Plush creativity

Kaytlin Havock is the brain and brawn behind The Pastry Toy Co.’s freakishly cute plush toys. In 2009, Havock started to pass them around to friends and family before moving into online sales about four years ago. Working out of her apartment, Havock infuses a lot of her own personality into her creations, which include monsters, bats, owls, robots or anything that pops into her head. Unique, locally bought fabrics and colorful buttons bring her one-of-a-kind plushes to life. Find The Pastry Toy Co.’s creations on Facebook or at local craft shows.

How did you get into the toy-making business?

I learned to sew when I was a kid from my grandmother. I didn’t own a sewing machine until a couple of years ago, so a couple of them are completely hand sewn. It was just something I did as a hobby and a couple of my friends were like, “Well, why don’t you sell them?” And I thought that was a good idea.

What’s the process like?

I’ll doodle them—that’s how I get a lot of my patterns. Then I design them and cut them out. For Christmas, when I was a kid, someone gave me a book on making little monsters and stuff and that’s kind of where it came from. Now, I make a little bit of everything. I collect owls, so I started making a lot of owls. My sister collects elephants, so then I started making a lot of those. From there, whatever I wanted to make I would just make. A lot of the time when I’m buying fabric, that’s where I’ll get my ideas. I only buy fat quarters, so quarter yards, at a time, so this way none of them are too much alike. So when the fabric is gone, it’s gone.

Where do you find inspiration?

The things that inspire me the most are Neil Gaiman, definitely, Adventure Time. I don’t want to say I’m a weirdo, but I like odd things and I just want to make unique, odd things that you won’t find anywhere else. That’s why I buy my fabrics in low quantities so I won’t reproduce it again.

How much do you sell them for?

They range from $6 to $25. My friends give me a hard time and tell me I could sell them for more than that, but I just like making them and I’m always tickled when I find out that they went to a good home. I met someone that bought one and they’re like, “Oh, my kid loves it,” or give it to a friend and they’ll say, “My nephew loves it and takes it everywhere,” and I’m like, “Aww, my babies are doing fine.”