I’m very excited to announce the first record release for inTIMIDnation in collaboration with Loose Tooth Records!  My new band, Chew Heart will have a 6-song EP available this June.  Stay tuned for summer show dates!

I spent the weekend at Gallery of Carpet - a recording studio in Villa Park, IL with my new music project, “chew heart”.  It’s a band comprised of 2 people (drums & guitar).  Since we wanted to have bass on the record, we invited our friend, Mark to come out and join us in the recording!

We are working on an EP - 5 songs total.  The first two days were spent putting down the bass, drums and guitar tracks.  In 2 weeks, we will go back in to the studio to add the vocals.  You can become a fan of Chew Heart on Facebook if you’re interested in getting any updates on the CD release through Loose Tooth Records.  We’re hoping to have a short East Coast tour this summer!

Brian Zieske is the Owner/Producer/Engineer/Mix-master!  

Laura

Curt

Mark

Recently, while visiting in Los Angeles, I had an opportunity to stop by GR2 and meet Ugly Doll creators, David Horvath & Sun-Min Kim!   They were there for the release of the special limited edition Ice-Bat plush.  This new one is based off of Sun-Min’s original 2002 Ice-Bat design featuring toes, a brighter blue fur and 5 teeth.

Mr. Beardsley and Ice-Bat.  Friends.

I also had a chance to catch a live taping of the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.  It was hilarious.  Nice to see a host interact with the crowd.  Paul Deen was there, handing out her twice baked potatoes to adoring audience members.

I passed this guy on the highway… He was riding along on his motorcycle, dog-in-lap.  It got me looking around online and it seems like there are a lot of people that do this.  Some of the dogs even wear little motorcycle helmets.

He’s even on YouTube - watch him in action:

This was one of my favorite shops - Off the Wall Antiques. VERY cool finds.

I said my goodbyes to plush Conan this week.  It was sad but I knew that he was off to a good, loving home.  He was listed on eBay and his fate was left in the hands of the highest bidder.  Here we are together for our final farewell.

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I had an opportunity to catch up with the winner (their identity is a secret - sshh!) and thought it would be fun to have a little Q&A with them.  Here’s what they had to say:

Q:  I’m assuming that you are a huge Conan fan - do you own any other Conan memorabilia?
A:  I’m a fan of Conan’s, of course, but I don’t have any other memorabilia. My kids have Team Conan hats. I was so impressed with how Conan handled the whole job situation - he stood up for himself and his staff and their families in the face of enormous pressure from some of the biggest bullies out there. He set a good example and used a teachable moment for the good of everyone who was aware of what was transpiring. Bravo!

Q:  Do you own any other dolls?

A:  I’m not a doll collector. I collect art and I believe in supporting artists directly when possible. I’ve lately become interested in the art of pop culture.

Q:  What are you going to do with your new plush Conan O’Brien doll?

A:  Your doll is adorable and I have a project planned for him if I get the OK from Mr. O’Brien and his people. I’ll keep you posted if I am able to accomplish that and the follow-through. It will just be for fun, but just to be safe I’ll check with them first.

Q:  What would you do with a plush Jay Leno doll if you had one?

A:  I am not a fan of Mr. Leno. I wouldn’t want a Jay Leno doll - I’m afraid that if I had one, that it would want to take my job that I love, redecorate my home, and pave my yard for its toy car collection. No thanks!

Q:  Now that Conan is no longer with NBC, what will you do until he returns to Late Night?

A:  As for what to do while waiting for Conan to return to latenight tv, I made the decision to boycott NBC and its sister stations and affiliates for the next 7 months. Everyone at my house is on board and we’re tentatively planning a party for Conan’s first day/night back with a new show on a new network. After that, I might go back to NBC only to watch Law and Order.

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I’m very interested to hear more about this project that they mentioned!  

On a side note, I’ve been getting many emails asking if I will be making more plush Conan dolls?  I’m currently putting together a kids book so unfortunately, I don’t have the time to mass produce them. This doll was a one-of-a-kind creation and I will not be making any more like this one.   And no - a plush Jay Leno doll is not in the works.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to email:  Laura@intimidnation.com

I look forward to hearing from you!

- - Laura

Here is my latest creation! Standing at approximately 22 inches high, this plush Conan doll was made out of fleece, wool felt, and cotton fabrics.

If you’re interested making this cuddly Conan your own, he’s currently on eBay.

One of my other creations, a bearded gnome, “Mr. Beardsley” appeared with Conan in People Magazine over the summer! I sent it to him during the writer’s strike when he grew his beard out.You can check it out HERE.