Hi! We are the entire art team at SQUISHABLE! We design stuffed animals all day. Ask us anything!

I loved your mantis shrimp collaboration with The Oatmeal. Have you guys considered creating an alot squishable with Allie Brosh? If not, will you? Could be amazing.

Allie Brosh

I WOULD LOVE THAT. I am the biggest fan of hers. I would make an Alot in a second if she asked us to. Anyone know her?

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THAT WOULD BE AMAZING. No really, that is basically on our dream collaboration list. And we could make it amazing too - if they contacted us we would do it in a heartbeat. Anyone know them personally?

Many of my friends, college-aged gentlemen, have purchased a bunch of squishables over the last year. We would just like to wonder why your website has not expanded to feature any males playing with squishables(at least to my knowledge)? My proposal is you feature us on your website, playing with our squishables, to expand the squishable brand to a new demographic.

It's a really good question! Our fanbase is very heavily female - we estimate about 80%, but we do still want to showcase our more manly Squishers! Our next photoshoot is actually next week, and we're looking for male models for it, so I totally agree.

Male here. Giant squishy panda "Fatpan" is the back to my chair at my computer: http://i.imgur.com/TU7D9Lj.jpg

Love your stuff!

Cute picture!!

I know you probably won't answer this buuuuttt...could you say when either the Golden Tiger, White Tiger, or Fortune Cat will be released? :)

Beginning of May, July, and June!

Hello Squish Creators! I'm so glad to see you doing an AMA on Reddit! (As are my Squishable friends.)

One of my favorite parts of the Squishable line is the crowd-sourcing and squishy democracy that is Open Squish. How did you decide to implement such a fun idea? What are some of your favorite designs to come out of Open Squish?

Bonus Question: What is your favorite design that you've ever produced?

Aw thanks! The general idea came once we started receiving some really good fan ideas on Facebook, but the idea o how to do it specifically I actually got the idea after reading Here Comes Everybody, by Clay Shirky :).

Our favorite Open Squish designs so far....Werewolf, Cerberus, and Cinnamon Bun....and maybe Nessie. :) As for ever, I say Narwhal.

During one of the recent voting sessions, a Squishable design for the Sha of Happiness was up for vote. But there was no word as to whether it would be selected to be made. I definitely know there are a lot of folks who would be super excited to have one! Any idea what's going on with it??

We're still trying to reach Blizzard's legal dept! It turns out that the concept of a "Sha" may belong to them even though its a fan design, so we want their permission if it's going to be made. We'll keep everyone updated though, I really REALLY really want to make it. Anyone have any Blizzard contacts?

I love all Squishies! I'm currently obsessed with Catbug! Any chance there will be more cartoon icons transformed into a Squishable? If so, how is this decided? What are job qualifications for working with the Squishable team?

Thanks for all the great hugs!

Yes!! We're working on another one with Frederator now - a Puppycat. REALLLLLY excited about it. Usually when doing licensing they have to come to us, although on one occasion we found the person over Twitter.

As for job qualifications, it depends on what you want to do. For the actual designers we require they have experience in illustration or cartooning, a "cute" style, and can draw digitally with a stylus. Really detail-oriented is a plus too - at any given time we have over 100 items in prototype. Hugs!

Hey guys! No question here... just wanted to drop in briefly and say how much we loved working with you guys on the Snoo plush this last year.

We're all really looking forward to working with your team again this year :)

Aw, thank you!! That's really nice of you! We loved making that one, it was adorable.

::waves:: Hi! I was there for your last Squishable Open House. Any plans for another one? (I'd have a much harder time picking just one mini to take the train ride with me, this time, but it would be worth it.)

Hi to you too! We ARE planning to do another one - we just moved into a new office so the time is ripe. We're waiting until summer so that folks who are in school will be able to come too. Expect it in...June I think is the current plan.

No question but a suggestion: your site needs a redesign.

I love your idea but the quality of the site doesn't appropriately convey the quality of your products. I'd happily design a multi-platform compatible, up-to-date, aesthetically pleasing and efficient page for you at the cost of one teddy bear for my husband.

Good point! What do you think would help most - new photography? Just a different aesthetic?

Here are some ideas:

Aesthetics

• Less stroke. Every slider has stroke. Proper color balance reduces the necessity for stroke and provides a more enjoyable experience for users.

• Some of the graphical content needs to be adjusted, optimized or edited for quality or efficiency.

• I love the playful nature of your site and the use of hands in the pictures for scale. That being said, a lot of your resources

• Personally, I missed the menu which has a lot of the content already due to the colors and overload from the rest of the site. I immediately scrolled down. A lot of users do that. It is easy to code the site so that the menu is on top of it and scrolls down as well.

Compatibility

• It is possible and not too difficult to make the entire site available on mobile. Once a mobile browser goes into the "full site", the experience is diminished. It isn't uncommon, in today's market, to have a heavy demographic that is strictly mobile based. Also, when I showed this to a relative I did so on... mobile.

• The size doesn't readjust to different window sizes, even with a refresh.

• The content on capped bandwidth (which is still common enough to be relevant) on mobile may be heavy (this would depend on your principle demographics which you would know).

Efficiency

• I noticed that you linked your FB page for proof. It'd be great to connect your social media to your site so that site visitors and FB visitors get a shared experience (as there are many demographics that are exclusive to each). It isn't too hard to keep a new section that is easily and immediately viewable if perhaps other resources were scaled down.

• I didn't touch the footer. I saw too much. Sensory or content overload is detrimental to visitor experience. I'd cut the fat, so to speak, and streamline the neat and user content by reducing quantity and raising quality.

• Going along with the previous point, I had to aggressively "visit" your site to find out about the conventions (which is awesome by the way). Most visitors won't. Your goal for the site should be prioritized as unique visits over everything else. Regulars will scour the site, uniques won't.

I could go on and on. I love a lot of the site (no intrusive pop-ups, the invitation to users to participate and be a part of the company, etc. etc.) but I thought I'd just drop some suggestions out of the esteem and appreciation I have for your company.

Thanks for the AMA.

edit: I'm on my husband's account.

Goodness, that's very thorough! Thank you! We'll definitely take a look!!

Just curious - but what do you think could be implemented that hasn't been already? I actually find the site to be very easy to use with lots of neat features. The home page is amazing (especially with the trending items).

The biggest thing for me would be, off the bat, design. The colors are all over the place from baby shower blues to bright greens.

The designer is 'stroke crazy'. There is stroke on everything. The sliders, the text, even the panda by the like is stroked in a way with a poorly placed square.

The basket in the top corner wasn't properly cropped and the outline errors can be seen once a color falls behind it.

When I go to full site on my s4 compatibility and efficiency suffer a bit also. All the features are not available on mobile and that could be achieved quite easily but it isn't.

The site itself isn't optimized either to support lower bandwidths.

There are many little things that a lot of people would overlook but that shouldn't be overlooked in the first place by a strong, multi-store corporation.

Just my two cents. I enjoy a lot of the site too but I thought I'd offer some insight.

That's some great feedback. Thank you for taking the time to ELI5, too. I genuinely appreciate it.

As for the colors, I should think that they would have to lean towards a broad palate since the business is toys. My personal preference is always towards lighter colors (pastels) because I think the bright colors just scream old angelfire and poor corporate presentations. That said, I'm always interested in hearing how designers structure things to make the items pop more.

Again, thanks for taking the time to share with me. I'm always game for learning more.

It's true that we've never really created an official "Color Palate" like they teach in design school - it's my fault. I really should get on that :) Thanks!

FWIW - this user likes what you've got goin' on. One of my favorite details is how the headers adjust for the seasons, too. I am very serious about all things twee and that is twee.

Aw, Melissa says THANKS! She designs those headers :)

Aw thanks - I'll tell Eric you said so! He worked on those trending item carousels FOREVER

how often do you use clay or similar material to sculpt your art. Is it all done on the compputer?

You know, we've never tried that! It's a really good idea though - we've had some trouble before where it might have been helpful. So yep, everything now is done on paper or computer.

Has there ever been a stuffed animal that you just couldn't make?

Someone at a trade show once asked us to make a Squishable Gerald Ford. We're not really sure what was up with that. I mean, if anything we'd do Taft.

How succesful has OpenSquish been for Squishables? And how many entries have been submit so far in total?

My wife designed the Hyena, Robot (with the heart) and the cow. My other roommate recently won OpenSquish for the snake.

https://www.squishable.com/member/Sciggles

Open Squish has been HUGE for us. We consider ourselves decent designers, but the quality of what comes through blows many of ours away. We've received exactly 5,250 designs to it :) Congrats to your roommate!

Goooo Squish! Sending you all love and upvotes from BeKyoot!! It's been such a joy to watch you grow and come to where you are today. :) I still have my Giant Chocolate Moose too! He's my office guardian.

BeKyoot

Oh Yay! And we love BeKyoot!

Greetings oh most cunning creators! How do you go about deciding which of your creations will be small, and which will be large (and which lucky ones will be both)?

Well, sometimes it's obvious - if something has a lot of details we often have to go big to fit everything. If it's simpler it might work better as a mini. But there are some other reasons too - in general we try not to make tiny animals, like bugs, big-sized anymore 'cause we found that it was creeping people out.

Can you make a Squishable of Princess Daisy? I am more than a little obsessed.

Aww, alright, that's adorable! If they approached us we would DEFINITELY do it, seriously!

I've been a huge Squishable fan since being introduced to them about 3 years ago. It always makes me smile when I come back home everyday and give each of my squishies a warm hug!

Absolutely loving how passionate you guys are about squishies and how friendly and interactive you've been with your fans since the start. Would you guys consider creating a Squishable museum to showcase the history of squishies from the past and present (and future too)?

(PS is there any chance that the mini jellyfish and mini penguin chick will un-retire even for a short while? Thanks! :))

Aw, thanks!! And....yes? We keep a copy of everything that's ever retired, so if the opportunitely presented itself I certainly wouldn't be averse!

The Mini Penguin Chick is probably gone for good because it was a special, but the Mini Jellyfish might! It turns out that was one of the more complex designs we ever made. We'll keep you updated!

How did the idea to develop a line of super fluffy toys develop? Were you always into stuffed animals and were looking for a niche or was the current "squishable" the original product?

Haha, actually, both Aaron and I were tech consultants prior to starting Squishable. Neither of us had any experience in plush or toys - the whole experiment started as a hobby :). We were backpacking in 2006 in Asia and found a factory that seemed really cool, so when we came back the the states we just decided to do it as an experiment. The rest if fuzzy history.

Thank you for bringing so much joy into our lives. We dream of being able to go to the warehouse, seeing boxes upon boxes of smiling Squishies and diving right in.

Regarding production time, what is the current leadtime for approved designs? If I recall correctly, the Open Squish says 3 months or so but it seems a little bit longer than that to move from approved to market. What do you feel your biggest challenges are in production, in general?

Aw, thanks! The warehouse in in Georgia, but I warn it isn't quite as magical as it sounds. There's a lot of boxes...and more boxes. The office is a bit more magical though, that's where we have the prototypes.

On production time, 3 months is usual, but it depends on when ships are leaving the factory. If a run finishes right before one leaves then it's 3, but if it has to wait for the next one then it can be more. Honestly, that huge shipping time is probably the biggest production challenge we face :)

Any chances that you guys would consider teaming up with Hatch to make these adorable little virtual squishes into plushy squishes? http://www.HatchPet.com/

Absolutely! If they contacted us we would be TOTALLY for it! Gosh those are cute.

My boyfriend and I keep sending them links to your site and facebook page, hoping that they will contact you soon haha. They're just set up so perfectly to translate into a squish.

Haha, well, thanks for trying, will cross fingers!

Have you ever thought about making custom squishables? Not sure if the costs would be real outrageous, pretty much making a one time prototype, but I think it'd be really sweet to be able to squishify your own pet or some weird idea that no one else would like.

YES! We have done a couple custom Squshables, and a couple more just custom plushies for various folks. We did a Mr. Webby, a Dr. McNinja, Beartato, Yorick, some Alien Bunnies for Scenes from a Multiverse, and Google is also one of our bigger custom clients too. We do have a couple new customs coming out soon as well, stay tuned. The biggest issue with custom is the run size - there's usually a 1000 item minimum for anything.

Hi, I'm a huge fan of squishable! I actually want to get into plushing because the product I would be making would make people happy, how did squishable begin? I know you guys have a job page on your site but I wanted to know if you guys are ever thinking about expanding and bringing in new designers? This would seriously be my dream job (not meaning to sound like a suck up) I fell in love with you guys as soon as I got my first squishable...i love that you guys are big but still small enough to care about others. Thanks! (possibly more questions from me later)

Hi! I think getting into it is a great idea! As for our start, it was very random - we knew nothing about the toy industry or plush. We had been working tech jobs in DC and one day we were just like, we need a hobby. And voila, Squishable was born.

At the moment Project Open Squish has been working really well in bringing in some amazing design talent and there are some artists who have designed multiple. So if you're interested, that may be a place to start! But we do have art internships every couple of semesters, and there's always some design involved with that as well :)

Ok, cool! What type of help do you find yourselves needing the most? I'm actually going to school to be a graphic designer, but we are taught some other things...lol I know my questions aren't fun lol but I'm really interested in you guys as a company. Ok, fun question, if you guys could make anything into a squishable (tradmarked, odd, mythical, ordinary...) what would you guys want to make? Thanks again!!

Well, we look for people with a background in cartooning or illustration, who can work digitally with a tablet, and a fun design sense. And if I could make ANYTHING? Zoe: Probably a Dalek. Kendra: A Luna-P Ball. Melissa-Some kind of Pokemon

lol all of those are awesome! I love those categories! I think a tardis and raichu squishable would be fantastic XD thank you guys so much for the help, I hope one day to at least find a job something like this. You guys are lucky to be doing what you love :)

Thanks Shadowhaxx!

do you design stuffed animals only? or do you also make other things like stuffed planes or cars?

Actually we're open to anything - our one rule is "It has to have a face" but of course there are very few things that you can't add a face to when necessary.

Edit: Spelling

a plane would be awesome. Imagine a red Piper with a face lol

You should submit it to Project Open Squish!

Your plushes are very cute! I'm also a plush designer who has recently started doing some professional work. Do you have any advice for me in the long run? What is your design process like? I often become frustrated because it's hard for me to translate my ideas into the actual prototype.

How great - the best of luck! The best advice I can say is find a starting factory you really like to work with. So much of your success comes from being able to count on them. If they have a good prototyping department they should be able to take even the most complicated of designs and find a way to turn it into a plush that matches what you have in mind. If you're not sure how to go about that, there are lots of plush companies in the US (assuming you're in the US) who will let you use theirs and walk you through the process as long as you can meet their minimums.

How often do your giant squishables come back in stock or are they a one time run and you are cycling through? first time site visitor and i see you had a penguin, but no more =(. They look like so much fun though!!

Hi there! The best sellers come in and out of stock pretty regularly! I'm checking, and the Massive Penguin will be back in...now! We actually had 3 extra - I just put them back in stock for you!

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Haha, well, our extra prototypes generally go to a children's hospital nearby, so we don't really keep those around, but I'd by lying if I said that all our houses weren't swimming in them. I myself haven't seen my couch for months.

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Well, we only have one office, here in NYC, although our warehouse is down in GA! And for all-time favorite, Mine is a Narwhal, Melissa's is a Corgi, Kendra is a Mini Frog. And if you do draw one, consider submitting it to Project Open Squish!

I don't have anything to ask, only to say - your products are awesome and you guys are awesome, thank you.

Aw, thank you!!

Were you disappointed in there being no winner in the all-food round? I was. So much grilled cheese potential.

Also when can we expect updates on the Sun and Moon and Whaleshark?

YES! We were really disappointed! We gave a golden ticket to the hot sauce because we'd been considering making one, but it's not quite the same. And its funny, because food often does really well once it comes out!

I noticed you didn't answer the sun/moon or whaleshark update question. Any idea? I want the sun/moon desperately and look for a prototype pic way more often than I should.

Whoops - I missed those! We don't have a sun and moon prototype yet, but I'm hoping we might receive it this month!! Likewise on the whaleshark - that one is probably going to take a little longer. We seem to have a LOLT of prototypes in process right now :)

I know I got here late (I was in class), but I made a reddit account right now JUST to ask this question, so!

Mini Kitsune II (I call it the icy kitsune). When is it? If you don't know, that's okay, but I passed up on the original one and somehow love love love this blue-colored version more.

Hello there! It will totally be here in the summer (which seems funny for an icy Kitsune) but it IS on its way! The prototype was approved and everything.

Sooo excited! I love all my squishables, and am waiting for my 4th mini to arrive in the mail (yay, okapi!). My mother has disapproved of my squishable love since I brought my first one (kangaroo mouse) home for Christmas break and she told me not to get more (Well...looks over at baby dolphin, toast, and guinea pig...that bombed). I'm thinking of how to secretly hide them.

I know it's probably too early, but what do you think of a mini Fortune Cat in the distant future? Or, did it at least cross your minds when you were working on the prototype?

Ooh! And any vague idea on the arrival of the Sphinx? :DD

That's all I wanna ask, I'm pretty sure.

Haha, hiding Squishies is a very difficult thing to do! And YES! We would be into doing a Mini Fortune cat - VERY! We'll wait and see how the full-sized does!

Also, the Sphinx was JUST approved, so we're looking at Fall, earliest. :)

Where are squishables actually made? I know you guys design them, but do you guys work with manufacturers that have fair/safe labor practices?

Good question - Always! We work with one main factory, and then a couple side ones, all of which are inspected above and beyond what's legally required (ICTI-Care certified). We also often pay another company called STR to inspect items in the factory while they are being made. And we also visit them all ourselves - seeing things in person is sometimes the best! :)

EDIT - Added name of the company!

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It's actually operated by our guys over there so we don't have a whole lot of control, but for what it's worth, we are sending them more different styles shortly!

Your original Cow squishable was one of the best Squishables ever made, and certainly cutest Cow based Squishable design ever. Our little squishie Cow is the cutest, roundest, and sassiest member of our family (we spoil him).

Why did you discontinue the original design? Have you thought about bringing back the original instead of finding a replacement?

Aw, thanks!! We usually discontinue a design once we feel like it's sold through what it's going to sell through, although occasionally we keep a design because there's a special interest group who likes him (the Buffalo is supported mostly by people in Buffalo). We actually have thought about bringing back designs - right now the Squishable Devil is up in WeSquish and if it gets enough preorders we certainly will.

Not really a question, the guys from /r/Sketchdaily did some squishable art a few weeks ago, I hope you guys enjoy them

http://www.reddit.com/r/SketchDaily/comments/21qg8b/march_30th_squishables/

We DID see this, and it was the BEST THING EVER! Some of them actually did get submitted for Open Squish as well, which was awesome. At least one got in, and another I think just needed some updates.

Beyond your voting page, how do you decide which designs move from concept to actual productions?

A lot of it has to do with how something looks in prototype. We generally try to give a design at least two attempts to come out right - then if it's close we'll give it a third or even a fourth. But if it's clear that the design just isn't working we usually try to stop it early to give other ones more room. :)

Long time squishable fan first time squish question asker,

I love love love Squishables, they're the future of hugging, just wondering if you ever plan to expand to more mass market stores? They're probably want to cut down the price point and kill your margin but you could sell a much higher quantity. So is that something you've considered, or are you more focused on delivering high quality squishies to a core group of customers who are willing to pay more and keep coming back to add to their collection and get gifts for their friends (like me)? Mostly just interested in a bit of the business concept, hope you're doing well and love every squishable!

Nice to meet you! We're not really sure! So far we've generally stayed away from going too big because we like keeping control over the process. I don't think we're averse to scaling up though as long as we can keep the quality high, it just hasn't been on the radar much so far. But definitely something to think about!

I'm sad that the Earl Grey is retiring before I'm able to buy one. And that there have never been smaller, less expensive versions made.

But this: http://www.squishable.com/pc/pillow_corgi_2D/pillows/Cuppa+Corgi+Pillow this is like you guys went into my head and the heads of my friends and came up with a design just for us.

We like tea. And adorableness. So, anything else tea or food related Squishables coming up for release?

Melissa says: THANK YOU! She designed that pillow. And I'm sad about the Earl Grey too - I really liked that one. He was one of mine (Zoe). There ARE a lot of food ones coming - Birthday cake, Pie, S'mores, Chocolate Donut, Chocolate Chip Cookie, Macaroon, and some other flavors of cupcakes :)

OH GOSH IT IS. My heart. It pounds. That is one I've been meaning to get for far too long, and I have more tea than coupons and cash now. I'm conflicted, haha.

I know. I should've totally used the 20% off last week but I didn't think about it. I would love one though. And that pillow is something I really need to consider. I squealed when I saw it for the first time.

Hehe, it did turn out super cute :)

Hi Squishy team! Any chance you'll do another round of open squish voting with designs that didn't quite make cut the first time but that were awesome enough to vote on again?

Well...probably not. We did a "second chance" round last year and when we ran the numbers it turns out that most items scored similarly to the first time. And now that we've changed to a "scoring" system for Open Squish, a design doesn't necessarily benefit from going up a second time, because there can be more than one winner to each round. Sometimes we do consider golden ticketing designs much later though!

So as an avid narwhal lover (as of your last sale, I am expecting my final narwhal soon! I will now have all four sizes! :D) I was wondering when we could expect the baby narwhal design to come out? I saw the design for it the other day and I am so excited!!

Hopefully as soon as we get the prototype we'll be able to approve it (it hasn't arrived yet) - and once it does it's three to four months to ship. Cross fingers - this is one of my favorites too!

My dream job is to work at Squishable. It seems like the most wonderful, upbeat, fun atmosphere, and you treat your customers so wonderfully! Not to mention the Squishies themselves bring me such joy. You guys are awesome. Your creations are awesome. So awesome my family may hold an intervention, because I'm running out of space to keep all the lovely Squishies I keep buying. So thanks for doing what you do!

Thank you! It is a fun place to work, but I won't lie, it's hard sometimes :) There are some late nights, and a lot of tense moment. There are days when we all work with a Squishable on our lap out of tension (note, Zoe actually works with her dog, Oyster, on her lap). :)

I just wanted to tell Kendra that she is a fantastic artist and I admire her greatly.

Kendra says: "Thank you very much, you're very very sweet! Are you my mom? No, wait my mom would never say that."

First off, thank you Squishable for giving my Squishable subreddit a shoutout on your Facebook page! It really helped our little community get some more members.

Also, in addition to Catbug, Puppycat, (and hopefully the Sha of Happiness!) are there any other collaborations you have going on for future Squishes?

Thanks for making the world a little brighter!

Happy to oblige, and thanks yourself!!! And there are a couple collaborations we're in the process of. We've been working with the makers of Katamari (!!!) so hopefully we'll be seeing more of that at some point. We're also working on one with Cyanide and Happiness:) There's also a top-secret one that isn't a Squishable, but should be super cool when it comes out......

Are y'all the happiest people on Earth?

Show of hands says I've got one "Yes", one "No" and one "I haven't interviewed everyone on earth yet, so its subject opinion"

Oh my god, when I get my refund from RI I'm buying one

Cool! Hurry up, RI!

One more question before I have to skitter back to yelling at Excel. My dream for a pink axolotl fell through. The supplier inadvertently loaded the pink instead of the current yellow. And, as my habit would allow, we already own one of those. What can I possibly due to get my mitts on a pink axolotl? I have scoured the internet and seriously considered funding the WeSquish myself but my husband had some rambling concerns about mortgage payments and tuition for our child (silly child and his having to learn to read and write). I realize I'm slightly obsessed and will continue to seek treatment but...PINK AXOLOTL, please! ;)

Well, the mini Pink Axolotl is gone since he was a limited, but I have high hopes for the full-sized version if it gets funded through WeSquish. I REALLLLLY Want to make it.

I need a Squishable Boston terrier please!

That's actually a really cute idea - perhaps someone will submit one to Project Open Squish?

Hi Squishable team! Thanks so much for bringing all these cute and fun designs to the public. I probably own more than I should =). Just out of curiosity, has there ever been a design that got voted through the Open Squish process but it just couldn't be realized (i.e. 3D looked too different from the paper image)? What are some challenges in designing a Squishable? I'd imagine that some less round animals may not translate as well.

Also, LOVED the idea of the Katamari collaboration! But I got really excited thinking it would be a large katamari ball or the prince and was slightly disappointed by the pillow (no offense!). Are there plans to do more collaborations? Can I suggest Poyopoyo (seems the roundness would be ideal)?

Thanks! And Yes! The African Lion just didn't translate, no matter how hard we tried, and neither did the Ermine. I loved them both but it just didn't work.

Round is tougher for animals that have a lot of details, more even than ones who aren't round. Granted, the more extreme animals like a giraffe or a snake are tough, but that hasn't stopped folks from designing successful ones.

And we ARE trying to make a Prince and Katamari Ball!! Indeed!

And Poyopoyo is unbelievably cute. We would totally make one if they asked us.

Why no bunny rabbits?

We've actually tried three different versions of bunnies, but for some reason they just never seem to do that great. We're a bit mystified by it too, but the will of the crowd has spoken! :)

Maybe it was an ear floppiness issue?

Meanwhile, I bet if you offer up the ones that didn't do that great as limited editions, the crowd will exclaim "Toss one this way!"

It's not a bad idea! We did design a snowshoe rabbit at one point, so maybe that will make Limited form.

Hello. I am wondering how long it takes for you to revisit a design once the prototype has been made but not approved so the design gets benched? Specifically? The armadillo :)

Technically it's supposed to be 3 weeks, but it usually ends up coming in at about a month. Of course, there are outliers where it takes much longer or shorter! :)

Hi! You said earlier that you'd received over 5k open squish designs. How many get turned away, and have you ever gotten hatemail from people who can't take rejection?

Good Q! Of the 5,500ish designs we've received we probably accept about 10%, which is actually really high. We also don't out-and-out reject some designs, instead we ask for updates and improvements that we think will give it a better chance.

As for angry designers, well, this is sad, but yeah. Most Open Squish designers are amazing, but there have been a couple situations where someone isn't familiar with how critiques work and becomes upset. But to counter that we also have some designers that started off submitting designs that couldn't possibly be made, and over the last two years we've watched them improve to the point where they're winning, which is amazing!

Hello Squishie artists! I love you guys. I am sort of unicorn obsessed and was wondering when the cupcake and chocolate guys are due in? I'm hoping to see you guys at Otakon this year I am trying to weasel my way into the dealer area myself at the moment. Thanks so much for doing this!

Hello! Cupcake and Chocolate unicorn are both due in this summer! We won't personally be at Otakon, but we'll have a seller there! Good luck getting into he dealer room! Seriously love Otakon.

Hey all! When can I expect my Puppycat squishable to ship?

The non-kickstarter version should be due in to us in late June!

Cool, but I'm a little confused. I thought that the kickstarter through Frederator was the only place these squishables would be available. Is there going to be a second release somewhere down the line?

I believe they're doing a special "signed" Puppycat for the kickstarter which will be limited edition. I actually just approved the signature version yesterday - darn is it cute. The regular version will be more available, although I don't know how many there will be!

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At the moment....its on hold. It was superseded by the Open Squish Cow. We were thinking of maybe auctioning the Chocolate Milk cow prototype off for charity tho!

Hi! :) Are you planning to translate you website into other languages (like french) ?

Not at the moment, but we have had a lot of luck with getting other sites to import our stuff. Granted, so far they're mostly English speaking - Canada, Australia, and England, but still it's a start. Any languages you'd prefer to see?

I'm from Canada but I speak french, so yep I would love to purchase squishable in french!

You guys are amazing!

Is there a team in Canada? Or is it just a store that sells Squishable for you? If there is a team, is there a way to be part of that team?

It's a web store that sells them - the company is called Critterama, and it can't hurt to ask! :)

Hi Squishable team! One question here:

I'm really looking forward to the Fortune Cat, and definitely buying it when it's released. Is it going to be a mini, or full-sized squishable? I currently have a Corgi and mini Aardwolf that have taken over my bed. I wanna know if I need to make more room in my dorm room!

The Fortune cat will be full-sized! And he'll be out in June, so you have plenty of time to figure out how to tetris your collection together. Incidentally, thumbs up for the Aardwolf - I feel like he was under-appreciated, the cute little guy :)

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Hi there! Drop a line to customer service on the website and we'll see what we can do!

Hi Zoe,Melissa,Kendra and Charles Thanks for the ama session

Who found the name of squishable animals? Would u wanna be one of them?just to be hugged and luved all day long? :-) Which is ur favorite one?

What was the hardest part of this project? Best memories in the team?

The best advice u ve been given in life?

Thanks

Hi there! Me (Zoe) and Aaron made the name up. Originally we thought of using "Squishables" but the URL was taken :).

My favorite one right now is a narwhal. Melissa's is a Corgi, Kendra's is a mini frog, Charles is stuck between a Bald Eagle and Purple Ram.

The hardest part was back when we were getting started, there were a loooot of all-nighters. Best memories, well, we do a lot of karaoke. You should hea Kendra do "No Scrubs"

Life advice. Always make a decision. Even if it's the wrong decision, at least you'll have made it.

Future plans?

R u gonna make them waterproof?

What do u do all,in ur freetime?

Which kind of music,movies and tv shows do the squishable team prefer?

U can be proud of u guys U did great U make people happy!

;-)

Future plans...in the near future? Finish this cup of coffee. Distant future...We were thinking maybe a baby line? I don't think we'd make them waterproof. :)

In our free time, Zoe programs random little apps, Melissa draws a comic called Three of Swords, Charles plays with his dogs, and Kendra says she doesn't have any free time, she sits in the dark and stares at the wall.

You heard it hear first, they're planning on making a squishable cup of coffee!

Oh, hahah, sorry, I mean finish drinking that cup of coffee. We actually DID have a plush cup of coffee, it's sold out now but it was pretty cute!

Hey! I'm participating as I said I would. I'm having tremendous difficulty figuring out what I want to ask, as everything I've thought of so far seems either way too complex or not complex enough. I think I just want to know more about the beginning of Squishables! Would you guys tell me about how it was all started?

Lay it on us! :) We actually started totally by accident - Aaron and Zoe had been volunteering in Asia, just backpacking around, and we ran into this factory we liked. They just seemed to make really high quality stuff. Fast forward when we got back to the states, in DC where we were living at the time, we were both bored in our tech jobs, and it was like, well, should we do a side project? So we did. We had a launch party at an Adams Morgan bar, used our friends for models, etc. It was all very random :)

Is there a squishables hospital? Both of mine have holes :(

Oh dear! How old are they? If they're brand new, drop us a note on the site and we can certainly take care of it! Otherwise, if the holes are a result of "love over time", try dropping a note to other fans on the Facebook page - Sometimes they have some good ideas on Squishable upkeep and cleaning and such!

What have been some of the most memorable rejected designs? That is to say, what was your favorite design that didn't make it past the prototype phase?

Oooh! Good question! African Lion tops the list - it was SOOOO CUTE but after trying forever it just didn't work right. We're still in mourning.

No question, just wanted to say that I'm really looking forward to Puppycat and keep being awesome!

Aw, thanks! We are REALLY REALLY looking forward to it too!!!!!!!!!!!

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Yes! We actually have some more massives coming this year! Cupcake, Cinnamon Bun...and indeed, the great Cthulhu will be slithering to our shores.

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Actually, they're back in stock now!! We just put them back in :)

Hi, i just found this AMA through twitter and i wanted to say i love all the squishables.

Unfortunately, it seems (info on your website) like it is hard to ship the big ones to some countries (I live in Spain specifically). I can buy the normal-sized squishables on amazon, but my question is, is it possible to buy the giant ones?.

Cheers and keep it up!

Aw, thank you!! Well, for the regular 15" size, try Amazon UK - their shipping will be a lot better! But for massives it's actually an ongoing problem for us! They hit what's called "Dimensional weight" which means that they're charged by how big they are, not how much they weigh. We're working on it, I promise!