"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

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Some Bunny's Ready for Halloween!

Winnie-the-Pooh came with his friend Walrus last week for some minor repairs.  Not only was he soft and cuddly, but he's always all ready for Halloween!

Pooh was purchased in Venice, Italy when his still-a-kiddo Owner was 16 months old.  He was labeled, in English: "Pooh dressed in bunny costume."  In case one couldn't tell.

Pooh can't take a bad picture.

One of the challenges when we wash and restuff a lovey is finding the best, most hidden seam to open - it needs to be big enough to get the fluff out, but small and hidden enough so that our tiny stitches are extra hidden.  Can you guess where we found the best seam on this Pooh bear?

Yep!  This was the best, most secret spot!  

All clean and fluffy!!  Show us your best stuff, Pooh-Dressed-in-Bunny-Costume!




Because both Pooh and Walrus are actively keeping their little-boy Owners company, and because Hurricane Sandy was coming for a visit, we made extra sure to be done before the rain came.  Their Owner's mommy wrote to tell us that on their way over, they saw a rainbow.  The little boys thought it was a sign of a happy ending. We agree.

So they went off together.  But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest a little boy and his Bear will always be playing.
- A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner

Thanks for visiting, Pooh and Walrus - you made our day!

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

'Are You My Cat Toy?': A Primer for Felines

Dear Cats,

Hey! Over here!

That's better.

So, this is awkward but we have something really important to talk about.

Ok, Ready? This is Cristy M.:

Cristy M. is NOT a cat toy.

This is a feather ball:
A feather ball IS a cat toy.

Not a cat toy.

Cat toy.

Cat toys.

Cat, and cat toys.

Got it?  Great.  Thanks.

Phew.  Now for the real story!

We received Cristy M. after an embarrassing stint as a chew toy that left her blinded!

Poor thing.  It's not your fault you're so delicious.

Little eyes are hard to find - in the past we've resorted to shopping trips when we visit grandparents, since nothing quite beats a suburban craft store!

When we met with Cristy M's Owner's Daddy, he mentioned that Cristy M.'s eyes were about the size of pin heads.

Pins heads?  We CERTAINLY have those!  Amalia spends most of here non-Lovey repair time making, and we're not kidding here, quilts.

 Quilts use lots of pins.

So we twisted and turned two black pins...

Needle nose pliers and wire cutters are so handy!

And voila!  Two eyes!


We popped them in, gave Chrissy a little surface cleaning, and she's all set for her next adventure!

Don't worry Cristy M., we had a word with the cats.  All of them!

Thanks for visiting, Cristy M! Stay safe!!

Special thanks to Sammy, Nana and Zaidie's cat, for modeling his toy collection.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Name that Tune!

Corduroy's owner lives in Chicago, and is Doopy's owner sister - so that makes Corduroy and Doopy cousins!

Cordoroy needed a bath, a restuff, and at the request of his owner's family, a secret replacement of his music box (which was acting up a bit).  But in order to replace the box we needed to know the tune...
























You're right!!  It's Toyland!


Doris Day, circa 1963

Or if you're Amalia, you prefer this version:


Rugrats, circa 2002.  No judgement.

A fresh music box was procured, and Corduroy came over for a visit:

A slightly skeptical Corduroy, resigned to a lovey repair.

Step one was getting the old music box out.  Amalia's daddy, who is both a tremendously wonderful and a phenomenally patient person, did not disappoint when it came to this toolbox task:


Outsourcing.

Then, the traditional Lovey Repair bath:


We installed the new music box, filled Corduroy with fresh fluff, and he was ready to go back to Chicago!

Corduroy, the latest Lovey Repair success!

Corduroy, you and Doopy are always welcome here - thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, October 28, 2012

A Walrus Tale

Walrus is a local Lovey from the same family as another of this week's stars, Winnie-the-Pooh (stay tuned for his story!).  Two brothers, two loveys, one visit to Lovey Repair.

A sneak peak of the Walrus-Pooh Family.  We love them.

Walrus was purchased at the NY Aquarium, which, interestingly enough, just got a new real-life baby walrus, Mitik:

Mitik, who is insanely adorable, and ALMOST as cute as Walrus.

Walrus was in pretty good shape except for his wonky back fin:

 Ow.


 Ow.


Ow. 

The little hole did give us the opportunity to change out a bit of matted stuffing for new, and with a few hidden stitches and some quick brushing, Walrus was back in action!



You are one handsome walrus, Walrus.  Thanks for visiting!


Photo Credit: NY Aquarium

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Another Successful Clinic!

Thanks to all the owners and all of the Loveys who came to the clinic today! We had such fun meeting everyone and we'll be repairing and blogging all week!

Dolly, Nana, Cuddles, Lizzy (hiding!), Bear, Winnie-the-Pooh, Lamby, Walrus, and Hearty 

Stay tuned for all of the updates!


Thursday, October 25, 2012

What an Honor!

We're thrilled to welcome NY Times Motherload readers - we're completely flattered!

Now, back to our repairs!


Wednesday, October 24, 2012

3rd Lovey Repair Clinic this Saturday!


Calling all Loveys! We're holding our third 'repair clinic' this Saturday, October 27th in our Brooklyn home.

If you have a lovey that needs fixing, cleaning, restuffing, eyes, etc., please email us to schedule an appointment. We can likely do same day repairs for those 'can't sleep without' loveys - it's our speciality! And of course, if you can't come Saturday, we are always taking loveys so be in touch.

See you Saturday!!



Sunday, October 21, 2012

Catpillow Teaches us About Before and After!

Catpillow came all the way from Chapel Hill, North Carolina to teach us about before and after!

This is Catpillow's sweet face:

Before...

During...

During...

And After!

This is Catpillow's tail:

Before...

During...

And After!

This is Catpillow's inside fluff, which we saved at her Owner's request since it had just the right huggable feel:

Before...

And After!

This is Catpillow's back:

Before...

And After!

This is Catpillow! Before:




And after!



What a special creature!  Thank you for visiting us Catpillow - we had a fantastic weekend getting you back into shape!

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Monkey's Ready for More Fun!

This is Baby Monkey.  We think he's pretty cute.

Don't you?

Sometimes Baby Monkey's two-year-old Owner is a bit rough, and while Baby Monkey loves to play, his back wasn't up to the task!

A close-up of Baby Monkey's busted seam!

Some Lovey Owners need a same day repair, and Baby Monkey's was no exception - this was an emergency!  So we replaced some of the beans that fell out, stitched up the seam, and ta-da!  

All better!


Thanks for visiting, Baby Monkey!  You're a cutie!