dunny munny designer toys qee designer vinyl
Please tell us a little about yourself
My name’s Cris Rose, I live in a nice little flat in North London, where i work during the day, and paint in the evening. I graduated from Brunel University, London, with a 1st Class Hons Degree in Product Design BSc in 2005, and have been working in the Design and Advertising industry since. I’d love to have a couple of kittys, but it’s not fair to them (or my furniture) without a nice big garden to go mad in. I love technology, but i love nature more, something i think’s reflected in my style and subject matter.
How and when did you get into designer toys?
I was given a Qee Series 5A blindbox for Xmas in 2003, and after a short period of collecting, i realised i didn’t have the time or money for them and they went up into my parent’s loft. I really loved the concept, the mix of 2D and 3D design. The cheapness of the materials, but the limited nature and the value thusly placed upon them. That and i just love surprises!
On leaving Uni at the end of 2005, i briefly moved back in with my parents and rediscovered the box on moving out again. After some online searching and forum reading, i realised how big the industry had grown in those short years, and started to get involved early 2006.
What are your favorite toys and/or artists?
I focus my attentions on TADO, JLed, Buff Monster, Dunny and Mad*l.
Tell us a little about your own collection
After briefly collecting 2.5″ Qees, i decided i loved the seamless forms found in vinyl, and moved over to Dunny and Mad*l. I still have a few Qee, but i primarily focus on 8″ Dunny now. I also pick up select Mad*l designs.
I have a lot of love for Buff Monster and his platform. I have all his vinyl releases either on my shelf or in the mail as we speak. I love the simplicity of form, and the cheeky, positive, colourful nature of the designs.
I also developed a love of JLed, sadly too late to pick up Mr Bunny or Firecat at a good price, but enough to chase them down at current values. I have had some luck with the resent Ringo release, but with all these highly limited pieces, i’ll believe it when he arrives on my doorstep. I loved the Toxic Swamp Qees (one of the only reasons i still have some Qees) and have a few of my favourite Finders Keepers too.
TADO are a duo that always make me smile. While they haven’t had a lot of Vinyl releases, i am slowly tracking them down, and was lucky enough to receive a Custom Yami from them as a thank you! One of my most treasured pieces.
I also have a few customs from Burgerman, Squink and Choowi.
When did you start customizing?
I did a custom Qee for my friend’s birthday in the spring of 2007, but wasn’t happy with it’s outcome (even though she loved it to death!) so i spent some months experiments and developing my style to what it is today. I didn’t start with the intention of becoming a customiser, but i found the painting to really destress me in the evenings, so i kept it up…
What are your favorite toys for customizing
I enjoy painting Dunnys, Munnys and Moofia the most. 8″ Qees are also good, though trickier to apply my style to.
What materials and techniques do you use?
I start with a spray painted metallic basecoat layer. I used to spray cars for about 3 years, so i have some experience there. Once the basecoat is dry, i handpaint everything with a tiny brush and Games Workshop acrylics, usually metallic colours. I sketch the designs out first, and often refer to photos to ensure accuracy of individual plants animals.
How much time do you spend customizing a toy?
3″ pieces usually take around 4 to6 hours, 8″ pieces can take anywhere from 10 to 20 hours. It all depends on the platform, the amount of detail and how well the whole experience flows…
Do you make other art besides customizing toys?
Well, i build 3D worlds for my day job, does that count as art? I make my own chocolate and actually gained a lot of my collection through trading forum members chocolate for it!
What other interests do you have (besides designer toys)?
Photography and Travel are my only other major interests, yet i seem to find little time for either recently!
Do you take on commisions?
More than half of my works are commissions these days! I have a waiting list, so feel free to email me or message me on Flickr and i’ll stick you on the list 
Where can people see more of your work and/or contact you?
My email is squirrelandhedgehog@gmail.com, my Flickr set for customs can be found here.
My work is also currently on display and available for purchase from Orbital Designer Toys in London, and Go Go Plastic in Birmingham (www.gogoplastic.co.uk)
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