Area teen's plush toys woo fans at art galleries

The youngest artist at last month's Forest Park Arts Fest was a high school freshman whose handmade toys have been sold around the country.

Fourteen-year-old Luisa Castellanos makes "plush" toys -- small stuffed animals and shapes sold by specialty toy stores and galleries.

"A plush toy is something that you can hold onto. You have it with you and it makes you happy," said Luisa, who lives in Forest Park with her parents, Donna and Alfonso, and younger brother, Adrian.

Luisa makes two types of toys: "Fuzzumz," which are furry and made out of felt stuffed with polyester, and "Pock-it Palz," which are smooth and come with a miniature replica toy inside a tiny pocket.

Fuzzumz sell for $15, and Pock-it Palz sell for $30.

"I have to spend money to buy materials, but now I am saving for a laptop," said Luisa, who has already put aside $1,000 for college.

Luisa inherited her creative streak from her mother, a painter, and her sewing talent from her maternal grandmother and great-grandmother. She now uses her great-grandmother's 1960s Kenmore sewing machine.

"At first I made them by hand and it took a long time," she said. "Now it takes me maybe three hours."

Luisa learned to sew in Girl Scouts in elementary school and later learned to use a sewing machine in home economics classes in junior high school.

Her first creations were felt iPod holders that she sold for $5 when she was about 11. Then she started making what she called "little creatures" out of felt, which eventually evolved into small toys.

Luisa's plush toys are sold by Rotofugi Gallery in Chicago and have been featured by two other galleries in Chicago, one in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.

Although she wants to be an artist when she grows up, she is not sure she will continue making toys, she said. She recently started painting colorful designs of her toys on small canvases.

"We are very proud of her," Donna Castellanos said. "She's a straight A and honors student, but she is lucky because she can choose what she wants to do. We have always embraced whatever she does."

Luisa has a blog at www.pockitpalz.blogspot.com.