Interview with Tan-ki, toy designer and customizer

dunny designer toys bearbrick qee munny custom toy 

Tell us a little about yourself
My name is Marion Tanguy aka Tan-Ki, French graphic designer in freelance. I have just celebrated my 30 years and spend my time in Brest, Brittany, the further town on the West of France, with my friend Mélanie and my two little children, Ilan (1 years) and Maël (4 years). About my school education, I am awarded of a Beaux Arts diploma and after some professional trainings I worked few years as a graphic designer / decorator for supermarkets. I decided then to start my own business, in freelance and created in June, 2006 the enterprise Tan-ki. Tan-ki is therefore a studio of graphic creation, webdesign, graph, illustration, custom but it is also the Internet site Kitoy.fr: French platform that treats principally of art toy, vinyl urban, designer toys, of customs, fuzz, of papertoys and photographs. Kitoy is also and especially the name given in the figurine DIY (Do It Yourself) drawn and modelled by Tan-Ki with as project an industrial production following the outstanding success of a craft production (33 pieces produced in September, 2007) and everthing’s sold out. Here is in its wholeness my small history which besides, I hope for it, is far from being finished…

How and when did you get into designer toys?
I started being passionate in Art Toys about 2 years ago, thanks to a friend who made me discover this middle which I did not know about. But I did not begin customizing right away, I first made a small collection of toy and researched on subject via magazines, books, French and foreign forums, it was not such a pain seeing how the subject is vast and generous. It is only after that I realized the artistic possibilities that could bring me this new support, medium of creation that is virgin toy.
This desire to discover and to learn about this subject but also desire to share this enlarging passion gave me the idea of creating the site Kitoy.fr which regroups many customs of worldwide artists

What are your favorite toys and/or artists?
My tastes in toys are rather common but I must say that I am, for instance, quite a fan of the job of Jeremy Fish, Wilfrid Wood, Rolito, Phuek, Skwak, Jeremiah Ketner, Mr Lau, Tokidoki, Superdeux and so on… More broadly the job of Basquiat, Bansky, McCarty… There are so many artistic references today! Actually I like many things… My collection costs me and has me costed a lot of money! More seriously when I began collecting I was looking for everything , I bought everything and anything, perhaps to discover a maximum. I had a lot of joy but also a lot of disappointment. I therefore decided to concentrate on certain artists and toys only. The toys which I look for most are creations of Rolito, Treeson which I love, Stereotypes, toys of Tokidoki and of course but often difficult to get financially Mr Lau, J. Fish and J.Jarvis…. I collect also a bit, fuzz as an example those of Bytedust which I like very much.

When did you start customizing?
I began to customise one year ago but I did not begin right away with the toy. My first customs were made on a boardwalk of skate in Posca, I headed then on the toy, having tried on boardwalk, My first custom of toy was a “ Qee Bear 8 “, always in Posca, but then I left it for acrylic and brush which gives several possibilities.

What are your favorite toys for customizing
I do not have really preferences, I prefer large toys which propose a large surface for a custom. I like Qee, Teddy Troops but as a whole my favorite toy for a custom is the toy that I haven’t customized yet. Since I put myself into custom I receive more and more request for custom from artists who created their own toy: Golem Fabrique, Lapin Qbig, Mates, Moody (moreover I take part in the exhibition Moody Idols organized by Ted Stilson, creator of Moody… and I find that really interesting to be able to take part in these projects while taking pleasure customising a toy which I do not know… My next big project is the custom of « Qee Bunee 16 » for the new shop Delicious Drips. The projects in progress are the preparation of my first own exhibition with custom of Qee, Teddy Troops, Kitoy DIY, Mates, Lapin QBig, Golem
Fabrique…

What materials and techniques do you use?
As I mention it above I started to customise only with Posca, unfortunately the range is rather reduced and you easily get bored of using these pencils which I, however, like. Currently I use much acrylic resin, markers and paint sprays… For the technique I like to attack a custom without preparatory sketch, it is the idea that I have of customisation. My technique moves all the time and adapts to the needs of the order and my idea.

How much time do you spend customizing a toy?
I do not really calculate how much time I spend on a painting, I am so into the custom and the result that I want to obtain that I do not pay attention, I am in my bubble! Nevertheless I can spend nights working on a toy and for others a few hours only. My big problem is that I can not or it is really difficult to stop me. I have difficulties to decide when a custom is finished or not…

When did you get the idea to make your own toy?
By frustration I guess, all I did hear around me is that, to produce your toy the solution was to be known by a producer, or to be a famous artist, that opens much door. I didn’t agree with this process, so I wished to have my toy and I was not going to wait until all falls me into the hand.
Moreover more and more artists launch out in self-production and it is so much better.
I thus ordered my first pains of Super Sculpey (modeling clay polymer) and I put myself at work to model my first Kitoy, at the origin of the project all Kitoy were hand-made, each Kitoy was unique…

Can you tell us a little about the design process?
It is very simple, all starts with a sketch, its general form found ,I then model with paste Super Sculpey, polymeric paste very pleasant to use. Modelling finished, the figurine passes into the oven. Cooked, a work of sandpapering starts, to make the figurine as smooth as possible, generally I sandpaper the figurine under water with a special sandpaper for cars. Of this model I created a first mould out of silicone, which will enable me to make a first resin drawing . This drawing carried out, the second work of sandpapering comes to have an almost perfect figurine. This same figurine will be used to build the silicone moulds for the following drawings .
This phase is important because silicone marks all the details.
Then follows a serie of drawing out of resin , generally a mould is used to produce about ten figurines, the mould s getting used because of the high temperature due to the chemical reaction of the resin. But don’t believe it is a work long and tiresome… but the result is worth it.

How did you work out how to produce your design?
I believe that it is necessary to well know, to get information, to be surrounded. My formation in the Art school enabled me to apprehend these techniques but not having practised since year, it was necessary by be surrounded by people perfectly knowing the trade and the techniques, while knowing that the realization of a mould or a resin drawing always offer good or bad surprises. For Kitoy, Olivier Regnault of Designertoyz.com, helped me considerably in the realization of my figurine, advising me and carrying out part of the production, I owe him so much.

What are your plans for the future concerning toys?
There are loads of projects, the most important being the industrial production of my figurine Kitoy DIY. It is not done from one day to the following day but the project is launched, a financial partner was found, the work with the manufacturer will start and I hope to be able to present the figurine during 2008… let’s see.
I also think of other toys such as for example my last creation in date this octopus with the body and the tentacles liberally coloured… but let’s not go too quickly, finish what is started before launching out in other projects…

What other interests do you have (besides designer toys)?
Lot of things but my activity of graphic designer freelance, my project of figurine DIY and the Web site which goes with and the orders of customs leaves me only a few time to spend with my little family.

Where can people learn more about or buy your toys?
The simplest way is to go on Kitoy.fr or Tan-Ki.com where all my activities, projects, creations are gathered:
- www.tan-ki.com: to discover my own work of webdesign, print and custom
- www.kitoy.fr: to follow the Kitoy project more closely and to discover lot of talents around art toy.
- KiShop: small on-line store where you will find Kitoy, my customs of Toys, Decks…
For all particular orders or questions feel free to contact me.