Confuzzled is sadly over, but what a great weekend all the same. I'm coming away from the event with more notes of inspiration than close contact covid notifications... and I have had a lot of those, let me tell you. (Still negative though)
Once again, this news letter comes a touch late into the month, this is due to the week following CFZ being jam packed with bumblebee walks, covering karate classes for my vacationing colleagues, and social events, so I've just now hit the end of my introverts recharge period and am ready to emerge like a crumb covered moth from my blanket cocoon to talk about May.
Product progress: 
I wanted to get these done ready to showcase on my dealers table, but when I saw the mountain of work I needed to prioritise, I fell just a week short of my deadline. However, the sculpts for both the khajiit and Argonian are in the molding process as I write this and I'm excited to finally say, will be available soon!
I am still very glad I went back and re-sculpted the base shape, but sculpting those individual scales was... Painstaking... but also It was actually oddly meditative.
Subtle feet paws is one product I've been playing with for a while. Once I'd finished the digital sculpt for them, I printed in TPU and liked the result almost immediately which very rarely happens. I had a few pairs on my stall at CfZ which drew a comforting amount of attention, so I'm really excited to say these are now available in store today! As I can print these on demand, I have a wide selection of pre-made sizes available and can also customise them as needed to suit your project.
Finally, this is more of a new twist on an existing product. On a curiosity whim, I bought some gradient filament just to see what eyes would look like in multiple colours. I enjoyed the effect a lot, but I'm not 100% sold on it being a permanent product in my store just yet. I will gauge based on how well they sell once I list the samples left over from my dealers table, but it was very fun painting eye designs to go with them.
Confuzzled & inspirations:
It was so nice milling around the Hilton again, soaking up inspiration like a dive bar beer towel on a raucous Friday night. Speaking to other makers, and seeing so many beautiful fursuits, I feel borderline inebriated with excitement to continue creating new products, but with more focus thanks to all of the live feedback, particularly from Yoka of Cwoodsdean creations who's insights have been invaluable in guiding my next steps for the coming weeks.
With no prior planing, my stall looked pretty good for a jumble of things I could put together in time for the convention. My den neighbor Bloodoodles was an absolute legend, not only did they generously let me use some of their table after the hotel made an error leaving us with half the space we'd requested, but on the last day they helped me sell a few things too!
It was quite busy in the den, so unfortunately I didn't have a lot of time to venture out during the day to see more suits and get photos of the ones I really liked. (Other than suits I've made :P which was awesome to see a few still around!) So I hope it's okay that (with credit) I have used other peoples photos to showcase some of my faves from around the Con.
(Slight error, I've tagged shereth, but they were at BLFC not CFZ and with my con addled brain, searching the CFZ tag on twitter, thought I remembered seeing them there also... but I probably just saw tapewolf twice womp womp)
Naturally I'm always all about the monsters, toony, realistic, partials, bring them all to me. But I was also really happy to see cyber suits and lots of suits made from unconventional materials especially as the theme of the con was a world reborn, and environmentalism was at the forefront of theming in a way I've seen aptly described as positive outlook post apocalypse. It got me thinking a lot about the future of fursuits and animal illusion costuming in terms of the environmental impact of creating them. What would a fursuit look like if it was made from recycled material? or was partly biodegradable? made with minimal waste? or plastic free entirely?
With the wealth of creativity in the fandom its really exciting to think about, and attending confuzzled, it was inspiring to see all of the incredible unconventional suits and heads, that answered this question for me and showed that animal illusion can be accomplished in many unique, creative ways and have just as beautiful effect.
That's not to say there is anything wrong with a finely crafted, full fluff fursuit. Not at all, in the grand scheme of thinking environmentally about the goods we consume and produce, fursuits are a drop in the ocean. Plus, as more accessible materials and technology allowed people to branch out, that has, and will continue to positively effect the overall fursuit craft. I live for it, I can't wait to see whats next, and I'm buzzing to contribute in whatever way I can.
Speaking of buzzing, I was so happy to hear that the charity this year was one that's so close to me. I've been supporting the BBCT for a few years now as a member and bee walker, but as its mostly based in far away places from my home town, it was nice to finally meet some faces behind the work and pick up some sweet pin badges. I must admit, I did gush like a ridiculous fan girl talking to team about bees, but they took it well, probably used to it.
The BBCT team were also super excited to hear that I sold a bee base bundle to one enthusiastic lady, so I'm hoping to get updates on the progress of that project to share with them. I'm also getting close to a position where I can even start making my own bee suit too!
Most importantly though, Confuzzled raised £25,258.82 for the Bumblebee Conservation trust, which is amazing and makes me feel all fuzzy inside.
Finishing up
So, in store expect more LARP masks, and subtle animal illusion parts. From the workshop, maybe a pre-made bee suit to come if nothing else comes up? I do have a lot of inventory to sort out after selling a lot of bandannas on my table. Not to mention, I have a festival coming up, I'm rushing to get my van conversion finished, but I'm also hoping to get the last details done on a colorful bird partial I have been working on for a looong time, so exciting, busy things happening!
