Embraced by everyone from Pop Surrealists to Street art i s t s ,designer toys first appeared on the scene in the late 1990swith handmade vinyl figures created by Hong Kong

painter Michael Lau. During that time, toy factories in HongKong, the international capital of toy manufacturing, closed ascompanies were lured to Mainland China by cheap labor.I n s p i red by nostalgia for the Golden Age of Toy-Making, Laufashioned his own vinyl toys, infusing them with an edgy, urbanaesthetic. Other artists were inspired to follow his example, start-ing an international movement in the underg round art scene. Asthe concept infiltrated Europe and North America, designs

became more eclectic, drawing on pop culture and graffiti forinspiration.

Many artists who create designer toys see them as an excit-ing medium and use them to make bold statements in design andc o l o r. “It has taken my ideas and characters and given them ap resence and tactile form that they would not normally have,”comments artist and illustrator Julie West (www. J u l i e We s t . c o m ) .

Designer toys also attract artists because they are highlyaccessible to a public that idolizes childhood. They attract enthu-siasts of all ages and backgrounds with an appreciation for inno-vative products. “Quite simply,” says Steve Lewis, owner of

Street-Smart GeppettosAs the ratio of art i sts to galleries co nt i n u es to grow dispro p o rt i o n a te l y, some art i sts have chosen toby pa ss gallery re p rese ntation alto g ether and seek other ave n u es to success by adding merc h a n d i seto their businesses. Co nte m p o rary art i sts are taking their original illust rations and pa i ntings andre p roducing them on a va r i ety of mate r i a l s, from clothing to furnitu re. One of the most unique andre ce nt merchandising trends is designer toys.

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This cu stom toy, designed by Riot68, was scu l pted from a rea d y-made platform, which he then ca r ved and embellished.

by Louise Buyo

How Designer Toys Became an Artistic Enterprise

designer toy boutique, Überbot, “a lot of professional artists turnto vinyl toys because it’s fun.”

P recious! Limited! Co l l e c t i b l e !Unlike their corporate counterparts Mattel and Hasbro,

artists working as toymakers realize their careers are directlyaffected by their creative choices. As a result, they are awarethat their work must be individual and recognizable. West con-firms, “My work has not diminished by selling parts of it incommercial ways; in fact it has made it more in demand.”

As artists who design toys generate an income and build afollowing with these smaller, more accessible works, they simul-taneously create a buzz for their more expensive originals.Eventually, many of these artists end up showing and sellingtheir originals in galleries. “It’s been somewhat of a springboard, really,” admits Riot68 (www.Riot68.com), an artist anddesigner who operates under his graffiti moniker. “I spend a lotmore time painting (murals); however, the interest in my (cus-tom toys) has sustained, probably even grown as time passes.”

While Riot68 creates custom figures on a commissionbasis, other artists, like West, enter into licensing deals withsmall, independent toy companies, such as STRANGECo.Doing so helps augment the cost of producing an originaldesign for a single vinyl toy. “When undertaking my toys, Ithink it was crucial to have the backing of a good company. Itallowed me to go about the process in a creative way ratherthan be bogged down with the details,” says West.

Just like any re p roduced art form, scarcity is the key to thesuccess of designer toys. Limited editions and custom designsmake toys irresistible, encouraging rapid consumption. It alsocontributes to an inflated price tag: A single figure can com-mand anywhere from $50 to $500 or more. While this mayseem expensive for a vinyl toy, the price tag encourages collec-tors on limited budgets who desire art from artists but cannota ff o rd their originals. For example, artist Gary Baseman’sunsigned vinyl toy, H o t C h a C h a C h a, fetches $110 while hispaintings begins at $5,000. It also allows a collector to become

Co l l a b o rating with Co m p a n i esIndependent toy companies — Kid Robot, STRANGECo, Toy2Rand Toy Qube — have helped propel designer toys into themainstream with boutiques and online storefronts. They alsopromote artist collaborations. The Dunny, a basic unpaintedrabbit toy by Kid Robot, was the focus of one of the firstartist-manufacturer partnerships. Kid Robot sent Dunnies tovarious artists around the world who then interpreted theshape in wildly different ways. Their designs became limitededitions that were manufactured, marketed and distributedby Kid Robot. Likewise, Toy2R frequently commissions inter-national artists to repaint its Qees — a collection of bears,cats, dogs and monkeys.

B u m b l e by Julie West. Vi nyl, 8”. Twe et by Julie West. Vi nyl, 8”.

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familiar with an art i s t ’s work before committing to a larg e racquisition. “Most people that buy and collect vinyl toysalso buy and collect art,” reflects We s t .

Several factors contribute to the small run of mosttoys: cost of production, artistic integrity and marketingsavvy. Artists who finance themselves tend to make toyswith a very limited production run because they don’thave the financial resources of toy manufacturers. Whileproducing toys in greater bulk would lower the unit cost,many independent toy companies avoid large runs of theirfigures because it jeopardizes the integrity of a design andengenders the scorn of collectors and other artists. AsRiot68 notes, “Some of the production stuff is a little weakand mass-produced.”

But Are Designer Toys A rt?Designer toys are treated as both a product and an art

object, blurring the separation between the two. We s tbelieves collectors buy them for their aesthetic qualities.Lewis agrees, “A painting on the wall is no diff e rent from atoy you display in a glass case or a graphic novel on a coff e etable or a shirt you wear around town.”

While many museums and galleries have yet to housedesigner toys within their walls, alternative venues displaytoys along with two-dimensional work of these same art i s t s .Überbot (www.UberbotOnline.com), the largest designertoy store in the southeastern U.S., regularly holds exhibi-tions featuring artwork and vinyl toys as well as a yearly cus-tom figure show. The show often draws a large crowd ofbuyers and spectators, re p o rting an attendance of more than1,000 people last year.

Lewis is no longer surprised by the popularity of customshows. “There ’s creativity on multiple levels,” he says.“People are curious and are fascinated to see what local art i s t scome up with.” It doesn’t hurt that attendees are invited topass judgment on the designs by voting for their favorites.The Top 20 entries, as chosen by the crowd, are given invita-tions to sell their work at Überbot. He laughs, “Throw in aballot box, and it becomes a diff e rent event!” AC

Louise Buyo is the Assistant Editorat A rt Calendar. In her blog( h t t p : / / a rt s e e n o r l a n d o . w o rd p re s s . c o m ) ,she reviews exhibitions and share sthe details of Orlando’s art scene.Louise can be reached atL B u y o @ A rt C a l e n d a r. c o m .

Buy a Blank Platfo r mG etting a licensing deal is tough work, especially in the designer toy busi-

n ess. Independent toy co m p a n i es re ce i ve numerous toy designs from art i sts,but decide to manufa c tu re only a select few. Some art i sts, like Riot68, crea tecu stom toys from readymade blank platforms (a l so known as DIY cu sto m i z-able fi g u res) that can be painted and alte red at home into a one-of-a - k i n dd esigner toy. If you have n’t been approached with an offer for part n e rs h i p,d o n’t get disco u raged. Ta ke matte rsi n to your own hands to bring yo u rco n ce pt to life.

Seve ral of the independent toyco m p a n i es sell blank platfo r m s.Some of the most popular areM u n ny by Kid Ro b ot, Ka n i za by ToyQ u b e and Q e e by Toy 2 R. A rea l l yfun platform is the Soopa Bros.Coin-Up DIY Figure by ESC Toys. Ithas the shape of an old-fa s h i o n e da rcade game and costs $30.

M u n ny by Kid Ro b ot (w w w. K i d Ro b ot.co m) is pra c t i cally an inst i tution. Yo ucan buy it in three sizes — Mini (4"), Original (8") and Mega (18") — and sev-e ral co l o rs including white, black, pink and glow-in-the-dark. A M u n ny ca nset you back $10 to $20 0, depending on its size.

U n l i ke M u n ny’s basic humanoid shape, Ka n i za and Q e e a re available ind i ffe rent sty l es. Toy Qube (w w w.Toy Q u b e.co m) offe rs Ka n i za in four 4"s h a p es that cost $10: Box fish, Squid, Hammerhead Shark and Sta r fish. Q e esby Toy2R (w w w.Toy 2 R.co m) are by far the most dive rse line of all platfo r m s.Th e re are simply too many to list here. Platforms from Toy2R cost $6 to $40.

O n ce yo u ’ve purc h a sed a platform, do whatever you like to it. To cut yo u rfi g u re, warm up the vinyl with a hair dryer to make it soft, and then use anX-Ac to knife ca u t i o u s l y. You can also mold your platform into a diffe re n tshape by adding Magic Scu l pt, a two - p a rt epoxy clay that adheres to any-thing. It dries overnight so you can sand, ca rve and paint it the next day.O n ce yo u ’ve got the shape you des i re, yo u ’re all set to paint.

For dura b i l i ty, use wa te r- b a sed paints. Kid Ro b ot re commends acry l i csf rom Golden Pa i n ts. If you settle on another type of paint, such as enamel,prime your platform with Krylon Sandable Primer.

Submit a Design to Pa tch To g et h e rIf you ca n’t scu l pt, but feel you have some wonderful design idea s, yo u

can still make your own toy. Pa tch To g ether (w w w. p a tc h to g et h e r.co m) is aWeb site where art i sts can come to g ether and upload their toy designs for avote by their peers. Once a month, the toy design with the highest votes willbe manufa c tu red in a limited quantity. The designer of the toy wins $5 0 0and re ce i ves fi ve percent co m m i ssion of the toy sa l es, as well as the noto r i-ety of having a manufa c tu red toy, without sharing the production costs orh aving to make the prototy p e.

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M u n ny, a platform by Kid Ro b ot.

For a step-by-step guide on how tomanufacture your own designer toy,see ArtCalendar.com