Henderson mom sews up characters, stories with Flaky Friends

Sarah Flake will gladly introduce people to any of her friends. She has more than a thousand of them.

Flake is creator of her own plush designer dolls known as Flaky Friends.

"I hope that some day I can rule the toy industry," said Flake, who creates Flaky Friends in her Henderson home.

A few of Flake's friends include Suzie the pig, who is the type of girl who goes to a party and drinks a little too much, laughs a little too loudly and stays a little too long; the purple penguin from Russia, who has a Ph.D. that she hides because it intimidates guys and subsequently dates losers while working at Chili's; and Black Eyed Pea , a rough-and-tumble UFC fighter who has his ring side girlfriend, Sweet Pea, and nemesis, Monsieur Carrot.

"Apparently, mustaches are in right now because everyone loves (Monsieur Carrot)," Flake said.

Each character and story reflects a little bit of Flake's personality.

"That's why I call them Flaky Friends," Flake said. "Each one has a little bit of my quirkiness. I don't like perfection. It is nothing you can relate to ."

But her business was an accident.

"I used to be a humor writer," Flake said. "When I got writer's block, I would do something creative. This is a tangent that never stopped."

The first doll happened when Flake's 3-year-old daughter requested a purple pony for Christmas in 2007.

Christmas was creeping up on Flake, who had scoured every store and came up empty.

However, Flake found a pattern book at Borders. She decided she could make a purple pony for her daughter.

Her daughter loved it.

Her friends and family, however, hated it.

"They begged me to stop," Flake said. "But I had extra material."

Flake continued to create stuffed animals until people eventually asked to buy one.

"My first creations were beach-ball shapes with arms and legs," Flake said. "The best thing about a toy is as long as it has stuffing in it, it's still a toy."

As demand went up, Flake turned to the Internet to sell her dolls.

"I do about six hours of sewing a day mixed with marketing," Flake said.

As it turns out, her craft earns her about $2,000 a month, with dolls running up to $25 each.

Flake wants to expand and sell to toy stores, which is an expensive step.

For toys to be mass-produced and sold at stores, they must be certified under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, which makes sure that products for children 12 or younger are safe.

The process costs at least $3,000 per batch.

"It is causing an uproar in the indie toy world," Flake said. "We understand we need safe products, but at the same time, it is discouraging small businesses because it is so expensive. A lot of toy stores won't sell your toy without this certification because if caught, they could get a big fine."

For the time being, Flake is happy selling her dolls at art events, comic book stores or wherever she can.

"At first, it was hard to narrow down who exactly my client base was," Flake said. "It's hard to figure it out when people are buying on line."

When a friend suggested in April 2010 that she sell at the monthly First Friday arts festival in downtown Las Vegas, she found the consumer crowd she was looking for.

"They are 18 to 25 years old with disposable income," Flake said.

But the dolls sell for all age brackets.

"I have the children who see one they love and won't put it down," Flake said. "And the parent just hands over the card."

Jenny Valdez, who owns a gallery in the downtown Las Vegas Arts District, noticed people coming in carrying these strange dolls.

"They were both super cute and so quirky," Valdez said. "And they are not just for kids."

Valdez remembers seeing the unlucky rabbit doll with a lucky rabbit's foot and even Monsieur Carrot.

"It was very clever," Valdez said.

Flake and Valdez had worked together before at art events.

"She is easy to work with and gets back to you quickly," Valdez said.

Valdez decided to invite Flake to sell at the Jenny Valdez Inc. Gallery, 107 E. Charleston Blvd. People can buy Flake's products at First Friday and preview them the night before. The gallery plans to be open even though the group that organizes First Friday put the event on hiatus until October.

Every creation has a story, which Flake wrote based on life experiences.

"There is Misunderstood Pitbull I created after my next-door neighbor's dog," Flake said. "He barks all day."

Flake said Misunderstood Pitbull is secretly an artist who plays the trombone and doesn't want his friends to think he is soft, so he barks constantly.

"It is really fun to have a certain feeling or feel a certain way and try to figure out how to put it into a design," Flake said.

Flake once heard a National Public Radio story about blueberries and was inspired to create Seth, the emo blueberry.

"He is very deep," Flake said. "He likes poetry and listens to Fall Out Boy."

Valdez has bought the emo blueberry to give to friends.

"As artists, we always joke we aren't emo enough to be artists," Valdez said. Valdez said Flake is planning to design dolls to go along with the Alice in Wonderland theme planned for First Friday in October.

"I am excited to see what she creates," Valdez said.

In the meantime, Flake continues to create from her home .

"I told my husband, when I die, I want an autopsy done," Flake said. "I am sure I have a pound of (toy) stuffing in my lungs."

Flake is always pursuing fabric that will be transformed into her next doll.

"I love bright colors, not these pansy pastels," Flake said.

Piles of fabric can be found hiding under the bed in her workshop, tucked away in the closet or stuffed in the garage .

"I can't stop buying materials," Flake said. "I go in and say, 'I'll take the whole rack.' "

Halloween season is Flake's best time to by fabrics.

She has even used clothing such as her mother-in-law's old winter furs.

"One day, I'll create something," Flake said. "There is even a rabbit (fur) in here which I am allergic to . But it will be worth it."

When she heard that her favorite fabric, novelty fleece, was being discontinued, Flake bought every piece she could find.

She has about three years' worth of supplies of that fabric alone.

Some fabric already has its purpose and design.

"I am waiting for (some fabrics) to speak to me," Flake said. "I know one day I'll be like, 'A ha,' and know exactly what to make."

Each doll takes 15 minutes to an hour to sew , giving her time to think about her background story.

"Usually by the time I'm finished, I have it figured out," Flake said. "Every one has a story."

Some stories reflect Flake's story or emotions, which she happily gives away.

"Being able to sew up my issues and sell them validates my feelings in a way," Flake said. "It's OK to be the chubby girl at the party that laughs too much because in the end someone is going to take her home."

For more information, visit flaky-friends.com.

Contact Henderson and Anthem View reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@viewnews.com or 387-5201.