Sweet Devils Maneki Wananeko from Javier Jimenez

    If you're even considering buying your significant other candies or lingerie or anything else completely standard let me help you raise the bar for Valentine's Day.  One year, I took my wife to see a monster truck rally and instantly became the most legendary husband ever.  It's all about the romance, and there is nothing more romantic than spending time with the one you love while nearly going deaf from the roar of fossil fueled monstrosities.  I still can't hear anything she says unless we're directly facing each other.  

    You don't need to be as innovative as I am, in fact it's not recommended by 4 out of 5 dentists, but you can still do things differently for your loved ones by gifting them something that will never wilt.  That's right, I'm talking luxuriously smooth Japanese vinyl in the form of these Sweet Devil Maneki Wananeko.  Javier Jimenez has made em look just like candy, but unlike chocolate these kitty cats will last forever.  And by forever I mean at least the person's life span you are gifting them too, who knows what plastic will look like in a few hundred years.  Still better than anyone one of us, that's for sure.  This kind of took a dark turn.

    Snag one for yourself or someone you love this Sunday, January 28th, at 11am eastern time only from http://www.stickupmonsters.bigcartel.com.
   

Christmas Maneki Wananeko Set from Javier Jimenez

    Sharon and I have a cat named Wednesday who has been suffering from some pretty bad allergies. She scratches her ears almost obsessively to the point where she started cutting them open.  We've taken her to our vet, got the allergy testing done, and eliminated everything from the list of possible causes.  Nothing has worked so we decided to get a second opinion.  Now we knew that the person we were taking her to is very popular in our area and we also knew that he believes in a lot of alternative methods when it comes to treatment.  The day of the appointment we're in the exam room going over her backstory when he starts telling us about muscle testing.  Now I figured this was something akin to how they allergy test people by exposing them to substances and watching what the reaction was.  Or if anything it at least involved some apparatus that would make for a great Instagram picture while the cat was wearing it.  Neither of those was even close.  

    In walks his assistant like nothing out of the ordinary is about to happen at all.  They stand on opposite sides of the cat with each placing one hand on her back.  Then the assistant raises her free arm at a 90 degree angle, and he grabs a hold of her hand and pushes down to try and lower it.  With each push he is rattling off words of possible allergens.  If the arm goes down it means she's allergic, but if he is unable to force it from sticking straight out at him then it means she is not allergic.  My face was literally sore as I tried my hardest to prevent my muscles from making the biggest WTF look anyone has ever seen.  I couldn't even make eye contact with my wife because I knew that if I did I would lose it.  It was like being a part of some feline seance as he tried to contact her ancestors for clues about her itching.  Finally, mercy was bestowed upon us and the entire act was over and we placed her back in her carrier.  At least, we thought it was over as he had forgotten about a certain type of food, so he grabbed a bag of it, placed it against the roof of her inclosure with eyes closed, and declared her allergic to that as well.  Now I'm all for the fact that there is actually very little in the world that human beings understand and that modern health care has it's limitations, but next time I'm gonna need a Powerpoint presentation or something to ease my way into it before I'm just nonchalantly smacked with anything like this again.  

    I just needed to tell someone about that so I could come to terms with it, so I thank you for your patience.  No let us continue.  Javier Jimenez is making spirits bright this Christmas season with this festive Maneki Wananeko set.  You'll get two kitties in each pack, with one guaranteed to be that fancy green glitter while the other one will be a surprise color.  Made with luxurious Japanese vinyl, these will be available tomorrow at 17pm Spanish time only from http://www.stickupmonsters.bigcartel.com.   Luckily for you, these kitties will never need to go to the vet.

      

Marble Maneki Wananeko Ornament Set from Javier Jimenez

    Wednesday, who is our oldest cat, loved Christmas trees.  She would climb into them and just hang out like it was specifically put there for her.  Icarus, our male cat who has a habit of eating anything that isn't food, also loved Christmas trees because they evidently taste delicious.  We have an artificial one and I got maybe a third of it up one year and he's on the other side gnawing on a branch like he's a damn heathen.  Being that we've already been to the emergency vet once when most of a sleeve went missing from my wife's shirt (spoiler alert: he ate it) we don't take any chances and skip decorating for the holidays.  Which probably isn't the worst thing ever, because we are the type of people who would leave that thing up until March then act surprised by how the time just gets away from you.  We are nothing if not self aware.  

    Now here's a couple of cats that actually belong in your tree and you won't even have to worry about coming home to it sprawled on the floor in a seemingly drunken mess.  Javier Jimenez has made these resin Maneki Wananeko ornaments available in packs of two, limited them to 20 sets, and put them up for sale for $45 at http://www.stickupmonsters.bigcartel.com.  

Original Colorway Wananeko Sofubi from Javier Jimenez

    Don't be totally bummed if you can't go to DesignerCon this weekend, because I'm right in the same boat with you.  Whether you have to work, or live far away, or are just anti social and the thought of being around people is more terrifying than a pit of venomous reptiles, you can take comfort in knowing that you can still get awesome new toys from the relative safety of your own home.  Like maybe this sweet kitty from Javier Jimenez that are left overs from his successful crowd funding campaign.  Produced in elegant Japanese vinyl, you can own him this Sunday, November 20th at 11 am eastern time by visiting http://www.stickupmonsters.bigcartel.com.  

   He'll also have a special one of a kind Dorobanii figure and a special preorder for his first ever art book.  See, you can still get tons of awesome stuff and not even be exposed to the con flu that everyone comes down with after one of those shindigs.  

The Debut Release of Javier Jimenez's Maneko Wananeko Resin Figure

   You can never have too many cat toys.  You can also never have too many $100 bills , or tacos, or friends with a sweet hook up.  No need to thank me for dropping some life knowledge on you like that, I like to share what I learn from spending hours on the internet every day.  I guess I could have talked about the presidential debates, but I chose to watch wrestling instead, which is oddly more believable than the nonsense happening in my country right now.  Back to cat toys before I get bummed out about it.

    Javier Jimenez has taken his Wananeko character into a new, miniature realm with this sculpt.  Standing at 2 and 1/2 inches, this resin kitty is available for preorder right now from this link.

Limited Run Of Hand Painted Dorobannii from Cristina Ravenna x Javier Jimenez

    We all commemorate milestones in our life differently.  Some people get them tattooed on their body for all to see.  Some make glorious Facebook posts that may or may not get them fired from work.  Sometimes you just want to celebrate and you wake up three days later wearing someone else's pants in a zip code different from where you swore you left your car all the while being stared down by a table full of people who don't speak your language or necessarily have your best interests at heart.  Not everyone would find it appropriate to celebrate fixing your dishwasher to such a degree, but I take appliances very seriously.

    Cristina Ravenna has chosen to mark her tenth year living in Granada, Spain by painting up a handful of Javier Jimenez's Dorobannii figures.  That's probably way more appropriate than what I would have thought of.  Each resin toy is adorned with a motif inspired by Fajalauza pottery, which has been around since the 16th century.  That's even older than I am!  

    These are extremely limited and will be available on Sunday, August 7th only from http://www.stickupmonsters.bigcartel.com at 11 am eastern standard time.  

Check Out This New Figure From Javier Jimenez: Dorobanii the Jackalope

    Since the dawn of time, people have ben obsessed with sticking animals together to create new ones.  It's kind of a weird thing to do, but people seem to get a kick out of it.  From the Fiji Mermaid, which is half monkey half fish, to two-headed monstrosities featured in sideshows, we just can't get enough of tinkering with critters.  One of the cuter biological mashups of there is the jackalope, which for the uninitiated is a rabbit with antlers that can be found stuffed and ready for sale in all the best roadside souvenir shops throughout the american southwest.  Thankfully, someone has finally created a much more adorable version that doesn't require a two parts roadkill and one part super glue.

    Javier Jimenez's latest creation is this adorable little jackalope named Dorobanii.  You can check out his whole backstory by watching this video:

    He is available as we speak in the two different versions you see above.  There the regular edition, and a special Halloween edition that is limited to only 15 pieces.  These little resin dudes are only available from http://www.stickupmonsters.bigcartel.com.
    

Help Make Javier Jimenez's Wananeko a Vinyl Toy

 

    Usually I would do my best to convince you to go and support the crowd funding campaign to get this toy made.  But in an amazing turn of events enough money was raised before I could even post about it.  That's not to say that you still can't go and support this fundraiser and get yourself some awesome plastic kitties in the process.  The best thing about plastic kitties is they won't try and claw your nipples off.  Not that anything like that happens to me on a daily basis, leading to some awkward blood stains on my work shirts, but I've heard stories.

    We've all seen Javier Jimenez's Wananeko figure before.  He's been making these things is resin for a while, but now it's making the jump to glorious Japanese soft vinyl, which is the cashmere of all plastics.  The highlight of the entire campaign might just be your ability to purchase these baby Wananeko figures which will only ever be offered here.

     Look how precious they are, and there's a bunch of them so you can become a crazy cat lady without the expense of taking any of them to the vet.  I have five real cats and let me tell you it's amazing I'm not homeless.  

     Go and get yourself some new toys by visiting this link.  

Two New Wananeko Cats from Javier Jimenez

    I remember the day that I almost had a heart attack after I realized we had five cats.  Okay, I'm not stupid, I distinctly remember having five, but they were never in the same room together so the impact of it wasn't that great.  Then they all started getting along (for the most part) and sitting in the living room together at night.  Sharon and I were eating dinner and watching tv (two sports we excel in) when I looked around and noticed they were all there just hanging out.  I dropped my fork, turned to her and said "My God we have five cats."  It was more an emotional revelation rather than a mathematical one. I was now having the reaction that most of my coworkers first had whenever we talked about our little house critters.  But when you think about it, each of us only has two and a half cats, so neither one of us can really be called crazy cat people right?  The half cat thing is kinda crazy, and you shouldn't have half of a cat in real life, only in theory when you're trying to explain how rational it is for your house to resemble the ASPCA, but the rest is pretty sound logic.  Cause you can't just have one cause they'll be lonely, and once you're up to three they start forming alliances, so you have to balance out the power struggle by adding a few more, but you can't have an even number because then when they need to vote on a particular cat issue you don't want to risk a deadlock, so you have to have a tie breaker.  I'm just gonna stop now.

    I have officially reached capacity ("catpacity"  Ok, this word really needs to be part of everyday speech.  For example "Don't tell Tina about your kittens, she has totally reached catpacity in her apartment."  Make it so!) as far as real cats go, but I still have plenty of room for plastic ones.  Like these Wananeko figures from Javier Jimenez.  There are two different versions you can get your grubby little paws on.  The first is a special Halloween edition that will be available this Sunday, October 26th at 11am Eastern time.  

    The second is a preorder for a Calico version that's available right this instant!  They are limited though, so if you want one you gotta make it happen soon.  Get em both over at http://www.lakaijufam.bigcartel.com/.

Wananeko Resin Figure from Javier Jimenez

    So I decided to get my car checked out yesterday afternoon after it had been making that weird noise I told you about yesterday.  You wanna know what that noise was?  It was the sound of $1300 leaving my credit card, never to be seen again.  They're still working on it today which equals a surprise vacation day from work for me.  Essentially I am getting paid right now to sit at home and pet my cats.  I am finally living the American dream and it is glorious!!!!

    As you may know by now, I dig me some kitties, and this Wananeko figure from Javier Jimenez is practically begging to live on my shelf.  He stands nearly 5 inches tall, is made of resin, and can be yours for only $60.  And check out this print hanging out at the bottom of the post.  This things breaks down what old Wananeko is made of, and according to the text it states that this dude feeds off of the panic of human beings.  I totally have a real life cat that does that as well.  He's cute as can be but I can feel him shaving time off of my life span with his shenanigans.  The print is only $6, so you have no excuse not to have one hanging in your home.  Both of them go on sale this Sunday, August 10th, at 11am EST only from http://www.lakaijufam.bigcartel.com/.