2008-WRAP-UP WITH TRE: KUSO DESIGNER TOYS
If you travel the designer vinyl-toy realms (in the recent months) ~ perhaps you would be familiar with or at the very least have heard of and about KUSO Designer Toys; a retailer turned toy-maker with a slate of projects currently in-production - in collaboration with Rotobox, Mai-Hiro and Itokin Park. [CLICK for coverage of KUSO on TRE]. And if you're still unsure about the who and what? TRE chats with Jonathan Ma of KUSO for a lowdown on all-things Kuso and a wrap-up of 2008!
TOYSREVIL: Who is Kuso Designer Toys LLC? Does "KUSO" mean anything? And what does the LLC stand for?
KUSO: We are a toy manufacturer, wholesaler, online store. We specialize in producing high quality toys for artists. Besides just toys, we also produce many other toy related products, such as clothing, small gifts, bags, accessories and etc. Kuso means “reckless doing” in Japanese, we’d like to think of it as a random form of fine art. The LLC is the Limited Liability Company. The team has Jonathan Ma, the founder of Kuso, Jason Xing, production and do-all guy. We are based in Newark, CA.
[CLICK THRU FOR MORE]
TOYSREVIL: From Toy-Retailer to Toy-Maker - what was the genesis of this transformation / evolution? Was this always part of the "masterplan"?
KUSO: No, Jonathan started Kuso as a retail business, collecting toys and selling them online. When Jonathan discovered Jason (his friend) is capable of producing high quality products (after going back and forth visiting the factories), he decided to go in to production as well. Jonathan has always said that “good designs deserve one of the kind quality of finish”.
TOYSREVIL: How long have you folks been in the retail business, and how long for Kuso Designer Toys?
KUSO: Jonathan has been in the retail business for almost a year, and Kuso Designer Toys has been around for less than 4 months.
[CLICK for coverage of Rotobox's CELSIUS on TRE]
TOYSREVIL: How has 2008 been to you guys so far?
KUSO: Hardworking, and rewarding to Kuso. We have stepping into manufacturing, which mean even more hardworking is awaiting us in the roads ahead, but looking at the toys of great quality, we are all for it!
TOYSREVIL: Besides making toys now, what was the Best toy you bought in 2008? And which one was it you wished you hadn't bought? and why?
KUSO: I would say that PAW! Rainbow & Blackout by Coarsetoys are wonderful. I like them very much. From the quality to design, it presents it value. There is no regret of buying designer toys so far.
TOYSREVIL: A worldwide recession has become an inevitability, IMHO. Is it affecting you folks in any way, or going to? Especially spending on toys! Or making them!
KUSO: It is going to hurt us in ways. But good arts are still worth to collect. We are still collecting toys from all over. Production wise, we think quality means even more to designers, and of course, keeping the cost even lower would definitely help.
TOYSREVIL: Looming recession aside, why choose now to produce toys?
KUSO: We have faith in our economy. Everything has ups and downs, we believe that at times like this, high quality is a must. Many factories have fallen due to the economic downturn, but Kuso is definitely going to be here for our artists.
[CLICK for coverage of Itokin Park's ITIPINHEAD on TRE]
TOYSREVIL: What does Kuso Designer Toys hope to do, for both the urban art toy market, and as a company?
KUSO: Our company goal is to best transform designers’ masterpieces into high quality finished pieces of art. We also hope to attract innovative designs to better serve the collectors of the vast.
TOYSREVIL: How did the current slate of creators on Kuso's production plate happened? A convergence of creative synergies?
KUSO: We have some designers on a collaboration table, and some others are just having us as a producer partner. Some artists send us their designs and ask us for opinions on marketability and production assistance. In return, we help them with a general market analysis and the production run ideas. So it all started from exchanging ideas of all sorts.
[CLICK for Mai-Hiro's NINJA SPIKI by Nakanari on TRE]
TOYSREVIL: How was the selection process like? What should folks do to get in on Kuso's production slate?
KUSO: We respect all designs submitted to us. But we would like to get as much opinions on them as possible. So we ask some artists to look at the submissions, and do a little research to see if there is any thing of the similar in the market, then give out our best opinion to the designer of submission.
TOYSREVIL: How different (or similar) is it from retailing toys and making them? Does one aspect help enrich the experience of the other?
KUSO: Retail and making them are totally two different things. Retailing is more about researching which one is the hot selling item and trying to dig through the channels to get them. But on the other hand, making them is all about quality, good planning, cost leadership, and of course, making sure the transformality is accurate.
[CLICK for coverage of Itokin Park's ROBBY THE SPACE FIREMAN on TRE]
TOYSREVIL: What would you consider to be a milestone KUSO has achieved in 2008 thus far?
KUSO: Meeting with artists from all over would be the greatest things we have done in 2008.
TOYSREVIL: If you were given a choice to remember just one single memory for 2008 (with everything else wiped clean and forgotten thereafters) - What would that memory be? ... And what would you rather forget?
KUSO: Getting the first toy out of the mold is the one of the best moment to remember in 2008. And looking at how well the toy comes out it, it really made us forget about the hard work we have done to make this happen.
TOYSREVIL: What are you looking forward to in 2009? And what should folks look out for in 2009, from Kuso?
KUSO: We are looking for more designs and new releases in 2009. Hopefully we can put more pieces to the collecting shelves.
As for what folks should look out for from Kuso - we are unsure at this point, but there are other on going projects right now that we are not sure when the release dates are. But we are focusing on the two major upcoming shows (NYCC, TTF). We hope to see collectors there because we are going to have great stuff there.
[Wizard Sleeve Toy's Exclusive CELSIUS colorway / limit 50-pcs]
TOYSREVIL: I hope Christmas was a blast for you guys - and where will you be (and be doing) at the stroke of midnight 2009?
KUSO: Stroke of midnight, hmmm…. We are probably going to in the air!
TOYSREVIL: Wow. That's quite intriguing! And perhaps an even more apt metaphor - here's wishing KUSO a soaring future in the year to come!
TOYSREVIL: Who is Kuso Designer Toys LLC? Does "KUSO" mean anything? And what does the LLC stand for?
KUSO: We are a toy manufacturer, wholesaler, online store. We specialize in producing high quality toys for artists. Besides just toys, we also produce many other toy related products, such as clothing, small gifts, bags, accessories and etc. Kuso means “reckless doing” in Japanese, we’d like to think of it as a random form of fine art. The LLC is the Limited Liability Company. The team has Jonathan Ma, the founder of Kuso, Jason Xing, production and do-all guy. We are based in Newark, CA.
[CLICK THRU FOR MORE]
TOYSREVIL: From Toy-Retailer to Toy-Maker - what was the genesis of this transformation / evolution? Was this always part of the "masterplan"?
KUSO: No, Jonathan started Kuso as a retail business, collecting toys and selling them online. When Jonathan discovered Jason (his friend) is capable of producing high quality products (after going back and forth visiting the factories), he decided to go in to production as well. Jonathan has always said that “good designs deserve one of the kind quality of finish”.
TOYSREVIL: How long have you folks been in the retail business, and how long for Kuso Designer Toys?
KUSO: Jonathan has been in the retail business for almost a year, and Kuso Designer Toys has been around for less than 4 months.
[CLICK for coverage of Rotobox's CELSIUS on TRE]
TOYSREVIL: How has 2008 been to you guys so far?
KUSO: Hardworking, and rewarding to Kuso. We have stepping into manufacturing, which mean even more hardworking is awaiting us in the roads ahead, but looking at the toys of great quality, we are all for it!
TOYSREVIL: Besides making toys now, what was the Best toy you bought in 2008? And which one was it you wished you hadn't bought? and why?
KUSO: I would say that PAW! Rainbow & Blackout by Coarsetoys are wonderful. I like them very much. From the quality to design, it presents it value. There is no regret of buying designer toys so far.
TOYSREVIL: A worldwide recession has become an inevitability, IMHO. Is it affecting you folks in any way, or going to? Especially spending on toys! Or making them!
KUSO: It is going to hurt us in ways. But good arts are still worth to collect. We are still collecting toys from all over. Production wise, we think quality means even more to designers, and of course, keeping the cost even lower would definitely help.
TOYSREVIL: Looming recession aside, why choose now to produce toys?
KUSO: We have faith in our economy. Everything has ups and downs, we believe that at times like this, high quality is a must. Many factories have fallen due to the economic downturn, but Kuso is definitely going to be here for our artists.
[CLICK for coverage of Itokin Park's ITIPINHEAD on TRE]
TOYSREVIL: What does Kuso Designer Toys hope to do, for both the urban art toy market, and as a company?
KUSO: Our company goal is to best transform designers’ masterpieces into high quality finished pieces of art. We also hope to attract innovative designs to better serve the collectors of the vast.
TOYSREVIL: How did the current slate of creators on Kuso's production plate happened? A convergence of creative synergies?
KUSO: We have some designers on a collaboration table, and some others are just having us as a producer partner. Some artists send us their designs and ask us for opinions on marketability and production assistance. In return, we help them with a general market analysis and the production run ideas. So it all started from exchanging ideas of all sorts.
[CLICK for Mai-Hiro's NINJA SPIKI by Nakanari on TRE]
TOYSREVIL: How was the selection process like? What should folks do to get in on Kuso's production slate?
KUSO: We respect all designs submitted to us. But we would like to get as much opinions on them as possible. So we ask some artists to look at the submissions, and do a little research to see if there is any thing of the similar in the market, then give out our best opinion to the designer of submission.
TOYSREVIL: How different (or similar) is it from retailing toys and making them? Does one aspect help enrich the experience of the other?
KUSO: Retail and making them are totally two different things. Retailing is more about researching which one is the hot selling item and trying to dig through the channels to get them. But on the other hand, making them is all about quality, good planning, cost leadership, and of course, making sure the transformality is accurate.
[CLICK for coverage of Itokin Park's ROBBY THE SPACE FIREMAN on TRE]
TOYSREVIL: What would you consider to be a milestone KUSO has achieved in 2008 thus far?
KUSO: Meeting with artists from all over would be the greatest things we have done in 2008.
TOYSREVIL: If you were given a choice to remember just one single memory for 2008 (with everything else wiped clean and forgotten thereafters) - What would that memory be? ... And what would you rather forget?
KUSO: Getting the first toy out of the mold is the one of the best moment to remember in 2008. And looking at how well the toy comes out it, it really made us forget about the hard work we have done to make this happen.
TOYSREVIL: What are you looking forward to in 2009? And what should folks look out for in 2009, from Kuso?
KUSO: We are looking for more designs and new releases in 2009. Hopefully we can put more pieces to the collecting shelves.
As for what folks should look out for from Kuso - we are unsure at this point, but there are other on going projects right now that we are not sure when the release dates are. But we are focusing on the two major upcoming shows (NYCC, TTF). We hope to see collectors there because we are going to have great stuff there.
[Wizard Sleeve Toy's Exclusive CELSIUS colorway / limit 50-pcs]
TOYSREVIL: I hope Christmas was a blast for you guys - and where will you be (and be doing) at the stroke of midnight 2009?
KUSO: Stroke of midnight, hmmm…. We are probably going to in the air!
TOYSREVIL: Wow. That's quite intriguing! And perhaps an even more apt metaphor - here's wishing KUSO a soaring future in the year to come!
