Clutter Magazine Issue 38 Spring 2016 - Tara McPherson

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ISSUE 38

TARA McPHERSON • BIG C • HORRIBLE ADORABLES • • OTTO BJORNIK •SEULGIE • • SECRET DEMON SERVICES •

SPRING 2016

38 TARA MCPHERSON 26 Heart Shaped Hole Article by Nick Curtis & Miranda O’Brien On The Cover “Quantum Dancer”

by Tara McPherson

OTTO BJORNIK

8

Black vs White Article by Nick Curtis

HORRIBLE ADORABLES Fantastical Taxidermy Article by Brian Vanhooker

14

BIG C The World’s first Dragon Reborn Article by Nick Curtis

20

SEULGIE Whats Sweeter than Seulgie?

Article by Miranda O’Brien

38

SECRET DEMON SERVICES

46

What Makes the Man Tick?

Article by Miranda O’Brien

Clutter 38 | 7

TEAM Miranda O’Brien Editor-in-Chief

Nick Carroll Art Director

Niktia Volchik Gallery Coordinator

miranda@cluttermagazine.com

nick@cluttermagazine.com

Niktia@clutterstudios.com

Josh Kimberg Managing Editor

Jason Ryule Technical Coordinator

Brian Vanhooker Contributing Writer

josh@cluttermagazine.com

jason@tradeincool.com

Brian@clutterstudios.com

Nick Curtis Associate Editor

Matt Dorcas Advertising Sales

nickcurtis@cluttermagazine.com

matt@cluttermagazine.com

Marc DeAngelis Website Editor

Brittany DiPeri Associate Producer

marc@cluttermagazine.com

brittany@clutterstudios.com

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shop.cluttermagazine.com 8 | Clutter 38

Black vs.

White

BY NICK CURTIS

As Henry Percy, the 1st Earl of Northumberland, declared in Shakespeare’s Henry IV, the game is afoot. Of course, the game in question is chess with its newfound designer toy relevance due to Otto Björnik’s Shah Mat Dunny series being released by Kidrobot. While this isn’t the first time Björnik has utilized the concept of chess within designer toys, it is the first production series to be based on the extremely popular game, with the resulting work being fully playable! So prepare your king for victory, his legion of pawns spread out before him…

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L

et’s start at the beginning: Where does the name Shah Mat++ come from and what does it mean?

Shah Mat means “the King is defeated” [in Farsi]. I first learned about the term back in high school from a fellow nerd who loved to play chess with me. I guess it was because I always lost to him. (Laughs) You originally created the Shah Mat++ as a series of twelve ink illustrations in 2007, but then revisited it as a custom Dunny & Mini Dopplegangers custom chess set in 2011. What about chess attracts you to revisit this concept?

I’ve always loved chess. My father’s a great player and he had several books with all those complicated notations.

I was only three years old then when he saw me setting up the board and imitating him while holding one of his books as if I understood it. It was our pastime and we would play for hours while I was growing up.

Blacks, each trying to prove their king’s claim as the Supreme Wearer of the Checkered Cloth.

You were transcending simply using a chess set design and creating your own world story for the universe these characters reside In. Why did you feel this need and how far did the story unfold in your mind?

It’s a fun story to tell about a cerebral game that’s been around for thousands of years. Most people I know find chess uninteresting, so it’s my way of saying that it can be fun. It also helped that I see the pieces as real characters in a battle between two kingdoms. When I play chess, it’s always about saving the soldiers who are willing to die for their timid king. The Great Sartorial Conundrum is all about giving life to

the faceless chess pieces that, along with my other toys, I loved playing with as a kid.

The combat in your description for Shah Mat II took place on the checkered fields of Sirib. What is Sirib? Where does the name come from?

Sirib is my father’s hometown. It used to be a remote rural place that was very difficult to get to. People would put chains on the jeepneys’ wheels to enable the vehicles to drive through ankle-deep mud during the rainy season, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to go uphill. And there would only be three trips to the city, so people would cram themselves in and on top of these jeepneys along with their harvest and small animals like goats,

When I got into customizing Dunnys, the idea came to me since I had been looking for the perfect chess set for about two decades. I made the set thinking that I’d be happy to keep it for myself.

You’ve previously described the custom set, Shah Mat II: The Great Sartorial Conundrum, as a battle between the scarf-wearing Whites and the belt-strapping

Clutter 38 | 11

pigs, and chickens. But on a normal day, it was an idyllic place where people knew everyone. It was a magical place for children to grow up in.

Moving forward to the present, how did the Shah Mat production Dunny series come about? How involved were you in the entire process?

Kidrobot asked me to design four pawns back in 2014, but I had no idea that they were cancelled. I received a surprise email from Frank Kozik a few weeks after he took over as Creative Director, asking me if I wanted to design an entire set. It was initially set for release in 2015, but I wasn’t able to finish the designs on time.

Thankfully, the Kidrobot team had been gracious. They even helped me in converting the files to Ai — thanks Josh Divine! — because I didn’t know how to use the software.

I pretty much left everything else to Kidrobot. The only time that I guess I really pushed it was when I requested that they make the series available as a complete set, and lower the odds of completing a single team, or color.

They had the head of distribution explain to me how things are done. It was very enlightening.

I’m also a Dunny collector and I understand how most of us feel toward blind boxes. Good thing Kidrobot was cool about the idea and eventually came up with the limited edition complete sets for chess players and hardcore Dunny collectors. For those who are not into chess but like the

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design, they can settle for a team color of their choice that only take 8 blind boxes to complete if they’re lucky.

So these blind boxes, what will each contain exactly?

It’s a dual pack just like the Streetfighter series. You will get one pawn and one mystery nobility, but there’s a display window so you can see and focus on which color you’re completing. Since not everyone is into chess, this is much easier to complete in terms of the unique designs. You also get 4 tiles that make up a 64-tile board when you get all 32 pieces — shout out to J*RYU for suggesting this!

Oftentimes, players choose the queen and this is why my pawns are all female. The queen is also my favorite since it’s the most powerful piece.

With the black queen coming out there’s one obvious question: will there be a white queen variant version?

I hope so!

Will the production Dunnys include chess rulebooks told through this world view’s wording?

No, Dunny collectors are free to play with them however they like.

It’s simply a Dunny Chess Set that I hope will catch the attention of chess players and introduce them to the world of designer toys.

In addition to the blind boxed series, your black queen character — Reyna — is being produced as a 20” Dunny. Did you choose this specific piece to be singled out? And, if so, why?

This set is subtitled “A Deadly Race to the Eighth Square” and focuses on the pawns’ journey to the other end of the board where they will turn into a nobility of the players’ choice.

For more information on Otto Björnik, please visit: www.bjornik.com

The World’s First Dragon Reborn.

BY NICK CURTIS

In 2015, archaeologists uncovered an idol depicting the World’s First Dragon during an excavation in the former Mesopotamia. Soon afterward, a similar statue was discovered in the “Lost City” of Honduras’ rainforests. Believing this to be not only proof that this dragon had been worshiped since the birth of human civilization but also that this was a worldwide practice, these finds were dubbed a “Holy Grail.”

Or, at least, so goes the fictional backstory behind the Baby Fatts resin figures by customizer Colin Hoffman, better known as Big C. But the reality of how this experienced artist came to produce his first original designer toy, let alone one that differed aesthetically from his previous work, is even more spectacular of a tale.

Tell us a bit about yourself...

I grew up pretty poor in one of the most affluent areas in the world, the San Francisco Bay Area. I joined the Marines after high school and went to college as soon as I was done, ultimately achieving a Master’s degree. And I am currently a single father of two teenagers.

As far as my art background, I have always sorta customized everything in my head — those Jordans would look better if that part was black, that car would be better if they eliminated that line — but I never realized I had any ability until Eos brought home some clay one day, allowed me to grab a piece, and all of a sudden I could sculpt. With her constant mentoring & support, I began painting 16 | Clutter 38

and created my first canvas at a live painting event. Then, one holiday season, I became very depressed and all of a sudden I was able to create illustrations, one of which was displayed in [San Francisco’s] de Young fine arts museum.

I guess my first introduction to the designer toy world was Qees. They used to carry them at Tower Records, and I loved the Toyer platform, but that was just a casual interest. I became full-blown obsessed with the vinyl world when my friend Dave showed me the Ultraviolence Nade. We were both huge Clockwork [Orange] fans, and the Nade platform appealed to me.

I further researched it and the [overall] Bud platform and fell in love. I give full credit to Ferg, VanBeater, [Frank] Kozik, and Dave for

Above: Baby Fatts (Smoke Edition), 2016.

Above: Baby Fatts (Red Edition), forthcoming.

starting me on the path that truly changed my life.

Last year, after quite a while being content customizing designer toys, you debuted your own figure: Baby Fatts. What made you make the leap to making your own figures?

I absolutely love customizing toys, but I don’t know that I was ever content doing only that.

Customizing established platforms was the best way I came up with to start establishing an audience, but my aspirations have always been original sculptures. I have attempted to create production pieces many times, but I didn’t understand the concept of mold/cast friendly sculpting.

My hope was to be recognized by one of the companies out there and get my work produced by them, but — just like anything else in the world — if you truly want something, you have to be willing to do everything yourself. My Visa card became my Kickstarter. (Laughs) Most of your artwork has, I feel, a darker tendency to it but Baby Fatts is absolutely cute. Why did you opt to stray from your recognizable style into brand new aesthetic territory?

Most of my work reflects the way my PTSD shapes my perspective of the world, but I am working hard with the VA to change my perspective on life. Baby Fatts represents hope and everything positive to me, how I think Clutter 38 | 17

most people see the world and how I hope to see the world some day. He is the world’s first dragon and as such represents the birth of a magical creature, paralleling the rebirth of my perspective. I have done many dragon customs, so I also felt that doing a baby dragon did keep some sort of connection to my previous work.

The very first edition of Baby Fatts was a stone idol version available at New York Comic Con from Tenacious Toys. Why did you choose this paint application and venue to debut the piece?

To be completely honest, I had planned a different color to debut Baby Fatts, but I had never worked on cast resin before and the paint had a strange chemical reaction. I had planned to do a stone version, eventually, and that paint had a better chemical reaction to the pieces.

As far as choosing NYCC and Tenacious Toys, I was reliant on others to mold and cast my piece, but the timeline for NYCC was very doable. I have always wanted to have exclusives at all of the major cons, and I have a list of people who I have always wanted to work with. I had a long-running relationship 18 | Clutter 38

with Benny, and he has always been super supportive of me.

After that NYCC version and DesignerCon’s Distressed Jungle edition, things went a little quiet until there were two Baby Fatts custom shows announced: one at Chicago’s Rotofugi in May and another at San Francisco’s Woot Bear in July. How did this all come about?

Both shows were in the works for quite some time. I totally had a plan to work with Rotofugi and Woot Bear, we just had to work out show dates that [not only] worked with their calendars but also allowed time for me to get the pieces produced and for the artists to do their/our thing.

Did you help curate the selection of the artists for the custom Baby Fatts exhibits?

As much as I absolutely hate the stress and anxiety that curating brings, I felt the need to be as involved with the shows as possible.

I was very fortunate to be given, pretty much

Clockwise from top-left: Baby Fatts (Stone Edition), 2015 “Jason Cosplay,” 2016 untitled one-off, 2016

Clockwise from top-left: The artist with his work, “22 Daily,” at the de Young Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, March 2015 Baby Fatts (Clear Blue), forthcoming “22 Daily,” 2015

free reign with both shows, while being fully supported by the staffs of both galleries. I don’t think I could have been put in a better situation. I am beyond grateful.

Since I hate putting people on the spot in regard to their favorite pieces from shows, instead I’ll ask this: if you were to do a third Baby Fatts custom showcase, which artists would you invite that were not in the other two?

I was VERY FORTUNATE to get some amazing artists for both of my shows, as well as some future collaborations already in the works, but it has always been a dream of mine to work with my good friends Ferg and VanBeater.

And who wouldn’t want to work with artists like Huck [Gee], [Frank] Kozik, Ron English, Andrew Bell, Woes [aka Aaron Martin], James Jean, Sket[-One], Obey [aka Shepard Fairey], I mean the list is probably long enough that I could fill three more shows. I truly love our section of the art world.

What else does the future hold for Baby Fatts and his creator?

I have a billion characters in my head but I am not sure which one will be next, [as] I am still focused on Baby Fatts. I just want to get Baby Fatts into as many homes as possible, to spread the love. I hope to create a children’s comic book about him, continuing his backstory that I started on the back label of the Stone edition last year. There will definitely be some Baby Fatts greatness at our DCon booth.

I definitely have hopes and dreams, like creating [my own] vinyl toys. Each goal and dream come true is simply another step, though. My plan is to keep following my creative path, to continue: building my audience, gaining recognition and respect in the industry, being involved in bigger and bigger shows, and building relationships with all of the amazing people who I have been fortunate enough to meet/work with, especially my HITSQUAD family.

For more information on Big C, please visit: instagram.com/big_c_art

Clutter 38 | 19

FANTASTICAL TAXIDERMY

BY BRIAN VANHOOKER

A staple in the indie craft circuit for years, Horrible Adorables’ Jordan Elise Perme and Christopher Lees have hit the designer toy world with a bang.

Their unique taxidermy sculptures combine a colorful cuteness with a tinge of being strangely lifelike, which oftentimes has their admirers wondering if a piece is appropriate for a child’s room or not.

Recently, Horrible Adorables have teamed up with Kidrobot to create their first line of production minis, so what better time to get acquainted with their inner workings?

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Opposite: Spruce Spricket, 2016 Right: Jordan Elise Perme and Christopher Lees with their “Tall Eared Macaroonron,” 2015 Bottom: Various Horrible Adorables faux taxidermy creations.

S

o, can you tell me about your background?

Jordan Elise: I have a textiles background, I went to the Cleveland Institute of Art, which is where Chris and I met. I started to kind of develop Horrible Adorables while I was there, you know, just making these weird little creatures, and they’ve really evolved since then.

Christopher Lees: I actually started off in engineering. After I got my degree in mechanical engineering, I was working for a bit in the field, then I went back to school, and that’s where we met at the Cleveland Institute of Arts. I was there for two years, [before] I went back to work full time. Jordan and I eventually got married and continued to work on Horrible Adorables. Since then my role has grown and grown to the point where I quit my job in February just so that we could work on it full time together now.

Since you two work together, what are your different roles?

CL: So, the idea for Horrible Adorables was Jordan’s. It’s definitely her aesthetic, it’s her creatures, it’s her style. She’s also the face of Horrible Adorables as she does all of the Facebook and Instagram and social media.

JE: (Laughs) Yeah, I like the social media more than Chris does.

CL: My role has really grown and evolved. At first, I was just helping setting up booths and display stands. Now, at this point, I do a lot of the production type work and we crank out quite a bit of stuff each week. I also do the nuts and bolts of the business: bookkeeping, developing the website, and anything involving spreadsheets. Jordan still does a majority of the creative, but I sneak in a couple of my characters here and there. We’ve worked together enough where I can work within her style and I get a little bit of a creative outlet there.

JE: We’re trying to do more gallery work. That’s where we get to be a little bit different and try conceptual work. Recently we did a show where we had these mushroom hybrid creatures, and we conceptualized together on that. Then I’ll take that and I’ll be producing the pieces with his feedback. Chris might be scaling the pieces, but I do the detailing, adding the eyes and ears and trying to give it a personality.

Can you take me through the process of how the taxidermy pieces come to life?

JE: Each one starts off as a drawing where we combine elements of several animals. Horrible Adorables are hybrids of sorts, mostly of Clutter 38 | 23

different forest creatures. From there I carve out the shape we want from Styrofoam.

CL: Then I’ll take it and create a silicone mold.

We’ll use the mold to cast multiples of the shape with an expanding rigid foam to make our base forms.

JE: Once the bases are done, we cover them in wool felt scales which are arranged in patterns across the form. Then we add the glass taxidermy eyes, which are kind of the creepy part of Horrible Adorables.

I was going to ask about that, because they are super cute, and the eyes are pretty eerie.

JE: Exactly! We get a lot of comments from people who are like “Oh, this is cute, but not for a kid’s room.”

How do you create the eyes, or where do you get those from?

JE: They are actual glass taxidermy eyes that you’d use in mounting animals.

CL: We buy from an actual taxidermy supply company. It’s funny, because when we purchase them, we purchase them by the type of animal. So it’s like “Oh, we’re going to get some albino goat and some lion eyes.”

JE: That’s why they look so realistic because they’re made for that purpose.

And how many do you make of a creature?

CL: Well, it depends. Every once in a while, we get a piece that we really like or we get a really good response from our customers, so then we’ll take the original form and cast it so that it will become a standard piece for us. Then we’ll just constantly do different colors. Each one we do, the color pattern is unique.

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invited us back to San Francisco to check out their studio and their new gallery that was opening. So we went up there [and] we checked it out. I feel like we really hit it off with them. It was a couple [of] months later that Frank shot us an email saying he’s working for Kidrobot now and how would you guys like to bring Horrible Adorables out?

JE: I think it really speaks volumes that they saw something in these creatures and decided to take a risk with it because we’re pretty unknown in the designer toy scene.

Was it difficult translating fabric sculptures into vinyl toys?

CL: Well, we started out with drawings again.

Jordan was sketching and we were talking about what our most popular and reoccurring characters were. Then we turned the drawings over to them.

Opposite top to bottom: Left to right: Pufferhedge, Spruce Spricket, Tangled Twins, Foxolotl, Yippey Yak, Shrewdipede, and Haremus, all 2016

JE: Yeah, everything we make is one of a kind, and after doing this for so many years, we’re constantly surprising ourselves with new color palettes.

I see that recently you’ve partnered with Kidrobot, what has that experience been like?

Yippey Yak, 2016 Shrewdipede, 2016

JE: It’s been amazing. Initially, we met Frank [Kozik] at DesignerCon, which is where it all started.

Top: “Mini Haremus,” 2016

CL: Him and his wife actually purchased a couple of our pieces at DesignerCon and

JE: In addition to the drawings, we turned some sculptures over as well for reference, and Frank really emphasized that “I want this series to look like your work. I want it to be textured scales, not just painted on. I want to replicate your work as closely as we can.”

CL: We ended up working with Bigshot Toyworks and they were great. They wanted to make sure they got our feedback, which kind of opened Pandora’s Box a little bit.

JE: (Laughs) Yeah, especially with me, because I do a lot of contracts with the toy industry as a freelance artist; I turn over that stuff and I have no idea what happens to it. But with Kidrobot, they wanted to keep us involved every

Bottom: “Sweasel” (mini and medium

Clutter 38 | 25

step of the way. So when they sent back the initial proofs back and they said “Just tell us what you want,” I was like “Really?” and then I was giving notes like “The slope of the nose has to be a little slopier” and “This scale isn’t quite at the right angle.” Yeah, they probably regret it a little.

One creature I was glad to see that you brought over was the little fox with the antlers and coonskin cap. I just love him.

JE: Oh, thank you! That’s Spruce Spricket.

I kind of feel like he’s our mascot. Actually, we’d written a book about three or four years ago that was inspired by the tale of Spruce Spricket, so when we did the Kidrobot line we wanted to add him back in.

So you guys had been in the indie craft market for years, what made you get involved in designer toys?

JE: I know, for me, I’ve always loved designer toys, so it’s like achieving this dream that I’ve wanted for so long.

CL: It’s been a hope and a goal of ours for a long time, but the initial steps actually started at Clutter. There was a show that was happening and one of the artists had to drop out very close to the show dates, so it was like two weeks before the opening when we got a call from Lana Crooks who was like “Hey guys, you don’t happen to have anything that we can put in the gallery?”

of vintage toys. I have a collection of ceramic deer. I collect vintage taxidermy, but with really specific guidelines about what I get, because I’m an animal rights person who collects taxidermy.

JE: It was in February, so it was kind of a slow time for us, so we were like “Yeah, sure, we’ve got stuff, and we’ll drive it and we’ll be there at the opening.” So it was really our first foray into the designer toy scene and it really encouraged us to continue going forward with it.

JE: I try to stick to stuff that’s been killed and mounted before about 1960. I’m more comfortable with that because at that point I feel like I’m saving this animal from this dusty shelf in an antique store. Like I’m giving him a new life. But I would never actually buy into the industry or promote killing animals.

(Laughs) So how does that work?

So what do you guys collect?

JE: Oh, I collect so many things. I collect a lot

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For more information on Horrible Adorables, please visit: www.horribleadorables.com

Images: Various images of artist work in progress.

“An Interruption Of Blood” 2015

Heart Shaped Hole

BY NICK CURTIS & MIRANDA O’BRIEN

Not only is the (literal) heart-shaped hole a reoccurring element in artist Tara McPherson’s visual vocabulary, but we feel there has been a (metaphorical) heart-shaped hole in our chest due to her absence from the designer toy format. But, thankfully, it appears that longing shall be no more shortly.

Returning her expertly executed, dream-like female figure renditions to the vinyl sculpture medium, McPherson has been working on a new piece to be released by Circus Posterus. In light of this eminent resurrection of her otherworldly art in the designer toy form, we decided to uncover what she’s been up to in the almost ten year period since we last interviewed her.

Y

ou’d just really started exploring having designer toys made from your art when last you spoke with Clutter, in the 2007/8 issue #12, which is something you continued to do until 2012 when it seemed to abruptly end. What made you pull back from the art toy scene?

I absolutely love being a part of the designer toy world and seeing my characters come to life. Though in my personal experience there seems to be less interest from companies to produce original toy designs, as most all of the offers I got over the past few years were for platform toys which I’m not really interested in doing. I mean the Dunny has always been fun to do, but I’m really mostly interested in seeing my own universe of characters come to life.

I understand the capital involved in doing that must be high, hence maybe the lack of companies working with artists to make original designs. And it’s not something I’m interested in self-producing either as I think that would

be too big of an undertaking to do myself. I think the collaboration between artists and toy companies, galleries, and merchandisers is a very important one to maintain.

When you say you want to see your universe of characters come to life, are you more interested in a mini-figure series, like Gamma Mutant Spacefriends was, or stand-alone works, like Lilitu?

All of the above! Both types are really great to work on, provide fun things to look at, and have their own inherent challenges. Whether it’s a big grouping or one large one to have on my shelf, I love ‘em!

Has your collection changed since the last time we spoke?

I have added a few more figures to my collection from artists like Jermaine Rogers, Paulkaiju, and some awesome vintage Japanese toys, but I have definitely slowed down on collecting.

Clutter 38 | 29

My partner, Sean [Leonard], has grown his collection though and is super into the handpainted figures that Skinner does, as well as the series of Cannibal Fuckface figures by Johnny Ryan. Those are all awesome. Someone also gave us a bootleg Kaws and I have to say I really dig it even though it’s a phony.

Being an artist that has shown in prominent art galleries all over the world, what is your take on designer toys being considered art?

They are absolutely art, and they might even be around for longer than some oil paintings with the plastics and such they are made from. It is a definitive art form capturing our moment in time. And a more realistic option for people to own rather than a large scale sculpture.

There’s been a really steady stream of painting exhibitions and print releases from you over the years; volumes of them, four released art books worth, in fact. Does two-dimensional art satisfy you in a way that making designer toys does not?

I love doing both, and that’s what keeps me really entertained with my own work… the different activities that each one entails. I don’t get bored! I love to switch between all these different projects… an exhibition, then a poster design, then an advertising illustration job, then a toy, then a painting… that truly keeps me happy.

Over the years you have explored lots of different types of imagery, how would

you describe your work thematically?

Where is it going? How are you evolving?

I would describe some of my earlier work as whimsical and darkly humorous. And I feel the path of my evolution as an artist has taken my gallery work to a place of observance of the female psyche, where within each portrait I can delve into the symbolism behind the ideas. Exploring themes of myth and legend, or science and nature, and intertwining them with portraiture and figurative painting, all with the beauty of the nude figure.

Throughout all your art, there definitely is a cohesive feel, like everything belongs in a world together. Do you have a defined world story for your characters?

No, it’s created very organically, so for me, it would be the afterthought to write a specific story. I just follow my intuition and, fortunately, it all flows together pretty nicely I think. I am a very visual storyteller anyways.

I hear you have a new designer toy in the works, to be released by Circus Posterus. Please tell us about it! And, more so, why the return to art toys after the long hiatus from them?

Yes! It’s going to be my first sofubi vinyl, and it’s interesting to learn about the different processes involved as well as the limitations.

It’s exciting to be trying a new medium, even though I’m far removed from the actual manufacturing process taking place in Japan,

30 | Clutter 38

“Secrets of the Polar Aurora,” 2014

32“Supernova” | Clutter 38 , 2014

Clutter 38 | 33

it’s still fascinating. I have collected a lot of sofubi over the years, mostly from my own trips to Japan, and I love it because it has a real old school feel. The only reason why this is the first toy since 2012 is simply because Circus Posterus is the first company to ask me to do my own original design since then. As I said before, I would have loved to make more, it’s simply that the opportunity didn’t arise until now.

What more can you tell us about this new sofubi figure? Title, design, give us the goods! Was this piece specifically designed for production in sofubi?

I was approached by Brandt Peters and Kathie Olivas a little over two years ago to do a sofubi toy, which I love, so of course I was on board right away! I made an updated version of a character of mine to be made specifically with the sofubi process. She doesn’t have a name yet and is still in the sculpting phase.

It’s been a true learning experience to work within the limitations of sofubi production for the first time and I’ve had to make some design sacrifices, but, for the sofubi lover, these should fit well within the look of the style. It’ll be fun to see how she ends up looking in the end, she’s a very different version of my girls!

I feel like we’ve had a hundred emails to even get to this point, so it’s been a very intensive process thus far, more so than any other toy I’ve ever made. But with that comes love and attention to detail, which will be reflected in the quality of the final toy. I know it will be super awesome when it comes out! And she will have rhinestones!

Another first for you was your recent Kickstarter. How’d that come about?

“Don’t Forget to Remember,” 2014

I was approached by an old friend, turned game designer, about working on a board game together. It was such a cool idea, and I was all in from the get-go. I didn’t necessarily want to have it be a Kickstarter, but this they said was the only way they have done games and can get the backing, from the fans, for it to get into production. It’s a little scary having it fully depend on the response of the crowd, especially in such a male-dominated scene, and not just be produced by a company with an actual budget.

Fortunately, we were funded, which is fantastic. We weren’t able to meet all the stretch goals we had hoped for, but that’s okay.

The game is being made and it’s gonna be awesome. I can’t wait to play it!

Another big event for you this year was the moving of your Cotton Candy Machine art space from Williamsburg to Bushwick. What was the reason for that?

The rent was just killing us in Williamsburg! We had a rough past couple years trying to make it with such high overhead, so it was definitely time for a change. Hopefully, this move will allow us the financial freedom for the store to flourish again.

“The Love Space Gives Is as Deep as the Oceans,” 2010

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In the five years Cotton Candy Machine has been open it has gone through many stages of growth and evolution and we have learned a lot. We are going to focus on the retail side of our store and function less as a gallery now.

We will still have fun events and book signings, but this will be a form that is more in line with our original intention of what we wanted Cotton

Cotton Candy Machine, circa 2016

Candy Machine to be when we first opened: an awesome art boutique!

So what exactly did you intend Cotton Candy Machine to be when you first opened it? Art boutique can be interpreted in quite a few ways…

At first, the idea was just to have it be a boutique store for art prints, apparel, books, and fun merchandise from the artists we love. When Sean moved to NYC, we were brainstorming on what we could do with the amazing store front space I had as my art studio. Sean had just wrapped up working with Alex Pardee doing ZeroFriends pop-up stores all over the US, and it just seemed like such a natural evolution to take that step and turn my studio into a retail space.

But then we started doing more art shows and it evolved into a gallery for original works of art, which was fun for a while, but then it became increasingly difficult to maintain, especially financially with the enormous rent we had in the gentrifying neighborhood of Williamsburg.

Is that the reason you’ve shifted away from being a gallery space?

Honestly, I never set out nor wanted to be a gallery owner. It’s difficult enough being an artist in-and-of itself without having to curate monthly art shows with an entire roster of artists. I have enough responsibility just trying to manage my own art career, and it started adding too much stress to my life. I want to be a happy person. All work and no play… well, you know. So, I became less and less involved

Forthcoming sofubi figure

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in Cotton Candy Machine, it was just taking too much time away from my art.

So I knew it was time for a change, for me personally and financially for the business if we wanted it to survive at all. We weren’t sure if we were going to reopen with the retail side of things, but as we looked for new spaces we got lucky and found a retail store front for not much more than we would have paid for a third-floor warehouse space, so we took it! And are now open three days a week, Friday through Sunday. I’m very happy we have relocated and kind of pushed the reset button.

Thus you’re back to being an art boutique!

Yes! Right now, we are back to our original intention as a boutique, to sell all things art related that a gallery doesn’t offer. Also, the outpour of love from everyone about how they felt about what we had created and how they were going to miss Cotton Candy Machine was really a big factor for me in deciding to reopen the retail space. I started feeling a little depressed about the idea of the store being totally gone for good, with all the hard work we had put into it, so we are giving it a year in this location to see how it goes. If people support the store and we can make it function, then it will be wonderful! But if the support is only verbal and we can’t make ends meet, then we will just focus our efforts solely on online sales and doing pop-up shops. I’ll be happy either way!

Speaking of pop-ups, tell us about your current pop-up tour and what inspired its creation.

“The Distance Between Me and Myself,” 2016

I have done quite a few book tours through the US, Europe, and Brazil in the past and they are really so much fun. This road trip pop-up tour started specifically in response to our decision to drive down to Austin this year for Flatstock at SXSW. I recently got a car — after 10 years of being car-free in NYC — so we were very excited to go on a road trip finally.

We knew it would take at least a few days to drive down to Austin and we’d have to make stops anyways, so we thought, hey, why not do little two-hour pop-ups at places along the way and visit some friends and some new cities?!

So it was really exciting to look at the map and figure out where we were going to go! I posted a map image up on Instagram and asked my peeps where we should go, and we picked the places that got the best responses. Actually, there were more cities we could have gone to but we just didn’t have enough time for them all, even though I would have loved to keep traveling.

We spent about three weeks doing eight events, and honestly, we could have just kept adding cities and gone for like five weeks. Next year I think we will do it again and definitely hit the spots we weren’t able to go to this time. It was just so fun and the turnouts were amazing. I also like having shorter event times and getting to see more as we travel, as opposed to say flying to a convention somewhere and spending three full days inside a convention hall. We did much shorter condensed events and traveled to more places. I absolutely loved it.

“Safety of Water,” 2010

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For more information on Tara McPherson, please visit: www.taramcpherson.com

“The Crystal Waterfall,” 2013

THE BLANK SHOW A CUSTOM DESIGNER TOY EVENT

July 9th - Aug 5th, 2016 Participating Artist Include: 2Petalrose • Artmymind • Buff Monster • Camilla d'Errico • Charles Rodriguez • Daniel Fleres • Doktor A • Dolly Oblong • Fakir • Huck Gee • J*RYU Jamie Lee Cortez • Jason Freeny • Jenn & Tony Bot Joe Ledbetter • Jon-Paul Kaiser • Jonathan Legarte kaNO • Luke Chueh • MAD • Martin Hsu • Otto Björnik Quiccs • Rsin • Sket-One • Squink • TADO • Malo April Jump Jumper Ant • Frank Montano • Kevin Gosselin Jesse Hernandez • Goreilla & many more...

163 Main Street, Beacon, NY 12508 Tel: (001)212-255-2505 cluttergallery.com

What’s sweeter than Seulgie?

BY MIRANDA O’BRIEN

To say something is cute can be considered a somewhat derogatory term, but that can be overlooking a deeper meaning. Seulgie, a Korean-born, self-confessed nerd, embraces cute and takes its possibilities to a whole new level.

Almost one year ago, she burst onto the scene with the premiere of her fertility daemons, The Satyr figures. Selling out in record time, she was embraced by the community and encouraged to make more figures. Handcrafting every aspect of her releases, her attention to detail and level of finish is immaculate, which is what makes her work stand out.

Before that, this recent addition to the art toy world was introduced to its beauty by none other than artist Peter Kato, apprenticing under his guidance and honing the skills needed to make toys. Daring to be different, and break away from her confining roots, she was quickly ready to stand alone and show the world what she was made of.

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T

ell us about yourself. Where are you from? Where did you grow up?

I came to New York from Seoul, South Korea in 2013. I had worked at a marketing research company in Korea and became very weary after years of meaningless overwork. I started to feel that it wasn’t worth working like that, nothing was making me feel excited or fulfilled. I don’t know exactly what it was, but I was going through some sort of late 20’s crisis. (Laughs) My sister had been in New York for ten years and she’d constantly told me to come over and refresh, do whatever I wanted.

In 2012, I hit rock bottom and finally decided to leave everything I was used to. I spent the first year and a half in New York doing nothing, and then, in the late summer of 2014, something led me to meet Peter Kato. He’s an amazing artist, teacher, mentor, and believed he could bring my artsy side out to the world. I am getting used to calling myself an artist, and it’s becoming less awkward.

What was it like growing up in South Korea and was it difficult to transition to living in NYC.

Competition is high in Korea. Everyone is forced to be cookie cutter, afraid to be a different shape. Koreans are very selfconscious and not confident about themselves.

They concern themselves with how others think about them. They judge others and are judged, so become disheartened. They also rarely give compliments. If someone is good at something, but not great, he or she would never get an applause. I know, it sounds really tough.

I guess I was a little different, maybe a chipped cookie. I went to one of the top schools but I didn’t enjoy college life at all.

Like everyone else, I just selected a school and major that was my best option. After I graduated, unlike most people, I didn’t try hard to get a nice job. While my friends were rushing to get married, I was more into manga and anime, collecting dolls or wandering [through] tropical fish stores. It may seem very normal to people here, but, in Korea, people don’t think that is normal behavior of women in her late 20s. That made me feel insecure about myself and believe something was wrong with me. It was very unpleasant.

Coming to New York literally meant freedom to me. I didn’t have to deal with the cultural customs and there was no one who would

judge me. There was no difficulty in transition, except everything was slow and dirty in New York (Laughs). I don’t have to meaninglessly compete with anybody here. Now I’m learning to focus on myself, and I’m slowly getting used to living the way I like to. However, after 3 years in New York, I think Korea is actually not that bad to live. It’s very convenient and materially affluent. Now I think it was not the judgmental society or the cultural customs that made me leave Korea, It was me forcing myself to fit into that society. I am confident that I will be the same as I am now if I go back to Korea.

Opposite Page NYCC Satyrs, 2015 Top Artist Studio

Did you go to art school?

Not at all. I studied psychology and librarian services at University. At one time I wanted to be a veterinarian, but my parents were against the idea. Vets in Korea didn’t make enough money at that time, maybe? For the same reason, my parents probably didn’t want me to study art, and I wasn’t really considering art as a major either. However, as long as I can remember, I was the kid who could draw better than others in class. In High School, I joined a manga club, Yes, I was a total geek! I watched anime and manga a lot, and doodled for fun, but I never thought any art and design related work could be my job. Sculpting? Never ever.

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How did you find out about the wonderful world of designer toys?

I only knew factory-made toys, like action figures or anime character figures. One day my sister told me about her friend who makes toys by himself — yes, it was Peter! — and showed me his website. I guess that was the first time I had ever seen art toys or designer toys. Just after that I started my apprenticeship under Peter Kato, researching art toys and artists has been my daily routine. I wanted to learn who makes what, and what kinds of toys can be handmade. I really knew nothing about making art toys. I’m always on social media, searching out new people and reading art toy news. It’s endless.

Tell us what it was like to hone your skills as an apprentice under the amazing Peter Kato. What did you learn from him?

I wonder if I could answer this nice and short?

Simply imagine [that] you go to a cool art studio in Gowanus, Brooklyn every weekend, [where] you are surrounded by lots of wowsome art toys along the wall. You spend the whole day there casting and sanding Bedtime Bunnies. And Peter Kato, such a sweet and wonderful person, teaches you how to do [it] and answers whatever questions [you have].

Lovely, right? It was really soothing. I was so happy when I sculpted and carved a little chunk of clay for the first time at the studio.

For me, It had been so long since I felt happy and excited.

His plan was that he would teach me sculpting, mold making, resin casting, sanding and finishing the work… the whole process from 42 | Clutter 38

scratch. Yet, the design was left solely to me. He respected my personal style and only consulted in structure and processing tips so I could think ahead and avoid problems. Like he did with his first apprentice, Kevin Nam (iNAMi Toys), the apprenticeship was planned to be six to seven months. After that, either I could develop a new toy by myself and come back three months later to debut or I could sell my practice piece right away which happened to be my Satyr. Peter strongly suggested releasing Satyr when I finished the apprenticeship. We didn’t know what response we would get; he said maybe none of them would sell, [and] I had to prepare myself for that.

Top Autumn Satyr Milch series, 2015 Below Christmas Satyrs (detail), 2015 Right Top Spring Flowers Satyrs (detail), 2016 Right Middle Valentine’s Day Satyr, 2016 Right Bottom

We absolutely LOVE the Satyrs, tell us about their origin.

Like I said, Satyr was my practice piece. There was another design I sculpted first, a bunny that stood on three legs, but I thought that working on a two-legged piece would be more

Halloween Satyr - Grey Vampires, 2015

challenging and better practice, so I sculpted Satyr. It could have been anything, just fun to sculpt, cast, and finish. It didn’t think about it for too long, I tried to picture a toy that I want to make and that I would like to own, which was the Satyr. Some people said Satyr reminded them of Fantasia by Walt Disney, and yes, I was influenced by it. Fantasia is one of my favorite animations, I’ve watched it many times. My favorite parts of the movie are the scenes that have Pegasus, Centaur, and Satyr in it. The soft color palettes, pretty drawings, and mythic creatures, everything I love is in Fantasia. If I had thought about it longer, I may have made Centaurs, but it would have taken twice as long since Centaurs are four-legged.

Satyrs are generally not considered cute and are usually male, so to see something so juxtaposed in this ways is really beautiful. Was that something you considered when coming up with the design?

Since Satyr was my practice piece it was only for myself and Peter to see. It wasn’t planning to show to the public, so, to be honest, I didn’t put a lot of meaning to it. Simply, I just wanted to make a Greek mythical creature, and if I’m going to make one for myself, I wanted it to be cute like the creatures from Fantasia. After I finished the sketch of my Satyr and started sculpting it, I almost forgot about the nature of Satyr. When I search for Satyr to see other art pieces or antique figurines, I’m shocked.

(Laughs) Do you find Greek mythology particularly inspiring?

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My sister thinks I’m a perfectionist, but I don’t think I am. Most of the time she thinks it’s finished and doesn’t need any more sanding, but I’m still sitting there sanding. I just don’t like seeing tiny scratches or bumps. My favorite part of the process is next: it’s where The Satyr really comes to life, [when] I put the body parts together and color the eyes and blush. When I line up the Satyrs in a corner and see them in a group it really makes me smile. It is very therapeutic! Finally, I give more detail with sparkly touches in the eyes and spray varnish a couple of times.

Oh, the packaging. I hand-write and decorate the boxes. I will eventually find a better way, but I take pride that every single part of my toy, including the packaging, goes through my hands. I believe people will see how much care and effort I put in.

Top Artist work in progress Bottom Artist work in progress Right Bunny Student Satyrs, 2016. (Collaboration with Rotta.

Photographed by Rotta)

When I was a child my Father’s friend gave me a set of Greek mythology children’s books. I don’t know how many times I read them over and over again. I love animals and seeing these half-human and half-animal creatures was fascinating. I read whatever Korean translated Greek and Roman mythology books I could find and, later, I found an amazing book called Classics of Mountains and Seas, the ancient Chinese monster encyclopedia of eastern Asia.

Now that I’m thinking about it, the manga books I read were usually monster, yokai, and ghost ones. I can’t explain what makes me mesmerized by these creatures, but one thing I can tell for sure is that most of my toys will be half-human and half-animal creatures for a while, at least anthropomorphic subjects.

They are so beautifully made, do you cast them all yourself? Tell us about that process.

Yes, I do everything by myself at home.

First, I set the number and color of Satyr I would make, then I pour enough resin into a container and then mix in the pigment so that I have even color for the batch. But I have to be super careful to mix the color right! Once I had to cast a dozen ugly purple ones just to not to waste resin. (Laughs) After I prepare the resin mix, the casting starts.

I use a pressure pot to remove the air bubbles in the resin. Next is my least favorite part of the whole process, sanding. It takes most of the time of the production. Whenever I release ten or more pieces, it could take days just to finish the sanding, I have to sit for hours and just use my hands and arms, it’s exhausting!

I used to suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome and had to take painkillers all the time, I used to wear wrist guards while I worked, but I think I’ve got used to with it now because I don’t have that serious pain anymore.

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Your collector base seems to be totally spread around the world, how does that feel to have such a universal appeal?

We didn’t have much of an expectation of Satyr when I first sculpted it, I started to think that no one would like it, and I started to get little sad and lose confidence. That’s why I released six different colors to debut The Satyr. Peter always told me color is the most important component of my toy, so use it wisely, save colors for future. But I thought this debut could be Satyr’s last chance to be seen and I wanted to give him the best I could, to try to show different personalities of Satyr.

The first sale was held on Peter’s website and after a minute, they were sold out. It made me realized that people think that what I think, so I should be more confident of my work. That’s one of the best things I learned from making Satyr, confidence in my work. I can’t express enough to them how grateful I am.

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What advice would you offer someone who is at the very beginning of their own journey?

cute kaiju. I am trying not to miss the releases.

I guess I am attracted more to something unexpectedly cute.

My sister always tells me there is something for everyone. Whatever I make, there will be someone who likes it. It might only be a few people, but there must be someone. I didn’t think much of it when she said it. Before I met Peter I made a little doll figure for fun, one of my friends saw it and said, “Cute, but why don’t you make something that sells?” I didn’t understand what she really meant, but after I started apprenticeship I couldn’t get it out of my head. It bothered me until I introduced Satyr. Her words made me worry way too much, think too much. Too often I thought about what was a cool design that would sell well.

Meaningless and pointless.

Do you have any other characters in development?

Only after Satyr got unexpected, tremendous love from people [did] I finally understand what my sister told me: there is something for everyone. I believe that people who are about to start their journey, stepping into the toy making field, will have similar concerns. It can be scary. Not only for toy making but anyone who is about to start anything new, will worry and doubt themselves. I would like to tell them there is something for everyone, so stop worrying, make or do whatever you like.

What’s next for you?

Which other toy artists do you admire or collect?

Lately, I’ve been into Japanese sofubi, I love Negora by Konatsu and Byron by Shoko Nakazawa. I saw Negora for the first time at NYCC in 2015 and, after that, I searched the internet for sofubi and I found Byron and other 46 | Clutter 38

Yes! My take on a mermaid, a duckling, a kitty, a bunny... a lot! I had planned to introduce the mermaid this summer, however, June 18th is the 1st anniversary of Satyr, so I will be super busy. I still have lots of themes that I want to try on Satyr, so I might not have enough time to work on Mermaid this year, but I really want to bring her to life as soon as possible. Every day I am like, “Ohh, this will be super cute, people will love it, I need to make it right now,” but the thing is I can only afford a few hours per day for toy making.

Well, it has only been a year, so I don’t have long-term plans or goals. I am trying not to plan ahead, I am practicing the live day-by-day lifestyle. (Laughs) For now, I want to focus on Satyr. I also like to work on drawings. I have not done any for a long time so I need to practice. I will be participating in the Bedtime Bunnies exhibition at Clutter, which is my first time customizing another artist’s work, so that is exciting! I have a few collaboration projects and seasonal releases planned throughout the year, but I guess that’s it for now.

For more information on Seulgie, please visit: www.seulgie.com

Top Artist work in progress

By Miranda O'Brien

Deep in the gray depths of Northern Yorkshire, England, lives a man who loves monsters. Inspired by '80s and '90s horror flicks, he more recently turned his hand to toys and never looked back.

From his initial introduction to the art toy world, he has hit the ground running, digging in deeper and deeper until he found his home in the neo-kaiju world.

Embraced by the community and encouraged to give it his all, he has self-funded two original sculpts, participated in collaborations, and exhibited in gallery shows. With this one-man machine kicking into high gear, we thought it was about time we tried to get to the bottom of what exactly makes him tick.

Tell us about yourself.

I grew up in the North of England and have lived mainly in Yorkshire all my life. I moved around a lot and went to lots of different schools as a kid. I could never get into the school thing I much preferred having a laugh and daydreaming, so I taught myself everything I know.

I've been a designer of bespoke kitchens, furniture, and interiors all my working life and run my own business.

How did you hear about, and start collecting art toys?

The first art toys I ever saw was the Monsterism 48 | Clutter 38

Volume 2.0 figures by Pete Fowler back in 2002.

They were in Selfridges in Manchester and it's fair to say they grasped by attention immediately.

The shapes, colors, and packaging were different to any other toy I had seen before. I bought one on the spot and that was it, the seed had been planted. I remember going back week after week for more and more. This mild interest soon turned into a bit of an obsession which grew day by day and still does.

How did you transition from Pete Fowler to Kaiju?

In a word or two: Le Merde. I spotted his Bangal Price vinyl figure online one day and instantly fell in love with it. I dug around a bit and the

Japanese sofubi world was revealed to me.

When did collecting turn into making your own toys?

I've painted and modified toys from an early age.

I always had paints in my bedroom when I was a kid and would paint up and customize whatever I had on hand. I went through a phase when I was about ten of giving Matchbox cars Mad Max-style makeovers, attaching guns, and painting them different colors. This continued into my mid-teens, then I got back into it when I discovered art toys. I put a few customs online and got a good response, I then heard about factories in Japan who made toys for independent designers. It was then I started thinking about creating my own toys and it

Smalmack Anatomy, 2014

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“Dani” (one-off), 2016

wasn't long before I put the wheels in motion.

YouZha (Pinky Punky), 2015

It varies really, I don't have a set routine.

Sometimes I sketch characters or an idea and sometimes the idea remains in my head and the design is finalized in the sculpting process. I've just finished a sculpt in the last few days and pretty much all of the ideas for it was conceived playing around with the clay, you get ideas from just seeing the clay move in your hand and the shapes it takes on, the more you play with it and shift it around the more you see it coming to life.

up in the '80s with endless trips to the local video shop with pretty much a free reign of what I could rent, monsters, freaks etc have always been in my blood. My Dad was an avid reader of horror books and would always tell me about the latest Stephen King story he was reading. I was always fascinated by these unnerving stories and odd characters.

So when it came to the design of my first toy character it was inevitably going to end up being an odd creepy thing. I set out to incorporate the idea of a creature of deception, hence the smiling almost human like face who could trick you into a false sense of security only to reveal more sinister intentions.

Tell us about your first production toy, the Smalmack?

And the Dani figure, where the hell did that come from?

I've always been drawn to creepy, strange creations. I'm a big horror movie fan and growing

I've had Dani in my head for years. During drunken late night house parties me and a friend

How do you conceive and sculpt a design?

Dani’s door omake for The Shining Twins edition, 2015

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“Dani” (one-off detail), 2016

who shared my love of all things, weird, strange and horror would talk about all sorts of crazy stuff and un-nerving scenarios. I made up this idea of been upstairs in bed in the middle of the night and hearing a tapping on your bedroom window, you'd open the curtains, look out and standing in your garden was a demonic little girl with really long outstretched arms knocking on your window.

I remember naming her Dani at the time. I always thought it was a cool idea and she has been in my mind ever since.

I'm pretty sure the long arm idea must have come from the scene in the first A Nightmare on Elm St., when Freddy was in the back alleyway and he had those really long outstretched arms. I always thought that bit was really creepy, especially considering the first time I watched it was when I got up early one Sunday morning and watched it on video after my Dad had rented it the night

Smalmack (Sugar Nightmare), 2014

before‌ I was seven and it indeed scared the living shit out of me.

Was the production process pretty smooth?

It's very common that a sculpt will require tweaks and adjustments once the manufacturing process begins. This happened with Smalmack and likewise with Dani. I originally had her claws/nails quite a bit longer, so they needed to be shortened to enable them to be pulled out of the mold. The door was actually an afterthought. Dani had already been in Japan for a number of months when I decided she needs a sidekick, so it was quickly sculpted and sent out to join her just in time for the wax process. For me, the wait from sending the sculpt out to receiving the first test pull is agonizing but when you get the first vinyl in hand for the first time it's an awesome feeling.

The kaiju / neo-kaiju world can be very hard to enter and navigate as a newer artist, were you greeted with open arms or did you have to navigate some hurdles?

I knew from the start that it would be a tough place to enter. There is an array of remarkable and established toy makers that you are up against, competing for sales, but that never put me off my path as a toy maker. I believe there is a place for everybody with original ideas to bring to the table. I always knew from the start I would just do my own thing as I've always done in life. Once the initial sales came in I just continued, painting, sculpting and planning the direction I wanted to go in.

My buddy TruTek [Niall Anderson] is right behind me with what I do. It's always encouraging when you get positive feedback from people who's work

you look up to, Paulkaiju and Skinner have been complimentary of my beasts. The best support though is from the collectors who keep coming back to purchase more and more colorways and variations of my toys.

Who would be your dream collaboration?

Iluilu and/or Uzumark‌ their toys just blow my mind.

What is your favorite piece in your collection?

I honestly don't have a single favorite piece, it changes depending on the day, they each have their turn, but I would dearly love to get my hands on one of the Dobu Onna figures by NagNagNag [Shigeru Arai] & iluilu.

What advice would you give to a new comer to the kaiju world?

You have to put a lot of work and thought into toy making. You want a product that captures the imagination and shows that passion, creativity and effort that has gone into it. You need to open your mind to what can be done with your sculpt, work on your painting skills, packaging and put yourself out there to create opportunities for yourself.

For more information on Secret Demon Services, please visit: secretdemonservices.bigcartel.com Smalmack (Uncle Woman), 2014

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