I am not normally the sort of person to take an extreme position on something. Usually I am happy to work through a problem, mediate, or wait for a situation to improve. But sometimes there is a problem which just isn't going to be solved, and you take all of the right courses of action, only to find yourself faced with a moral dilemma - and the only solution is to make a statement.

Currently, I have a moral dilemma with regards to Fur Affinity.

Over the past few months, my long-term client and friend,  Tarangryph has been the victim of some pretty serious stalking behavior by  Fredriksam - both on and off Fur Affinity. He has found and posted photographs of her online, posted her personal information in public, and written a sex story wherein the main character breaks into Taran's house, steals her fursuit, and does awful sexual things. In this story, he uses her real name and location.
Fredriksam has made several comments about looking up Taran's address, about how easy it would be to find where she lives. He even contacted me to try and confirm her address, knowing that I would probably have records of my customer's contact information.

A week ago, Taran finally decided that it had gone far enough - she composed a journal on FA warning people about this guy's behavior, and filed a harassment ticket against him.
Fredriksam commented multiple times on the journal, making endless excuses for himself and claiming that she should thank him for what he did - he gave her lots of attention, after all.
You would think that this individual would be banned, or at least reprimanded (especially since his gallery was full of stolen art).

But No. Not only was he NOT banned, but the mods saw fit to punish Taran. They deleted her journal entry and the comments therein, with all of the evidence of the conflict. Taran feels so threatened and betrayed, she has left FA, and probably will not be comfortable associating with furries again.

When  Svedge brought this troubling development to the attention of Dragoneer, this is what he had to say:
"Dragoneer
Posted: 6 hours ago
The admin took the right course of action in this case. I don't feel it's something to leave FA over, as if it happened on FA, it will happen on /any/ site. It's unfortunate, but a choice they have made. I'll respect that."

So Dragoneer very respectfully does not give a flying ass-wipe about what is obviously criminal behavior and exploitation happening right here on his site. Why? Because it could happen anywhere! brilliant logic, Dragoneer.

No, I think that this is a great reason to leave. In my eyes, and certainly in Taran's eyes, this website's administrators are willing to turn a blind eye to abuse. They are willing to condone harassment and exploitation, and in doing so, they encourage this behavior.

And that, my friends, is why I am leaving Fur Affinity. As a woman, as a person with respect for my friends and customers, I do not want to be associated with a website that protects and supports predatory behavior.

It pains me to leave the parts of this site that I really love - that being the overwhelming majority of you who are good people, and who are kind and amazingly supportive of our work.

Luckily, at the same time that this situation pushed me to this point, Weasyl (https://www.weasyl.com) just launched open Beta - so it is now open for anyone to join. Even though the site is just getting started, I can tell already that it's brilliantly designed, and I can see a really great community being established there. Maybe the best part is that it's not being run by people who have their heads lodged firmly up their rears.

I have registered two accounts:
https://www.weasyl.com/profile/clockworkcreature for our costumes and other work done under the Clockwork Creature header, and
https://www.weasyl.com/profile/qarrezel for my personal artwork.

Please come join us there.

(p.s. I am screencapping this journal and any comments that are left on it, just in case FA decides to target me as well)

This journal entry is long, and I apologize in advance.

PHOTO BACKLOG

We have been working full-tilt here for a few months running, and I have become increasingly bad at updating galleries with photos (especially the website - oh gods the poor website), and even taking photos in the first place due to rushes and super tight deadlines. So, I apologize for the lack of updates in general - we really have been turning out a ton of new work! I will post what I have as soon as I can get to all of it, but I also need some help.

Here is a list of costumes for which I do not have photos:

Mikase
Havre de Grace
Suffolk Horse
Tamahagane
Costello
Lykaios
Silver
Mingchun 2.0
Kos
Amaruq

And Varg and Soulwolf - I have photos of the masks only.

If you guys - or anyone - could send me some nice shots of those suits, I would appreciate it so, so much.


CURRENT COMMISSION BACKLOG

These are the costumes we are currently working on:

1. Mei (was Nagi) - wolf head/gloves/feet/tail; JC - gloves/tail
2. Castiel Sphinx - back wings
3. EZwolf - wolf fullsuit
4. Rooth - white dragon fullsuit
5. Shadowchaser - wolf fullsuit
6. Xixin - feline goddess head/gloves/legs/tail
7. Norok - gryphon head/gloves/tail
8. Fauho - fox fullsuit
9. Windrunner - wolf bodysuit and feet


1. Chaos - fullsuit
2. Jenari - Rahier fullsuit
3. Breynz - gloves/feet/tail
4. Derecho - dragon mask and gloves

This is the September Batch (aka, the END OF ZE WORLD group). Not yet started:

1: "The Malachite Beast" fullsuit
2: Zephyrue - Orient Chimera fullsuit
3: Krampus fullsuit
4: Garrodor - polar bear fullsuit
5: Moonstone beast - mask fixes, feet, and tail
6: Nix - wolf mask
7: Nee - cat mask gloves and tail
8: "Blood Bank" vampire bat mask
9: Vargr - hellhound mask & tail
10: Minx - oviraptor head
11: Wulver - wolf mask
12: Atlas - satyr legs and feet
13: Virizhyic - feet
14: Kets - feather accessory
15: Red jackal feet
16: Farumir - wolf tail
17: Kilroy - horse tail DONE
18: Calicokitea - horn set DONE

We will be opening a small batch of commissions on Saturday September 1st! Read more Here: http://clockworkcreature.tumblr.com.....g-announcement
and here:
http://clockworkcreature.tumblr.com.....e-announcement

Current commission list: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3739640/

I thought it might be good to post a list of our current projects for all to see. The following projects are all in the current batch of work. As you can see, it is a huge backlog; I do not yet have an ETA on the completion of all of these, but we are working to get them done as fast as possible.

These need to get done in time for Eurofurence:

1.  Rhanee Seltsam - white alien deer mask/gloves/tail DONE!
2.  Duamutef jackal fullsuit DONE
3. Lykaios - wolf fullsuit DONE
4.  silverfoxwolf wolf fullsuit DONE
5. Sigma skunk fullsuit DONE
6.  Aeto Gilrandree - replacement feet and gloves DONE
7.  Rinthedragon Mingchun - mask 2.0, feet and legs DONE
8.  Aurorakatn Azura - feet and bodysuit DONE


These are left over from the batch we took last year. All of them are in progress (most are at least halfway done):

1. Varg - Wolf fullsuit
2. Soulwolf - wolf fullsuit
3.  Zaland - mask, gloves and tail
4.  Ithkale - owl mask and gloves
5. Kivuli - panther mask/gloves/tail
6.  Origamigryphon Kos - chimera goat fullsuit
7. Starwing - fox head/arms/tail
8. Etotono - cheetah fullsuit
9. Rigby - wolf head/gloves/tail
10.  JC gloves/ tail; Nagi - wolf head/gloves/feet/tail
11.  WanderingPariah Castiel Sphinx - back wings
12.  Derecho - dragon mask and gloves
13.  Zemira - dragon fullsuit
14.  Inaki Inktomi - new feet
15.  Aikenwolf Victor - new feet


This is the April batch. Some of them are started:

1.  EZwolf - wolf fullsuit
2.  Forfaox Fear Elemental - fullsuit
3.  Aeto Gilrandree - tail; Pain Elemental - fullsuit
4.  tarangryph Breynz - gloves/feet/tail
5. Shadowchaser - wolf fullsuit
6.  amphitrite Xixin - feline goddess head/gloves/legs/tail
7. Norok - gryphon head
8.  Rooth - white dragon fullsuit
9. Rayne - black wolf fullsuit
10. Amaruq - snow monster wolf fullsuit
11. Bagheera - snow leopard tail
12.  Fauho - fox fullsuit
13.  dboomhauer Kusanagi - wolf tail
14.  Ayulf Saerak - fox fullsuit
15.  Windrunner - wolf bodysuit and feet

I'd like to link to everyone's FA pages, where applicable. I will need help finding a lot of you, though.

 Manojalpa is helping me organize AC stuff (or rather, doing it for me because I am a mess). Also, she has updates on the Clockwork Creature T-shirts!

Manojalpa wrote:Hello duders!

FOR SUITERS/FRIENDS/ETC
If you would like to be on the email list to get updates/announcements/schedule for Clockwork Creature related events at Anthrocon, please email me howe dot chelsea at gmail dot com and include:

Name (fursona is okay :D Share what you feel comfortable with!):
Phone Number (if you want):
Whether you want to receive texts, phonecalls, or both (if applicable):

In return, you will receive:

- Clockwork Creature AC 2012 Schedule
- Updates/changes as they happen
- Locations for photo shoot meetups, dinners, etc

Your email address will be BCC'ed - only I'll be able to see the actual address.

FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
Fill out the same information, but include that you are a photographer, and I will ONLY send you information about when/where the Clockwork Creature crew will be hanging about/taking photos :)

---

T-SHIRTS

I have ordered T-shirts! You should know if you ordered one! If you don't, note me! :)

If you DID order a T-shirt, I'm now taking payment!

I accept paypal to howe dot chelsea at gmail dot com. PLEASE include your username/the name you ordered the t-shirt with - or I won't know who to check off!

What to pay (in USD):
For pick-up at Anthrocon: $10
For domestic (US) shipping: $10 + $5.50
For international (Non-US) shipping: $10 + $17 (this is for a small, flat rate international box - if any of you guys knows a cheaper way to ship, I am all ears! $17 seems ridiculous!)
IF SHIPPING, INCLUDE ADDRESS IN PAYPAL COMMENTS OR PRIVATE NOTE

If you're going to be at Anthrocon, you can also pay in cash, in person.

If you're going to Eurofurence, I believe there was discussion of someone picking the T-shirts up at AC, or possibly of shipping all EF orders to one person to save shipping. I will happily comply with either of these plans if someone else takes the lead on organizing it :D

Please contact  Manojalpa if you are interested! Again, she is the one handling all of this organization - I'm making costumes!

 Manojalpa has been putting together some t-shirt fun for us:

Manojalpa wrote:In preparation for AC, I have been designing Clockwork Creature t-shirts so we can all band together and show our CC colors!

T-shirts will either be rust with black design, OR black with orangey/gold design. The front will have the clockwork creature logo, and the back will say "CLOCKWORK CREATURE".

If we can get our order up to 30 shirts, they will be $12 each, if we can get to 15, they will be $15 dollars each.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE A T-SHIRT, LEAVE A COMMENT WITH HOW MANY AND WHAT SIZE.

IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BE AT AC TO PICK UP, you'll need to pay shipping. Please note this when you list your sizes/quantity!

Contact her through her journal entry if you are interested!

We will be opening for commissions on SATURDAY, JANUARY 21st at 1AM EST. Requests will remain open until 1PM EST.

Quotes will CLOSE on Monday, January 16th!

Please see this Tumblr update for more info: http://clockworkcreature.tumblr.com.....e-announcement

Because I have SO much free time, I invited  kittiara to tag me in this meme. Goodness only knows what came over me. So here we go:

Da Rules
1. NO RULES, I AM A REBEL.

First, 5 things about me:
1. Some days I really wish I had become a veterinarian. At some point I'd like to volunteer as a vet tech.
2. I collect art ceramics and antique (or just nifty) glassware. Currently I have a special fondness for tea sets. I mentioned this in passing to some of my close friends a couple weeks ago, and they found it completely astonishing somehow.
3. I hate having things against my face, and I'm really sensitive about cumbersome or ill-fitting clothing. Thus, it stands to reason that the next logical step was to go into fursuiting. >.>
4. I've been taking belly dance classes for almost two years now, and I love it. I hope to get over my crippling stage fright and perform someday.
5. Red is not my natural hair color (gasp!)



1) What is your relationship to the fandom? Do you feel like being a furry/insert-your-term-of-choice is something someone can ever 'stop being' for good or is it always a part of you?
As for my relationship to the fandom, I blissfully don't care. I like animal costumes and anthropomorphic animals, and I refuse to let it get more complicated than that.
I am fully aware that people can change, and ideas can change. I am comfortable with that. "Furry" is an idea - one that encompasses a wide variety of interests within one very, very general aesthetic. By it's nature, it can - and will - grow and change. I don't really like the idea of building my identity on such an idea, such a vague concept. So on that note, I understand how people come to feel the need to "Rage Quit Furry", when they have come to rely on the idea as a particular thing, and then later come to find "furry" to somehow be in conflict with themselves. However, it is silly. Furthermore, I think that people have a general tendency to continue liking deeply ingrained concepts and aesthetics - I, for instance, will probably always love animals and nature - but of course people can change, even very dramatically.

TL;DR: yes, sort of.

2) Generally speaking, are you content with the way your life is right now?
In general, yeah. I have a neat job (even though I frequently find it overwhelming), I love my hubby, I have two snuggly cats, and my family is awesome.
That said, I feel like I want more control over my life (doesn't everyone, though), and that things could stand to be simpler. I want to live in a rural rather than urban setting. With any luck, that very well could happen next year.

3) What is more important: knowing how to listen to someone or knowing how to talk to someone?
I'm going to be infuriating here and say that: it depends on the situation, and the preferred outcome. A friend just went through a crisis and needs to vent? Listening. Someone's flipped a shit and you need to talk them down to prevent them from hurting themselves? Talking. In general, I'd say the more challenging thing is definitely talking to someone - really talking, not just running your mouth. I know people like to think that listening is harder, but listening is really about just shutting the hell up for a few minutes and giving a damn about the person who's talking to you. Saying just the right thing at the right time? Using words to change someone's outlook on life? That's hard.

4) What is the most beautiful place you have ever been to?
Gaaaah I can't choose just one!
So I'm going to choose a "place" that will never happen to me again. I put place in quotations there, because the place itself is just a beach in North Carolina, but was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen because of a very chance collision of a number of natural occurrences.
It was night time, right after a huge thunder storm. The tide had gone out, leaving tide pools all over the beach. The storm had gone out to sea, but was still visible in half the sky, with lightning occasionally striking near the water. The other half of the sky was clear, with a full moon over the water. And if that wasn't freakishly magical enough, the tide pools were full of phytoplankton, which glowed and shimmered green wherever your feet touched the water.
Lightning, full moon, and glowing fairy pools while alone on a beach at night. Yeah.
Second choice would be the desert in the American Southwest, especially at night, with the stars that go on forever.

5) How is your comfort level in public? Would you do something 'silly' like dance? (conventions count)
Just TRY to stop me from dancing. I dance in the freaking grocery store. Singing, though? I'm bloody scared to sing in the shower on the off-chance that I might be overheard.

6) Name someone who was/is a big influence in your life. (anyone can count)
Going to have to copy yours, Kittiara, and say my parents. I guess it's obvious, as it's hard to not be influenced in some way by one's parents. But they always encouraged my art, and were totally cool with me doing crap like slathering paint all over every surface of my bedroom. Oh yeah, and playing dress-ups. Constantly.

7) How would you measure your level of pride, or lack thereof?
I keep it in check. I want to be a humble person. Occasionally I get ahead of myself and start thinking I'm a little better than I am (this happens when you live in a hug-box), at which point I give myself some sort of wake-up call and get myself back on the ground.

8) Are you looking forward to 2012?
With an equal level of excitement and fear, yes. The biggest thing we're facing next year is a probable home purchase and move and well, it's scary. But cool. But scary.

9) Are you 'afraid' of anything? Is it a physical object or thing, or a more nebulous idea or thought?
I am terrified of bodily disfigurement (except when it's animal-related, i.e. werewolf transformation does not get me). In movies, if someone's hair is falling out in clumps, or their face gets deformed or disfigured, I get really scared and feel kinda nauseous. The blueberry scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? When I was a little kid, I got through the tunnel scene just fine, but the blueberry scene had me screaming bloody murder and crawling over and behind the sofa. To this day it makes me queasy.
I am also terrified of losing my mind, or watching someone else lose theirs. Seeing someone you love who looks the same, but they're a different person inside - very upsetting.

10) Would you rather have someone write your biography for you or would you rather write it yourself?
Hmm. On one hand, I'm a control freak. On the other, I don't like talking about myself at length and would feel like a total twerp writing a whole book abut myself. So I'll choose biography by someone else, after I'm dead ;)

11) Is there any aspect of 'childhood' or 'childishness' you try and keep in your day-to-day adult life?
Yes, although there's a difference between "childish" and "child-like". I try to retain child-like qualities, in keeping a very active imagination, daydreaming, playing games, forever learning, and never losing my fascination with the world around me.

We currently have an absurd amount of fake fur scraps. Please make them go away, oh please oh please! They are listed at cost of shipping in our ArtFire shop: http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/stu.....ckworkCreature

We also still have a large quantity of the Rust Fox fur, plus a few yards of MM white seal available.

We have set up an official Clockwork Creature IRC channel!

Channel: #clockwork-creature
Server: irc.anthrochat.net

Chat with customers past and present, fans, and the Clockwork Creature team (when we have the time, of course)! Ask questions, arrange con-meetups, or just hang out.

(please keep conversation polite and clean)

We have come upon two bolts of Rust Fox faux fur! So 30 yards of Monterey Mills Rust Fox are now available ahead of the large production run.

CLICK HERE! http://www.artfire.com/users/ClockworkCreature

The White Fox faux fur and the boxes of scrap faux fur are still available as well!

I have uploaded 5 boxes of fur scraps, PLUS we now have White Fox fur for sale by the yard!

CLICK HERE: http://www.artfire.com/users/ClockworkCreature

More to come as I get things photographed.


Also, an exciting announcement - Rust Fox fur will be returning by the end of August! (as long as the mill stays on schedule).

We have boxes of scraps for sale in our Artfire shop!

Click Here! http://www.artfire.com/users/ClockworkCreature

Even more scrap boxes will be stocked soon!

Our costume price estimate calculator has launched!

Check it out here! http://clockworkcreature.com/calculator/

Use it to figure out how much you might need to save up for your costume, or just play with it!

And of course, as mentioned in the disclaimer, this calculator does not encompass the full realm of costume feature possibilities. It only covers the more popular features. Of course, you can still use it to get a ballpark estimate. Generally though, very unique designs will need to be more individually quoted.

Also, price estimates from the calculator are not final quotes! There's a good chance that the price is accurate, but you must confirm your quote with us before it's official. This will still be done via email to Info (at) clockworkcreature.com.

Have fun!

Thanks to Forfaox for his coding genius.

So! Just a couple weeks ago I posted here saying that I wouldn't open a queue in April. Scratch that, and scratch it fast.


WE ARE OPENING FOR COMMISSIONS THIS FRIDAY, APRIL 8th!
At 11:00PM Friday night.


FURTHERMORE We will be booking orders for the REST OF THE YEAR.
All orders placed Friday (start) will be started in June, and completed by January, 2012.

Please see my LJ for more info: http://qarrezel.livejournal.com/87725.html

One of our fullsuits is currently up for grabs!

http://www.furbuy.com/auctions/1022419.html

Still at a very low price for a fullsuit from us (even low for a partial, actually!)

I've been needing to post this, but I guess I've been putting it off just because I don't want to admit it.

BUT I think it is pretty obvious (to me, anyway) at this point that we won't be done this current batch in time to open for commissions in April. So I know I'm going to have to push that back.

As far as when, though, I'm not quite sure yet. Mateo is pretty confident that this batch could go much faster than last time, while I still fear the worst (because fearing the worst is simply what I do best).

So I guess it'll be something like: best case scenario, we open sometime in May and run a mini pre-Anthrocon batch. Worst case scenario, we don't open again until after Anthrocon.

I will, of course, update here as soon as I know anything more. But for now, when someone asks when the queue is opening, my best answer is "sometime this spring or summer".

Holy moly! Wintergreen is up for auction for a CRAZY LOW start price! Especially considering that the costume is still in brand new condition, and the seller will custom-make matching feet for the buyer PLUS they're including a wolf tail that they made!

Check out the auction here: http://www.furbuy.com/auctions/1021912.html

Hey all! I just learned that an older wolf partial of mine - the October Wolf - is currently up for grabs! It's got a very low start price, and will be up for auction through Feb. 3rd!

Check out the auction here: http://www.furbuy.com/auctions/1021513.html

Scraps are gone! They sold within minutes, apparently.

Goodness, I didn't realize scraps were in such high demand. Well, there's more where that came from.

The issue we were experiencing with our Info[at]clockworkcreature.com address is now fully resolved!

We have switched webhosting for more reliable service. There is no more inbox quota, so no one should experience any more dropped emails. Please direct all of your contacts to that address from now on. Thank you!

Hello all! We just got a big shipment of the discontinued Rust Fox fur from Monterey Mills!

Click here to see the listing! http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?.....uct_id=2279513

This is currently for sale in our ArtFire shop at $25/per yard. We have a somewhat limited supply, so act soon!


http://www.artfire.com/users/ClockworkCreature

There seems to be something of an issue with our info[at]clockworkcreature.com email address. Several people now have reported that they get returned emails/undeliverable errors when they try to email that account. The majority of people can get through, but there seem to be isolated instances of people being unable to send to that address.
I sent a report of this issue to my web host, but they said that they can't help me without more information about the exact error.

So - anyone who has had trouble emailing that address, if you could please tell me:

- the header address of the bounce back email
- the message in the bounce back, if there was one

You can comment here with the info, or email it to clockworkcreature[at]gmail.com

The sooner I get this information, the sooner I can fix this problem. In the meantime, anyone having difficulty emailing the info@ address can email clockworkcreature@gmail.com. It will at least get to the right place.

Streaming: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/creature-cam

I have a couple side projects to finish up first today - a bodysuit alteration which needs airbrush touch-ups, and a pair of gloves which need airbrushing.
After those, I will be working on the next mask - "the Fiend of the Alley". It's still in the early stages of assembly right now.

Have questions? Want quotes? Email is at Info@ClockworkCreature.com!

This address is now the official Clockwork Creature contact address. Please do not send emails to our old address (if you do not know what the old address was, then good!)

And as I mentioned before, this is a far better way of getting in touch with me than FA notes. I rarely answer notes, but I do get back to emails ASAP.