Q: How do I care for my new familiar?
A: This will vary from creature to creature, but generally speaking, if your familiar gets stained or dirty, please do a gentle spot clean by hand. While the yarns I use are typically either acrylic or cotton and are washing machine and dryer safe (if they are not, it will be noted on the listing) they are handmade pieces of art, some with lots of small fidgety bits and many contain wires that can get twisted about and warped in the machine. If you must put one in the washing machine, put it in a lingerie bag if possible and use the gentle cycle.
Speaking of those fidgety bits, sometimes in travel or simply time and humid weather they might droop or curl, if it bothers you, check what material it is made from (if you don't know, go ahead and message me through the contact form).
For acrylic: blast it with a blow dryer until it's warmed up, pull into position, and either hit it with cold air from the dryer or let it sit without touching it for a little while. This will warm the fiber enough to be pliable and then when it cools, it will hold position. Do not use an iron. It will melt under that intense heat.
For cotton: Get the piece damp and follow the instructions for acrylic or hold it in place either by pinning it or flattening it under something heavy such as a book until it dries.
Q: I have allergies, anything I need to worry about?
A: Items are made in a smoke free, but dog-ful household. Typically I only use cotton and acrylic yarns, but the item page will always specify. If you have any other concerns related to allergies or health, contact me through the contact page and I'll get back to you ASAP.
Q: My dog/child/a passing goblin got ahold of my familiar and damaged it, what do I do?
A: If your familiar is damaged, you are welcome to reach out to me and I can assess whether whether it's salvageable. If it is, I'll let you know if I think it's a quick fix you can do yourself or something bigger that I can do in which case I will give you an estimate of how much it would cost to fix.
Q: Are these safe for children?
A: Unless specifically noted on the item most of creatures involve plastic or glass safety eyes, many have wires, and lots have significant numbers of legs, fins, antennae, etc that have been hand sewn on. So, not if they are of the "put everything in my mouth" phase of life.
Q: Do you ship outside the US?
A: Yes! While the option is available on the website, I suggest contacting me directly so I can investigate customs rules for your country, have a more accurate shipping cost estimate, and if desired arrange to do payment through something other than PayPal.
Q: Do you do commissions?
A: Rarely. This is a small project and I've only a little time to dedicate to it while having a lot of creatures I want to make so I try to avoid spending that little time on lots of repeats or things outside my peculiar whims. That said, your project might just fall within one of those whims so I'm always open to hearing from people. If you do reach out, please check my current stock so you have an idea of what to expect for prices and know that even if I'm extremely excited about your idea, these take a significant amount of time, so prepare for a time estimate to be in weeks or possibly months.
I am always delighted to hear unofficial, no strings attached requests. If there's a particular creature you'd love to see or you want say, sea creatures in pride colors or bubblegum pink monsters, or if you have construction requests like more creatures that don't use safety eyes or use certain fibers, you can shout it at me on
twitter https://twitter.com/LeighHarlen
instagram https://www.instagram.com/find_your_familiar/
or through the contact form on this here website.