realize what was wrong with Bunny!  After our visit with Ray-Ray we were a bit used to seeing animals who were purposely missing limbs!  But, sadly, Bunny's arms fell off years ago, and so we created two brand new paws to get it back to full health.




Bunny's owner also requested a shampoo, so we did a nice head to toe cleaning - something that's not too difficult if you take it carefully.  The following is our step-by-step deep cleaning process for synthetic fur stuffed animals.

Note!  Clean your animals at your own risk!  If you fear that the fur is too thin or delicate, or you're not sure you can get it back together, then please don't attempt.  And certainly this is not a method for your prized antique bear, or anything with actual fur.

Also note!  We totally understand the need to sometimes throw that lovey in the washing machine!  Know that your animal may never quite be the same after any wash, but that this method is a better way to really get a good clean, and is more gentle than the machine.

Step 1: Open a small 1-2 inch seam somewhere inconspicuous - we tend to choose back of next or rear end!

Step 2: Remove all of the fluff.  If it's old or matted, throw it away.  Removing the fluff is the key - otherwise you may get a moldy, soggy mess.

Step 3: Now that your animal is "empty" GENTLY wet the fur and massage in some dish soap.  Don't scrub, just let it soak and rub gently.

Step 4: Submerge the fur into clean water, and swish until the soap/dirt is gone.

Step 5: Gently press the fur to remote water, and then sandwich between 2 towels and press again.  The goal is to dry the fur as much as possible without rubbing.

Step 6: Let the fur air dry - we like to set it in front of a fan.

Step 7: When the fur is completely dry, re-stuff with fluff and sew up the hole.

Step 8: Using a brush (we like using an actual pet brush) fluff up the fur!

If you have any questions, please feel free to email us!


Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Hip Hip Hoo-Ray-Ray!!

Ray Ray is such a sweet pup who has weathered his years quite well! He needed his tail, reattached, sure, and his nose tightened, but otherwise he was in decent shape.

We did, however, replace his much worn satiny ear lining. Thanks to the incredible eyes of the Mood Fabric staff we got a perfect match!

Thanks for visiting us Ray Ray - we really enjoyed meeting you!





Sunday, August 12, 2012

Infrastructure!

NYC Lovey Repair now has its first sewing machine!  With tremendous gratitude to small-business owner (and most favorite cousin) Arnie Marcus, his Faneuil Hall ventures "Greetings From Boston" and "The Leather Shop at Faneuil Hall," and most importantly, his furry family - Dusty, Magoo, and Spartan - we're even better prepared to mend!

In addition to the machine, we restocked on fluff and thread and invested in a small pet brush - a necessity!

We can't find a link to the shops above but found this lovely mention of Arnie's general loveliness. @joeylombardi, we couldn't agree more!




Sssssso (Sew?) Much Better!

Poor Snake was doomed from the beginning - between some wonky tension and minimal allowances, the seams were bursting all over the place.


We opened a seam near Snake's throat, removed the stuffing, and used our trusty new Singer machine to restitch the entire length of Snake on both sides.

The fluff was in decent shape so we decided to reuse it, (also a good way to make sure Snake wasn't overstuffed!)  The question, of course, was how to re-stuff a 3 foot snake through a 2 inch hole?  Like a sausage!  Worked like a charm.  Not flattering, but it got the job done.


Snake is now back to his old ssssssself!



Saturday, August 11, 2012

Buffal-Oh-No!

Poor Buffalo was no match for a new puppy.

We fixed all of the tiny puncture wounds, created a new "bean bag" for one of the hind legs, sewed up the face and put the eyes back in.  We used a bit of Sugru to act as washers for the eyes, and then we restuffed with fresh fluff!





  

Saturday, August 4, 2012

We can Handle This!

Handalist (yes - Handalist!) is our most favorite name so far, and it's just perfect for this little bunny.  Her ear had fallen off and her eye was hanging by a literal thread.  We patched her up and even mended her pinafore!  Thanks for visiting us, Handalist!



Rainbow the Glamour-Puss!

Rainbow needed some holes patched and a good brushing - now you'd never guess she was 31 years young!  From her owner: "Thank you for turning my raggedy little Rainbow into a fluffy lovely glamour-puss :)"



Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Fluffy Fifi

Poor Fifi lost her fluff - inside and out!  With a brush and some stuffing, we perked her right up!