Category Archives: Uncategorized

Pay-It-Forward Penguins

Posted on by

At Lilac City Comicon 2019, I had someone come to my table. He paid the adoption price for a costumed penguin and asked me to find a good home for one of our penguins. It was hard to do so because all of the children I saw after that had brothers and sisters. If I gave one child a penguin, I would need to give all the children a penguin. Since I only had one pay-it-forward penguin, I had to use my patience and wait for the right moment.

A girl in pink came to our table with her friend and loved our penguins. She asked about the adoption prices, touched the penguins and sighed. She left without a penguin. I kept watching the children go by. Some just ran by the table without stopping. Others glanced at the table but kept moving. Parents wrangled their kids away from looking at the penguins.

If we would have had a pay-it-forward penguin on the first day of Lilac City Comicon, I know exactly who would have gotten it. A little girl loved our penguins so much, she cried when her dad said she couldn’t have one. I felt bad for the father. He eventually bought Lucky at a discount, but she didn’t want a tiny penguin. She wanted a regular-sized penguin she could love. I offered to take Lucky back, but the dad declined. We can’t go back and change the past.

The girl in pink came back to our table and asked which of the penguins were $25. I pointed at our two penguins without costumes, and she pulled out her money. Then I said that we had a pay-it-forward penguin, so she could choose any penguin she wanted. Her eyes lit up, she started laughing, and she chose Flopsy Penguin dressed in her pink bunny outfit.

Both Jenya and I would love to give every child we see one of our penguins. (Some adults need them, too.) It’s just not financially feasible.

Just recently, one of the people who has already adopted a penguin from us asked if it were possible to pay a penguin forward. Brilliant! If you want to pay the adoption process of a penguin and find someone who will love it, we will do so. Our next scheduled event is at Salem Holiday Market in Oregon; we’d love to be able to give away some penguins there! All you have to do is go to our pay-it-forward page and pay the adoption fee. You don’t even have to worry about shipping and handling!

Why I am (Finally) Starting an Email List

Posted on by

I’ve been struggling with this idea of a mailing list ever since Russell Nohelty told me I needed to get one. There are several reasons for this struggle, which I will get into in later posts, but here’s the main reason I’ve decided to go ahead and see if I can build a good contact list:

It will help me keep in touch with you better.

Really, the main reason for any email list is to help keep people informed of what’s going on in the artist’s/author’s/penguin maker’s world without having to worry about an algorithm or some other business suddenly deciding that everything coming from your entire website is spam and won’t be shown to anyone on that platform.

To keep you in the loop and let you in on our processes and our lives, this email list provides the best solution. I wanted to keep it on Patreon where I was doing a newsletter every month, but people haven’t been interested in paying a dollar for it, yet. So, this email list doesn’t cost you anything. Other benefits include (what else you’ll get):

  • Pictures of stuffed penguins
  • Updates on new releases in books
  • Links to travel photos
  • A creativity tip or two
  • Discounts
  • Notifications of our events
  • Did I mention that it’s free (for you)?

Hopefully, this won’t just be a one-way conversation. As an author, I need feedback, and building a virtual community hasn’t really been easy so far. So, if you’re interested in the benefits, please sign up for our email list. (It’s in the beginning stages on July 14, 2019, so there may be some bugs.) We plan in sending out a couple of updates immediately and then once a month – say on the 15th of the month. Of course, you can always join our Patreon and see the great content you get access to there. You can also follow us on our social media accounts; check out the links in the footer below.

Thanks so much,

Shad and Jenya

#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } /* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */ #mc-embedded-subscribe-form input[type=checkbox]{display: inline; width: auto;margin-right: 10px;} #mergeRow-gdpr {margin-top: 20px;} #mergeRow-gdpr fieldset label {font-weight: normal;} #mc-embedded-subscribe-form .mc_fieldset{border:none;min-height: 0px;padding-bottom:0px;}

Subscribe

* indicates required
Email Address *
First Name
Last Name
Marketing Permissions

Please select all the ways you would like to hear from penguinate.com:

Email Direct Mail Customized Online Advertising

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. For information about our privacy practices, please visit our website.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp’s privacy practices here.

//s3.amazonaws.com/downloads.mailchimp.com/js/mc-validate.js(function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]=’EMAIL’;ftypes[0]=’email’;fnames[1]=’FNAME’;ftypes[1]=’text’;fnames[2]=’LNAME’;ftypes[2]=’text’;fnames[3]=’ADDRESS’;ftypes[3]=’address’;fnames[4]=’PHONE’;ftypes[4]=’phone’;fnames[5]=’BIRTHDAY’;ftypes[5]=’birthday’;}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true);

Pay-It-Forward Penguins Take Flight

Posted on by

Checkers and his Bright Light Nails family were the first to jump in and pay the adoption fees for one of our Pay-It-Forward Penguins. Checkers has been having so much fun in New Zealand that he and his family decided to help someone else experience the joy of having a stuffed penguin friend this holiday season.

Jenya and I were so excited when we saw that the first official Pay-It-Forward Penguin was already on its way within the first hour of posting the project on our website: www.penguinate.com. Join Checkers and Bright Light Nails this holiday season and pay a penguin forward for a child at the Salem Holiday Market in Oregon. We will also be donating a dollar to the Global Penguin Society for this penguin adoption.

Checkers is the salon penguin for Bright Light Nails. He loves chocolate and traveling through New Zealand when he isn’t helping with the great promotions and nail work being done in the salon. There’s been talk that he will get his own Instagram account, but for now, you can find him at the Facebook and IG accounts for Bright Light Nails. Thanks again to Checkers and his family!

(The first Pay-It-Forward penguin was adopted to a girl at Lilac City Comicon 2019. The adoption fees were paid anonymously. That interaction was one of the factors in creating an official program.)

What Is a Stuffed Animal?

Posted on by

A stuffed animal isn’t just a toy that sits on the shelf alone. It’s a series of stories that unfold over time. It is surrounded by friends, and central to the friend group is the person who has adopted the stuffed animal and its friends.

Stuffed animals can spark the imagination. They allow the person to create stories around the group interaction. These stories help the person deal with situations that may be painful or confusing. These stories may also help the person find a place in the world.

Each animal in the group will have its own personality: the confidante, the antagonist, the shy one… The imagination soars with each new story that the stuffed animal inspires and becomes a part of.

Our handmade stuffed penguins are built to last and made to be cuddly, warm and friendly. Our sincerest hope is that, as the person grows, our penguins will be there to listen, to provide playful encouragement and to be a friend for a lifetime of memories.

Children know the power and pleasure of stuffed animals. If you’ve forgotten, let our penguins help guide you back to childhood and all the wonder it can bring. If you haven’t forgotten or you have a child in your life who needs a soft friend, our penguins make the perfect gift. Find the penguin that is right for you or a friend and embrace your inner child.

Penguins Available for Adoption July 2019

Posted on by

For every penguin that gets adopted, we will donate $1 to the Global Penguin Society!

  • Blue Barry Penguin
  • Penguin Cottontail
  • Sally Penguin
  • Blue Penguin
  • Paul and Paula Penguin
  • Penelope Penguin
  • Queenie Penguin
  • Playful Penguin
  • Parker Penguin
  • Preston Penguin
  • Apple Penguin
  • June Penguin
  • December Penguin
  • April Penguin
  • May Penguin
  • Scarlett Penguin
  • Ragetti Penguin
  • Lotta Penguin w/Scarf
  • Steve Penguin
  • Espresso Penguin
  • Mikey Otto Penguin
  • CherryBeret Pie Penguin
  • CranBeret Penguin
  • Black Currant Penguin
  • RazzBeret Penguin
  • Peppermint Penguin
  • Hazel Penguin
  • Scrooge McPenguin
  • Partridge Penguin
  • McQueen Penguin

Press Release: Penguinate.com Donates to Global Penguin Society

Posted on by

After a successful first half of the year, Penguinate.com was able to make its first donation to the Global Penguin Society. Penguinate.com donates $1 for every adopted stuffed penguin from its website and the events the business attends.

“It feels good to do something that helps penguins,” says Jenya Engkilterra, who handmakes the plush penguins. “We’re just happy that we can do something for them.”

Penguins are a bellwether species for climate change. As the Antarctic ice melts and seal levels rise, penguins are facing a tougher environment than they may be able to survive.

The Global Penguin Society is an award-winning organization that educates people, protects habitats and observes penguin populations. It is dedicated to the conservation of the world’s 18 penguin species. The organization was the recipient of donations from the Walt Disney Company’s DisneyNature release “Penguins.”

Penguinate.com will continue to donate to the Global Penguin Society for the rest of 2019.

These Penguins Available for Adoption at Amazing Las Vegas Comic Convention 2019

Posted on by

For every penguin that gets adopted, we will donate $1 to the Global Penguin Society.

  • Blue Barry Penguin
  • Penguin Cottontail
  • Big Billy thumbs up
    Big Billy approves
  • Sally Penguin
  • I need a name!
  • Blue Penguin
  • Blue Penguin
  • Paul and Paula Penguin
  • Paul and Paula Penguin
  • Penelope Penguin
  • Penelope Penguin
  • Queenie Back
  • Queenie Detail
  • Queenie Penguin
  • Playful Penguin
  • Playful Penguin
  • Apple Penguin
  • Preston Penguin
  • Preston Penguin
  • Parker Penguin
  • Parker Penguin
  • Apple Penguin
  • June Penguin
  • June Penguin
  • December Penguin
  • December Penguin
  • May Penguin
  • May Penguin
  • April Penguin
  • April Penguin
  • Scarlett Penguin
  • Scarlett Penguin
  • Ragetti Penguin
  • Ragetti Penguin
  • I need a name!
  • Matcha Latte
  • Matcha Latte
  • Steve Penguin
  • Lotta Penguin w/Scarf
  • Lotta Penguin w/Scarf
  • Cap E. Chino
  • Cap E. Chino
  • Steve Penguin
  • Espresso Penguin
  • Espresso Penguin
  • Mikey Otto Penguin
  • Mikey Otto Penguin
  • CherryBeret Pie Penguin
  • CherryBeret Pie Penguin
  • CranBeret Penguin
  • Black Currant Penguin
  • RazzBeret Penguin
  • Peppermint Penguin
  • I need a name!
  • I need a name!
  • I need a name!
  • Hazel Penguin
  • I need a name!
  • Scrooge McPenguin
  • I need a name!
  • I need a name!
  • Detail
  • I need a name!
  • Partridge Penguin
  • McQueen Penguin
  • Big Billy

Go Worldwide with Your Comic Con Experience

Posted on by

Comic conventions are known for bringing people from different fandoms to the same place to celebrate each other. When local people come together with travelers from farther way, it is a beautiful thing. Marvel, DC, Star Wars, Star Trek and other fandoms can truly admire and enjoy the conversations and the artistry that goes into cosplaying. While all of this goes on in a specific geographical area delivering wonderful results to the area, there’s no reason why those results have to be kept local.

If you’re headed to Lilac City Comicon 2019, Ogden UnCon, and/or Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con 2019, your comic convention experience can extend beyond your city and state. By purchasing one of our penguins, a portion of the proceeds ($1 per penguin) will be donated to the Global Penguin Society.

Our stuffed penguins are soft, cute, cuddly and handmade. They’re great companions and mascots, and the love to cosplay. Because the eyes are hand embroidered, each penguin is unique. The costumes the penguins wear are handmade as well and often take as much time to make as the penguin itself.

If you’re looking to do something more with your comic con experience, our booth is a great place to start. Act local. Think global. Buy a penguin.

Join our Patreon and save money at our convention and community events. Join by May 31, 2019.

Old Creativity and New Creativity collide in ‘Happy Feet’

Posted on by

In “Happy Feet,” every penguin has a heart song that he or she uses to find a mate. If the songs work together, the penguins marry and have eggs. The heart song is so important that a penguin isn’t a penguin without it. When Mumble is hatched with feet that compel him to dance, his father is worried and upset. He admonishes his son to keep his feet still; he knows other penguins wouldn’t understand.

Time proves his father right. His dancing is seen as an afront to the Great ‘Guin, and Mumble gets blamed for the lack of fish. Mumble doesn’t think that the accusation makes any sense. Mumble is ultimately banished from the penguin community. He goes to find the real culprit responsible for the missing fish – people. In the end, it’s Mumble’s happy feet that save the penguin community from starving as humans take an interest in the him, and after he teaches his penguin community to dance, the penguin colony on the ice.

Singing and dancing are creative acts, but if a person or penguin keep singing the same song, the act loses its creativity. Creativity must be something new. In the case of “Happy Feet,” it’s the dancing that is creative, and because it’s new, it threatens the status quo. Mumble, its initiator, gets punished for his creativity. When he returns to the community, his new creative act saves the penguins.

People rely on creativity to continue to adapt and grow, as a species and as individuals; people are also threatened by anything that’s new. It’s the paradox of creativity: human beings need it to survive and embrace it in words, but fear the change that comes with it and reject it out of hand. Creativity can be great and terrible. It’s up to us to embrace the innovations that will solve current problems and to encourage those creative acts that bring more beauty and true enjoyment, like dancing and singing, to life.

For more on creativity, get “Disneyland Is Creativity: 25 Tips for Becoming More Creative.” Order “Penguinate! Essays and Short Stories: Improve Your Creativity for a Better Life and World.” Preorder “The Haunted Mansion Is Creativity.”

Press Release: Penguinate.com Raising Money to Save Penguins

Posted on by

For Immediate Release                     Contact: Shad Engkilterra, penguinate.com
Email: shadexaminer@gmail.com

$1 from each penguin sold until July 1, 2019 will go to Global Penguin Society

Penguinate.com will donate $1 for every stuffed penguin it sells between now and July 1, 2019 to the Global Penguin Society (GPS) through the Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN).

 “What can be funnier than a penguin that is running to hug you,” said Jenya Engkilterra, penguin designer at penguinate.com. “Maybe he’s not running to hug you. He’s just running, but it doesn’t make it any less funny.”

Penguinate.com’s handmade penguins are made of faux fur and stuffed with holofiber. The eyes are hand embroidered, which gives every penguin a unique look and means there are no hard pieces for children to swallow. Our penguins love to cosplay, and costumes can be made to order.

Product Availability

Handmade stuffed penguins can be ordered at penguinate.com. They will also be featured at the penguinate.com booths at Lilac City Comicon 2019 in Spokane, WA, from June 1 – 2, Ogden UnCon 2019 in Ogden, UT, from June 7 – 9, and Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con 2019 in Las Vegas, NV, from June 14 – 15.

“Our penguins are made to bring joy and happiness to the world,” said Shad Engkilterra, Owner at penguinate.com. “We want to honor the birds that inspired so many happy moments for us and those who have adopted our stuffed penguin friends.”

Penguins and the Charities

Of the 18 species of penguins, only the Galapagos Penguin lives north of the equator. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists 10 of the species as vulnerable or endangered.

“We are concerned about penguins and their environment,” said Jenya Engkilterra. “We want to save penguins in the wild.”

Charity Navigator rates WCN with a score of 100 out of 100 and four stars. Over 90 percent of donated funds go to programs to protect wildlife. GPS has partnered with WCN and its president, Pablo Garcia Borboroglu, was awarded the National Geographic Buffet Award 2018. The organization also received the Whitley Gold Award in 2018.

DisneyNature chose GPS and WCN to receive a portion of the box office take in the first week for the “Penguins” scheduled to be released April 17, 2019.

###

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

For more information, press only:

Shad Engkilterra

shadexaminer@gmail.com

For more information on Product:

http://www.penguinate.com

Penguin Charity Press ReleaseDownload