// Unkl Brand's UniPoker Series figures | Photo Credit: Unkl Brand
Being artists turned toy designers has its perks--just ask Derek Welch and Jason Bacon of UNKL Brand. After the success of 1,800 figures sold in a month’s span, the duo realized the potential in toy production. With their eyes set on taking over television, UNKL looks forward to launching a CBS Saturday morning cartoon and continue to create figurines for the kid in you. Recently Art Nouveau Magazine had the pleasure of interviewing Derek Welch one half of the dynamic duo and here is what he had to say.
“I don’t know how anyone in this business couldn’t be inspired a little by the Japanese style."
Art Nouveau Magazine: How did UNKL begin?
Derek Welch: In a dark, dank basement some three years ago. It was on a night just like tonight. It was cool out, with a slight drizzle. The moon had a halo around it. That’s when we knew what we had to do. We were out for blood and we knew where to go to get it…Actually that’s not how it was at all. We have a client-based design business, Big-Giant, which we started eight years ago. As we built the design business and serviced clients, we also had a need to feed our own creative expression. That’s where UNKL came in. The client work is very rewarding, but the idea of creating what we want the way we want it is very enticing as well. We’ve grown over the years from the freedom of expression UNKL provides, because it keeps us fresh and always challenged. Big-Giant and UNKL feed off of each other and ultimately both benefit from the existence of each business.
ANM: What inspires you to create?
DW: Mostly, our own restless minds drive us to create. There are more things we’d like to do than there are hours to do them, so the need to always be making something seems almost like a personal mandate. Creating is also fun. Seems elementary, but it’s true. Making something where there was nothing before is incredibly rewarding.
ANM: Would you all ever consider creating an animated cartoon based on the toy characters?
DW: Yes. In fact we’re doing quite a bit of entertainment development currently. One of our characters, TinPo just launched on television this past September. At this time, TinPo exists in the form of ten different 30 second short episodes. They run on Saturday mornings on CBS from 7am-10am. You can also view them in the video section at www.agkidzone.com.
ANM: What made you all want to do toys?
DW: Over the years we had created stories and characters that only existed in our sketchbooks. We just figured it was time to let the kitty out of the burlap and start making something out of the ideas. It was pretty simple really. We just looked into how much it would cost and how much time it would take to start it up. Once we knew what we had to do, we planned and saved until we had the funds to go for it. We never intended for it to turn into a full-blown business, but we sold out so quickly we just decided to keep doing it. And it continues to grow.
// UniPo Tactical Series custom-designed figure by Derek Welch
ANM: Who are some of your favorite artists?
DW: This is a tough one to answer. I don’t know if I have any “favorite” artists, really. There are so many great ones out there. But, I do enjoy Chris Ware’s work a lot and MiQ Wilmott’s drawings are just incredible. I also get a kick out of Bwana Spoons. His sense of humor really comes out in his art. And then Martin Ontiveros has a cool precision to his work that’s inspiring. Mars-1 is also amazing. His style is his own and he’s a helluva good guy as well. Actually, all of the above artists are very grounded in their personalities, which is important to me. I don’t know Chris Ware, but I hope he’s a good egg as well.
ANM: Do you consider graffiti to be art?
DW: Indeed I do. Personally, kids who run around tagging all over peoples businesses and property are not artists to me. At least not in that form. People who express themselves through “graffiti” definitely are artists in my book.
ANM: What influences your art work most?
DW: My kids. When I start taking it all too seriously or stress about getting something done a certain way, they’re there to keep me grounded and remind me why I do this. Many people say our work is “Japanese” influenced. I don’t know how anyone in this business couldn’t be inspired a little by the Japanese style, but we don’t directly take our inspiration from any culture, style or movement. If anything, the Japanese character style illustrates that simplicity of form can also represent a more complex story or concept. That we can identify with and appreciate.
ANM: Would you consider yourselves successful? why?
DW: Sure. Success can be measured many ways, and it’s different for each individual. What’s most important? Money? Fame? Freedom? I don’t know, but for me, the ability to do what I love and to keep doing it…that’s success as far as I’m concerned.
ANM: What are some of the difficulties that you face in your industry?
DW: On a personal level, I feel some frustration that the perception often times is that this is an easy business because we’re good at it or that we make money hand over fist because of the global exposure we get sometimes. It’s tough as hell to keep this going, but we do it because we love it. This is a business that requires more effort than monetary reward provides, so we are pretty grounded in reality. We can’t do everything we want because we simply don’t have the resources to do it. But, we do a lot more with what we have than anybody else I know.
ANM: Is there anything else you would like to mention to our readers?
DW: We get many inquiries and submissions from artists and designers who want to get into this business. For most it seems like a mystery, but really it’s not that difficult to get into. If you want to do this, why not just go for it? We knew nothing about toy making or this business before we got into it. We were blind. All we knew was that we had the desire and drive to do it. That’s all it takes really. That and a little money and a little luck. So many people look at something like UNKL and figure it’s too tall a mountain to climb. It’s all just baby steps. We didn’t get to the point of having products in 40+ countries by luck. We busted our as**s to get where we are and we continue everyday to keep it going. Anyone can make it happen if they truly dedicate themselves to it. This all sounds pretty serious for making toys, but anything worth doing, takes a serious amount of dedication no matter how fun it is. Thanks for the opportunity to answer your questions. I hope I was able to shed a bit of light on UNKL and why we do what we do.
To find out more information on UNKL Brand please visit www.unklbrand.com/
// "Defcon SUG" a collaborative figure with Defcon Snowboarding Gloves
