Falling Down the Thames Blog 28, 24th September 2014
Our Mascot “Alfred”
When Glen and I were tossing about ideas for our Thames adventure, we decided it would be fun to have a mascot join us for the aquatic voyage.
We were already very fond of the kingfisher thanks to its residence along many parts of the River Thames, and due to the fact that I am an amateur bird lover and Glen is a professional bird lover. We stared at the kingfisher on our logo and decided that would be the perfect mascot.
Now we just had to find a plush Kingfisher big enough that it could be viewed by observers on the river banks as we paddled down the Thames.
As it turns out, kingfisher plush toys are hardly ubiquitous. But thanks to an intensive Google search, we came across a beautiful handmade kingfisher being sold by a young woman in the Netherlands.
Karin was selling the bird on the wonderful online artisan marketplace, Etsy.com, through her business Stitched Creatures. We contacted Karin and after describing our upcoming trip and our mascot needs, she agreed to make us a custom kingfisher using the colors which appear on our logo: bright blue, deep orange, and deep yellow.
After two weeks and a series of back-and-forth emails from Karin in which we applauded her fabric selection, Alfred was born. Standing 14 inches tall, and composed of a precise patchwork of brightly-coloured felt, corduroy and flannel, he looks majestic and sports an expression that says “Ready for adventure!”. He even has a small fabric loop behind his head, allowing us to clip him to our backpack or the deck of our boat, and a small fish in a front pouch.
Alfred will be experiencing every inch of the Thames and every moment of our voyage, including our visits to pubs and to elementary schools. We now just need to find him a suitable lifejacket.
- Krista
Photo credit: Common Kingfishers – www.waterpark.org; “Welcome” – www.stitchedcreatures.com