Etsy's Handmade Blog
Swimmy and Co.
Story by Rokali
Published on February 6, 2008 in Etc 		Photo by

Rokali

I just received a wonderful gift from Etsy seller thebirdsandbees: a felted fish, inspired by Swimmy. He's pictured above, and he's quite lonely. It'd be fun if a whole bunch of Etsy sellers could make his red-orange friends, and we'll make a diorama here showing them all arranged like a big fish (as in the book).

So, if you would, if you could, please make a fish facing right as pictured below, in your medium of choice:

I also made a printable PDF template which you can trace. Download the file here.

Please mail your fish to Etsy HQ:

Etsy
c/o Swimmy
325 Gold St, Floor 6
Brooklyn. NY 11201

Thanks!

ps
If you don't know who Swimmy is, read the post Etsy's First Five Years.

Tags Etsy Community Projects, Etsy Labs, fish, fun, projects, Swimmy
All articles in Etc
Related Items
This article was reported by:
Etsy Admin
Rokali
shop . profile . contact

77 comments     Login to add your own!

Feb. 6, 2008 at 3:31 p.m. girlsavage

Sounds like fun!

Feb. 6, 2008 at 3:32 p.m. PreciousPups

can't wait for these to start rolling in! underwater diorama time!

Feb. 6, 2008 at 3:33 p.m. girlsavage

Ummm... download link takes me to the main storque page. :D

Feb. 6, 2008 at 3:34 p.m. Iheartmoustaches

i will get to work crocheting some coral and seaweed right away!

Feb. 6, 2008 at 3:38 p.m. likeomg

I can make it in Vector format, but sewing is going to be tricky for me. (I do know how to sew, but I'm a little rusty...)

Go Swimmy! Swim!

Feb. 6, 2008 at 3:43 p.m. TeenAngster

Fixed download! Try again, please!

Feb. 6, 2008 at 3:44 p.m. aplanetnamedjanet

I have fish in my shop already.

Feb. 6, 2008 at 3:57 p.m. fisheye

I must have something red-orange around here to upcycle!

Feb. 6, 2008 at 4:23 p.m. crankbunny

oh i am so in.

Feb. 6, 2008 at 4:39 p.m. jelene

i'm definitely sending in my tickles goldfish!!

Feb. 6, 2008 at 4:58 p.m. daniellexo

ohhhh send send send send !!!

Feb. 6, 2008 at 5:01 p.m. LauraSusannah

I'm currently searching for anything orange ♥ yey!

Feb. 6, 2008 at 5:06 p.m. esdesigns

Does it have to be made of fabric? I love Swimmy, it was one of my favorite books as a kid! I'm visualizing one out of copper, but I'm not sure if I have time to make it.

Feb. 6, 2008 at 5:08 p.m. Bumblebeebaby

Does it have to be "Etsy orange?" Or can it be any color? I have tons of colorful fleece fabric, but I don't think I have any "Etsy orange."

Feb. 6, 2008 at 5:10 p.m. esdesigns

Oh, I see it says "medium of your choice" so I guess copper is ok :)

Feb. 6, 2008 at 5:27 p.m. serenityii

Awesome idea!

Feb. 6, 2008 at 5:27 p.m. SewCrewel

I'm on it.

Feb. 6, 2008 at 5:36 p.m. annalaura

Swimmy sushi...heheheh

Feb. 6, 2008 at 5:40 p.m. pattihaskins

is there a deadline for the fishes to swim in by?

Feb. 6, 2008 at 5:54 p.m. ArtMind

I love Swimmy!
I loved the story and I loved it being read to us in the video even more.
I will make one - hope he'll swim safely across the ocean... ;)

Feb. 6, 2008 at 6:05 p.m. Experimetal

Im on it, sounds fun.

I love me's some swimmy sushi, yum yum.

Feb. 6, 2008 at 6:08 p.m. Experimetal

should we put a hOLE in it?
Is it going to be hung in the end like a giant calder mobile?

Feb. 6, 2008 at 6:11 p.m. imakecutestuff

OMG! Fun Times! Now to find some orangy-red material...hmmmm. I'm going to get EtsyRain (seattle street team) to get in on this one! Yay!

Feb. 6, 2008 at 6:20 p.m. Experimetal

I know that some members of EtsyMetal street team are planning on making some of Swimmy's friends too!
Yay!

Feb. 6, 2008 at 6:37 p.m. pookeh

what a cute idea! love! must get me some felt tomorrow. :D

Feb. 6, 2008 at 6:51 p.m. beetlegirldesign

An orange fish it is. I might have to fancy it up though...

Feb. 6, 2008 at 6:56 p.m. maggiejs

I'm in!

will this be hung on the wall? or should it be 2 sided for a mobile?

Feb. 6, 2008 at 6:59 p.m. bluedogrose

I'm on it :)

Feb. 6, 2008 at 7:42 p.m. pancakeandlulu

is there a deadline or can they swim on in anytime? (soooo busy at the moment--but I want to be a part of it!)

Feb. 6, 2008 at 7:47 p.m. PrettyPennyPlastics

Can do, buckaroo!

Feb. 6, 2008 at 8:18 p.m. justynhegreberg

i'm a little worried about all of this swimmy business. it is a cute story and apt yet i am curious, as are others, if there are copyright issues with the public broadcast of the work. in addition it now seems that some people are making and selling items on etsy that directly name and resemble the character in the book.

is this an issue we should be worried about?

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php...

Feb. 6, 2008 at 8:29 p.m. eclipse

Parody is considered "fair use" under copyright law.

Feb. 6, 2008 at 8:39 p.m. justynhegreberg

parody is different that straight performance. they read it and then said we should be like that. that isn't quite parody. at least not to my knowledge.

Feb. 6, 2008 at 8:42 p.m. crankbunny

oh boy...

Feb. 6, 2008 at 8:52 p.m. eclipse

justyn I meant my comment in reference to "some people are making and selling items on etsy that directly name and resemble the character in the book." I am one of those 'some people'. My ACEOs=parody=fair use.

The videotaped reading was not (intentional) parody, that I know of.

Feb. 6, 2008 at 9:24 p.m. aplanetnamedjanet

May I clarify, "I have fish in my shop already". Not swimmys but other fish.

Feb. 6, 2008 at 9:43 p.m. GreenSpaceGoods

I think it is a great idea and I don't think that making a big fish for display at Etsy is going to be a copyright issue. I wouldn't worry about it :)

Feb. 6, 2008 at 9:51 p.m. discomedusa

woah, i totally made one a few years ago- too bad it's in storage!

Feb. 6, 2008 at 10:04 p.m. mLee

I am so all over this x10!

And I am inspired to bump the Leo Lionni collection up on my birthday wishlist.

Feb. 6, 2008 at 10:09 p.m. GreenSpaceGoods

Everyday here, I hear a lot of skepticism over Etsy's mission. It just doesn't seem believable to some that a group of people could possibly want to build something for a greater purpose. I think the metaphor is touching. I think the idea of a diorama representing us all is great, and I'll be happy to be a part of it.

Feb. 6, 2008 at 11:01 p.m. marikoartstudio

It's my first time to seriously pay attention anything inside the Storque, so I'm quite excited to find such a fun project. I'm working on it right now..., pieces of leather, seedbeads, my fingers are covered with glue...yeaow!

Feb. 6, 2008 at 11:41 p.m. daniellexo

Love that visual mariko! Can't wait to see these. Perhaps we should have a swimmy making party at the EtsyLabs on Monday?

Feb. 7, 2008 at 1:15 a.m. valutree

Oh I am so in. I already started on it. This is a wonderful project. I love the Swimmy mission and think it's great the etsy in this for more then monetary gain. Go etsy!

Feb. 7, 2008 at 2:03 a.m. TumboweedAnnie

Wonderful mission! I'm hooked!
Thanks for the inspiration Rokali. I will be simming your way with my red-orange fish.

Feb. 7, 2008 at 8:51 a.m. ocbaby

What a great idea! I can't wait to see them all! May I suggest that after the have pics are done that any suitable toy fish be donated to needy children?

I haven't read all the post to see if it has been suggested already....

Feb. 7, 2008 at 9:38 a.m. lessthanthreedesigns

AHHHH! SO CUTE!

Yeah. You can probably expect one from me. :)

Feb. 7, 2008 at 10:21 a.m. GreenMamba

While parody is permitted, creating derivative works for promotional purposes, or for 'fun', is NOT allowed under fair use. Of course, if Etsy has obtained the proper permissions, just add that notation to the articles and video where Swimmy is referenced. Easy-peasy.

I'd participate if everything was on the up-and-up. But I don't want to be involved in any fishy business . . .

Feb. 7, 2008 at 11:45 a.m. serenityii

My family had a fun time making fish last night! We'll be sending one off probably tomorrow. I was also wondering about the fate of the fish after the photos are taken. It'd be cool if they were on display on a wall somewhere, but it also occurred to me that they could be sold to benefit charity or something. . .

Feb. 7, 2008 at 11:58 a.m. bornlippy

I'm wondering how are these going to be hung? I included a small square of sticky-back Velcro with my swimmy.

Feb. 7, 2008 at 12:32 p.m. crudeco

And how many swimmies can he swim?

If too many participate, how will anyones swimmy be observed?

How many swimmy's can he eat before there's only one survivor swimmy?

Seems a little fishy too me too.

Feb. 7, 2008 at 1:28 p.m. marikoartstudio

Hi Danielle,

Thanks for the nice comment!

OK, perhaps we should have the swimmy par~ty. I could swim over Hudson & East River to EtsyLabs on Monday. It'll be my first visit there and that'd be nice because I've been very curious what goes on at Etsy HQ. Email me the details if you'd like. Hope to see you soon!

Feb. 7, 2008 at 1:29 p.m. daniellexo

I think we'll hang them with fishing line ;) From the top of the diorama? Once they start flopping in we'll see what will work best.

Feb. 7, 2008 at 2:11 p.m. papapots

Oh how fun! I'll start a fishy and hopefully my kiln will get over the flu in time to make him orange. Is ceramic ok? Should I add anything to make him hangable?

Feb. 7, 2008 at 4:46 p.m. Experimetal

"quote" I think we'll hang them with fishing line ;) From the top of the diorama?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
so a hole then is required for possible hanging...

Feb. 7, 2008 at 4:51 p.m. Ekioart

What fun ^-^ *runs off in search of orange things.

Feb. 7, 2008 at 8:25 p.m. lagelle

Hello~
It was very inspiring to see the video about Swimmy and it's history. I definitely want to be involved. If too many are received what will happen with the others? I'm happy to be part of Etsy.

Tye

Feb. 7, 2008 at 10:44 p.m. HomeMadeOriginals

Fun idea and story....here's mine complete with his own seaweed:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/homemade...

Feb. 8, 2008 at 12:11 a.m. strawberryanarchy

this looks great fun

Feb. 8, 2008 at 12:23 a.m. daniellexo

experimetal - no hole required. some can also be flat or we can figure out different options. a hole to hang from would be helpful - but not required!

perhaps any 2-D fish can hang out against the back wall of the diorama.

ps. check out the pool so far!
http://www.flickr.com/groups/underwat...

Feb. 8, 2008 at 12:40 a.m. jillhannah

This is awesome. I am pleased with its awesomeness. I make cards, so mine is on its way in card form.
http://flickr.com/photos/jillhannah/a...

Feb. 8, 2008 at 11:03 a.m. lanisvintage

if i can find the time...i'll make one! ;)

Feb. 8, 2008 at 11:54 a.m. bamboobaby

Fer Shur. I'm on it.

Feb. 9, 2008 at 5:27 p.m. PrettyPennyPlastics

I didn't realize how few orange supplies I have.
Great brainstorm, for sure!

Feb. 10, 2008 at 3:31 p.m. SimplySilly

I'm off to make a swimmy!!!!!

Feb. 10, 2008 at 8:40 p.m. sofiamasri

I started mine today!

Feb. 10, 2008 at 11:33 p.m. plushoff

I made mine today, he is going in the mail this week!!

Feb. 11, 2008 at 3:46 p.m. imakecutestuff

Oh yay! EtsyRain (your Seattle street team) is making a bunch of them to keep Swimmy company! We'll be sending the "school" over to you on the 20th :) Thanks for the Fun Fun Fun project!

Feb. 12, 2008 at 9:42 a.m. Diamondmeenuh

I've got a whole school of Swimmies on one of my Book Briefcases. Will see if I've got more of the fabric to make a few 'unattached' ones. Love this idea! Loved the Swimmy story, too

Feb. 14, 2008 at 5:01 p.m. NetsPets

I sent my swimmy earlier in the week - he has to swim from the southern hemisphere! Could take him a while!!

Feb. 16, 2008 at 3:48 a.m. Experimetal

is there a due date?

Feb. 21, 2008 at 12:49 a.m. LilahAndCompany

Ditto on that question, Experimental. I think I am late to the thread, but I want to participate.

Feb. 21, 2008 at 1:32 p.m. MundoGominola

i want to participate also, can I?

Feb. 21, 2008 at 2:36 p.m. zparkleys

ooohhh, an applicated sock fish!!! i'm totally on this.

Feb. 23, 2008 at 12:36 p.m. serenityii

Did our fish make it yet? Yarn on cardboard and a googly eye?

April 8, 2008 at 1:43 p.m. serenityii

So when will we hear more about the Swimmy project?

July 24, 2008 at 12:22 a.m. dragonhouseofyuen

More eggs have hatched - another little one will be on her way shortly!
(from Scotland)

July 26, 2008 at 5:34 a.m. matilou

i also will do it in this thread!
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php...

Previous Page | Next Page