Juli Adams is a Seattle-based painter and mixed-media artist whose work touches on the dark and the macabre. Her earliest visual influences were illustrated children’s books like The Wind in the Willows and Alice in Wonderland, and comics like The Addams Family, Bloom County, and Peanuts. These works - and the worlds they contained - inspired her to begin making art using found materials, long before she picked up her first paintbrush.

“The universe I have created is a place where my characters are living a parallel life with us. They look out at us, as alive, confused and as in wonder as we are.” -Juli

The origins of the Plague Poppets can be traced to those early years spent creating objects from thought and emotion, however it was in 2020 that Juli first assembled them in physical form. Each was handmade, crafted with great attention to detail and incorporating a variety of colors and textures. Some were even made with pieces of Juli’s own clothes. However, while the process was slow, the Poppets themselves found homes as quickly as they were finished. First with Juli’s friends, then with strangers. Soon Juli was sending them off to other cities and states.

Owners began to send pictures of their Poppets back to Juli, treating them not as toys, but as companions in both daily life and on grand adventures. The Poppets, it seemed, were taking on lives of their own and bringing happiness to those whose homes they shared. And as her collection of photos grew, Juli began to wonder if there was a way to open the experience to more people, even if the lengthy assembly process made creating so many physical dolls impossible.

In 2022 Juli’s lifelong love for non-traditional art forms led her to the answer: the Poppets would enter the digital realm. As NFTs, each Plague Poppet could still retain its unique characteristics while allowing production to scale so that owners across the world might have a chance to experience adventures with their very own Small And Mighty Friends.