Cheshire’s Fursuit Journey (+ Unboxing)
A few years ago (3-4 years), I saw that Rune (my fursuit- mainly the head) was falling apart. Fearing that a 2.0 version would not really be possible for quite awhile, it was a relief when at long last an opportunity for another suit came along. My dear friend, Patch at CCSMascots wanted to try a new technique using liquid foam (which had become all the rage in making Fursuit head bases) and, he said that if his friends were willing to pay money towards the materials, then he would be willing to send them one of his new foam bases.
It was at this point that my friend Flamesvoices had started their own fursuit business and wanted some more items for promotional pictures. They made me an offer that I could not refuse. If I got the head base from Patch then, after paying for materials, they would make me a partial. It was winning scenario for everyone. Patch got to try a new technique in order to further improve their existing business, Flamesvoices got a project that they could show off as part of their portfolio, and I would get a new partial suit.
But…things started to get a little complicated from the very beginning…
Due to circumstances that I can no longer remember (it really was a long time ago), the liquid foam bases did not really work out as planned. But, still wanting to keep his word and promises, Patch offered to send one of his classic carved bases instead. I was fine with this arrangement as I was still desperate for a suit, and so, when the foam base was sent over, Flamesvoices got to work.
Because the base was more canid, the plan was to go with my Mecari character named Cheshire. The Mecari are an open species created by Patch, so, it only seemed fitting to bring her to life using his base. Cheshire’s character had also been designed originally by Flamesvoices so again, it just seemed like the perfect match. Cheshire had been designed with certain suit parts already in mind, and it would be Flamesvoices first time integrating solid parts (plastic, resin, etc) on a foam suit…so it was an experiment to say the least.
The parts pinned on and held to the foam just fine…
But when Cheshire moved into the “furring” part of the process, that’s where things began to take some more turns.
Again, this was a long time ago and so, I can’t really remember all the specifics. But at some point, Cheshire’s horns were just not working. They sat too small on the head and interrupted the shape of the ears. It was a complicated mess, and so, Flamesvoices asked me if they could try some minky horns instead to see if maybe those looked any better. I told them to go ahead and try it out, but once it was done, the end result was not really all that desirable (to me).
So, Flamesvoies decided they would try and find a way to make the original horns work. It was at this point that the head was becoming extremely heavy. More foam had been added to give it more shape and to smooth out a lot of the rougher cuts, and the ears were now causing a bit of an issue. At one point there was a problem with the jaw, and, Flamesvoices wanted to use the original teeth for a different project anyways- so fabric teeth ended up being used instead. Again, this method was more of an experiment, and something about the way the foam all came together made the jaw look a bit lopsided when the tongue of the suit was not completely center.
I was given a few other updates like the eyes, how the head was coming along after shaving and etc…and then life happened.
If you read my last entry then you will know that things got a little out of hand in my life. Cheshire as a project was already taking too long because of unforeseen complications and, on top of that, my own life was flipped completely upside down. So, in late 2020, I had to move from Texas back to Indiana. I took Rune with me but, because I did not have a solid place to live, I did not ask for Cheshire just in case I ended up moving a lot more. That same year I moved in with my Father and felt comfortable enough to have Cheshire mailed to me, but alas, she had yet to be completed.
More time passed and I was so busy in my new life that I gave up on Cheshire for the time being. In 2021 I got my own place and then in 2022, I finally had been at my job long enough that I had vacation time. That’s when I signed up for Indy Fur Con and I decided that now more than ever that it was time for Cheshire to come home.
Originally, Cheshire was supposed to be a partial but…that plan was never truly realized. Life and other things happened (obviously) so while I do finally have Cheshire in my possession, I was only given the completed head and I have a tail that was made for her by CCSMascots. I had some badges made for Cheshire as well. One was made by Patch and the other from an artist I commissioned at my first-ever Furry Convention. Alas, divorce can be such a messy thing and there were a lot of items I lost in the move that I might never find again.
But, I have Cheshire now and she is lovely. I was also given a lot of other small goodies which really made me feel good~ so it was a wonderful end to my day when all of that got delivered. I even made an unboxing video so, if you want to see me put on Cheshire and go over what it’s like to wear her, you can check out my video for that HERE.
Anyways, that’s all I got for this one. Next blog will probably be my overall thoughts and review of my experience at Indy Fur Con 2022 – so, I will see you then!!!
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