Getting Nine Kindsa Lucky with Go Lucky Neko by Delme
this litter of cute kittens turned into nine different types of lucky*
GO LUCKY NEKO is a upcoming new series of 3 inch tall mini figures (in blind box assortment) coming from Dreamland Toyworks - featuring the designs of UK-designer Delme and sculpting by Dave Bondi. Currently no definite release date nor full product info is determined for these nine Lucky Cats (including a chase) - but TRE had an opportunity to have a quick chat with their creator, Delme. CLICK THRU for peeks and reads :)
TOYSREVIL: How did the Go Lucky Neko concept come about? What was it's genesis? And what does "Go Lucky Neko" mean?DELME: The Go Lucky Neko toys came about as I was approached (via a recommendation from LA artist olive47 – check her Miss Cupcake toy out-also coming soon) about being involved in a toy project.
The initial project never happened but a few smaller things were born out of it, the Go Lucky Neko cats being one of them, the initial brief was ‘design a 3 inch toy’ and after a few conversations about various designs David from Dreamland suggested we try and bring to life the lucky kittens from an old print that I had designed for the UK based ‘Save Huck Gee’ show that the vinylabuse.com guys organised.
Go Lucky Neko means GO LUCKY NEKO!!!
Maneki Neko is the name given to the common Japanese sculpture of the Lucky Cat, so I’ve borrowed the Neko and added the Go and the Lucky. Voila. GO LUCKY NEKO!
[Prototype - circa 2008]
TOYSREVIL: Coolness. What's the story of Go Lucky Neko?
DELME: The story behind Series 1 of the Go Lucky Neko toys is simple: ‘After lapping up some weird, brightly coloured, glowing ooze, this litter of cute kittens turned into nine different types of lucky.’
TOYSREVIL: How long from conception (drawings, doodles, sandcastles in the skies etc) to final product? How was the experience thus far?
DELME: I really don’t know how long the whole process has taken, given that I can’t remember would suggest it’s been quite a while but I’m not complaining, it’s fun to know that one of my designs is going to be on the shelves soon, it was ace to see my Trexi design in Trexi Series3 but having my own base character created is a total buzz.
[Factory-production lines]
DELME: The whole experience has been a learning curve and a good/interesting insight into the toy world, as the cats are being made by Dreamland Toyworks in the USA and manufactured in China I’ve not been as hands on as I’d have liked to have been but that’s the price I’ve paid for being over here in the UK, on the flip side the weather is consistently sunny and the word fanny means fanny, not bum.
[Factory Samples with blurred-out faces becoz they is shy...heh]
DELME: I have held the factory samples and I can say that they are pretty dang sweet, I was chuffed to see them in the flesh after only seeing photos over email, very happy indeed, being involved in this vinyl toy thing – even in this small way – has been a total happy accident as it wasn’t something I was planning on, so to get a box of your own toys arrive on your doorstep is sweet!
TOYSREVIL: Sweetness. What's it's current status? Throw us some Go-Lucky-Neko product stats, if you could please :)
DELME: Go Lucky Neko Product Specs:
- 3 inches of Go Lucky Neko in a nice blind box.
- The current Go Lucky Neko status is ‘coming soon’ I’ve not got the drop date but things like box designs were tied up a good while back so they are well on the way.
TOYSREVIL: What's the next step for Go Lucky Neko?
DELME: I heard there are plans for a series 2, this is a rumour though, so is the fact that it’s artist series, I also heard someone mention DIY’s but I don’t know who says these things. Loose lips sink ships. Ssshh.
TOYSREVIL: Mumz De Vord .... Focusing on the current series at hand - what do you hope for GLN to do for the world of toys?
DELME: I hope that the Go Lucky Neko find a little corner within the vast world of toys, somewhere they can poop and be happy, I’d like people to enjoy the shape and have fun with it, even if they don’t like the series 1 designs...buy them, blank them and customize the crap out of them.
TOYSREVIL: Cheers for your time Delme - in closing, do share with us, WHO IS DELME?
DELME: Who is Delme? Depends who is asking...do I owe you money??
Right now there is a bunch of stuff on my Flickr site, I’ve been a tad lazy on the web and have not sorted out everything so Flickr is currently where it’s at. [http://www.flickr.com/photos/mynameisdelme / all images via]
UPDATED: Go Lucky Neko BEAN captured by Doc18! [Full-pic via]
