Vinyl Toys » Customizers

zdenek55 – Customizers behind the Scene

DragonHo — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:32:20 +0000

Tell me something about you?

I am a self taught artist out of the U.S.A. I paint and listen to Gorillaz. I love painting and hope my arms never fall off so I can paint forever. I go by two names: “zdenek55″ and “sense”

I am currently working as a full time artist out in the woods of Maine. I split my time between Boston and San Diego. I work with my wife of “maytreeark handbags” in our “floating studio” We recently collaborated and are working on some plush dolls for an upcoming show at Monkeyhouse Toys in L.A.

What is your favourit DIY Toy?
My favorite DIY toy is the 10″ MadL, it is such a cool platform and I tend to like any MadL I see! I also love to customize the DIY Hazel by Kathie Olivas. But it all started with the munny.

Where you get your inspiration from?
I get my inspiration from nature and the people all around me. I am also inspired by all the great artists of the world from architects to musicians. and finally by the drive to be something better everyday.

Since when are you doing Vinyl toys?
I started painting on toys in 2004 when I got my first munny. I haven’t stopped since.

How large is your private Vinyl toy Collection?
My vinyl collection has grown and shrunken often over the years. I love to have new toys but sometimes it gets out of control. I try to just keep what I really love, and for some reason that is alot of Glow in the Dark stuff. I still wish I had my Mr. Bunny by Joe Ledbetter, that was definitely a favorite of mine.

What will be your next Project?
I am expecting a release of my Qee design sometime soon. I am also currently finalizing some sketches on a new figure and hope for a 2010 release.

http://www.zdenekjanda.com

Jared – Customizers behind the Scene

DragonHo — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:30:20 +0000

My name is Jared, I’m 28 and I had a pretty normal childhood. My parents are still married and allowed me to explore any and all interests I had. I grew up in the suburbs of upstate NY and I played video games, watched cartoons, went to summer camp, played soccer and had a number of part time jobs starting at the age of 11. I learned to work hard at an early age and found it very gratifying to earn something I wanted. I was good in school but got into trouble as I often times found the work to be too easy and ended up screwing around or distracting my friends who needed to be paying attention. But by the time I graduated from high school the only thing that REALLY got me excited was painting and drawing…basically creating things with my hands. I had wanted to be an engineer for a long time but ultimately didn’t have enough interest in the math to keep me interested but I maintained a love for solving physical problems. I took my interest in art and enrolled at University at Buffalo in 2000 with a concentration in Communication Design. There I played collegiate D1 soccer for 3 years, started my 7 year stint as an Applebee’s server and learned a lot about art, art history, graphic design… and life. I graduated in 2004 with a BFA in Communication Design. I didn’t feel my portfolio was very strong so I did some research and found s school in Atlanta Georgia named The Portfolio Center. It was a portfolio school and its sole purpose was to help you develop a great portfolio. While there I earned an internship at Pentagram NYC and ended up working and living there from January to April 2006. This is where I got my first taste of urban vinyl. Through a friend I ended up at a release at Kidrobot NY and was instantly hooked. From there I went to several other vinyl oriented art exhibitions and releases. Visited all the stores throughout the city like Toy Tokyo and Toy Qube. My interest waned some once I got back to Georgia but it never went away. I graduated from The Portfolio Center in October of 2006 and quickly found a job also in Atlanta at an agency named Finished Art. It will be 3 years this upcoming February since I started working as a professional Graphic Designer. Through my work I get to work on various high profile corporate accounts like ATT, Disney and Coca-Cola but our agency is quite small, about 30 people, and is firmly grounded with a strong creative spirit. My boss allows me to maintain a silk screen printing set up here at the office and I have access to all of the top of the line software and hardware that I use during my regular work day. When it comes to my custom work, so far it has been an interest that takes a back seat to my day job but I still manage to spend hours and hours every week working on different projects. I used to be involved in a coalition of sorts back when we were primarily designing and printing limited edition t-shirts, but now I work alone. My work space is in my apartment that I share with my beautiful and supportive girlfriend Amanda and our entire apartment is filled with toys. When I met Amanda she already had a very large Pez dispenser collection so it seemed to me we were a perfect match.

Favorite DIY Toy:

My favorite platform to work on is actually a Dunny which doesn’t come as a blank toy. I’ve made dozens of Dunny’s and I find that the form lends itself to innumerable modifications and possibilities. In my work I try and bring something new and innovative to every piece I make thus I try and think about the platform in a new way each time and the Dunny has worked out really great for me so far. Though I have yet to tackle one of the many I have, the DIY Bambaboss by 3A is probably my favorite DIY toy right now. It is huge—13 inches—it comes with 3 interchangeable faces and he just has the potential for so many different things. I have several commissions at the moment that are keeping me from starting a Bambaboss.

Where I get inspiration from?

Most of my recent work has been commissions so people have come to me with ideas. This way of working is very familiar to me as a Graphic Designer because this is typically the way work comes to us from large corporate accounts. They basically know exactly what they want and we put our creative spin on it. The way I ended up gaining so much recent interest was I created a series of 3” Dunnys based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles…and that idea came from something that I draw a lot of inspiration from —my life and life experiences. I feel that since no one alive has lived the same life and had the same experiences these differences give us all a unique point of view and thus most peoples work will be inherently different.

Since when have I been doing vinyl toys.

While I was living in NYC from January to March 2006 Kidrobot released their very first Munny and had their very first Munny paint contest. The piece that entered was the very first vinyl toy I ever painted and I still have it displayed at my home. I was living in a room in a share on the Lower East side and didn’t have the space or resources to really attack the piece like I wanted so I painted the whole thing with sharpies and paint pens. My piece didn’t win but ever since I have had a deep rooted interest in customizing vinyl toys. I didn’t do another one until I moved back to Atlanta where in the following year I did Munnysaurus Wrecks and Munny Raptor. I started doing pieces here and there for shows and ever since my Ninja Turtle Dunny’s dropped in March of this year I’ve been super busy with commissions.

How large is my private collection?

I spend a good deal of money on my toy collection. You could say that all the money and more I make painting customs goes into paying for materials and buying more toys. I still collect Dunny’s but mostly because I can use anyone I don’t want as customs, but the majority of what I buy now are from Super 7 and 3A. I love the Zombies put out by Super 7. Not only are the sculpts fantastic but the paint applications and diversity are awesome. The Monster Family pieces are really nice too. And I’ve been collecting the World War Robots from Ashley Wood ever since the first Bertie was released at NYCC in January of 2008. I have several of the 1/6 robots as well as a number of the 1/6 action figure type pieces including Blanc De Plume, Tomorrow King and Boiler Zomb. I sill buy specialty pieces from particular artists and other things from Real x Head, Gargamel and Secret Base… so I guess for the most part I get things that I like and try not to pidgeon hole my collection but I have been tending to lean towards Eastern Vinyl. Ultimately, my collection fills out almost all the free shelving space in our apartment including 2 Detolfs and I still have some things put away in storage. It’s a decent collection but I’ve definitely seen people whose collection makes mine look pathetic.

What is my next project.

I am currently working on bunch of commissions that will probably take me into next year. I’ve been really lucky because based on the work that I’ve done people with similar interests and aesthetics have been coming to me with really great ideas for customs. That’s a great thing about working with other people is you get to work on things that appeal to you but you may have never thought of as a custom. Beyond my commissions I am in the process of trying to put together a collaboration series with another amazing customizer who frequents the Kidrobot Forums. That could be taking shape in the early months of 2010. I am also trying to put together a show that would probably be in March or April of next year at a vinyl shop in Louisville Kentucky called Ultra Pop( HYPERLINK “http://ultra-pop.com/” http://ultra-pop.com/). I’ve got some ideas for a few other Dunny series but right now they’re gonna have to be on the back burner. It is still not for sure, but I hope to be a part of the Discussion Board Artist Series 2 on the Kidrobot Forums. Series 1 is almost a wrap and will be dropping in less than a month and I have a piece in that series so I hope to do Series 2 as well.

pottstarr – Customizers behind the Scene

DragonHo — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:21:38 +0000

Tell me something about you?
- Hello, my name is M. G. Litan / pottstarr and I’m from Laguna, Philippines. I’m a freelance graphic & web designer and I customize toys whenever I get the chance.

What is your favorite DIY Toy?
- It would have to be the 7″ Munny.

Where you get your inspiration from?
- There’s a lot of things that inspire me – paper cut art, egg carving, japanese art, great packagings, tattoo designs, music, works of Kathie Olivas, Simone Legno, Murakami and many other great artists..

Since when are you doing Vinyl Toys?
- I started customizing toys last year, that’s also the same time I started collecting them.

How large is your privat Vinyl toy Collection?
-I got fairly good amount of toys in my room. You could say more than a hundred and I got a lot of them still in their boxes coz I ran out of space to display them.

What will be your next Project?
-I’m now working on a Mega Munny for a private collector. I’m really excited about this one coz I’ll be using a really cool lighting. Please watch out for it.

http://pottstarr.multiply.com

slobot – Customizers behind the Scene

DragonHo — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 08:59:16 +0000

Tell me something about you?

I am Mike Slobot. I have been working on my own brand of robots for the past several years called “the Slobots”. The Slobots are found object sculptures, and I also use some vinyl toys in their creations. The Slobots are friendly robots and most of them have stories that go along with them.

What is your favourit DIY Toy?

my favorites are 8” Qee and the 10” Madl.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

I look at everyday objects, and usually get an idea for a new robot by the shape of a toy or a plastic cup or bottle. I really like plastic items, so I use a lot of that as the found object parts of my Slobots. I also really like pop art and bright colors.

Since when are you doing Vinyl toys?

I started making custom toys in 2005 when I entered the Play Imaginative Trexi contest, but my first full scale slobot was for the Munny Show at Uberbot in Florida in late 2005.

How large is your private Vinyl toy Collection?

My collection is pretty small, and mostly just items I pick up once in awhile. I have some madl’s from the first release, a few 8” dunnys, and some other stuff. I would love to buy more stuff to keep, especially some of the stuff from Unklebrand, but I usually end up customizing more everything.

What will be your next Project?

My next project is completing the Slobots for the Toy Karma 2 show at Rotofugi, as well as some other items that I have been working on to put in my webshop. Upcoming Art Shows: Robolucha show in Turkey, Germany, UK (flyer attached), Dog Days End of Summer Show in West Virginia USA (flyer attached), and Toy Karma 2 at Rotofugi in Chicago, USA (http://www.maxtoyco.com/toy_karma/)

http://www.slobots.com
http://slobot.etsy.com

Josh a.k. @fplus – Customizers behind the Scene

DragonHo — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 05:58:18 +0000

Tell me something about you?

I’ll start with a fun fact: I’m 6′8″ which makes me probably one of the tallest vinyl artists out there. Ironically, I’m also a horrible basketball player, since I’ll never make it to the NBA, I do art for a living. I recently transitioned to freelance work from a steady 9-5 gig, it’s been a bit scary to get into, but so far, the response has been very positive! Also, this opportunity has given me more time to invest in my brand and namesake: f+. I have big plans for f+, as it is basically a world of limitless possibilities and characters. My goal is to get it to reach, touch, and inspire as many people as I can. I want people to really be able to immerse themselves in the f+ world and character, not just paint some nameless, meaningless critters that are strictly aesthetic.

What is your favourite DIY Toy?

it’s hard to pick one, I haven’t really found one I don’t enjoy yet! Personally, I think my favorite piece to work on has been the pusher, I just love the idea of the interchangeable masks. It’s funny because it’s one of the few customs I haven’t done any build out parts for, I just enjoyed the original shape of the piece that much I guess! *

Where do you get your inspiration from?

I get my inspiration from everything i suppose, but that’s obviously a broad answer. I think the thing I love about this scene is you can use anything to influence your work, and there’s usually a dedicated group of people that can identify with it. I think in many ways, that was my attraction to low brow art in the first place. It’s accessibility.*

Since when are you doing Vinyl toys?

This will be my third year making custom toys. It’s been a blast, with a lot of trial and error. i think this is the first year I can say I’ve really got my swing down with this stuff now. I can feel pretty certain that any piece I take on from this point on, I can handle and deliver to my level of expectations.

How large is your private Vinyl toy Collection?

My collection isn’t as big as I’d like it to be. mainly single colorways of a particular piece and mini figs. Most of the toys I buy, i end up customizing for one reason or another, and then they usually end up living with someone else! I wish i could focus on collecting more, but these days, it’s hard to keep up with all the amazing pieces out there! I guess I have it easier than some as I’m not much of a completionist, I try not to lose sleep over stuff like that (although I could, easily).

What will be your next Project?

I’ve got so many projects right now, I can’t even see straight! But I’ve got some great stuff in the works, should be interesting to see how the year shakes out.

I’ll give you couple things to keep an eye out for coming up:
for those who like to rock, I’m currently putting the finishing touches on a five figure theme set of custom mini munnies to be released through my webshop around August 12th (my birthday, hint! hint!) so keep an eye out for those. Also, I just re-did and updated my website www.fplusnever.com so make sure to take a gander at the new layout.

Also, I’m painting a new body of work, mainly a bunch of smaller pieces for a show I’m yet to announce. (it’s going to be crazy!)

And there’s a couple other big juicy things in the works, but for now we’ll leave it at that.

Latest News: f+ has a piece in the Munny grubbers show at Just Blazed in Phoenix, AZ, Friday, August 7th.

http://www.fplusnever.com
http://www.fplus.bigcartel.com

BleedingEdges – Customizers behind the Scene

DragonHo — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:02:55 +0000

Tell me something about you?
My name is Jeff DeSantis, but when I do toys I go by the name “BleedingEdges.” I’m a freelance graphic designer and illustrator. Most of my clients are music related, but I have done work for a variety of clients. I like to work with spray paint and stencils. I started doing stencils right after college to make t-shirts, then it eventually worked it’s way onto canvas. After about 6 years, I’m fairly comfortable with the medium. When I work on toys, I make a stencil out of blue painter’s tape and sometimes cut directly on the toy. I like how the spray paint lays on the vinyl, giving it an almost professionally manufactured look. I am involved in an art collective called the Autumn Society of Philadelphia. We’ve been having art shows fairly regularly, and have a blog where members can post their current work. I also pass time playing bass in WORMEATERS (http://myspace.com/wormeaters) and SPG (http://myspace.com/spgspecialpatrolgroup ), and have done the record covers/ layouts for both bands. I also sing in a new band called BLOODTYPE (http://myspace.com/bloodtypexxx).

What is your favorite DIY Toy?
I’ve been trying various DIY vinyl platforms. Ideally what I look for is a surface that’s not too detailed and one that comes apart easily. The Munnys come apart very easily, and are so diverse that you can make a variety of different characters. I’ve only done a 5″ MAD*L, but it really made me want to do the larger 10″. The shape is so simple, yet so dynamic that it’s real fun. The worst one I’ve worked with was Bizarregoylz, the vinyl was flimsy and the paint took forever to dry.

Where you get your inspiration from?
My art style is heavily influenced by Pop Art (Warhol/ Lichtenstein), as well as art from punk flyers and album covers. Since I work in spray paint, when I was starting out I looked up to Shepard Fairey and Banksy. I try to bring the things I love into my art, whether it’s pirates or something related to hardcore/punk. I’m also a big fan of Mexican Dia de los Muertos style art and luchadors. Most of my toys have X’s on their hands as a tribute to the Straight Edge lifestyle. I myself am sXe, and feel that if Kozik’s toys can smoke mine can be EDGE.

Since when are you doing Vinyl toys?
I made my first Mini Munny when I got laid off from my full time job last October. At the time I had a few Dunnys, Mongers and some others. I bought one on a whim just to see what I can do with it, and have been hooked ever since. Not working a full time job has given me a lot more time to focus on my painting and illustration.

How large is your private Vinyl toy Collection?
I was about to say not very big, but as I look around my desk I’m surrounded by vinyl toys. I suppose if I had more room to display them my collection wouldn’t seem so big, but I’d say it’s a respectable size considering I’ve only been collecting for less than a year. My favorite is the “Something for Nothing” Hooded Zombie by Super 7. They had a promotion where if you lost your full time job and were unemployed, they would send you that toy for free. That’s probably the coolest thing any company could do!

What will be your next Project?
I’m currently working on a piece for the Autumn Society’s “8-Bit and Beyond” video game themed art show. We also have a Dia De Los Muertos themed show coming up in October that I’m very excited about. I also have 2 pieces in the Golden Age show currently on display at Brave New World Comics (http://www.bravenewworldscomics.com ) in Philadelphia, PA. My Bax Bear custom is currently on display at the Artist’s Eye (http://www.myspace.com/toygallery ) as part of their Bax Bear custom show, and won an honorable mention. I just finished 2 shirt designs for COKE BUST (http://www.myspace.com/cokebust ), which you can get on their US tour this summer. I’m also working on the record cover art for the Wormeaters. I’m also collaborating on a series of resin figures with Sandtastic Toys. They’re doing the sculpting, and I’m designing the backer cards. Similar to the style of the Sucklord’s bootleg figures, these are figures of rocker cliches. Our toy first will be the Emo Kid. At least I’m currently working on 2 custom Mallows for Shocker Toys to be on display at SDCC.

http://bleedingedges.net
http://bleedingedges.net/blog
http://twitter.com/BleedingEdges
http://theautumnsociety.blogspot.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bleedingedges

Frank Mysterio – Customizers behind the Scene

DragonHo — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 05:03:50 +0000

Frank Mysterio – Customizers behind the Scene – Draft

Tell me something about you?

My name’s Rafael Pantoja, my pseudonym is “Frank Mysterio” a mix of wrestlers names, by day i work as graphic designer in a big studio here on Mexico city, by night and weekends i work by myself on my stuff, my favourite theme for my illustrations and custom toys is the mexican “Lucha Libre”, is something i got since childhood, also i like it because i can show an important part of Mexican culture to the world, even i got my own mask which i wear since “Frank Mysterio” born, 6 years ago.

The inspiration as i said before is the “Lucha libre”, (by the way, i got tattoos of my favourite wrestlers!)

The DIY toy wich i like the most maybe is the Toyer Qee from Toy2R, the first time i paint one i really like it, was nice and easy to work on. if you want proof that this is my favourite toy…

I almost got 3 years working on vinyl toys, my first piece was a munny for a friend, my personal collection is close to 300 pieces, goes from designer toys, weird and old toys of every kind, kaiju toys, platforms DIY and Mexican folk art toys. The next project I’m working on is a DIY toy in resin, “Karuzo” is a collaboration with Chauskoskis, is on it final stage, just matter of weeks for the release…

http://walterjacott.blogspot.com/ Actually I’m planning to put a show with all my customs, and participate in some events in other countries in which i was invited to custom some pieces, and keep working hard to put my work on the eyes of the world.

http://frankmysterio.blogspot.com/

JonPaul Kaiser – Customizers behind the Scene

DragonHo — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:27:53 +0000

Tell me something about you?
Well, I’m jonpaulkaiser, I’m from the UK. During the day I work as a menswear designer, mainly designing licensed t-shirts. At night I eat too much, take the dog for a run and paint toys.

What is your favourit DIY Toy?
I have a few favourites, Kidrobot Munnys and Mini-Munny’s are hard to beat, very rarely is there a QC issue, and some of the accessories are great. I’m also a big fan of the MADL, the 10″ one is HUGE, and it’s great to see a small company make such a sought-after DIY toy.

Where you get your inspiration from?
I take inspiration from all kinds of things; old gangster movies, Japanese history, Hellboy comics, the original Star Wars trilogy, toys and ‘adventures’ from when I was a kid, graffiti, graphic and fine art. I run quite often at night, jogging through woods and empty fields, and that lets my imagination run wild, and I think up all kinds of stories and ideas.

Since when are you doing Vinyl toys?
I’ve been doing Vinyl Toys for about 3 years now. I started making resin toys as part of Porlzilla, though we slowly would that down a little, and I’ve been concentrating on customs for over a year now.

How large is your private Vinyl toy Collection?
It’s quite large, I’ve got about a hundred or so figures, they’ve taken over the house a little…

What will be your next Project?
At the moment, along with a long list of customs to paint up I’m working on designs for a vinyl toy. I’ve designed a series which is being made, though I’m not sure when it’s out, and I’m currently looking for a producer for another of my designs.

jonpaulkaiser.bigcartel.com
jonpaulkaiser.blog.co.uk
flickr.com/photos/jonpaulkaiser

Collin David a.k. @robotbacon– Customizers behind the Scene + First Pictures of THE SPACEMAN

DragonHo — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:08:21 +0000

Tell me something about you?
Well, I’ve been painting and illustrating for as long as I can remember, but doing custom toys is relatively new for me. I’ve always collected toys and geek-artist stuff, but while writing for the now-defunct ToyCyte, I immersed myself in the whole toy culture and found a whole group of people who were thinking the same things I was, creatively.

I’m still trying to figure out if I’m any good.

What is your favourit DIY Toy?
Honestly, anything I can find inexpensively. I don’t think I’m in love with any of the blank forms as much as I love the idea of totally repurposing an existing toy that was never meant to be DIY. I love the Mallow because he’s just a huge canvas, and I like Mighty Muggs because they survive in the oven.

Where you get your inspiration from?
There’s a lot of inspiration in the whole art-toy scene – people like Bob Conge and Paul Kaiju, Cris Rose and Daniel Goffin and Monstrehero are really redefining the movement instead of just putting their signature mark on an existing thing, as much as I love seeing the 500th innovative Munny or MadL. I’ve recently been showing with some of these guys and it’s really pushed me to kinda kick my own ass to get up to par, and I love it.

I guess I try to pull as much inspiration as possible from places outside of the toy world too, so I don’t become too referential. Natural forms, unnatural forms, painterly things over ‘designy’ things. A lot of good stuff comes from either being half asleep or while I’m standing in the shower – no joke. I use up a lot of water trying to be creative.

Since when are you doing Vinyl toys?
I started doing vinyl toys a few years ago, but when I had my only piece stolen by a gallery, I gave it up for a few years. I started up again about a year ago and have been messing up perfectly good toys ever since.

How large is your privat Vinyl toy Collection?
I mostly collect mini figures, since the price point on the larger toys is a little bit ridiculous – but I have a few hundred mini figures at this point. Maybe less, now, since I started destroying them. I’m also known to drop serious bucks on a few choice resin pieces from people like Monstrehero and Cris Rose. That handmade stuff is absolutely worth the money.

What will be your next Project? I’m incredibly excited about making my own original wooden toy called ‘The Spaceman’. It’s made of wood, resin, magnets, lights and all kinds of awesome. I’m done with the prototyping and I’m happy how it turned out, so all I have to do is send it in for final production and get back to the garage to cast some more resin parts.

I’ve been dropping promotional images of The Spaceman for a few weeks now, but I’m giving you the first images of the actual prototype. It’s still going through a few changes as I price out final production and practicality – but I plan on a whole line of these, collaborating with different artists, more characters, pieces of a story.

Aside from that, I recently finished a set of custom Droplets (since I’d never seen anyone customize them before and they’re such a great form). I have work in the Robolucha, SDCC Mez-Itz and Into The Darkness shows, I’m working on the Munny Grubbers show, and I’m almost done with a set of custom mini-King Kens, just for fun.

Oh! Also, the Squidulons – a free series of papercrafts I’ve been working on!

http://www.resonantfish.com
http://resonantfish.bigcartel.com
Facebook Group

Jeremiah Ketner a.k. smallandround – Customizers behind the Scene

DragonHo — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 15:21:28 +0000

urban vinyl, desing art, art toys, desinger toys, smallandround

Tell me something about you?

Hello My Name is Jeremiah Ketner. I am a full time Artist by night and at home Dad by day. I moved to Chicago, IL a few months before the towers fell. Chicago is an engaging city with a rich and diverse culture, that has help propel my Artist Career. My Artwork ranges from paintings of fantastical creatures in imaginarily landscapes to serene female figures taking a moment to stop and smell the flowers. Primarily my artwork is focused on 2-D painting but I also love to develop toys and paint custom ones also.

What is your favorite DIY Toy?

Hands down, it would have to be the MadL sculpt by Mad. (http://www.madtoydesign.com/) I love working on both sizes 10″ and the more affordable 5″ figures. Every aspect of Mad’s toy is brilliant. I guess what I love about it is all of the flat surface areas. Plus the dynamics of the design are strong. No matter what you paint on this toy, it still ends up looking good.

Where you get your inspiration from?

There are so many inspiring things out there. Too many to list for me. If I was to give you a short list of things that inspire me everyday it would be; visits to the Chicago Botanical Gardens, Private gardens around my neighborhood, Japanese Aesthetics, Kimono patterns, and spending long days outside with my kids.

Since when are you doing Vinyl toys?

I started making vinyl customs after a “Funny Club Show” that Rotofugi (http://www.rotofugi.com) invited me to be part of. It was a large custom toy show and everyone who participated worked on a bb birdy toy by artist; Tony Shiau Nakanari. (http://www.flickr.com/people/nakanari/ ) Since then I was hooked on working with vinyl toys. I love the break from 2-D painting and its more of a challenge with each new toy I come across. Not only do I love to work on vinyl but I have also been making wooden toys. I love the smooth porous surface and being able to sculpt and design it my self is much more satisfying.

How large is your private Vinyl toy Collection?

Very small. I would love to collect more but I seem to just paint over most of the toys I buy. The toys I enjoy collecting and do not paint over are by Itokin Park (http://www.itokin-park.com/), I love his style. Tado (http://www.tado.co.uk/) is also a favorite, their toys are beyond cute. I love Travis Lampes Tear Drips. (http://www.travislampe.com/) Finally anther cherished piece in my collection is BUMBLE AND TWEET by Julie West (http://www.juliewest.com/)

What will be your next Project?

I have a few new things I am working on. One I am not allowed to talk about but I will say that it is a design for a platform toy that will be released sometime next year.
I am also working on some new wooden toys that will be hand made and painted on a very limited basis. I am planning on releasing them this fall. I just recently finished up a selection of custom Mini Munny’s (Sold out) and am working on a few MadL customs that will be available this July. One of them is a 10″ figure that I have invested countless hours of work into already. I have to catch up on some commission customs also.

Web Site: www.smallandround.com
Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/smallandround
Store: www.smallandround.bigcartel.com
Blog: http://www.smallandround.blogspot.com