The Chichi® quality management with Justin, The Grumpy Cat!

Miaow!

I am Justin, the grumpy cat of Curaçao, with the most precious white fur. Believe it or not, I’m the dog in the house; try me if you dare and you’ll see for yourself. If you ever hear the sentence: “watch out, this cat is a dog!” be careful, as I am probably the one and only feisty cat at Serena’s Art Factory. I often lie around in the factory, especially around Zusje, the production manager. I follow her wherever she goes, and I often stare at her to get food. I tend to avoid the shop, because I don’t like tourists that much. When Zusje is not around, I get feisty and upset! The rest of the humans are peanuts to me!

Since you are curious to know about the Chichi® quality management, I am going to tell you all about it. The most important part of the process is the felt, I think. The felt is used to prevent the surface of the sculptures from scratching and of course for esthetic reasons. The craftswomen take a couple of Chichi® dolls, the boxes filled with 22 different colors of felt, scissors, glue, painter numbers and labels to get started. Zusje is really focused on this process, because it is the finishing touches to the artworks. It takes 10 minutes to get each doll ready. Serena came up with these technics and taught the workers. They have been doing this for 10 years now. I know, because I am the first cat to ever step paws in the factory back in December 2008.

Zusje chooses a color of felt that matches the base color of the Chichi® sculpture. Some of the sculptures already have the Chichi® trademark poured into the material, but for others it needs to be glued on the sculpture. She sticks the felt and the number of the painter who painted the doll with glue. Afterwards, Zusje puts a label on the doll; have you seen its little perforated heart? She also retouches the paint around the felt. Crazy humans! They always exaggerate by painting the shapes on the bottom of the sculptures too. After retouching the sculptures, they are placed in the stockroom to wait for Serena’s signature. After she signed them, the artworks are ready to be displayed in the shop, and they are finally ready for their new home.

By Jade Mambre

2021, we miss you Justin.