About Cuddly Rigor Mortis

2008 was the year that changed my mind about designer plush. It began with the innocent-enough acquisition of two items: A Curster Yeti by Erin Currie and Frank by Kristin Tercek (aka Cuddly Rigor Mortis). Following that, my mind, and the floodgates, were open to plush. I kept in touch with Kris and watched as new creatures were born into the Cuddly Rigor Mortis stable. You can see how her interests in Japanese culture, animation and horror movies are reflected in the detailed dolls. And detailed they are: each of the sizable hand-sewn plushes comes with extra touches like embroidery and a birth certificate. If that conjures up an image of an Xavier Robert’s signature, hello to everyone else who was born in the late 70s! But with designs based on Universal Monsters and New Jersey lore, these ain’t no Cabbage Patch Kids. You can find the CRM crew on Facebook, or you can enter here to win a 13 x 15-inch custom Anubis plush in…

The Contest

Want to win this custom Anubis plush? Here’s how: Since Anubis was the Egyptian god of death and mummification, what sort of funeral would you like to have? Leave your idea in the comments section below. Kris will pick the best funeral concept and send the morbid toy fan the Anubis.

Please post your comment by June 21st at midnight PST. We will declare the winner on June 22nd, shortly before the next custoMONDAY. The contest is open to anyone, anywhere in the world. If you have already won a custoMONDAY in 2009, please feel free to share your creativity, but you are, regrettably, not eligible for the prize.

The Interview

When and how did Cuddly Rigor Mortis come about?

In 2004, I was faced with a relatively boring, humid NJ summer. I thought that my love of designer toys and plush could provide a distraction. So with no prior sewing skills, I started trying to make a plush toy. After a month of trying different designs, Mummy was born and my husband, Ed Mironiuk, encouraged me to keep going. I let the originals sit in our spare room for a year before Ed kicked me in the butt to get them ‘out there’. The response has been pretty surprising since I really haven’t promoted it and took it purely as a hobby.

Who in the CRM stable have been your favorite characters? Who was the toughest to make?

Every time I finish a Woofman I love him a bit more, but I curse making him. NJ Devil is a similar one: 22 pieces to trace, cut and stitch together is a tough thing to do. For me at least! But for hands-down all time toughest to make it’s absolutely a tie between Woofbot and Odin. Mold-making and stud-setting are tough when you’re not used to it.

How did the opportunity to license CRM happen, and where can ToyCyte readers find them?

We were already dealing with a company who were licensing Ed’s artwork for stickers. We then brought up CRM to them, figuring they might license the illustrations of the characters, but they wanted to make the dolls. www.yujean.com is the place to buy them.

Have you noticed an explosion in plush toys over the last couple years? Got any favorites?

There absolutely was an explosion, but it seemed to be about 4 or 5 years ago right around when I started CRM. Lots of little plush companies sprouted up along with loads of people pushing their wares on Etsy. But it was always a tough sell. I don’t think plush ever got the same response as vinyl did. It’s always been a matter of explaining to people that these are pieces of art to us and not a Beanie Baby. Plush artists don’t have scads of cheap labor to harness, and it usually comes down to one person designing, buying supplies, tracing, cutting patterns, sewing and shipping each and every plush. Yet, it’s difficult to ask the same price that you would get for an original painting that took the same amount of time. I think because of this and the current economic woes we all seem to be having, lots of my favorites have closed up shop and moved on. With that said, my first loves were: Friends With You, Anna Chambers and Ugly Dolls. I also have soft (or vinyl) spots for Murakami, Nagi Noda, Nathan Jurevicius, Tim Biskup, Kaws, Junko Mizuno, Tokidoki, Kathie Olivas and Tado.

Who makes up the CRM collector demographic?

We have always been amazed at the sheer diversity of our collectors. We have never been able to pinpoint just one demographic because it really is across the board. I’ve gotten emails from 6 year old boys and girls, all the way up to men and women in the military. And not just any military personnel but combat medics and special forces snipers. Hardcore men and women who get a smile from my plush work. I’m thankful everyday that the people who risk their lives to keep me safe get a kick out of my work. That and the kids. Ed and I don’t have any kids (just two chihuahuas) and never wanted them, but I get the biggest kick out of fan mail from kids. They make up stories, draw me pictures and come up with new characters. So cool. I wouldn’t have continued sewing for this long if I didn’t have so many amazing fans.

Say something that makes me miss New Jersey.

Guido-watching down the shore, you don’t have to pump your own gas and fried egg and pork roll sandwiches at the diner. Wow. I can’t believe I came up with three…

Please offer a sentence or two of advice to our governing bodies.

Please don’t forget about us. The people out there on our own, making our own work, starting or trying to keep their small businesses afloat. Our lives are tough enough as it is without having to fork over a mortgage-sized payment to get health insurance. Or having to deal with government regulations that completely disregard the fact that some businesses are just one person. The new CPSIA toy laws are making life miserable for small indie kid’s toy makers. Indie, arty, designer small businesses are the ones who never had a problem with lead paint–it was the huge Chinese manufacturers. Ugh…stop looking solely at fixing the huge corporations and start looking at HELPING the small businesses of America. We love this country too! (Anyone interested in seeing what the CPSIA is all about and how they can help small businesses please visit http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org)

What’s next for you and Cuddly Rigor Mortis?

I have always loved to paint. But instead of art school I went to NYU filmschool, animated, started an ink and paint business with Ed [Editor's note: they are responsible for the Saturday TV Funhouse shorts on SNL!] and then sewed plush toys. I love CRM. It’s a perfect reflection of me: Cute but deep down there’s something dark. So I’ve decided to start painting again and take a breather from the 25+ plush designs I usually have up in my shop at all times. I will keep the plush simple so I can start to explore other avenues for CRM like prints, T-shirts and a childrens’ book. Hopefully my fans will come along for the journey because that’s exactly what it is for me. I’m honestly not sure where it will end up but it’s so fun right now I can’t help but be excited.

Awesome! If anyone has a good T-shirt printing company suggestion for Kris, leave her a message in the comments. And the rest of you: start planning your funerals below. Best of luck with that!

About Rsin

The name Prozac Rsin, R-sin and Rsin popped up on a ton of shows we covered last year. I checked out his Flickr, and noticed he was crazy-customizing Munnys like they were going out of style. I remember thinking: “his name must be a commentary on toy-making as a remedy for depression.” Turns out I had part of it right. I’m in awe of how quickly Rsin can crank out these mini-masterpieces (all the while being a frequent tweeter). Rsin is part of the next generation of toy artists you will be hearing about everywhere, so take note. Interested in getting one of his signature Burning Bear Munnys? You can act fast and buy one here. Or take a chance and enter…

The Contest

“Life has gotten tough for a lot of people recently and ’cause of that I made the Hope mutt,” writes Rsin. “What do you do to release, to forget, and to make it all better, that does not involve drugs or alcohol?” Best answer (in the comments section below) gets the 7-inch custom Munny and limited edition Burning Bear print.

Please post your comment by June 7th at midnight PST. We will declare the winner on June 8th, shortly before the next custoMONDAY. The contest is open to anyone, anywhere in the world. If you have already won a custoMONDAY in 2009, please feel free to share your creativity, but you are, regrettably, not eligible for the prize.

The Interview

How did you get started customizing toys?

Not really sure how it happened. Four years ago my mother passed away from brain cancer, and at that time I wasn’t working, so I could help take care of my two sisters, and to just be there for my father. At that time I decided to start tattooing and did that for two years. I always was drawing and doing color pencil work, and pieces with Prismacolor markers, but never got into painting. First time I tried painting was 6-7 years ago and I hated it, had no control, no idea what I was doing. But I decided to try it again, and I loved it. I started painting in November of 2007, and within a week I finished my first Munny and a handful of canvases. I was hooked, the next week I ordered me a master case of Mini Munnys. Since then, I have done over 70 Mini Munnys; it’s been fun! I have no plans on stopping. I work on toys every night 7 days a week. I’d rather be doing this than anything else. I am open to customize just about anything, send something my way and I will do it. I got a Mega Munny that’s been begging me to custom, but I like it blank!

What is your favorite platform to customize?

Not really sure I have a favorite, but I have done a lot of Munnys and Dunnys. Mostly ’cause they are easy for me to get and cheap (which is good for us struggling artist, haha). I recently completed my first 10″ mad*L and had a blast working on that platform. There are a lot of platforms out there I’d like to work with one day, but I am still new to this, there is plenty of time.

What’s the scene like in PA?

More like no scene in PA, for some reason nothing happens here. Unless you are painting farms, Amish, or some covered bridges you’re pretty much nothing. We do have some local shops like Metropolis Gallery in Lancaster that have helped me by holding small events where I could show work. Besides that there is the Goggle Works here in Reading that’s supposed to focus on local arts, but once again they are very very picky as to who and what they show. Last year there was a local group formed called “Reading We Have a Problem” as a way for artists to meet and network, and to try and make a scene. Again its hard when you got no place to hold shows, or people who are willing to leave their house for a few hours and get involved.

Tell me about the combination of “prozac” and “resin”?

Well this is funny…so my nickname I guess a few years back was Prozac R-sin. Not really sure where it came from of, but that’s what it was. About 5-6 years ago I dropped it down to R-sin, and after a few months the “-” slowly disappeared. So I get “resin” a lot when its actually “Rsin (Arson)” I have thought about changing it, but I think its funny every time someone calls me Resin. For now I either go by Rsin or Rsinart.

I totally thought it was “resin!” Tell us about your custoMONDAY piece.

The burning bear is my logo I guess; it’s something I have been drawing for 7+ years. Its always been a bear hanging by a noose, and sometimes he’s on fire. I’m sure I have painted him over 50 times since I started, everyone seems to love it. This is me taking it into vinyl, and based loosely off a painting I finished recently. [The winner of custoMONDAY gets the Munny shown above and the print shown below!]

Who are some of the people who have influenced and inspired you?

I have a great family that has provided me with the support I needed to do art, and try to make a life out of it. I appreciated the feedback I have gotten from the toy community over the past year. Look back at my first Munny, and you can see I have taken all the advice and comments, and it’s helped me become a better artist. I am still learning every day, and I hope you guys enjoy what I make. Grimsheep, Southerndrawl, Motorbot, Drilone, Crisr, and many more: you guys are what inspire me. You guys push me to be a better artist every day, so thanks. Big ups to Jeremy and Jason from ToyCyte, giving artists like myself a place to show work and to give back is awesome. So glad I could be a part of this, thanks!

What’s coming up next for you?

That’s a good question; I don’t really have much going on this year locally. It seems that with the current economy that people are not doing as many shows. Last year I think I was a part of over 50 shows, but this years been slow. I am currently working on a new Dunny series–all 3″ with a matching canvas. They should be out in June. I am also going to focus on more canvas work this year, more smaller pieces. I got the “Munny Grubbers” show coming up in Phoenix later this summer, and a few other shows. I think sometime this year I am going to look into going back to school. I am going to just keep painting till 6am every night, sleeping and doing it all over. Hope to find me a gallery to do a solo show sometime this year. Also hope to have my first sculpt of my own figure done by the end of summer. Got so many ideas, just need to funds to pull them all off.

You heard the man. Want to commission some art? Drop him a line at Rsinart [at] msn [dot] com. And be sure to check out his shop too. The customs below await.

About amybean

amybean dropped by ToyCyte HQ last March, but she’s been a part of the Bay Area art scene for the last two decades. Her creative output ranges from the cozy to the crazy. Her career path has included plush, pyrotechnics, prototyping and lots of stuff in between. Those following today’s Throbblehead post, will be stoked to learn that the most recent concert amy attended was, in fact, Throbbling Gristle. amy’s latest endeavor is an homage to the elusive Skunk Ape with a series of intricately detailed hand-made plush dolls. I had the opportunity to chat about cryptids and eat caperberries with amy last week, and I learned a lot. I also got to check out the whole Skunk Ape gang in rare close-up, and they’re awesome. To borrow a phrase from the Skunk Ape’s “mythical” compatriot: the (Jersey) devil is in the details. You could get to know amybean in one of her myriad blogs (see below) and attempt to track down the cold trail of the Skunk Ape on your own. Or, you could win one of these spectacular 12-inch beasts right here when you enter…

The Contest

amybean likes to think that the Skunk Ape stays hidden “because of a highly evolved camouflage wardrobe, as well as other, more urban outfits that allow for perfectly anonymous blending in a crowd.” The first urban camo shoutout was to Florida, where the most famous Skunk Ape sighting occurred. To win an incredibly detailed 12-inch handmade plush Skunk Ape customized with your locale, tell us something mysterious about YOUR town or region in the COMMENTS SECTION below. amybean will pick the comment that makes her laugh out loudest, and the winner will get a Skunk Ape with that town or region’s name emblazoned on an official, limited edition Skunk Ape camo hoodie. Says amy, “Keep it clean, please, this is a family show!” Can’t wait to win? Commission a custom Skunk Ape from amy [at] amybean [dot] com. The Spa Robe Skunk Ape and Sweater Skunk Ape pictured above will also be available for purchase through the ToyCyte store.

Please post your hometown stories by May 24th at midnight PST. We will declare the winner on May 25th, shortly before the next custoMONDAY. The contest is open to anyone, anywhere in the world. If you have already won a custoMONDAY in 2009, please feel free to share your creativity, but you are, regrettably, not eligible for the prize.

The Interview

Since I was a Wax Trax! listening, RE/Search-reading east coast teenager, I knew all about Survival Research Laboratories. But give the rest of our readers a primer, and describe your involvement in the group.

SRL has been, and always will be, ground zero for large scale catastrophic machine performance art. I first stumbled into this magical world in the summer of 1990 and had my head, heart and guts handed back to me shrink wrapped with a greasy film of pink meats, brewers yeast, and a shredded carnet. I’ve been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a prop maker, a prop operator, machinist, machine operator, caterer, video salesperson, floor sweeper, people wrangler. I think the strictly volunteer crew has become a mushroom colony: many unique heads above, and connected underneath by something completely organic.

Which begs the question, how do you get from pyrotechnics to plush?

In 2001, I had to invoke a swift getaway within my so-called life, so, basically, I grabbed my sewing machines and a credit card, and blazed off into a classic CA sunset.

Our readers will know you from Cozy Robots. But you have had a history in toy design and prototyping. Tell us a bit about that.

The deeply cool part of prototype fabrication is the fact that I need to design and build the workspace plus some of the tools on the way to making the final “product” which is often itself a tool on the way to a more final product… it’s like working backstage on a backstage-themed show like Greg the Bunny, or Pirandello’s 6 Characters in Search of an Author. I have a professional history that doesn’t make a lot of sense on paper. My interest in toy making is driven by two simple things: character design, and the presence of some sort of mechanism.

BazaarBizarre outed you as having “more blogs than God.” Can you list them off for us? And how do you avoid cyber-schitzophrenia?

Avoiding cyber-Schizophrenia- whoah, is this thing on or off? Was I getting up or going to bed?

• http://cozyrampage.com is the main blog, and the title reflects my legal business name.
• http://cozyrobot.com is for cozy robot products.
• http://lucharobots.com is for lucha robot products. And misadventures.
• http://diybra.blogspot.com/ is for my bra making adventures, as I have been making my own for a few years now. It’s highly censored by me.
• http://theneedleblog.blogspot.com/ is a fantastic blog where hundreds of plush artists post whenever they want to. It’s run by the awesome Claire Chambers of Absolutely Small fame.
• http://tunaquest.blogspot.com/ helps me keep track of tuna salad sightings. I wish more tuna fans would post there. We could have maps and everything.
• http://www.hipsterbabyts.blogspot.com/ is where I used to sell my cryptid models turned into photos and then appliqued to onesies. Great gifts!
• http://amys-in-the-arts.blogspot.com/ is for an etsy street team where all members are named Amy.

[ED NOTE: I had to delete a few for space!]

Tell us about Skunk Apes and your interest in cryptids.

Cryptids are fascinating to me because of the endless debate of fact vs fiction. Conceptual artist Jill Miller turned me on to the research work of Loren Coleman a few years ago, and the stories and legends have intrigued me ever since. The regional variations within each tale offer much to think about when pondering any one of the fact or fiction scenarios. For example, folktales from all over the world describe a hairy man-beast who persists in eluding proper documentation. When I was first researching the Bigfoot tale, I became particularly interested in a version called the Skunk Ape, said to inhabit the southeast US, and known for its horrible smell. There are two photographs that have become the defining images through continued circulation. There’s something about the face that is a perfect balance of creepy and cute… here’s the back story on the photos: http://www.lorencoleman.com/myakka.html

I don’t always get the chance to bond on the same influences as artists I’m interviewing, so when I noticed a small pic of Bob Dobbs next to a Stooges poster in your work area, I had to indulge. Stream-of-consciousness list-away any and all random influences upon your work…

Noise, nostrils, nerds, seedlings, sociology, success, sex, love, friendship, memes, music, machines, pictures, food, free time, paid time off, opportunity, apes, automation, reading, drawing, cocktails, rain, sleep, the beach, medications, disease, dreams, sunshine…positivism.

What is the most recent toy you bought?

Most recent toy is a set of wearehappytoserveyou.com ceramic mugs. I lived in NYC for 10 years, so these bring me great joy.

You are always really nice. People are starting to freak out and get weird the worse the world gets. Here is a new custoMONDAY question I am debuting: Ask an artist for world advice. Please feel free to give one or more bits of personal, general or direct advice to make the world even an ounce better.

My mom used to always say to me “Be nice, there are enough shitty people in the world” So, uh, BE NICE! (hint: it’s way more fun!!)

What’s next for amybean?

Continuing my non-linear and anti-career choices to the best of my abilities! I’ll be dusting off older characters that have been waiting their turn for further development, sculpting and casting some things from my misplaced sketchbooks. Blogging. Twittering. Facebooking. All characters to be developed into (onto ?) bedsheets and pillowcases, lunch boxes and also some new form of theater. And of course, stickers and t-shirts!!!

Awesome. Now let’s see whose hood deserves a hoodie…Leave your comments below!

About Cris Rose

Over the last few years, UK artist Cris Rose has been creating and painting vinyl toys. For the past year, we’ve been chronicling his output. Cris keeps us busy with weekend and surprise toy drops and traveling around to shows to see his customs. 2008 witnessed the rise of Runcible and Rotund, Cris’ original resin figures. 2009 promises more. Now if you’ve been reading ToyCyte or following Cris on twitter, you’re no stranger to the fact that Cris’ work tends to get snatched up in under 60 seconds. His retro-futuristic style has found fans in all kinds of art and toy collectors; this journalist included. I’m particularly excited to present Cris’ first glow-in-the-dark Radioactive Rotund. We’ve got four of ‘em: one to give away on custoMONDAY and three, which will be available tonight at the ToyCyte store. The orange custoMONDAY edition has a unique head content; the other three are green, khaki and grey with the same head contents (but different size heads). Each piece is a one-off with unique damage, rust, moss and GID box. You can read his tweets, browse his Flickr and shop his store for other sweet pieces, but this is the only place to find Radioactive Rotund.

The Contest

Want to win an exclusive GID Radioactive Rotund? Answer ONE of these questions in the comments section below:

• What will mankind’s reaction be once intelligent robots demand equality and human rights? (also feel free to speculate when that might occur)
• Would an intelligent robot ever believe in God? (any existing or future religion, not meaning deifying the man that designed him centuries later or by “being programmed to”)

The most interesting and thought provoking comment on either, wins. Please post your philosophies by May 10th at midnight PST. We will declare the winner on May 11th, shortly before the next custoMONDAY. The contest is open to anyone, anywhere in the world. If you have already won a custoMONDAY in 2009, please feel free to share your creativity, but you are, regrettably, not eligible for the prize. If you want to lock in a Radioactive Rotund, check for stock in the ToyCyte store.

The Interview

You seem to have had a banner year in 2008 and are already killing it in 2009. We know you didn’t just come out of nowhere, so tell us a bit about your origins and how you got from There to Here.

Many of the modeling, casting and painting techniques I learned or practiced during my Product Design degree, so when I began painting vinyl in my spare time in 2007, I had a good starting point. Back then, I was spending 12 hours a day in front of a computer screen, so it was a way of winding down and relaxing away from technology. I found myself spending more of my spare time painting, until at the start of the year I was able to paint and cast full time!

With regard to your original creations, what comes first: story or character?

I like all my work to have a story first; it helps me create the piece and imagine why it would be the way it is. Runcible’s world came about when I started think about the recent developments in robotics, wondering how long until they would be common place, and how people would regard them as they became more human.

We’ve been witnessing the explosion in resin toys lately. What attracts you to this medium?

The investment and timescales involved in vinyl production are quite significant: requiring a major commitment and several other parties from design to manufacture and distribution. With runs getting larger as well, many vinyl pieces are losing that “limited edition” appeal. Resin allows a single person to act as designer, manufacturer and distributor while ensuring that the pieces are not only limited, but handmade too. This means that designs that may have been considered “too risky” can be produced in small numbers. Artists who are not yet high profile enough, can realize their designs and offer them to their emerging fanbase. I am working with several artists at the moment to do just this.

I’m blown away by your recent customs. In particular, I like how you take toys that might need a little TLC on the QC and turn them into awesome originals. Is this a conscious process?

You’re very kind! There are a lot of limitations when 2D designs are translated to 3D, some technical, some economical, so I can completely understand that to hit acceptable price points, QC sometimes suffers. I love the Buff Monsters: their quality is unmatched among 3″ers, but they’re also the most expensive 3″ers around, something a lot of people have complained about. By taking a poor QC piece and hand-painting details and designs that are not mechanically printable, I feel that the potential of that character can be freed, something that makes me happy whenever I see it!

What have been your favorite toy platforms to work on so far? What are some you’re excited to take on?

By far my favorite platform is the Mad*l. I feel they’re a great mix of 3D figure and canvas, a great sized figure with bold lines. If I wasn’t able to paint anything else, I’d still be happy! I’m really, really keen to get my hands on the upcoming release of Ashley Wood’s WWRP 8″ Bramble. Perfectly scaled down versions of the 16″ originals, all the points of articulation are retained, and the retail price makes them exceptionally high value. I feel these figures are going to really change people’s expectations of similar sized vinyl, and I will be purchasing as many as I can afford to customize. I really can’t express how impressed I am with them and all of Ashley’s work.

It has been said that certain character styles aren’t received as well in the USA as the UK. What do you think about this difference in “scenes” across the pond? Is it true?

I personally feel that the UK market is in its infancy compared to the US; we have a lot of room to grow. I’d agree that the street art style has strongly influenced the US market, but I feel that there is a strong fanbase in the UK market as well. It certainly appears that many of the most recognized UK vinyl artists don’t have backgrounds in this area, but there are plenty that haven’t reached that level of international vinyl notoriety who do! I am sure that both “scenes” will continue to influence each other as the UK market grows, and that can only be a good thing!

Tell us about your custoMONDAY piece.

Radioactive Rotund is a mischievous little scamp. He was sent out by Runcible to find a single orange part (visible in his head), knowing full well not to go near the areas worst effected by the fallout, but does he listen? Well all he came back with was an unhealthy glow, and one again required a good scrubbing. Four GID Rotunds were painted for ToyCyte, an orange one to give away, and 3 in various shades to purchase! All are one-offs and come in their own glow in the dark boxes.

Tell us a little bit about a typical day and your work process.

My days start early, as i’m not a night person and am most productive between 8am and 8pm. I’ll spend a couple of hours replying to emails and packaging up shipments then settle down to paint. I like to ensure that I’m never just sitting around–if something’s drying, then I have another piece to hand-paint, if some resin is curing, I’ll have something to spraypaint. I’ll work for up to 8 hours straight like this. I’ll pop to the post office in the afternoon if I have enough packages to send. If I’m really into what I’m working on, I’ll work as late as I can, but I’ve found it’s better for me to get a good night’s sleep and start early than to work past 10pm. By always having a good stock of vinyl custom fodder, commissions lined up, resin for casting and paint supplies, I’m never without something to work on. I work 7 days a week and never take on work that I cannot complete in an acceptable timeframe (for me that’s 2-4 weeks maximum) as I would rather miss out on some work than let someone down by keeping them waiting around.

You tweet a lot about going to the gym! What’s that all about? You’re making the rest of us look fat. But seriously, can you speak to what it’s like to be an artist these days and maintain a presence on Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, etc. etc. etc.?

I really like Twitter and Flickr. I find them completely invaluable and feel there is a strong community on both of them! I work with Twitter open all day long while I paint, and do my best to chat to people on there when I can. I feel that it’s very important to offer as many methods of interaction with the community and my fans, so I do my best to be as proactive as I can in these areas. Sometimes I simply don’t have time to twitter that much, or I may be working on the same thing for a while and so don’t like to bore people, but I read a lot of blogs, so try and share the odd link I find interesting or funny. It’s also a great way to share the work of other artists and the twitter community specifically is incredibly supportive and proactive at spreading the word to reach those it wouldn’t otherwise. I greatly appreciate all the support that I’ve had from my peers and fans; I certainly wouldn’t have achieved as much without them!

Who are some artists you admire? What are some of your favorite toys in your collection?

I love my custom Yamis by TADO and Jon Burgerman, Doktor A’s Mechtorians are delightful, Okkle’s Birdlett and my original Possessed are also a couple of my favorites while my little army of Buff Monsters make for a great display. I’m looking forward to my naked wood set of Noferin’s Pecanpals and am hoping to receive my first Ashley Wood piece this week (16″ DP Bramble), but my number one piece is, and always will be, Mr Bunny.

What’s next for Cris Rose?

I have a lot of shows still coming up this year: Lift Detroit’s MP2, 1:am’s Darkness show, Lunartik’s Tea Party and a very special unannounced NYC show that will see me painting my biggest piece yet – a 36″ figure. That’s right, 3 foot, and it’s not a Qee. I’m also looking to developing a second range of resin figures under a new brand and producing figures for several artists I couldn’t possibly name at the moment (sorry!). There’s also a couple of London shows under discussion that i’m hoping to curate, and a few companies that have asked me to submit designs for vinyl figures, so 2009 is going to be extremely busy!

Leecifer has joined the unholy ranks of spectacular spooky custoMONDAY artists. His splattered signature is all over these dunnys and ghostland figures. Sure, you might be able to win one, but what are the odds of that? So get one now! These are only available at ToyCyte Store!

About Leecifer

If you live in the Bay Area, or have gone to any art toy show in the last few years, you know the guy who signs his emails “Cheetos and Beer.” His name is Leecifer, a nickname he’s been living with since toddler times. But the artist otherwise known as Lee Gajda has grown into the moniker. And here at ToyCyte, we’ve been following his exploits for a year now. Leecifer excels at turning a run-of-the-mill platform toy into a splatter-painted and dry-brushed piece of original art. It’s not unusual for someone to say, “I don’t really care for X platform, but I want it because Lee painted it.” The only words to describe his output are: wickedly prolific. Going through his Flickr sets was more illuminating than last week’s episode of LOST. And it was hard to pick favorites for this story. TOO MUCH great art? That’s a terrible problem to have…With Leecifer’s most recent customs for the I.W.G. Humans Beware show now sold-out and his original resin figure/canvas set included in the latest London Phillips de Pury auction, the dude is hotter than his nicknaming folks could ever have imagined. Leecifer’s been a friend of ToyCyte since the beginning, and we’ve had this custoMONDAY in the works for a while, so without further ado…want to win a ToyCyte-colored custom Dunny or Ghostland figure by Leecifer? You’ll need to enter…

The Contest

Leecifer is giving away your choice of a green custom 3-inch Dunny or Ghostland figure. This is a two-part contest, so pay close attention if you want to win the grand prize. Leecifer created a series of ten awesome Dunnys and Ghostland figs. The custoMONDAY winner will have his/her choice of either green one. The rest of the figures will be available for sale (at nice prices) in the ToyCyte store. Once all ten figures have been won/purchased, Lee will randomly choose a person who gets to send him a toy to customize FOR FREE. I don’t think I need to repeat that Leecifer’s PdP auction piece had an expected selling price of almost $1K…

Here’s what you need to do. Post below what toy you’d like to have Leecifer customize should you happen to win the grand prize. “Bonus consideration for toys I’ve never customized before, my favorite toys to customize, what they want it turned into, why, fav colors, whatever details they wish to add etc.” In a month or two, we’ll do a follow-up showing the grand prize pic with its lucky winner. Note: In order to win, your dream custom toy blank should exist, ideally owned by you or easily acquirable, so that you can send it to Leecifer upon being chosen. Just to be clear: Anyone is eligible to win the custom Dunny or Ghostland figure, but you have a 1:10 shot at winning the grand prize too. So include some reality in your dreams. If the grand prize winner is unable to supply Leecifer with a blank figure, we will move to the next runner-up.

Please post your custom toy dreams by April 26th at midnight PST. We will declare the winner on April 27th, shortly before the next custoMONDAY. The contest is open to anyone, anywhere in the world. If you have already won a custoMONDAY in 2009, please feel free to share your creativity, but you are, regrettably, not eligible for the prize.

The Interview

When/What was the occasion of your first toy customization?

It would have been as a kid in Ohio (I was born in California) in the late 70’s early 80’s. After Star Wars came out I remember crashing together model kits to make my own spacecraft and robots and stuff. Before that, I remember chopping up little plastic army men to make multi-armed mutants and zombies.

The first custom art show I was in was The “Funny Club” Club show in 2004 I believe. I turned my funny club fig into a big spider and chopped up a bunch of series 1 Dunnys as victims. I ended up tossing the dead Dunnys in favor of one cast out of resin that was better looking when it had its eyes drilled out.

By my count (and I’m still going through Flickr), you have customized virtually all platforms–including non-platform toys–do you have any favorites to work on? (I am really digging all your Fatimas.)

Hahah. Thanks man! Hell yeah the Fatima would HAVE to be a fav, followed closely by Super7’s Visighost. Some others would be Tiger Baby’s, Rebel Inks, KvPs, Observers, Mummy Boys, Squires, Glamore Cats, Doku’s, Cheshire Cats, and recently Koibitos. Initially, I had hit a few pieces of Secret Base and some other Japanese vinyl, but like a lot of folks, I pretty much hit my stride w/ Dunnys and Qees, but quickly moved on to other forms. With the exception of a few KvP’s, the one I haven’t hit much of (that I would really like to) is Kaws. The other toy I can’t seem to get my hands on (no pun intended) is Longneck’s Menargo. It’s this amazing turtle body with an erect shlong neck topped w/ a skull!!! That’s punk rock in my book baby!!!!!

When it comes to Hip Hop, people talk about east coast vs. west coast. When it comes to toys, we’ve got eastern vs. western. What’s the big bias among kaiju fans against western vinyl, and how have you (thankfully) gotten past this hangup?

Ridiculous isn’t it!?! It’s never been a problem for me as I could see validity in the efforts of both sides. Likewise both sides have produced some stunningly bad crap!!!! From what VERY little I can ascertain – the Asian/Japanese vinyl crowd (they no longer use the word “kaiju” due to it’s overuse/misuse) have undoubtedly been at this way longer than the current “urban” vinyl scene largely associated w/ Western Vinyl. Also, the quality of Japanese Vinyl is simply the best. However for me personally, I’d like to think you don’t really notice the quality of the toy underneath when I’m done w/ it and are much more interested in the paint/sculpt/customize job I’ve laid on it. Admittedly I have found myself “polishing turds”, but it’s a great feeling selling something that was pretty bad at the start and now someone really wants it. The flip side of the coin is having someone give me something rare or valuable to customize which is hugely flattering considering that piece may very well be fantastic to start and that person has entrusted me to embellish it w/ my own personal vision!!

Sorry… what were we talking about? What side has the bigger nerd population? Look, in most cases these are adult (I use that word loosely at best here) guys collecting TOYS. How fucking self-absorbed and hypocritically pretentious must you be to say one side or the other “doesn’t do it right”?! Hahahahaha!!!! A funny sidebar to this is I believe I got the custom mod position on SkullBrain to keep me from posting up my crusty Western vinyl on there. Damnit!! They knew I’d tow the line and knock it off . That Glenn Pogue is a crafty bastard!

Ultimately I like to be as “Rodney King” on this issue as possible. Well not the racing around coked outta my gourd at 115 miles an hour before a bunch of Nazi cops kick the shit outta’ me part, but the “Can’t we all get along?!” part.

Tell us about your painting process and the custoMONDAY piece.

Well in an effort to offer something for everyone I elected to do 5 of Super7’s killer little Ghostland figs and 5 of the perennial fav, the 3” Dunny. In terms of the process itself I start by cleaning and priming the fig., sketching the features or outlining color fields, adding any additional sculptural elements, more priming, and then it’s on to painting. My customs are very DIY ghetto as I use everything from old miss-tinted acrylic latex and enamel house paint to temperas, gesso, model paint, deco paint pens, spray paint etc.

Literally whatever I can get my hands on.

How did you get hooked up with the Phillips de Pury auction? Do you know the results of the auction?

Kirkland Jue of Toybot Studios hooked me up w/ Steve Agin. I’d love to see that dude’s legendary “barn” full of toys! Much like yourself I’ve lost track of hours talking to Steve on the phone – always an engaging and funny conversationalist.

I sold a piece early on, but don’t know about this last one.

What’s a typical day like for you and what are your interests outside of art and toy collecting?

Well I could never do this w/out the patience of my very loving and understanding wife Michele! So first order of the day is to try and help her get out the door to work. Then it’s a shower, domestic chores (I’m a hell of a wife!!!), e-mail, boards, phone calls, quick look at the calendar/planner, and then off to the garage to paint – sometimes until the wee hours of the morning.

Could you relay the conversation you had with your folks when you told them you were leaving a corporate career to essentially paint on toys…?

Hahahah! Yeah that would have been a good one. Both my folks have been dead for quite some time. I can tell you my dad shat an engine block when I turned down the “union card & power plant” life he wanted me to take to go to school for art. I was accepted to Pratt but the prick wouldn’t take me off his taxes, (even though I wasn’t living at home) and I couldn’t get any financial aid. Can you say “Hello University of Akron”!!!

I’ve worked at an ad agency, a mom & pop design studio, print co’s and then I did a 15 yr stint as an in-house illustrator, designer, art director for the phone co. Here again, w/out Michele, I’d be completely screwed and probably be climbing telephone poles in the ghetto for a living. We were both scared about not having the corporate job, but she agreed I should “go for it”!! We haven’t looked back since.

But it’s not just toys. I’m actively pursuing gallery work and never turn down the odd corporate gig that comes along. I’m not the type to draw a line in the sand. I believe you have to be flexible to follow a dream and take every opportunity.

Your website lists that you live with 7 turtles, but it’s a little out of date. I know turtles live a while, but thought I’d check in on your current turtle count…

So sad, but yes we are down one turtle. Although we still have one that I got when I was a helmsman for a canal boat (Ohio tourist trap) more than 20yrs ago. He’s a tenaciously mean little bastard but has mellowed w/ the onset of decrepitude!

We just got back from the I.W.G. show. What’s next for Leecifer???

You guys are on top of everything!!! Thanks for the great coverage BTW!!! Well next up I’m curating a group show of custom toys April 18th at Super7 (1628 Post Street, San Francisco, CA 94115 begins at 7pm) called “It Came from SkullBrain” and in the interest of “glastnos” I took the opportunity to invite a bunch of my favorite Western Customizers to hit up Japanese Vinyl along side of some of the amazing talent already inhabiting the SkullBrain Board!!!! Should be just amazing. Let’s see then there’s Phoneticontrol’s “Thought Processor” paper toyshow, a show at Lift in Detroit, a wine bar show in the Castro, a recycled objects show at MonkeyHouse in LA, then the Super7 Anniversary, a Carney Show at MonkeyHouse, gonna’ help Dril1 w/ a show at 1AM that I may paint part of a wall for, there’s a mini art book, uh jeez lots of stuff just in the next couple months. Oh and commissions. I always make time for those!!!!! I’d love for your readers to hit me up if they want any of that action!

You heard the man: hit him up at leecifer [at] leecifer [dot] com. Below are a few photos of where it all goes down, some inspiration and the artist making small talk with one of his many fans. Now go enter the contest. Good luck!

About Bunk Bots

Jason Hilbourne of Portland’s Bunk Bots created an answer to an age-old quandry: By giving our children soft teddy bears and stuffed sharks, are we then teaching them the lesson that bears and sharks are lovable,  huggable creatures? Rather than directly answering this paradox, he came up with his own solution: lovable, huggable Bunk Bots. There are currently 10 plushbots in production (many of which are also in film productions), with more in the works. You can pick up an army of Bunk Bots at your local toy shop or online retailer (locations listed here). But if you want something really special, something that nobody else will have, you’ll need to enter…

The Contest

To win all four customized Watchmen Bunk Bots as seen in the video below, answer this question: Nite Owl vs Batman: who has cooler gear? Discuss.

Please post your names by April 12th at midnight PST. We will declare the winner on April 13th, shortly before the next custoMONDAY. Four runner-ups will each get a Ninja Servo Bunk Bots plush. The contest is open to anyone, anywhere in the world. If you have already won a custoMONDAY in 2009, please feel free to share your creativity, but you are, regrettably, not eligible for the prize.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9Vs8s2gYkQ&feature=player_embedded]

The Interview

You make Bunk Bots, have two kids, a wife and a job as a product design engineer–tell us the secret to good time management?

There’s no secret! I just have a lot of help. The kids are now both in school, my wife Greta helps sell plush toys, our reps help sell more toys, and my brother basically does all of the real work at my small consumer electronics product design company. That leaves me with all kinds of time to… still work like crazy. But it’s fun every day! As a mechanical engineer, I find that the whole “making stuff” part of the toy business is actually the easiest chunk of my work at Huge Factory. The difficult, fun, unnatural, and challenging part of my new job is “selling stuff”. At Toy Fair, Greta and I asked thousands of people, “Would you like to hug a robot?” I’m 39 years old, and I never imagined myself asking anyone anything like that at any age–but here I am. Would you like to hug a robot?

What’s OMSI all about?

OMSI is the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland. It’s like Exploratorium or any of the tech museums in bigger cities, so anyone familiar with those kinds of institutions will know that it is also totally awesome. I grew up in Portland, so I went there a whole lot when I was a kid. And now my kids go there a lot. OMSI has robots and rockets and tesla coils and bisected jet engines, but it also has loads of really cool biology exhibits as well. They used to have this giant scale-model of a human heart that you could walk through–and some of the chambers of the heart were only big enough for a kid to fit into. They don’t have that heart at the museum any more and I sometimes wonder: who got that heart?! I love that place. Educating kids in the sciences is really important to Greta and I, and we love how OMSI makes it effortless and fun.

A lot happened in the mainstream media last year giving “authority” for boys to play with plush dolls. Is the reign of G.I. Joe at an end?

Don’t even joke about that! Action figures (and LEGOs) are an essential part of crazy-creative play for growing boys. I can’t watch Empire Strikes Back without remembering all of the alternate endings to the Battle of Hoth that my brother and I imagined with our army of Star Wars action figures and improvised stuffed-animal imperial walkers. Bunk Bots aren’t trying to step on any action figure toes. We’re just trying to roll-out robots to a relatively unexplored set of younger kids who aren’t even playing with action figures yet. We want to get the Bunk Bots into the beds of young boys. Does that sound creepy? Whatever–I think you get it. Our boys have about a dozen Uglydolls between them, and their friends have piles of them too. Like you said–the authority has already been granted, and now we’re just hoping that the Bunk Bots can stand on the shoulders of Ugly giants and appeal to boys like only robots can.

The Bunk Bots are all over YouTube. How did this idea come about? And isn’t it time they started Tweeting?

Video is not the perfect way to experience plush toys, but it’s probably the best way to do it on the web. We wanted folks to become familiar with Bunk Bots as fast as possible, so making YouTube videos was one of our first attempts at cheap PR. I crank out at least one video every week. Some of them are actually funny! Making the videos isn’t especially difficult, but we’re hoping that more of our customers will catch the video-making bug and start posting their own Bunk Bots movies so that I don’t have to make as many! To get the ball rolling, we’ve even created a weekly YouTube contest where budding film-makers can win two new toys! [Ed note: Here's mine.] Our entire marketing plan hinges on one of these videos going viral and creating a tidal-wave of demand for the Bunk Bots overnight, so put down your mouse and get filming already! As for tweeting–I still don’t get it. Greta digs Facebook, but I don’t even entirely understand that one either. Bunk Bots might go crazy in both of those worlds soon, but I’m cozy with YouTube as my web-two-oh outlet for now.

What inspired you to do a Watchmen Bunk Bots mashup?

Greta and I noticed that most of our booth neighbors at Toy Fair had custom toys on display. In particular, Megan and Matt Doughty of Onell were constantly fidgeting with not only awesome customs, but even crazier custom configurations with his new Buildman stuff. Customs bring a lot of life to an exhibit, and they can also draw attention to brand new toys–like ours! So I wanted to capture some of that same custom magic for our next trade show in Los Angeles. The first day of the LA show happened to be the opening day of the new Watchmen movie, so “Watchmen hero custom Bunk Bots” seemed like a great idea. It turned out that the new Watchmen movie was awesome. It took my favorite parts of the book and added kung fu! I’m a sucker for superhero origin stories, science fiction, kung fu, and… robots! Unfortunately, it also turned out that most of the folks at the LA toy show didn’t know anything about Watchmen or the culture behind customs, so I think I confused a whole lot of otherwise-really-nice toy store owners! “No, sorry, you can’t order those ones… you see, that’s Nite Owl, and that’s Doctor Manhattan, and…” Anyway–it was still a whole lot of fun to build them, and now I hope they find a good home with one of your readers.

What’s next for Jason Hilbourne and Bunk Bots?

We’re still brand new, so everything is next! We’re slowly depleting our supply of bots, we’ve got a new line coming out for the holidays, and we’re always thinking of new ways to get the word out. Comic shops love the Bunk Bots, so I called up the folks at Comic-Con to try to get a booth there for July. He was nice about it, but the guy on the other end of the phone must have laughed at me for a good 3 seconds. I learned that Comic-Con exhibit space is sold-out for 3 years in advance! Like I said–making plush robots is… fun everyday.

About Jessica Fortner

For this installment of custoMONDAY, we are heading up north to Toronto Canada, where 3D illustrator Jessica Fortner calls home. ToyCyte had recently started a category dedicated to clay art toys, when I got an email from Jes: “I sculpt my illustrations from polymer clay, stage them and then photograph them. I thought that you might like to check them out.” She ended the message with a smiley emoticon, so I wasn’t exactly expecting the straight jackets and eviscerations I found when I clicked over to her website. She was right though: I liked checking them out. Her imagery, staging and titles can’t be described as simply gorey, they’re more Edward Gorey–each vignette its own tragicomedy. Not one to be typecast, Jessica dabbles in varying levels of creepy, cute and unique spins on anthropomorphic beings. Last month, one of her illustrations appeared in The New York Times. Jessica’s work was recently featured in the Spraygraphic Mini Mini show and in Fefè Magazine. You can follow her blog, check out her pics on Flickr and purchase illustrations here. Her latest clay creations are the Furry Friends, which she made exclusively for custoMONDAY. Want to win a 12-inch tall original Furry Friend in handmade packaging with its own stand and print? Then you’ll need to enter…

The Contest

Name that furry friend. Jessica has a series of Five Furry Friends that need names. “I was going to go for something Paul Auster-ish or Reservoir Dogs…you know Mr. White, Mr. Yellow… et cetera. But lets hear some of your ideas,” she writes. So drop 5 names into the comments below and tell us why you chose the names you did. Please post your names by March 29th at midnight PST. We will declare the winner on March 3oth, shortly before the next custoMONDAY. The contest is open to anyone, anywhere in the world. If you have already won a custoMONDAY in 2009, please feel free to share your creativity, but you are, regrettably, not eligible for the prize.

The Interview

Give us a little background on yourself and how you got into doing what you do?

I am 26 years old, and I live in downtown Toronto with my boyfriend (illustrator Michael Wandelmaier) and our many plants. I am a 3D illustrator. I create my illustrations by sculpting characters and sets out of polymer clay and other materials. After staging them, they are photographed for the final illustration. I graduated from The Ontario College of Art and Design a couple of years ago and have been working on my sculptures and illustrations since then.

Besides sculpting, I really love designer toys, book arts and printmaking. I one day hope to expand my skills into animation and would like to make a short stop-motion animation film. I would even like to write and illustrate some kids books and design some artist toys.

Sculpting is something that is rather new to me. Quite frankly, I didn’t really start sculpting until I had already graduated from university. When I attended OCAD, I was in printmaking. Clay seemed like the natural medium to which I found myself gravitating towards, and I’m still learning new materials and processes today. Unfortunately I am not set up in a studio, all the work that I produce is created in my small downtown apartment. My space doesn’t really allow for too much experimentation (material-wise), so for now clay works for me. I think that it is a suitable material for the illustrations that I create; it’s fast and easy to sculpt with, and affordable. I recently had to do an illustration for the New York Times with only a one-day turnaround. For situations like that it’s handy to work with a material that doesn’t require a long drying time. To me designer toys represent an open creative medium. Look at David Choe’s recent designer toy for example. I think that there’s something special about owning a piece of work created directly be the artist.

Tell us about your process from conceptualization to production to photograph…

A lot of the time, the illustrations that I make are based on impulses. A funny phrase or strange but humorous idea will be what grabs my attention at first. I guess I have a pretty corny sense of humor so anything like that will appeal to me. I usually start off with a couple of words, ideas, concepts that I really feel are important to the image I’m planning. Then I quickly do a character sketch. All my work is very character-based, so it’s important that I can visualize the expression and the nuances that may be captured on the face. I feel that this is the most important part of my process. Without a realistic portrayal of human expression, none of my illustrations would work out. I also find it important to have some humor in my illustrations. I think that most of the time my work can be a little “creepy” and being able to break it up with a corny pun or obvious joke gives it that little something extra. [It may be] simply just the title of the piece, for example the illustration called Mr. Scroode. [Ed note: a triptych of Mr. Scroode Goes For a Walk, Mr. Scroode Spots Something and Mr. Scroode Meets His Demise.] Then I figure out what the best composition or angle would be to really capture that emotion. There is a lot of planning, however, once the photographing starts most of it goes out the door. Once I’ve decided the basics of those things then the sculpting, sewing, gluing, painting and playing god starts. I use PhotoShop to enhance the image, or add some effect that I can’t achieve through traditional methods. For me it’s important to do the things that I want. I try not to let too many artists that I admire influence my work. The work must reflect my own aesthetic.

Your work often evokes feelings of loneliness and fear. Some of the final vignettes feel claustrophobic in nature. Do you have particular themes you seek to get across in your art?

I like images that really get under your skin, and not in an offensive way but rather a subtle unexpected way. My work is very narrative based, so my characters are usually telling some sort of story. I’ve been working on an impostor series (which is ongoing, and includes: Morgan the Penguin Imposter, A Lonely Wolf, If Wishes were Fishes and The Harvest) that I guess expresses my interest with identity and the human brain. What defines our reality and how easily that can be broken, and what that leaves us believing or becoming. However, I don’t intentionally try to inject these themes into my work. It’s just something that comes out in the end unexpectedly.

Just what is it with artists we admire and squids?

Squids are such awesome creatures… actually anything with tentacles is pretty cool. They’re powerful and mysterious and they come from a place that we don’t know much about, so instantly your imagination begins to run wild. It’s the elusive nature of the giant squid that has firmly established its place in the human imagination. Representations of the giant squid are known from early legends of the Kraken through books such as Moby-Dick. The image of a giant squid locked in battle with a sperm whale is a common one. It’s these epic leviathan tales that keep so many artists wanting to create this powerful beast. At least that’s what I think.

Tell us about your creation for custoMONDAY.

The toy that I created for custoMONDAY is called “Furry Friend”. When I was first asked to participate in ToyCyte’s custoMONDAY, I wanted to create something that could work as an illustration as well as a stand-alone sculpture. I guess the idea actually came to me while I was messing around with my gloomy bear claw (you know attacking random people, growling like a bear. Anyway, I thought it would be funny to do sort of a “ Chucky” kind of doll. Something that looks friendly and innocent and that normally you would want to play with, but that actually has some psychotic tendencies, but with a yeti-ish appearance. Hence, Furry Friends; I actually have made a whole series of them, which will be available for sale soon. It’s creepy having them all sitting around my apartment, this bloody army of doom. Yikes!

Do you collect toys and/or who are some artists you enjoy?

I don’t have a lot of space in my apartment for any more toys. My own sculptures seem to be taking over. The toys that I do have are of the blind-box variety, not that I wouldn’t love to collect every toy I come across because I most definitely would. However there are many artists that I admire: Tara McPherson, Elizabeth McGrath, Chris Ryniak, Mars-1 and Kathie Olivas to name a few. The list could on forever; there are so many talented artist/designers out there. One of the things that I admire about designer toys is their accessibility and affordability. They reach across many different cultures and anyone can enjoy them. For me illustration is very similar, it’s something that you can find in magazines and buy affordable prints for.

What’s coming up next for Jessica Fortner?

Hopefully, many things. Right now I’m in the early stages of putting together a kids book. I’m constantly working on new illustrations. Recently I had the idea to create a “bum drum” which is definitely work in progress.

Look out for more Furry Friends and updates on Jes Fortner on ToyCyte! Now go name the Five Furry Friends below…

About Phoebe Marie

Phoebe Marie is a midwest-dwelling artist who caught ToyCyte’s attention for her incredibly detailed Dia De Los Dunny custom series. Since then, we’ve gotten to know her for other toys, collage work, jewelery and being a very funny, extremely prolific persona (her bevy of personal blogs includes daily feet and the 366 Days project). I can only imagine that Phoebe’s keyboard is covered in glitter. You can follow her visually on Flickr. While you’re there, check out the enchanting St. Patrick’s Dia De Los Dunny series Phoebe made just for ToyCyte, which includes 6 custom figures perfect for your holiday celebration. Five will be available in the ToyCyte Shop shortly. But Phoebe and ToyCyte want to give you one for free.  Read on to hear why Phoebe digs Day of the Dead, a thesis on how leprechauns might just be gay and probably the first and last mention of payot on ToyCyte.

The Contest

We at ToyCyte would never encourage you to get drunk and act stupid. However, if you’ve done so in the past, you could win a Dunny customized by Phoebe Marie for telling us about it. Phoebe can really tie one on, so try not to be intimidated by her tolerance. Please post your best St. Patrick’s Day story in the comments section by March 11th at midnight PST. (We’re cutting this one off a little early so that we can guarantee you’ll get your prize by St. Patrick’s Day.) The contest is open to anyone, anywhere in the world. If you have already won a custoMONDAY in 2009, please feel free to share your creativity, but you are, regrettably, not eligible for the prize. Here’s what you’re competing with, quoth Phoebe:

I think that whoever wins the giveaway has to either BEAT or at least come close to beating my most horrible St. Patty’s Day drunk-a-thon. A few years ago, I was out until the bars closed at 2:30am the night before St. Patty’s, to see The Boys from the County Hell (my boyfriend’s Pogues cover band). We then got up at 5:30am on St. Pat’s Day to be at another bar by 6am for them to play another show. From there we drove across town at 9am for a pre-parade show at the House of Blues. Then we walked down the street to an Irish bar for another one at noon. There was a bit of a break around 3 and then they played a second show at the same bar at 5pm. We then drove further across town for the final show of the evening from 9pm to 2am at another Irish bar. The day AFTER St. Patrick’s Day, there was a final show at 4pm (at least we had most of the day to sleep it off). But all in all, it boiled down to 7 shows in 48 hours. Seven shows, five corned beef sandwiches, countless beers and shots of whiskey, and one big fat miserable hangover.

(Phoebe Marie custoMONDAY Giveaway also shown above in closeup)

The Interview

What is it about Day of the Dead and Phoebe Marie?

You gotta know that I have been dreading this question since the very first Day of the Dead Munny I made for Shoparooni’s Easter Munny Show last year. I mean, it’s not just the obvious: old punk kid + stuff with skulls = likey likey. It is more than just a fascination with death and the celebration thereof – it’s something in the brightness and the beauty of it all. I am madly in love with Sylvia Ji, and the gorgeous way she does the Day of the Dead thing. As my obsession grew, I knew that if I was going to go there it had to be quirkier, sillier: I’m not fancy like that.

(Phoebe Marie: Day of the Dead Dunny Series)

Here is where this gets embarrassing… not that I haven’t let way more embarrassing things rip on ToyCyte in the past (terrible pun fully intended), so I will have to spill this as well. [Ed Note: Phoebe is referring to her winning entry into the Free Gas For Life from Touma contest here]. Two years ago, while visiting my parents in Florida, I insisted upon being taken to Epcot Center. I remembered going there when I was nine years old… and nothing could have made my little pre-pubescent heart flutter more than the opportunity to go shopping in eleven different countries in a single afternoon. So there I was now in my thirties, in the fake, Disney Mexico, buying armloads of overpriced, teeny-tiny Day of the Dead shrines. Like an idiot. Most of it is still in my studio.

The Day of the Dead toy thing literally began the night before the Easter Munny Show. I had completed the Rancid Mini Munny series. And I still had this 8” Munny hanging around. I wanted to do something else. I looked up at the window sill. And there was one of my silly Epcot Center purchases looking back at me. He was white and round and really, not terribly different in shape and proportion from the Munny on my desk. And, really, that was that.

(Phoebe Marie for Shoparooni Easter Munny Show)

Tell us about the inspiration for your custoMONDAY piece and ToyCyte exclusive series?

I live in Cleveland. In this town, on St. Patty’s Day, even if you’re not Irish – you are. I take the day off work every year (though a few years ago, when I worked for an Irish-owned moving company I didn’t have to – it was a paid holiday!). My boyfriend plays in an incredible Pogues cover band, The Boys from the County Hell, and I tend to spend the entire week of St. Patty’s following them from gig to gig. I just can’t help but love a holiday and a city where being at a bar at 6am is not just accepted, it’s EXPECTED! Anyhow, I always have such a good time on St. Patty’s Day. And when you told me my custoMONDAY would be the first week of March – it only made sense to follow my Halloween Day of the Dead Dunny series with a St. Pat’s series. The timing was too good and 3 inch tall, dead, drunken leprechauns were just too amazing to pass up.

(Phoebe Marie x ToyCyte Day of the Dead St. Patricks Day Series)

You’re very open about your all-over-the-place heritage. Because of that, I’m going to ask you now to pontificate on if/how you think art toys are diversifying the fine art world?

It’s true. I am sort of fascinated with my heritage, which is funny, since it’s the same sort of mutt-mix thing that so many Americans today have going on. Swedish, German, English, yadda-yadda. (Funny, though, that that list does not include Irish or Latino at all. Ha!) As for if and how art toys are diversifying the fine art world… wow, man. I really don’t know if I have a good answer for that one. I mean, there definitely seem to be toy artists from all different backgrounds, ethnicities, countries, etc. But really, there have been fine artists from all different backgrounds, ethnicities, countries, etc., too. Like, forever. I can’t say that I feel like the toy world is any different. Maybe it lets us blur the lines of our own individual heritages somewhat. I mean, I’m not Mexican, yet I make toys based on Mexican folk art. Huck Gee isn’t Asian, yet he has risen to fame making toys inspired by Japanese pop culture. But honestly, I still don’t think it matters who you are or where you’re from. The art world has always been and will always be diverse.

(Phoebe Marie: American Gothic)

You and I have previously discussed my Jewfro. If you were to do a Day of the Dead x Long Island Jewish Culture Dunny series, please explain how you would accessorize.

Wow. Well, you know it’s been a long time since my college days spent immersed in Long Island Jewish culture. But I have told you of my affinity for the Jewfro. So that would definitely be making an appearance. I also would insist on including those little snappy clips that I remember seeing dudes using to keep their yarmulkes on. There is something so charming about that. Might have to throw in a Hasid, too, or at least have one fella in the series rocking the payot. Clearly, I would also have to challenge my miniature whittling skills, and make an itty-bitty dreidel and then possibly braid some pipe cleaners into a challah? I suppose most of that is pretty traditional. And really, more of what I remember from my days at Long Island University is snotty rich girls in huge sun glasses with bad Louis Vuitton bags and matching coral lipstick and nail polish bitching to each other about what a whore Moriah was being in Queens last night. And if I tried to make a Dunny out of that, people would just think it was Paris Hilton or something.

(Phoebe Marie: Halloween Series)

Ha! Is there truth to the rumor (I just started) that St. Patrick’s Day Dunny 4A is actually related to Michael Lau’s Brian and Mike Mignola’s Hellboy?

Hilarious! I can definitely see something of a resemblance, but as I was making the little brawler, there, I had more of a Jay Bastard thing in mind. If he were related to anyone, it’d be Big Jay. But that actually brings up an interesting point, made by my boyfriend, while I was working on my little Mexican Irishmen. That point was: all leprechauns are gay. “Why?” I asked. “Well, because you never see a female leprechaun. And they’re all happy and are all about rainbows.” So, if the point he made is true, leprechauns can’t really be related to anyone, because they’re not breeders. Um… right? Wait, what happened?

(Phoebe Marie's St. Patrick's Day Series - available for purchase)

What’s next on the horizon?

At this very moment I am mostly concentrating on getting some of my collage work together for a joint show at Low Life Gallery in April and an as yet unscheduled solo show at Brandt Gallery sometime thereafter. There has been a passing mention of a possible all Day of the Dead themed stuff solo show in the Shoparooni Annex at some point. Not sure when that would happen. As for toys – right now I’m catching up on various customs I owe people. I’m super excited and honored to have received a request from amazing tattoo artist Tokyo Hiro for a custom Munny of himself! Plus the 2nd Shoparooni Easter Munny show is just around the corner. I’m STILL toying with some original sculpt stuff. And I am otherwise going completely bananas.

(Phoebe Marie's St. Patrick's Day Series - available for purchase)

About Owen DeWitt/Grimsheep

I kept coming across the name “grimsheep” in custom shows. His work seemed heavily influenced by the comics and superheroes of my youth. When Owen won a custoMONDAY, he decided to give back by starting a custoMONDAY of his own. Owen’s work will particularly resonate with comic fans. Writes the artist, “I will say its been fun seeing quality adaptations of comics coming out in recent years. Iron Man was quite a pleasant surprise, not only because it was great, but mostly because I didn’t think anyone would ever do it. Coincidentally, Iron Man was the first comic I collected and also the first custom I did.” A Stormtrooper here and a Hellboy there, and no doubt you’re going to recognize Owen’s work when you see it. You can keep up with his customs on Flickr, see his upcoming shows in San Francisco and Montreal, and you can enter our contest to win an original figure from Owen DeWitt’s Custom Dunny Skull Squadron series through ToyCyte’s custoMONDAY.

The Contest

Last week was Owen’s birthday and his wife got him one of the first toys I wrote about for ToyCyte, Bwana Spoons’ FullyVisual Steven The Bat. One of the fun surprises of the metal figure is that the head comes off to reveal a small compartment for safe-keeping. Owen has put something in that compartment, and he has sent me a photo to prove it. Click here to see a photo of Owen’s (closed) Steven the Bat for size. This contest has two parts, and therefore, two chance to win:

1. Guess what is inside Steven the Bat’s head. Everyone who guesses is entered into a random draw for the ToyCyte Skull Squadron custoMONDAY prize shown below. One person will win the prize.
2. In the odd event that someone guesses the contents of Steven’s head correctly, they win a blind box figure from Owen DeWitt’s Skull Squadron Series (shown further down below).
3. One guess per person, duplicates are fine to be entered in the random draw, but only an original guess is good for the blind box.
4. To keep everything drama free, Owen will take two time stamped photos, one with the head closed and one with it open revealing the contents.

Get your entries in by Sunday, March 1st at midnight PST. We will announce the winner on Monday, March 2nd shortly before the next custoMONDAY. The contest is open to anyone, anywhere in the world. If you have already won a custoMONDAY in 2009, please feel free to share your creativity, but you are, regrettably, not eligible for the prize.

The Interview

Where are you and what’s the art scene like?

I am originally from Montreal, but now living in Waterville, Maine. Waterville actually has quite a thriving art scene (as does most of Maine), though not really an urban one. The designer toy scene hasn’t exactly taken Waterville by storm quite yet, although there is one store that carries vinyl. I’m pretty sure I’m the only person in town buying it though .

How did you get into toy customizing?

It’s funny, I’ve been collecting toys and doing the occasional customization (things like making plastic Star Wars blasters look real) for ages, but the whole designer toy movement managed to elude me for a few years. I did finally become aware of Kidrobot a couple of years ago and was thinking about getting a Munny but never got around to it. About a year and a half ago I stumbled on Dunnys in the local music store, and my wife bought me a pile of stuff from Kidrobot, including a Munny that year for Christmas. Painted my Munny, went to the Kidrobot forum to show it off and I was hooked.

Tell us about your Hellboy custom.

I’ve been a fan of Mike Mignola since his days doing Alpha Flight, which if anyone even remembers it, gives away my age. Anyway, I do like pop culture icons, and although I’d seen many awesome Hellboy customs, I wanted to take a stab at him. I hadn’t done any sculpting on a Dunny before but I was pretty sure that if I could pull it off, it would be good for a little recognition. I ended up completing it for a community trade and he is now residing in sunny California.

You’ve modded Dunnys, Munnys, a Mad*L, a YOKA, a Labbit…am I missing any? What’s your favorite toy platform to customize?

I did do a plushform as well. I do tend to gravitate towards the smaller platforms. I find the details are so much more impressive on a small figure, and they don’t take as long so the gratification is a little faster. For the most part I’ve really liked most of the platforms I’ve worked on, but if I have to pick I’d say the 8″ Dunny.

As for what I’d like to work on; where to start? I have a couple shelves full waiting for me and there are some awesome blanks that just came out recently. I love Chaos Monkeys and I definitely want to get my hands on a Crappy Cat blank. I’m also looking forward to doing a Ryusei Ninja for the upcoming ‘It Came from Skullbrain’ show.

Man, I would love to see you do a Chaos Monkey and a Crappy Cat! Tell us about your custoMONDAY piece and the Skull Squadron series.

Ever since I did the first one of these Skull Squadron guys, I thought it would be awesome to do a series, mostly because I wanted a group shot of a whole bunch of them. Unfortunately, or fortunately, that first one turned into a pile of commission requests and as much as I’ve wanted to, have not had the chance (or maybe the discipline) to do it. I had enough people asking for it that I finally decided to put most everything else on hold to try to get it done.

Right now its looking like there will be around 20 of them, each with at least one accessory, blind boxed, and one Golden Ticket redeemable for a mystery custom. I did one specifically for the custoMONDAY giveaway, in glorious ToyCyte yellow and green.

What toys do you collect/which artists do you admire?

I collect all kinds of stuff. Of course, Dunnys having been my gateway drug and fodder for the majority of my customs, I do have a lot of them. I am getting more selective about which ones to display. Other than that I have a pretty good cross section of western vinyl, but I do try to keep my purchases to pieces and colorways I actually really like. I’m also proud of my collection of blanks [see below] but it’s likely that it will be forever changing.

As far as the artists go, so many of course, but if I had to name a few that have been making me happy lately I’d say Tim Biskup, Bwana Spoons, and Julie West. I’d also love to see some toys by Mari Inukai.

Since all I know about you so far is related to toys, what ELSE do you do in your not-so-spare time?

Heh. Between being a stay-at-home dad to having a strong-willed three year old girl, and my relatively recent descent into the black abyss of vinyl toys, one might think I don’t actually have any other interests. After kids (well kid) and vinyl, most of any other time I can find goes to my wife. Happily we are lucky enough to share common interests, and spend our ‘free’ time watching movies, TV, and gaming of all sorts.

What’s next on the horizon for Owen DeWitt/Grimsheep?

Next up are a few group shows in April…

• Humans Beware, I.W.G custom show at Rocketworld in San Francisco
• It Came from SkullBrain, custom show at Super7 in San Francisco
• Montreal Munny Show, at Off The Hook in Montreal

Of course, as usual, all the deadlines are around the same time, so I’ll be going out of my mind the last week of March. Hopefully I’ll find some time between now and then to do a few commissions as well!

You heard the man! If you like Owen’s work, drop him a line, and try to hook up a custom. And if you want this one, get your entries in by Sunday, March 1st at midnight PST. WHAT’S IN STEVEN’S HEAD???

Dustin Cantrell’s custoMONDAY reached critical mass ( I’m referring to that in the literal meaning, not saying a bunch of biker activists quickly took note). For Dustin, sudden attention like 9,000+ views on Gizmodo (not to mention being deemed worthy of translation on Spanish Gizmodo) and his own “Dustin Cantrell” tag on HypeBeast was staggering. For me as a the curator of custoMONDAYs, I was proud to see nods to the series on blogs I read like Gorilli and Make.  Dustin’s name now goes on for several pages on Google. Perhaps our proudest (read: randomest) moment came from the Kaws-loving Kanye West, who blogged about the Plasma Dunnys here. It’s very cool and encouraging to see custom toys being written up in non-toy contexts (though we also got a nice post from our toy friends at SpankyStokes). No doubt all the attentioncombined with the awesomeness of these figures led to the sell-out of Dustin’s trio of Plasma Dunnys, which marked the premiere of our ToyCyte Store. Congratulations, Dustin Cantrell! Stay tuned for more from Dustin (and our other custoMONDAY artists) in the store soon.

Now to the part you’ve been waiting for: Over 340 people entered the contest to win the fourth (and freest) custoMONDAY Plasma Dunny. After a ton of deliberation, Dustin chose Toycyte Reader, Stark Raving, who wrote:

My favorite piece of technology is the Transmogrifier, as popularized by Calvin and Hobbes. Here is a box that can turn anything into anything else, limited only by your imagination (and maybe not even by that). It is created from recyclable material, can be upgraded with a marker, and, when you’ve reached a certain age or mindset, can be easily converted to a storage container for the rewards of youth. Unlike many other devices, it doesn’t make the user lazier or dull the senses, but instead relies on the user’s ingenuity and imagination, even while it expands them.

According to Dustin: ” Their choice of The Transmogrifier from Bill Watterson’s, Calvin & Hobbes, was my favorite answer.  Every once in a while I need to be reminded of that comic strip and how awesome it is.  I think it’s also important to remember that throughout the series, Calvin used cardboard to make a Duplicator, Time Machine, a Cerebral Enhance-O-Tron, and The Transmogrifier.  He was quite the inventor and he was dedicated to constantly pioneering new technologies. Stark Raving touched on many of the reasons I find The Transmogrifier so charming and for that, they get the Plasma Dunny.”

So congratulations, Stark Raving! Check your inbox for an email from me about your winning entry. And everybody else: stay tuned for the next custoMONDAY: which should be hitting the front page shortly. In the meantime, enjoy a few screengrabs below which spread the plasma love all over the blogosphere…

‘

Our temporary store is open for preorders of Dustin Cantrell’s “Plasma Dunnys”. Dustin made a limited run of just three metallic silver Plasma Dunnys for ToyCyte to sell. Each Plasma Dunny features an interactive globe with a nod to electricity guru Nikola Tesla. These will be ready February 15 for shipping. Check out Dustin’s article here!

Dustin’s Dunnys have been featured on Gizmodo, MAKE and HypeBeast. There are only 3 for sale, so don’t hesitate. These will be ready for shipment February 15, and we will notify each buyer when we ship. Head over now!

Stay tuned for our next custoMONDAY (today!) for a chance to win another custom toy.

About Dustin Cantrell

Dustin Cantrell crossed my radar when his interactive custom Mad*L (crossed with a Bleep Labs Thingamakit) joined the ranks of last year’s ME Mad*L show in San Francisco. While T.W.E.R.P. took third place in the juried competition, it was first on my mind. Now it blips, bleeps and alights in my house with me. I kept in touch with the California-based artist and got to meet him in December at Vinyl Toy Network, where he was distributing his AsterioDunnys. In Pasadena, Dustin planted the seeds for what would become the Plasma Dunny for custoMONDAY. I knew from a grainy cell phone pic that it was going to rule, and Dustin did not disappoint. If you’ve ever been to a hands-on science museum (or, alternatively Spencer’s Gifts at your local mall), you are aware of the fun of touching these plasma-globes and conducting the electricity within. Combine that with your love for designer toys and you’ve got Dustin Cantrell’s Plasma Dunnys. Or, more correctly: we’ve got them. Dustin made a limited run of just four metallic silver Plasma Dunnys for ToyCyte. We are currently offering three of them through ToyCyte’s new store. Click here to score one while they last. [Update: 2/5: There is only one left! -An hour later and they're all gone! Last remaining one goes for free to the contest winner!] But if you want to get one of these unique, interactive, awesome figures for free, you’ll want to enter…

The Contest

If you want to get your hands on one of Dustin’s Plasma Dunnys (and trust me, you will), leave a comment below with your favorite gadget or piece of technology. It can be real or imaginary (from books, movies or comics). Dustin will pick a winner based on how cool/creative/interesting your gadget/tech is and how well you can back up your claim.Get your entries in by Sunday, February 15th at midnight PST. We will announce the winner on Monday, February 16th shortly before the next custoMONDAY. The contest is open to anyone, anywhere in the world. If you have already won a custoMONDAY in 2009, please feel free to share your creativity, but you are, regrettably, not eligible for the prize.

The Interview

How did you get into toy customizing/modification?

I guess toys just never really stopped being a part of my life. When I was little, I was into the normal 80s kid stuff: Star Wars, He-Man, Transformers, Legos, etc…. For a while, I was really into customizing action figures. You know, repainting Transformers to look more realistic or adding an LED to an Iron Man’s chest. Simple tricks to, in my mind, improve a cheap, easy-to-get toy and make something “better.” Eventually, I met Adrian Pina, and he saw my stuff. He gave me a CI Boys Mini-Destroyer and asked me to customize it for him. I made the Hell-met, a tiny WWII battle mech, and had a great time doing it. That’s when I realized that I could focus on the “designer” aspect of customizing. Instead of trying to make a better version of somebody else’s idea, I could just do my own thing and put more of myself and my interests into my creations.

AsteroiDunnys and Cosmic Travellers, do I detect an interest in space travel?

Space is the place! I’ve always been amazed by the vastness of our universe – all the awesome stuff in it, everything we’ve discovered about it, and everything we still don’t know about it. It’s kind of mind-blowing and really gets my imagination going. I like including that stuff in my pieces when it’s appropriate.

In addition to some western designer toys, I know you collect kaiju, and you recently customized a Hedorah and Mini Skullbrain. Theoretically, there is overlap in western/eastern toy collecting, so why so much online animosity?

There’s room for eastern/western overlap in toy collecting just like people can appreciate different genres of music for different reasons. One isn’t necessarily better than the other by default; they’re just different kinds of toys. If a toy is cool, it’s cool. If it’s lame, it’s lame. It doesn’t matter where it came from. As for the online animosity, I’ve seen it but haven’t experienced it personally. This is kind of a sensitive issue, but I’ll give you my take on it. People get passionate about their interests and the Internet gives them a place to voice that in various online communities and share with other people. I think most of the perceived “animosity” comes from folks who want to simply maintain the boundaries of these communities and keep their discussions focused on their interests.

Nice diplomacy! Your T.W.E.R.P. remains one of the most prized art pieces in my collection. Tell our readers a bit about how you turned a blank Mad*L into bleeping, light-up GID awesomeness.

It’s kind of a long story so bear with me. My girlfriend knows I’m into weird stuff and that I like to make things. She bought me a Thingamakit for my birthday back in August. Well, when it did arrive, in the box, along with all the resistors, capacitors, and potentiometers, was a hand-written note from Dr. Bleep thanking us for our purchase. I thought this was fantastic. After assembling the kit and playing with it for a few hours, two things happened. One, I was inspired to put the circuit in a Mad*L for the Delicious Drips ME Mad*L contest, and two, I e-mailed Dr. Bleep to thank him for the note and to ask him if he’d be interested in donating a Thingamakit to me for the project. It turns out, Dr. Bleep is as awesome as I thought he was: he knew of Delicious Drips and was planning on heading out there to peddle his Thingamagoops. He was very supportive and gladly donated a Thingamakit to the project. From then on, he was super-helpful and continued to support me throughout the build. Throughout the process, he sent me an additional speaker and some extra wire. Dr. Bleep is one solid dude. That’s the back story. From there, I just soldered up the thingamakit, added two additional switches to toggle on and off a couple of bends I found in the circuit, and mounted it in the Mad*L.

Care to comment on the genesis of your custoMONDAY Plasma Dunny?

The Plasma Dunny is kind of my way of exploring our relationship with technology. The science of the plasma globe comes from Nikola Tesla’s observations and experiments with finding ways to use evacuated glass tubes to observe high-voltage phenomena. I think it’s interesting that his work and discovery, which at the time must have seemed like some kind of magic, has been reduced to cheap, Chinese-made novelty toys to be sold in malls at stores like Spencer’s Gifts.

I agree. Another interesting Tesla factoid I just learned from the history channel: he was repulsed by women with pierced ears. Like Tesla, is it the challenge of making something new that appeals to you?

That’s definitely part of it. When I decide to commit to a project, I try to be conscious of the fact that I’m still making a toy, you know? With that in mind, sometimes it seems appropriate to not only add paint, but to include a whole new play feature…something to give the piece some “life.”

What music are you listening to when you’re, say, conducting electricity through Plasma Dunny’s head?

My musical tastes are all over the place so I tend to sum it up like this: I like music that either perfectly exemplifies its genre or drastically defies it, preferably both…at the same time. With that said, I’ve been revisiting my Clash albums pretty frequently. L.A.M.F. by The Heartbreakers is one of my favorites. When I really need inspiration, I go with Bowie. I’ve also been pretty into Guitar Wolf for a while now; they’re great for keeping my energy up.

What are some of your favorite toys? Artists?

Man, there are so many great toys and artists out there right now. Let’s see, for artists I’d say Bwana Spoons‘ stuff is consistently awesome. Mike Sutfin has been doing some great work with the Bop Dragons from Rumble Monsters. Paul Kaiju does an amazing job on pretty much anything he decides to put paint on. For toys, I think Gargamel has been putting out some really beautiful stuff. I also like the robot toys that Yamato makes, their Scopedogs and Valkyries are awesome, and it’s great that they put out accessory packs to make ‘em even better.

What are you working on now? Any upcoming shows?

Right now I’m working on pieces for three upcoming shows, DrilOne’s I.W.G. show, the Illazilla tour set up by TNES, and a Skullbrainer show at Super7. They’re all really exciting, and I’m very happy to be a part of them. I’ve got a few more ideas in the ol’ brain-pan but they’re going to have to wait until the summertime.

Stay tuned to ToyCyte for news on those shows!

About Project Detonate

Yosiell Lorenzo (aka Project Detonate) first got in touch with ToyCyte about his Crooked Ways custom show in October 2008. His seamless painting style and cute, but corrupt, characters made me an instant fan. After experimenting with hands-on art forms versus sitting behind a computer all day long, Yosiell quickly fell in love with painting.  As a result, Project Detonate has taken on a life of its own. With diverse artistic influences ranging from horror movies and Mist UK to Japanese pop art and video games, toy collectors and graphic artists alike are bound to connect with Project Detonate. Yosiell has several upcoming shows (see interview below). You can keep tabs on his work at Project Detonate’s Flickr page and MySpace. He offers a range of affordable prints, toys, stickers and shirts through his webshop. You can also find one-off art pieces from his recent Weapons of Mass Construction show for sale here. But if you want to get your hands on an awesome original hand-sprayed and painted Munny complete with matching print, you’ll need to enter…

The Contest

OK, prepare to get creative and channel your inner shaman. Yosiell has asked ToyCyte’s clever readers to come up with a cure for Para-host’s worm troubles. Para-host is the character you’re playing for. We’re looking for name, ingredients and/or regimen to cure this parasitic problem by Sunday, February 1st at 12 noon PST.  We will announce the winning entry shortly before the next custoMONDAY on 2/2. Good luck!

The Interview

OK first question, gotta get this one out of the way, what is the correct pronunciation of your first name?

Haha oh man, my name gets butchered all the time. Phonetically it’s Joe-Z-L. My mom actually made the name up right before birth..she knew I was going to be special haha!

What’s the art scene like in Connecticut?

Connecticut’s art scene is pretty solid. Where I live (New Haven) has a huge population of artists, musicians and writers. Once a year we have this event called the Festival of Arts and Ideas which includes block parties with tons of live bands and live art, it’s pretty ill. We also have gallery/shops like Channel One and David Apuzzo Gallery that cater more to the lowbrow art scene which is a huge help. Even though New Haven is awesome for art, there are not too many places to show this kind of art. NYC is close by, so some of that filters over here into Connecticut as well. All and all not too bad.

What tools do you use in your work?

When painting, I tend to paint on wood. My friend Matt Sharp turned me onto wood, and ever since then I never went back, so I rarely do canvas anymore. For paints, I use anything from Golden acrylics to heavy body Liquitex and always outline with ivory black system 3 acrylic. For some reason, that brand of black just flows like water and it’s still opaque. [As for] virtual [tools], Adobe Illustrator and my Wacom Intuos 3 tablet, and I’m good to go. I always start off with a sketch, scan it and then straight to Illustrator.

Tell us a bit about the story of your custoMONDAY piece.

Well the Worms have been a reoccurring theme in my paintings and the para-host was actually my first big painting that I did on canvas. I really liked this creature a lot so I figured I’d do a revised version of this bad boy, but as a 11×14 digital print instead. I’ve always been a big fan of print and toy sets so I figured why not do a munny version of Para-host and give that away along with a print. The munny is done with spray paint and acrylics topped off with a glossy clear coat.

Your characters are really cute! But in many of them, if you look closely, there’s something a little amiss–maybe a shadow bearing down on them or what I thought was initially a smile is actually a grimace.

It’s funny, when I first started painting I wasn’t aware that I was doing that, it was more of a subconscious thing. I guess it all goes back to that cliche saying “never judge a book by its cover.” I believe that there is always more to what you see and that’s with everything…buildings, people, everything! And I think that is starting to show in my work more and more. The cuteness I use as a method to reel in the observer and then hopefully the focus will move on to the underlying theme or cryptic message being portrayed in the painting.

You’ve done a variety of custom toys (most recently the MUTT). Do you have a favorite platform to work on and/or a favorite piece?

Working on the MUTT was awesome! But since I’m really into working on wood lately, I’d have to say that the Illzilla was one of my favorites right now. The fact that I could stain and then distress the edges for that gritty look won me over. I’m definitely on the lookout for more wooden toy platforms.

Do you collect toys?

Not as much I as did when I first discovered the whole vinyl toy scene. Now I mainly just pick and choose what I want. I want to get into collecting one of a kind vinyl figures versus the limited runs, but even that can get pricey as well.

Many people consider KAWS as having the market on painting characters over photos, but I am really excited by your collab with David Apuzzo. When is it and what is it about?

Ah, well the tentative date for that show was early April, but David and I are super busy and it seems that we haven’t found time to get together and plan the show out. David Apuzzo approached me at a show one day and asked me if I would like to collab with him. His idea was to re-enact fairy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood, Alice in Wonderland and Little Miss Mofat using live models, and then I would go in and do my renditions of the characters that went along with the story. I immediately said yes! This would give me a chance to do more digital work and break away from the paintings and customs I have been doing. As to when it’s happening, that’s up in the air right now. Is it going to happen? Hells yeah! Just keep checking my site for more details.

What’s coming up for Project Detonate?

I have loads of groups shows coming up, a 3-person show with Matthew Ryan Sharp and Betso over at Pink Ghost this summer, a solo show at the end of this year, random customs that I will drop from time to time, and world domination with my right hand man Matt Sharp!

Matthew Ryan Sharp and Project Detonate

About Lana Crooks

We begin the first custoMONDAY of 2009 with a first for the series: plush. And who better to kick things off than full-time plushinator, Lana Crooks? As the proprietor of Crookedart, Lana spends her time between freelance illustration, costume and set design for film and TV, visual design for retail and, of course, making unique soft sea creatures and skeletons. Over the past couple months, we’ve blogged about her pieces in group and solo shows. Lana’s work has been shown at A.Okay Official (where she is also a curator), Get Knifed Gallery and Gallery1988, to name a few. You can view her creations 24/7 online at Tor Gallery. The best place to keep tabs on the busy artist is at her Crooked Art blog, and if you like what you see, you can pick up her plushes in LA at Munky King. Or, you could win one right now. Which brings us to…

The Contest

Although Lana has made plush skulls before (beginning with a piece for Patrick Ma), she’s never had a name for them. Since the skulls are becoming something of a staple in her art, she’s looking for a name for the series. Leave a comment with your suggestion below and you just might win this one-of-a-kind soft skull. The custom (shown above) measures 9″h x 8″w x 10″d. Lana will pick a winner from all comments received by Sunday, January 18th at 12noon PST.  We will announce the winning entry shortly before the next custoMONDAY on 1/19.

The Interview

ToyCyte: Tell us a little about how you got into working with plush.

LC: I got into plush kind of by accident. I went to school for and have a BFA in Illustration. I was working as a freelance illustrator and costume designer right out of school. The first plush I made was a backpack to house my costume / illustration portfolio while at the SDCC. After that I started toying with the idea of mixing the two mediums. I made a pink Octoplush named Bubblegum just to keep myself busy. It was well received and I started making more.

Where do your ideas come from, and do you have a particular thing for sea creatures?

I get inspired by things at random, a video game, movie, photo, nature, a trip to the museum or a joke. I often will be in my own head, walking down the street and I will just think of something and giggle. A good deal of my inspiration comes from my friends. Fellow artists Max Bare, Arkady Roytman, Alex Willan and myself tend to bounce ideas off of each other… we talk about the most ridiculous things. Sometimes I hang out at a sketch group and doodle but usually the doodle only goes somewhere if I already had an idea floating around.

Octopi, squid and giant toothy sea monsters are among my favorite things. They have so many arms; just think of how many things they could do at once. Not to mention how very expressive they can be even though you can’t see their mouths.

As for all other things aquatic, I grew up in South FL. When I was little my grandfather had a small inflatable boat, the “S.S. Lana Lee” was painted on the front…I was named captain of the vessel and we would tool around the lake in it. After that my father had a boat he named “The Lana Michele” (named after my sister and myself). I enjoyed fishing and my sister enjoyed turning green and praying for land. In high school I was considered the most likely to become a pirate. All of this may have prompted a fascination with the ocean.

Can you describe your working method(s)?

I generally come up with some strange half-formed idea that I think is funny or aesthetically pleasing. I doodle. I pick out fabrics and other objects to add in. I occasionally work with a pattern but a lot of the time I actually just draw on the fabric. Creating the pattern is sometimes a feat in engineering. Cut, sew, stuff, battle physics, sew some more, add hardware and finally sign the piece. It is very rare that I do a multiple run of anything. Most of my pieces are one of a kind sculptural works but I have recently started working on skulls and surly sea stars that are smaller and of a portable nature.

How is creating your own characters different from customizing a platform (like Plushform or Munny)?

Characters tend to start as an idea that may or may not be physically possible. One little spark from something I have seen or have heard. The finished piece can go in any direction and be any size. With customization I feel more grounded. For example, all I need to do to the platform is add to it, dismantle it or paint it. I tend to get ideas faster when looking at the shape of a blank rather than leaving my mind to wander aimlessly. The plushform was one of my favorite blanks to work with.

Plush skulls seem to be a part of your repertoire. Tell us about your custoMONDAY piece and what it is about skeletal softies…

I am fascinated with all sorts of skeletons and I have a large skull collection near my workspace. I first incorporated a plush skull in a custom octo piece I did for Patrick Ma (Rocketworld). I posted photos on my blog of the piece in progress and I started getting emails asking about the skull. Because a real skull is so symmetrical and perfect it is quite challenging to replicate in soft form, lots of pieces in need of hand sewing. This specific skull is one of a very small run (6). The design will change slightly if I do the run again but I plan to diversify my plush skull collection this year.

You got a mention on BoingBoing! Can you talk about what it’s like to be an artist of this generation and the need to maintain and update your virtual presence?

There is indeed a great need to update ones site, unfortunately I am horrible at it. My site is currently awaiting “The great overhaul”. I am happy that I’m not so horrible at updating my blog.

I am also very honored to have a gallery up on Tor.com. It is through them that I got BoingBoing’s mention. That mention also prompted more posting on my own blog.

Having a blog is far more convenient to update than my site, which I also have built and “maintained” for many a year. I post to my blog at least once a month about my upcoming shows and photos of new pieces. My website could only be so lucky. I think the fact that people can send a comment to me coupled with the feeling that I am communicating…something…makes having a blog more personal. Therefore, blogs are a lot less tedious.

What can you say about the television pilot you did?

The project was a series of short comedies. I worked as the costume designer, set costumer, art director, and make-up artist on “After These Messages.”

I worked as the costume designer, make-up artist and plush wrangler on “Kusper.”

I have done a couple videos and commercials with Lowcarb Comedy so far. We have discussed other adventures in the coming year. I have worked on a couple feature films but have really been enjoying the atmosphere of working with a bunch of comedians.

I know I’m not the only toy collector/Top Model fan. What can you tell us about your contribution to Nigel Barker’s A Sealed Fate fundraiser/show?

I have worked with Carlos Torres and Sadie Woods before for their Rock the Future fundraiser (you guys wrote about that) and I was very interested in working with them again. My animal themed/friendly work will be projected on the walls of the space before the screening of Nigel Barker’s film and possibly at the after party as well.

This specific screening will be at: The Silver Room in Chicago, IL (1442 N. Milwaukee Ave) on Wednesday, January 7th from 7-11PM.

When you’re not creating Crooked Critters, what else do you like to do?

Generally if I am not working on Plush I am working on something else. Lately I have taken on a lot of other jobs in addition to keeping up with my shows and what have you. I have my own business that revolves around various Visual Merchandizing gigs. I travel nationally creating windows and displays for Virgin Megastores, and I am now the visual consultant for A.Okay Official. In addition to all that craziness Max Bare and I have recently become A.Okay Official’s gallery curators. Even though I have less and less time these days, I will still pull a video game all night-er. I’m a video game nerd, and I do not discriminate on the system.

What toys do you collect/artists do you admire?

I collect comic books and books of all kinds. I have a menagerie of vinyl and vintage toys. I have a growing art collection, mostly due to having artistic friends. My house is turning into a toy/science/textile/natural history museum.

I admire the work of Jim Henson, Arthur Rackham, Dr. Seuss, Shaun Tan and Liz McGrath to name a few. I find great joy in a lot of different art and am honored to know so many talented people. I am currently planning some collabs with some of my favorite and most admired artists. They are mostly in the planning stage but I will definitely be posting something as everything falls into place.

Looking forward to it!

The final custoMONDAY artist of 2008 comes to us all the way from the north of France.  Gaël Brienne (aka Nanan1) has created a spectacular space-age Santa Munny to highlight your holiday season. Not to get too deep, but we’re hoping that 2009 brings some serious healing to the world, and we’ve chosen this Munny as a metaphor. After spreading (virtual) peace across the planet, Nanan1’s custom Munny will fly home to one lucky reader. To win this great prize, submit a name for Santa’s spaceship by Friday, January 2nd. Nanan1 will select the winner, inscribe the chosen name (in vintage white) upon the spaceship, and send him your way. Before you jump to leaving your comment, read over this interview–ToyCyte’s first bilingual Q&A–courtesy of our resident French translation expert aka “my mom.” Check out the detail in the finish on Nanan1’s customs. Click on the links to explore artists who may be new to you. I encourage all international toy artists to get in touch and be part of custoMONDAY in 2009. Please feel free to re-post and link to this contest!

Give us a brief biography. For instance, you were born and now you make toys. What happened in between?

I have lived in Lille in the north of France since my birth, a somewhat desolate, post-industrial area, but the people here are so warm the idea of removing myself from this region never crossed my mind…My ed. until university was normal enough, I held some small jobs…at the same time, I was drawing a lot, I did water colors…I created a universe I called “the upper world” around characters which reflected my Japanese influence, it’s a collection of drawings for the young and the old…I think I will finish it someday, but right now I don’t have the time, and I think the project will turn into 3D…

Je vis à Lille dans le nord de la france depuis ma naissance, c’est une  région post-industrielle un peu désolée mais les gens y sont tellement chaleureux que l’idée de m’en éloigner ne m’a jamais vraiment traversé l’esprit… J’ai eu une scolarité assez normale jusqu’à l’université, j’ai enchainé les ptits boulots… En parallèle je dessinais beaucoup, je peignais à l’aquarelle… J’ai dévelloppé un univers que j’ai appelé “the upper world” autour de personnages qui reflétaient mes influences japonaises, c’est un recueil d’illustrations destiné aux enfants et aux plus grands…
Je pense que je le terminerai un jour mais le temps me manque et je crois que le projet va évoluer vers la 3D…

How did you get into making toys?

I turned to the world of toys by chance, I used to pass a toy store near me where I would look with envy at the window saying to myself I’m just too old for this! The day I went to see the first “Customania” was a revelation to me, the idea of customizing pleased me enormously. My girlfriend offered me two baby qee to try out, and I adored them! I haven’t been able to stop!

En fait je suis arrivé dans le monde des toys un peu par hasard, je passais parfois devant cette boutique près de chez moi où ils en vendaient et je regardais la vitrine avec envie en me disant que j’étais trop vieux pour ça! Le jour où je suis allé voir le premier “Customania” ça a été une révélation pour moi, le concept de customisation me plaisait énormément… ma petite amie m’a offert deux babyquee pour essayer et j’ai tout de suite adoré ça! Depuis je n’arrête pas!

Tell us about your painting technique: How do you achieve the look of metal and rust?

The first step for me is to modify the structure of the toy, adding pieces, sculpting, cutting…painting is the most delicate stage, I often go over it many times before I get what I want…I start with a metallic grey undercoat, then I use an acrylic paint which I apply with a dry brush so that it will adhere better, this gives it the vintage effect…the rust effect I get by applying several coats of different shading according to the metal I wish to imitate…

La première étape pour moi est de modifier la structure des toys en y ajoutant des pièces, en sculptant, en découpant… la peinture est l’étape la plus délicate, je m’y reprend souvent à plusieurs fois avant d’arriver à ce que je veux… je commence par une sous-couche gris métallisée, ensuite j’utilise une peinture acrylique que j’applique à la brosse sèche pour qu’elle accroche mieux, c’est ce qui donne l’aspect vintage à la couleur… les effets de rouille je les obtiens en superposant plusieurs teintes différentes selon le métal que je veux imiter…

What is the designer toy scene like in France? What are the cool shops, galleries, etc.?

The French toy scene is in full expansion, there are many good artists who gravitate to the world of toys, we can name “steph cop” and “mist” who are two of the living gods of graffiti who have truly initiated the art toy scene in France, but there are also younger ones like Bunka and his “Chaos Monkey” or Fakir and the “lapin q-biq”. Individualization in France is largely represented by “Customania” which takes inventory of a large number of artists whose works are all beautiful…Artoyz was the only one selling these toys, but for a while now other boutiques  have opened…My favorite is “Enter Your Name,” it’s near me and the owners have followed and supported my work since the beginning.

La scene française est en plein essor, il y beaucoup d’artistes de qualité qui gravitent autour de l’univers du toy, on peut citer “steph cop” et “mist” qui sont des dieux vivants du graffiti et qui ont véritablement initié la scène art toy en France, mais il y a également des plus jeunes comme Bunka et son “Chaos monkey” ou alors Fakir et le “Lapin q-biq”. La customisation en France est largement représentée par “Customania” qui recense un grand nombre d’artistes dont les productions sont plus belles les unes que les autres…
Artoyz ont longtemps été les seuls à vendre des toy, mais depuis quelques autres ont ouvert… Mon préféré s’est “Enter Your Name“, il se trouve tout prés de chez moi et les patrons suivent et soutiennent mon travail depuis mes débuts…

What toys do you collect?

Bizarrely, I don’t collect toys, I have a lot at my home, but they are only in transit, waiting for me to finish them, I like the munny for its price and the potential for work it offers me, otherwise I’m a great fan of mecha, particularly those by Kow Yokoyama…otherwise UNKLE, Mars 1, and I love Koibito by Yoskay Yamamoto…

Bizarrement je ne suis pas collectionneur de toys, j’en ai bien sûr beaucoup chez moi mais ils ne sont qu’en transit en attendant que je leur fasse une beauté… j’aime beaucoup le munny pour son prix et le potentiel de travail qu’il m’offre, sinon je suis un grand fan de mecha, particulièrement ceux de Kow Yokoyama… sinon UNKLE, Mars 1 et j’ai un coup de coeur pour le Koibito de Yoskay Yamamoto….

Want to give any shouts out to other local artists and customizers?

Certainly, there are many local artists whose work I like, I can name “Co” whose paintings impress me more and more, “Chocoklash” and “Hellofreaks” whose graphic work I adore, “Efaser” and “Lady shove“, two graphic designers/graffiti writers with talent with whom I have collaborated and “Eliz” my official photographer…

Oui bien sûr il y a beaucoup d’artistes locaux dont j’aime le travail, je peux citer “Co” dont les peintures m’impressionnent de plus en plus, “Chocoklash” et “Hellofreaks” dont j’adore les travaux de graphistes, “Efaser” et “Lady shove“, deux graffers de talents avec qui j’ai collaboré et “Eliz” ma photographe officielle…

Do you have any shows or events coming up?

Yes I’m doing my first solo custom show at Enter Your Name next February, my works will also be on sale online on the website for that date. ..I’m also doing a show in collaboration with “Co” at the Sug-art Gallery in Cannes (movie festival) from March to July 2009, I’m participating in the “Planet Bubble” show in February in Lille and my works are certainly on view with Customania at the “Handmade Custom Tour” traveling show. Some of my works will be exposed at a collective show next April in New York, but I’ll tell you more about that soon…

Oui je fais mon “First solo custom show” chez Enter Your Name en février prochain, mes oeuvres seront d’ailleurs en vente en ligne sur leur site pour l’occasion… Je fais également une exposition en collaboration avec “Co” à la gallerie Sug-art à Cannes (movie festival) de mars à juillet 2009, je participe à l’exposition “Planet Bubble” en février à Lille et mes productions sont bien sûr visibles avec Customania sur l’exposition itinérante “Handmade Custom Tour”. Certaines de mes oeuvres seront exposées lors d’une exposition collective en avril prochain à New-York mais je vous en dirai plus bientôt…

About Beastlies

Leslie Levings is an artist and writer living in Los Angeles and working at a comic book shop. I first came across 50 of her Beastlies at a San Francisco group art show. They were new to me then, but the Beastlies are legion (see below). What I like most about these is how much personality she crafts into 1-inch polymer clay critters. She also takes great photos of the Beastlies (peep her Flickr). You can see Leslie’s comics at Atrox Comics and you can buy her Beastlies at her Etsy shop. But for something a little more personalized, you could win…

The Contest!

Leslie does a weekly live web show that can be seen here. During the show, she makes Beastlies before your very eyes, and you can text/talk to her as she does it. Leslie has offered to make one ToyCyte reader his/her own custom Beastlie on the show. To win, submit two starting points as a comment below: name and color. Leslie will choose one winner and make the Beastlie next Monday on the show. All comments must be logged by Sunday at midnight. Exact time of next Monday’s show TBD and announced here. Today’s show will begin at 5:30PM PST today, so check it out and say hello (to Leslie, me and other Beastlies fans).

The Interview

How long have you been creating the Beastlies and how did they come about?

I started making little creatures with Sculpey when I was about 10 or so. I made animals, a lot of holiday-themed stuff, mermaids, that kind of thing. For years I was that kid who sculpted tiny things, but then in middle school I dropped it. When I’d come home from college, friends of my parents would always ask “Remember those cute little things you used to make? Do you still do those?” And I’d get all snippy and say, “Uh, no, I do REAL ART now, thankyouverymuch.” Ha. Anyway, I didn’t pick it up again until after college, when I wanted to make the diorama for the mainpage of the webcomic I do with some friends. This was about three years ago? I started making little animals again, but pretty soon they sort of naturally evolved into imaginary monsters, which I called the Beastlies.

Approximately how many Beastlies have been unleashed into the world?

Let’s see… Close to six hundred on Etsy (some before I opened the Beastlie-brand-name shop), and then there’s all the comic conventions I do: APE, Stumptown, and San Diego… So I’d say a little more than a thousand?

When you’re not rolling polymer clay, what are you up to?

I work at a comic book store in LA, (Meltdown! We even sell some of my Beastlies there), and I contribute art, writing and occasionally bad acting to the Atrox website. That’s just about it. Beastlies sort of take up all my free time these days.

Who are some artists you admire?

A couple of my friends are fantastic artists: Web-cartoonist Erika Moen makes the comic “DAR,” and Lauren Wong (who has an etsy store under the name LWong) is one of my favorite painters. Let’s see…I’ve been a fan of James Jean for a while. I enjoy work by Stuntkid, Miss Monster. Hmmm… there are a lot I’m forgetting. Kozyndan.

Do you collect toys, and if so, please describe…

I do, in loosest sense of the word “collect.” When I see something that really strikes me, I might pick it up, but I frequently then forget what it is or where it came from. I do really like the adorable plush work from Sewing Stars. I’m not sure if she’s still making her owls, but they’re my favorite. I have one on my desk. I have a couple of the little Joe Ledbetter animals. Finders Keepers, I think? I have the Julie West designed Kaniza figure (I had to look that name up just now. I’d just picked it up because it was pretty). I like my Ghost Rider Mighty Mugg, because I am a big nerd.

Don’t forget: tune in today at 5:30PM PST here to watch Beastlies being made. Next week, Leslie will create the winning Beastlie on the show, same place, different time (TBD).

About MONSTREHERO

MONSTREHERO is Sean Blay and Cliff Kirschner, two guys who live in Orlando and like to make toys. They draw influence from superheroes, Japanese monsters, comics, old school action figures and the environment around them. Perusing MONSTREHERO’s Flickr, you’ll immediately notice that the duo is not afraid of color or texture. One of their signature original figures, The Victim, ranges from a sweet soda shoppe Shirley Temple colorway to the Skittle-vomit Mardi Barf variant. And Codename P.A.N.T.s exists in a seemingly infinite spectrum of finishes. I’m really blown away by the level of success they are able to achieve with their constant experimentation on figures like The Victim, Axeface, Skullmaster and P.A.N.T.s. I’m not typically the hugest kaiju fan; sometimes I look at a figure and think, who threw up on that toy? With MONSTREHERO, I eagerly await their latest images and really see the beauty in the medium. Sean and Cliff recently went on a bender and made a ton of new figures for last week’s Kaiju Monster Invasion. Any work that didn’t sell at the event will make its way to their MONSTRESHOP, where you can find custom toys. To keep tabs on what MONSTREHERO is up to, sign up for their newsletter by dropping a note to info [at] monstrehero [dot] [com]. They’ve got lots of new releases and some hush-hush store-exclusives on the horizon, not to mention some tutorials they’ll be contributing to ToyCyte in 2009. But speaking of custom toys, how would you like to get a custom Victim made to your specs by MONSTREHERO?

The Contest

I have no idea how these guys do what they do, but here’s what they’re going to do for you: Leave a comment suggesting a new colorway for a Victim figure and they will choose one winner and actually make it for you. How cool is that? Be as creative as possible; they’re looking for a challenge and if you have a look at their stuff, you’ll see they’re up for it. Get your colorways in by Sunday at 12AM PST. We’ll announce the winner before next week’s custoMONDAY. Good luck!

The Interview

How and when did you get started making toys as MONSTREHERO?

It’s almost been exactly one year since we made our first bootleg, the Veteran. We both love toys and figured that we’d try and make our own. We bought some supplies, did a little research, and MONSTREHERO was born. The hardest part was coming up with a name.

Can you tell us about your process?

We’re always sketching and coming up with weird creatures. We work independently of each other when coming up with ideas, but when we find something we like, we consult and discuss the possibilities. We then get to work sculpting. The two of us have different sculpting preferences. Sean likes wax, while Cliff likes to use Super Sculpey and Apoxie Sculpt. We concentrate on this stage the most, because if you have a crappy sculpt, not even the best paint can save it.

After we have finished a sculpt, we create a silicone mold, then cast in resin. We like to use different additives in our resin, like dyes and powdered pigments, to get interesting effects. Next begins the long and arduous process of cleaning up our castings. This is really the most time-consuming and least fun part of the entire process. But, then its saved by painting. We usually have a vague idea of what something should look like, but we leave it open to whatever fits our fancy when we get to painting. It makes it much more spontaneous and less paint-by-numbers, and it makes up for the crappy time we had cleaning up the castings.

You do some of the most unique colorways and textures. What have been some of your favorites? Which ones bombed?

We try to make all of our paint jobs unique and exciting. We try not to let anything that we think isn’t up to par into the wild. A piece will get worked on until its “right”, which could take an hour, or a month. Its hard to pick a favorite, because we like everything we do, but if we have to pick, Sean’s favorite colorschemes would be the original Black Skullmaster, the Green Axeface, the new Skullsmaster Skullmaster, the large Stage 2 green and blue versions, and pretty much all of the little Pants Monstres. Cliff would have everything on his shelf if he could.

Who/What influences your work?

Our main influence is probably Japanese tokusatsu and their vinyl counterparts. Sean loves the superhero shows like Kamen Rider and Kikaider, while Cliff likes all the cool vinyl monsters that have come out over the years. We’re also greatly influenced by other artists like Le Merde and Lamour Supreme.
Cliff draws a lot of his influence from natural environments, hence his gritty textural paint schemes. Sean is a big fan of comics and movies, so his work tends to have bold colors and dynamic shapes.

We’re especially influenced by old school action figures, like the original Ninja Turtle line or MUSCLE toys. We try to have that big, goofy fun that you see in these old toys by having movable parts and accessories. We’re trying to bring this important part of our childhood and lives into a more fine art setting.

What toys do you collect?

There is definitely diversity in what we collect. We have been toy collectors our whole lives. At the moment Sean’s been enjoying Transformers, Star Wars and Japanese vinyl. Cliff prefers Japanese vinyl like Real Head, Rumble Monsters and Le Merde. We both like GI JOE, especially the new 25th anniversary line. There really is no set parameter, though, and anything that looks cool or fun usually ends up on our shelves.

About Jason Freeny

Armed with a youthful, overactive imagination, Jason Freeny creates smart, intricate illustrations that tickle the deviant intellect through a hard graphic, pop iconography and wit. Jason has worked with LEGO, MTV and Nickelodeon and has been featured in the pages of Hi-Fructose, Juxtapoz and Heavy Metal. His anatomy illustrations have circulated the Web from BoingBoing to Nerdcore. You can pick up one of his print pieces here, some wearable art here, and convenient exoskeletons for all your gadgets here. He has, on the horizon, several magazine pieces, a couple top secret product projects and a collaboration with the United Arab Emirates. Every once in a while, Jason returns to 3D form and busts out a choice custom piece. Which brings us to…

The Contest

You are playing for a customized 3.5-inch Baby Egg Qee based on the platform by Toy2R. The Yolkel is part of a dozen hand-made Qee figures by Jason Freeny. There are no figures like these in production. If you want to score one, leave a comment telling us your best guess as to what Jason eats for breakfast every morning. Closest answer wins the Yolkel!

The Interview

Q: Tell us about the process of creating this Yolkel (from concept to cutting to kid-testing)?

A: It is very rare that I design a custom. I need to have a smart and solid idea before I’m willing to totally lay waste to my office space for a few weeks. I dont like creating customs just for the sake of creating customs. I always like to create designs that both explore the insides as well as the outsides of the 3D form. I had come up with the eyes and mouth as a negative space some time ago for an illustration. It was meant to be shapes floating in the sky acting as a hole with an alternate universe on the other side. The tongue was a device to illustrate this concept by punching through. To this day I have yet to execute this illustration but the face idea was always floating around in my head. I first used this idea on a Dunny (both small and large) and was very happy with the results. A simple idea is at times the most successful, and the soft defined curves with a goofy hole and tongue exposing the dark space within just worked so well. I was getting request upon request from people to make more of the Dunnys for purchase. Unfortunately Kidrobot doesn’t offer DIY Dunnys, and the design didn’t look as well on their blank Munnys (whose shape is less dynamic). So I basically went on a mission to find the ideal form that I could use to produce a small run that wouldn’t end up costing people an arm and a leg. The Egg Qee [by Toy2R] was perfect.

My process was simple: create a stencil of the face and trace and cut with a very sharp x-acto knife. Then sand the openings till smooth. The tongues were sculpted from a mixture of magenta and white sculpy, baked and given a shiny clear coat via krylon. I always incorporate my 5-year old son in the process when I can; he loves to play with whatever I am working on. He was kept at bay during the cutting process but helped “organize” during the sanding. But mostly he just played with the Qees I wasn’t sanding at the time. Once all the pieces were ready, I glued in the tongues with a little drop of 5-minute epoxy.

Q: I’m imagining your work area as half design studio and half science lab? How off am I?

A: When we used to live in Manhattan, I had an actual “Design Studio” that was ultimately sacrificed as a baby nursery when my son was born. This event alone was the driving force in my decision to go digital. I was a 100% traditional artist before this time. Everything was drawn, hand painted, airbrushed and sculpted. While the transition from “raw art” to “digital art” was a painful one, I have no regrets and fully embrace what it is I do now. I do still, from time to time, pull out my sketch book and doodle. Now that we live in a house, my wife and I share an office space. It is pretty much strictly a computer room, but at times, like with the egg Qee, I treat myself to some good old handy work.

There is no science lab but I do love anatomy and toys and there is a small collection of both surrounding my desk. When I find an item that encorporates both toy and anatomy, I get very excited. I really want one of those Kaws half-anatomy [Dissected] figures but they have moved out of my price range… Maybe one day…

Q: What caused you to first explore the innards of a gummy bear?

A: My first anatomy Illustration was an illustration I did while a freelance illustrator for Penthouse called “Incubus”. It, of course, was adult-oriented and never used, but it did strike an interest in both anatomy and schematic diagrams. The Balloon dog “Pneumatic Anatomica” was the real beginning of what it is that I am doing now. The response to this piece was overwhelming. I started looking at anatomy in just about everything… The Gummi Bear was the next victim.

Q: Who/what are some of your artistic inspirations?

A: I find inspiration in just about everything and it is usually completely unexpected. I’ve always found inspiration in the works of masters like Dali and Escher as well as George Petty, Sorayama, Warhol and Robert Williams, to name a few.

Q: What programs/tools do you use in your digital designs?

A: I work on MacPro using Maya, Illustrator and Photoshop

Q: What materials do you use in your sculptures?

A: I sculpt using sculpy and anything else that suits the situation (metal rods, washers, wood etc…)

Q: Do you ever run into people who have your designs as skins on their iPods/laptops/cell phones?

A: Haven’t seen any of my skins/shirts in the wild yet, but I’ll probably be tickled when I actually do. I have had friends spot them though…

Q: Do you have any advice for readers who are looking to license their art?

A: Licensing is a great thing. You are getting paid for something you already did. So my advice is, “yes, license.” The hard part is pricing the license fees. I am still pretty new at this and am getting more knowlegable as it comes. I go to the Graphic Artists Guild Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines all the time to get a good idea of what a reasonable fee would be. If you do this kind of work, it’s a must have book…

Q: I know you like Toy2R’s Qees and IWG by Rocketworld. What other figures do you collect?

A: I am not a “completist” by any means. I only collect toys, characters and designs I like. When I started, this was like a candy store, but now they seem to be harder and harder to find. there is so much stuff out there that just doesn’t inspire any more. The relative affordability of putting out a limited edition toy is becoming a double edged sword. On one hand, all these small establishments can afford to get their ideas out, on the other side, all these small establishments can afford to get their ideas out.

I am usually a sucker for anything decorated by Tim Biskup.

Q: What’s next for Jason Freeny?

A: I have plenty of anatomy schematic ideas in my head ready to be liberated, this includes some illustrations that will keep in the same “humor” but not be a direct anatomy diagram, similar to my “Immaculate Confection” piece. All of these are on hold in the short term due to the influx of projects that are landing on my doorstep recently. I’ve been bombarded with magazine featurettes, ten-plus in the next month alone. I have some product projects in the works but cant really talk about them due to non-disclosure forms, but I am EXTREMELY excited about them to say the least. There is a Harper Collins publication coming out soon showcasing 100 international illustrators for which I was asked to participate. And I am in the process of producing a series of custom posters of my anatomy works to hang on display in the Jumeira Brainobrain youth school system in Dubai UAE.

About Mike Slobot

Mike Slobot is an artist and a storyteller. Each of his creations is a character with a background (and a future). Many of Mike’s customs begin with a platform toy, but finding the DIY toy within the Slobot can be a game of “Where’s Waldo?” His customs really become originals–part of the ongoing Slobot series. I had the pleasure of interviewing Mike back in June. We discussed everything from the secret Slobot sauce to Andy Warhol’s cookie jar collection. Read it here. ToyCyte isn’t the only blog to take notice of Mike’s work. Gizmowatch and BoingBoing both profiled slomunnyV3, calling it “The Cutest DIY Mini Munny Ever” and “a Post-Apocalyptic Cyborg Lemon,” respectively. With accolades like that and Mike’s upcoming solo and group shows, you won’t want to miss out on…

The Contest

Mike is offering two prizes. First up is the slomunnyV4 whose provenance includes the Toy Box Apathy show in Las Vegas earlier this year. The figure is built around a custom 7″ munny (approx. 12″ with new legs) and features lucite limbs, found objects and articulated arms and “glider” wings. SlomunnyV4 was a Martian Agriculture Robot deployed to Mars before the first settlers arrived. His task was to begin growing desert plant species in an effort to increase the oxygen content of Mars. Now that Mars has been settled for many years now, slomunnyV4 needs a new job. The Martian Farmer robots have all been upgraded and slomunnyV4 now has no job and would like to relocate. He will need a new job based on his skill set. What career would you give this red robot with the green thumb? Best answer wins!

Next up, Mike created a brand new 3-inch slotrexi-04 just for custoMONDAY. This custom is built around Play Imaginative’s Trexi platform figure, and he’s ready to join the rest of the Slobot gang. But he is missing a story. Who is he? What does he do? Best answer wins.

You can enter to win both prizes. 1) Come up with a new job detail for slomunnyV4. 2) Pen a little story for slotrexi. All entries must be received by midnight (PST) on Sunday, November 23rd. Winners will be announced on Monday, November 24th. Keep tabs on Mike Slobot on his website, blog, Flickr, MySpace and shop. Currently, Mike’s got custom Qees, original polymer clay figures and watercolor paintings for less than $25 each on etsy here. You can’t beat that. Guaranteed to quadruple in value. Take my word and don’t sleep on this stuff!