About the Designer
Bridget Garofalo is a 22-year-old artist who lives in the Washington D.C. area of the United States. Everything on this site - the art, characters, concepts, even the site layout and scripting - was done by her! She holds a deep adoration for all things cute and colorful and fluffy, and through her art wishes to convey warm & fuzzy feelings to the viewer. Her illustrations and ideas exist an a sweet and innocent place, to which the viewer can be transported.
The tools Bridget uses to create most of her work are mainly digital. A Wacom Bamboo Pen tablet is her human interface device of choice. For digital drawing and painting, her favorite software are Paint Tool SAI and Corel Painter Essentials, while Adobe Photoshop Elements is used mainly for non-creative technical aspects of design. When sketching designs with traditional media, a mechanical pencil and plain sketchbook are used, but these early stages of creation are not often shared with the public.

When sewing, Bridget uses a White brand sewing machine and materials all purchased from Jo Ann Fabrics. Specific materials used in her textile work are listed on the Textiles page in every entry.

About Kawaii Culture
If you are meandering around the Internet one day and stumble across a colorful image of a carton of milk with beady eyes and an innocent smile plastered on its surface, you've just stumbled into kawaii territory. Those familiar with this phenomenon are already conjuring up images in their head of food and inanimate objects that have been personified with shining eyes and exaggerated expressions. Oftentimes, simplified shapes and unnatural colors are also attributed to art that falls under the kawaii category.

"Kawaii" is the Japanese word for "cute." Japan is the source for these sparkly-eyed critters and objects, but other countries have caught on to the endearing trend and now there is no geographical limitation on kawaii sources. While the images may seem juvenile in nature, products bearing kawaii art are largely targeted for grown women and teenagers. The male population is not to be left out, of course - if any fellow finds his heart melting at the sight of a purple kitten with its oversized head iced and decorated to resemble a cupcake, there is certainly no shame in that, and he should nevermind what his friends say.

For further reading and examples on the subject, a Google search is only a click away. Searching on Deviant Art is another effective means of finding examples.

About Lolita Fashion
Another Japanese influence worms its way into the hearts of women and girls all the world over. Lolita is a Japanese street fashion with a number of subcategories, but overall it involves femenine dresses and layers of frill, all pulled together with coordinating hair pieces, socks, shoes, and accessories. Its main defining characteristic is the 'cupcake silhouette,' which is accomplished with a bell-shaped skirt that is reinforced by an appropriately poofy petticoat.

Lolita is a legitimate fashion and is not a costume or fetishwear. It is not entirely clear to this author why "Lolita" was chosen as the name for the fashion, as the term seems to evoke images of negative connotations to the casual observer. However, the true intent of Lolita fashion is entirely innocent, as described by one of the top clothing brands, Angelic Pretty; "...Adorable clothing covered in lace, frills and ribbons like that of the fairytale princess you dreamed about as a little girl. We want girls to never lose sight of that dream..."

Some individuals refer to the style as "Quaintrelle" in order to avoid bringing up those negative connotations when explaining the fashion to those unfamiliar with it. "Quaintrelle" implies Rococo-inspired, feminine connotations, which is closer to what most followers of the fashion wish to achieve by dressing in the style. For this reason, referring to the style by this name is sometimes preferred. Quaintrelle as a style is further explained here.

For further reading on Lolita fashion, Wikipedia is an okay choice, but this article details it better, and lists accurate specifications for each of the styles. For examples of Lolita clothing, it's easiest to peruse the online shops for these two of the (many) brands, Angelic Pretty and Baby The Stars Shine Bright.