Misfit is a little lopsided. His beak is a little crooked and his black button eyes are a little wonky. But he is what he is, Myriam Millins said, and that's perfectly okay with her.
Misfit and the Squamish resident's other creatures came into being last May, starting with Daisy-Drop. She's red, smiling and has a white fabric daisy for one eye. With a small heart sewn to her chest and made out of Millins's old clothes, Daisy was created for Millins's seven-year-old daughter, who currently lives in Texas.
"I wanted her to have a part of me," Millins said.
While Daisy was not an instant hit with Millins's daughter (who called her scary), the hand-sewn doll caught the attention of Millins's friends. Millins soon found herself fielding questions about her fabric characters.
"People started asking about them," she said.
What started out of love for her six children, has quickly turned into a growing list of orders. Millins's latest work is on display in the Into the Woods art exhibition at the Squamish Arts Council building downtown, while her website www.miss-m-art.blogspot.ca is being flooded with visits.
"I'm getting hits from places as far away as Russia and Korea," Millins said.
Bad Hair Day Baby, Dancing Princess and Eggplant Owlet all share a common thread. They are pieced together with previously used fabric - old clothes - and none of them are perfect. That's exactly how Millins likes it. Each character has its own story. Each has its own twist, whether it be a scary eye patch or uneven arms.
"All of us are a bit like them," Millins said. "Everybody has other sides that we don't all see."
Accepting the dolls for what they are, is an attitude Millins pulls over into her personal life. As a mother, Millins said she's learnt to appreciate not only her children's, but other people's quirks.
Millins sees the dolls as an extension of her love for cartoons. Their unconventional forms and large eyes mimic that of Japanese animation - anime.
"I love cartoons because anything is possible," Millins said.
The biggest fans of her stuffed characters are her boys, Millins said. They encouraged her to do more detailed work. It's the best gift she could ask for, she said.
"My kids are super proud of me and that matters to me more than anything else," Millins said before smiling. "They were the ones that told me this stuff is awesome."
