SOUL SCHOOL SPECIAL ASSEMBLY #1 was
a success! We had a bunch of happy people in the crowd. Thanks
to everyone who came out and supported the scene. Stay tuned
for a ton of pictures from the event and even some video footage.
Special Assembly #2 coming soon as well.
How was it making the transition from
graffiti to vinyl art?
Art is art in my eyes wether it's graffiti, sculpting, painting, or
whatever the drive and ambition is still there, music is an art and
i have played around with that too...transitions are pretty easy
being it's all about the same thing.
Do you have toys that do better in one market than in others?
There are many markets, and the world is a big place, so it
varies...platform toys always have a big following so they are some
of the ones that do well, but my own designs also are sought after
through people who enjoy my art.
What advice can you give to young up-and-coming toy designers?
Get involved with the community, visit forums, blogs and keep
striving to get your work out there. It's a constant
hustle....especially in today's economy.
Can you tell us what you’ve got going on these days, and what we
can expect to see from you in the future?
I have a solo show in London coming up Oct 30th and 31st and in
Birmingham, England on the 1st of November. I will have some
new customs and canvases plus tons of merchandise.
16" ripple is alive and well and you can get the Greyscale version
or the Glow in the Dark RIGHT NOW!
Some time before the end of this year, I am going to be doing a very
small run of Custom Ripples that will only be available at
Wizard Sleeve Toys. Be on the lookout!
I also have new designs coming out from Kidrobot and others...but ya
just gotta wait n see ;)
Wizard Sleeve Toys Kicks Off
With Exclusive Purple Celsius
Sometimes things seem to take forever in
designer toy land, and other times they come in at seemingly warp
speed. We’re keenly watching the path of this Celsius figure from
RotoBox and Bay Area-based
Kuso Designer Toys, and so has
been Mike Franco of
Wizard Sleeve Toys–which scored
an exclusive colorway of Celsius. Mike said he’s been following
Celsius since we posted it last month and managed a hook-up of 50
pieces matching his shop’s colors: purple and black. I asked him how
cool that was and he replied, “I think the figure will do extemely
well and to have my own colorway is an extreme honor.”
Wizard Sleeve Toys is a new shop, but
already they’re stocking a nice selection of vinyl, plastic and
DIY/custom toys. Mike is most excited about the collaborations he’s
putting together with a number of artists. One such collab is an
upcoming piece by
Sket One, plus a possible
exclusive colorway of his Ripple figure. WST did an interview with
Sket
here.
The Wizard Sleeve Toys exclusive Celsius
colorway will drop some time in 2009. Granted, that’s a while
from now, so stay tuned for a little something from WST and ToyCyte
to tide you over in the meantime…
