Igor9 is the collaborative creation of Leigh Martin and artist extraordinaire Michael Moon. Igor9 is one of the abused assistants of the Mad Scientist, Dr. Patricia Moraih, who specializes in making miniaturized monsters. He is the character who operates the website SomethingUndertheBed.com, selling his master's "excess lab specimens".
You can expect a new monster about every 8 weeks -- and for more of Igor9 and his fellow assistant's backgrounds to be revealed. The write-ups for each of the toys is for your entertainment, and should not be taken seriously. Only the information at the very bottom of the page that refers to size, weight, cost, etc. is actual ordering information. If you have a specific question about a monster, feel free to contact Igor9 through the AskIgor9 tentacle button on every page. If you have a lot of questions, try to ask them all at one time, please, to save flooding my e-mail buffer!
The "excess lab specimens" are stuffed toy monsters - primarily dragons - designed and created by Leigh Martin. They are made from a wide range of fabrics and materials and are not recommended for small children. I have horrible visions of someone's two year-old getting hold of Ivan and sucking down an eyeball(you'll know what I mean when you see his picture). Please, if your kid can't read Harry Potter yet, he/she is probably too young for these toys.
The possible exception to this is Drazilla. He's made of flannel, felt, and a fairly sturdy polyester vinyl that can take some abuse. He still can't be thrown into the wash. A damp washcloth can be used to wipe down the fabric. There is nothing a child can easily pull off and swallow - even the eyes are big pieces of squishy fabric. The eyelids can be opened or closed. Not all the fabric is flame retardant, so I still would not call Drazilla completely child-safe. Use your own discretion.
All the Teacup monsters and dragons have beads filling their paws(if they have paws) to lend them a little more weight. They are soft-filled, so they stay squishy and fun to manipulate. All the eyestalks, tentacles, feelers, and some tails are posable(I love saying that). There are wires also in some wings, like Bluebottle, to give them a stiff appearance. All but the Deluxe and Limited Edition monsters have small loops they can be suspended from - so you can create your own flight of dragons if you wish. All monsters with noses have a 'sinus passage' that a nose ring can be slipped through for an added effect. Some people like them, some don't. It's a free service you can opt for on the order form.
The Limited Edition monsters are hard-filled, to help define their bodies, and aren't, for the most part, posable. The first of the Limited Edition monsters is FANGSHUI, the Eastern Dragon. His 11 feet of coils _do not_ unwind. It takes approximately 14 hours to make one of these monsters, and several yards of embossed velvet, which isn't a forgiving fabric to work with - so by the time I've made 100 of them I'll be very glad never to see that pattern again. I don't intend to add more than 1 Limited Edition monster a year, probably around October.
Any order can be cancelled for a full refund up until I spend the money to get it into the mail. So if you change your mind, just e-mail me before 9am the morning after you placed the order and ask me to cancel and reverse the charges. I will happily do so. I check my mail late at night(est), and will start checking it in the morning before I go to the post-office just to make sure I've got no last-minute cancellations. You'll get a second confirmation note with the tracking number so you can follow your monster's progress through the mail service.
The designs and craftsmanship are all professional quality, but they are not cranked out by a factory -- just one woman who also has a full-time job. You will find small individual differences in each monster because each one is individually made. The lack of cheap reproduction (darn those child labor laws) also makes them more expensive. Because of this, I can't wholesale my monsters - I'm already charging the bare minimum for materials and labor. If you would like a listing of other Independent monster makers I've compiled, go to the links page. If you know of a great site that sells monsters that should be on the list, just contact Igor9 with the tentacle button.
Thanks for taking time to read this. Please enjoy Igor9's website.
Leigh Martin
aka Dr. Moraih