ToyCyte: Toy Culture Collected

I’m sure this is going to sound a little, uh, bromantic, but I totally love these guys. Taking head and chest hair DNA into consideration, I think Todd Berger might be my brother for real. TeeBee is one third of Cypher13, the design collective (comprised of Todd, Alex Henry and Lucian Foehr) responsible for one of my favorite blogs, JoyEngine. Their latest project, SOFT&FURRY™, is a global DIY collab. I’ve been watching the simply shaped woodland creatures evolve into colorful customs from around the world. ToyCyte has covered S&F™ since its onset, but for further insight, I went straight to Cypher13.

Left to Right: Cypher13 is Lucian Foehr, Alex Henry, Todd Berger

JEREMY BRAUTMAN: Cypher13 does graphic design, illustration, web design, branding…what made you decide to add toy design to the list?

Cypher13: In the commercial world we consider ourselves “tactical designers” and “brand strategists.” But we won’t just work for anyone. We’re pretty specific when it comes to our clients. Their ethics and value system must be in-line with ours.

Our studio is home to many wonderful designer toys. Our clients love them, and they sort of act as a filter. If our clients can appreciate the fact that we love toys, collecting them, playing with them, and customizing them, while realizing that we take our design and strategy work very seriously, well, then they’ve passed their first test. Which brings us to making our own toys… We love toys!!! The three of us have been collecting and customizing toys for as long as we’ve worked together. We have lots of toys. We design toys, or at least characters, with intention of realizing them as toys all the time. Seems like just we decided it was finally time to make some, and not just design them and send the designs overseas, but to handle the entire process from start to finish. And then of course, share them with our friends – who also love toys!!!

DIY Boomer Packs by Cypher13

I’m curious about SOFT&FURRY™ pre-production–how did the current iterations of the characters and their story come about?

S&F™ came together in a very organic, very cypher13 sort of way. Here’s the quick and dirty: Back in March, we threw up a website called www.softandfurry.com. We put a timer on it counting down to Todd’s birthday (just an arbitrary date), and all it said was “coming soon!!!” We had no idea what it was going to be. Our friends saw it, and got very inquisitive. We just said we working on something top-secret and that they’d have to wait. It went on the back-burner assuming we’d come up with some sort of project that the name would fit. We threw around the idea of creating some sort of logo contest. Then we sort of forgot about it until one day in April when Dea Webb called and asked us if we wanted to have a show at Plastic Chapel. We leapt at the opportunity and lined up September 13th.

Left to Right: Looft, Groond and Doo

We got very excited very quickly, and as soon as we got off the phone with Dea, everything came together. We knew what we were going to do: We’d turn SOFT&FURRY™ into the working project name for the show, we’d have a logo contest on the site to design the identity, we’d design, sculpt, mold, and finish our toys (while running the logo contest), then pick a select group of friends and art-design heroes to customize them.

S&F™ Logo by Markham "Shitty Kitten" Maes

So  we had a project called SOFTANDFURRY™, three unnamed characters, and nothing terribly soft or furry about anything–and all of a sudden, the real story revealed itself, almost magically. LOOFT, DOO, and GROOND spoke their names to us and told us they’re tale. They told us that they were really, really old. They said that at one time they were very large, very soft, and very furry. But that they’d been driven to near extinction and forced to hide up in the high alpine mountains. Yet, they’d never forgot their role, their purpose in life… They said that they’d evolved, that they’d been hardened, that they needed to blend in to a new, fast-paced, rapidly developing world, where man did not understand their importance. They told us that they had to disguise themselves to accomplish their tasks… They said that we, cypher13, had to help save and protect them… They wanted to be our friends.

Groond by Adam Haynes

You’ve shared much of the process of SOFT&FURRY™ online. Want to share some advice/lessons learned for ToyCyte readers thinking about making their own toys?

We’ve tried to share as much as we could find time to. The process has been very time consuming. LOOFT, DOO, and GROOND require lots of love. We’re making their life story into a book (that will be available later this winter) with lots of process-based tips and details among other things. They want us to tell their story very badly… But, as for tips, sure, here’s a few…

1. The better your sculpt, the better your mold.
2. Measure 3x and cut once – better yet, don’t forget the mold release.
3. Be patient – lots of time must be spent watching silicon and urethane cure.
4. Remember, toys require lots of love.
5. Prepare to stay up late!

SOFT&FURRY™ materials

There were a ton of submissions for the S&F™ logo design contest. Some were cute, some were slick, some had a touch of smut, some re-envisioned corporate logos…Given all the interest, will you be making SOFT&FURRY™ DIY toys available for sale?

We’re not sure. As of right now, it seems like LOOFT, DOO, and GROOND are very particular about who gets to help disguise them. They’re actually quite finicky. Who knows, their temperament might change. They’re really counting on Barack Obama to help them carry out their mission. Come November they could be very, very happy. We dearly hope they are!!!

[Editor's Note: Groond bio-engineered a new breed of fungus, Psilophalocybin, more commonly referred to around the Cypher13 lab as Baby Boomers: The new fungus is intended to assist in their earthly duties… cleansing the soil and purifying the air.  Psilophalocybin has proven to exhibit accelerated soil detoxifying capabilities in tandem with rampant carbon dioxide processing, resulting in the production ultra-rich oxygen. The project has been so successful that they intend to collaborate as a team this very evening in an effort to produce an even more robust fungus… Psuperpsilophalocybin. Images of the Baby Boomers courtesy of Todd.]

Love and Ideas Desktop Companion

The SOFT&FURRY™ artists series manages to achieve worldwide representation. Was it a conscious decision to go global or just happenstance that your favorite artists/friends live all over the place?

After realizing the importance of the SOFT&FURRY’s role in the universe, we determined that those best suited to help, were quite spread out. We went to great lengths to provide the S&F™ with the best “cover” possible. It just turns out that some of folks most suited to camouflage them happened to be abroad. Luckily, we have many magical friends quite close by with the sort of special powers that the S&F™ required.

Looft by Mike HYP

On September 13th, SOFT&FURRY™ debuts in Denver at Plastic Chapel. Will the customized figures be available for purchase thereafter?

Yes sir, all of our friends will be for sale at the plastic chapel as well as online at softandfurry.com (a few days after the show). LOOFT, DOO, and GROOND can perform their vital tasks most optimally when being cared for by arty types. As we mentioned… they require lots of love.

I saw Todd’s conceptual design for a Plugg vinyl toy and a handmade wooden Space Traveler. Will you be making a run of either of these?

We’re not sure. Todd made those a while back. We no longer create any art or design work as individuals. All of our work is produced as one unit, cypher13. We’re a team. We’re kind of like the Wonder Twins, but there’s three of us. We put our heads together and then “activate!”

Baby Boomers

You guys have jobs as designers, also run a blog, and still manage time for personal and political projects. What else are you up to between coats of paint?

We consider ourselves very lucky. Our job is fun. Often tricky, but fun. We love JoyEngine. It’s where we get to talk about how awesome our friends are and then show off they’re work. Many of our friends contribute to the site as well. We have some brilliant, spectacularly talented friends. Yeah, we’re all very politically minded. We feel that it’s important to help keep folks informed, present the “real” issues and do our best to help break through all the lies and propaganda. Politics are actually quite scary right now. We’re scared sometimes. We do paint a lot, but in between coats, we cut stuff, glue stuff, mold stuff, draw on stuff, talk on our iPhones, and stuff like that. Actually, all we really do is design stuff and then try our best to make it. We listen to lots of music (we have an amazing sound system in our studio) and like to watch movies. Lucian snuggles with his girlfriend. Alex and Todd snuggle with each other, but not really.

Blindbox Boomers

Who are some of your favorite artists? How about some of your favorite toys?

We have so many favorite artists. Most of our favorites our are quite close by. While there’s all sorts of big names whose work we love, there’s a great many lesser known super-talents very, very close to blowing up. They make up some of the folks that inspire us most and who’s work is very, very dear to us. All of their names are listed on the event announcement for the SOFTANDFURRY™ show!!!

[Editor's Note: Here are some of the artists: Dave White (davewhite.me.uk UK), DeadVolt (deadvoltage.com DENMARK), DGPH (dgph.com.ar ARGENTINA), HELLOHIKIMORI (hellohikimori.com FRANCE), Galaxy Bunch (galaxybunch.com HONG KONG), Morten Andersen (m-andersen.com DENMARK), StupidLove (stupid-love.com ARGENTINA), Tilt Design Studio (tiltdesignstudio.com GERMANY), TOKO (toko.nu AUSTRALIA), Pulco Mayo (pulcomayo.com FRANCE), PHU! (phuek.blogspot.com SINGAPORE), Via Grafik (vgrfk.com GERMANY) and Zeptonn (zeptonn.nl THE NETHERLANDS), Adam Haynes (stickfort.com BEND, OR), Celeste Prevost (designis-fine.com MINNEAPOLIS, MN), Dave Franzese (daveisdrawing.com BROOKLYN, NY), Dookie-Poo (dookie-poo.com MONTCLAIR, NJ), Eighthourday (eighthourday.com MINNEAPOLIS, MN), Grant Gilliland (seegrantdraw.com SAN FRANCISCO, CA), Mint Condition (iammintcondition.com MINNEAPOLIS, MN), Lifter Baron (lifterbaron.com MINNEAPOLIS, MN), Mike HYP (myspace.com/mhyp74 PORTLAND, OR), Sketchbot (sketchbot.blogspot.com BROOKLYN, NY) and Toothjuice (toothjuice.net MINNEAPOLIS, MN)

For a complete visual list (including all of the local, Colorado participants), visit: http://www.softandfurry.com/artists.htm]

Groond by Kristian Kluver

What’s next on the horizon for Cypher13?

We’re quite busy on the commercial front. We’re working on a new apparel line for some folks in NYC, and helping to design a new search engine for some other folks in town. We’re also getting ready to design a couple new bicycle lines, one bmx and one fixie… as well as handling the identity, web, graphics, the bikes themselves and some other stuff. Oh, we’re designing a really cool website for a new art magazine that will live in both print and online. It’s a neat project.

On the art front we’re already working on a body of typographic work based on all of the fonts we’ve been making. When all the type is done we’ll be having a show at cypher13/JoyEngine. It’ll be both 2D wall-mounted stuff and numerous 3D sculptural things and then a little blend of the both. We’re very excited about that, as we’ve had many shows in our space but never our own. We’re also working on a grant proposal to do a giant piece of public art in downtown Boulder, CO… imagine an awesomely huge giant rainbow jumping back and forth across the street from rooftop to rooftop spanning many blocks. We’ll have to see about that. Cross your fingers for us!!!

Fingers and toes in position.

Cypher13 in the Studio