Inspiration abounds

Kami Goertz is famous for her stuffed mushrooms, but it’s best not to bite into one of her portobellos unless you’re after a mouthful of wool and polyester. Goertz’s fantastical fungi, like the rest of the whimsical creatures in her squidgy soft-toy gang, are created entirely from fabric.

She’s lost count of how many lions manes, death caps, and penis envys she’s stitched in the last decade. “It’s definitely 100 plus,” she says, and her fascination with the sporophores continues unabated.

“The more I learned about them, the more I realized there was an endless variety. It’s hilarious how much variety there was beyond the white ones in the store. They come in so many different shapes and colours and forms,” she explains.

“I’ve definitely got a following of people who are mycologists, forestry folks, and people from the ecology scene. The more I learn and the more I share, the more people share with me. And now it’s become a challenge to see how many different ones I can make,” says Goertz.

She uses vintage materials and scrappy bits from thrift stores, reclaiming unwanted materials which may otherwise be discarded, to craft her figurines.

Her desire to anthropomorphize inanimate objects started 17 years ago when she was on maternity leave after having her daughter. “I thought, I have a year off from my work and I want to be creative. Yes, I am learning how to be a mum, but I can learn something for myself,” she recalls.

She needle-felted little owls, dubbed “office owls,” that could live on desks, keeping some for herself and giving others to a friend. Soon she was snatching any bit of time she had to herself to create, working from a little corner of her bedroom.

Goertz juggled multiple roles for years, perfecting her craft at any given opportunity—all while holding down her chef job and raising her daughter. Then, four years ago, she hung up her apron to take a punt on herself.

These days, she works from her design studio creating her unique Kami Goertz fabric characters inspired by nature, food, and anything that tickles her funny bone.

Goertz’s approach has always been to create items that reflect the world she wants to live in. She takes an intuitive, sculptural approach when embarking on her projects, eschewing pattern books and sketches, choosing instead to be led by a sort of back-and-forth dialogue.

“I like giving an identity to these objects we pass by every day. I think it’s funny to give characterization to fruits and vegetables and mushrooms and plants. I look at it and I imagine it looking back at me, telling me who it wants to become. It’s a conversation as I am creating. Each of them have their own character within the colour, shape and the way they appear,” she says.

While her toys are designed for play, her approach to making them is anything but casual. Goertz’s strict work ethic, developed from years spent in kitchens, sees her at her industrial sewing machine five days a week, Monday to Friday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

She’s currently up to her elbows prepping for October’s Comic Con, posting her latest pieces on her Instagram account.

“As much as I would hate to admit it, working in the kitchen has definitely informed my structure and business. I like keeping things regimented. I work like this because I am conscious of what I am doing. If I feel like I am not having fun then I will take a day to play, to try things out and make a mess and see what happens. I even schedule in time to do nothing at all. This way I am always looking forward to what’s next. It still feels like an adventure to me,” she shares.

For more, follow Kami Goertz’s creative journey and latest designs on her Instagram.

— av. [email protected]
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/2025/09/20/inspiration-abounds

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