Q&A: Sket One’s Product Customs

Several months ago I was very taken by some images I saw of vinyl figures made by Sket One, and spent a little time researching (well, Googling) him. The figures were part of a show called “Subcultures: The Art of the Action Figure,” at Channel 1, in New Haven, where Sket One lives; you can check out coverage of that show, with lots of pictures (including one that I use on the jump page) at Vinyl Pulse.
Eventually I decided to approach him as the second in my series of Q&As with people who are artists and entrepreneurs, finding ways to make a living from creative enterprises. He kindly agreed, and that exchange follows.

Sket One has been writing graffiti since 1986 (here are some of his pieces in that medium,via graffiti.org.) He graduated from art school in 1992, and also works on canvass, on products such as skateboards and shirts, and in the form vinyl figures. And, he works as an art director, at a sports marketing agency called Silverman Group. You can read his official bio and see examples of all his work (since here I’m mostly focused on one set of vinyl figures) at his web site, and on his Myspace page.

Since the thing that really got my attention was the Product Customs, I’ll start there. What inspired those? Would you characterize them as making a comment about brands and products and so on, or was it a more purely graphic-driven inspiration? And, of course, I’m curious how you decided on which products. (Windex! I wouldn’t have thought of that…)

The product customs were done for many reasons. I love pop art objects from my past. I also work for a marketing agency so I am drilled the whole “BRANDING” scheme every dear born day. The message I tried to convey is, first off, cool stuff is designed every day by designers who take their time investigate and study design, design some more, and the end result is something as simple as mustard and ketchup get picked up thrown in a basket and used (only later to be thrown out). So think about it: That packaged was designed by someone? Maybe a team? Well I noticed it, do you?

I thought making these designer toys into packages we see on a daily basis was a good mash-up, and I plan on doing it more. It also makes a pretty funny statement about the state of designer toys at the moment: There is a lot to choose from now, so many companies and artists are now doing this “designer toy thing” and the Market is … Like a super market.

When did you start getting into figures as a medium? What attracted you to that?

I collected comics and old-school arcade games, and stumbled onto toys from one of my boys. I was talking to Mark Bode at the time and he was mentioning how he was making a Cheech wizard toy. I asked if I could come down to a show in NYC to peep the prototype. He said, Sure, I’ll introduce you to some people. I met Tristan Eaton that night, and Filth; they were both mad cool, and I proceeded to chew Tristan’s ear off about the designer-toy business and what was going on. From there, it’s history. I WAS HOOKED.

Where are they produced?

Most the toys are produced in China, and designed over here. When working with a producer on a toy or a collaboration piece you have to be open to suggestions and criticism. There is more than just you in the process, and you have to take that into account when designing. Being open to suggestions and criticism allows you to enhance your perception on the collaboration. I have worked with some great companies and it’s always gone very smoothly; if you ever have questions there is always someone there to help you out and listen to your concerns. If there is one thing I have learned about the production of vinyl toys, it’s that it takes time. You need a well-thought-out design plan. Be patient and get things right from the get-go, because in producing toys there always seem to be surprises.

Your bio on your site says you’re Art Director at a leading sports marketing agency. That sounds like a full-time job, which makes me wonder how you find the time to do all this other work you’re doing — you seem pretty prolific!

I am a father of 3 girls (age 9/6/2) and I do work full-time at the agency; I come home at 6 and get the kids into bed around 9 pm, do some house chores, then work until 2 am. Wake up at 6 and do it all over again. Weekends I get a lot of side work done. So it isn’t paying the BILLS so to say, but it sure is fun.

You’re 36, so you’ve seen some changes happen in terms of the marketplace for the kind of subculturish product associated with skateboarding and graffiti art and so on. What do you make of that? Are you surprised at where things stand today?

I think if you stayed in tune with the genres your whole life it hasn’t changed that much, just more people liking the same subcultures you love. Both genres have grown worldwide and when I was young it was more local, I think with the internet no subculture is that small.

There’s obviously a long history of artists and other creative people having notorious problems with the whole ‘managing their business’ thing. What’s a piece of advice you’d give, maybe a lesson learned, to others trying to make a living off creative enterprises of one kind or another?

Like life, watch out for yourself. There are people everywhere trying to get their piece of the pie and if they can use you to get it they will. Schedule and plan. It always help to be prepared before, rather than scrambling after. I have done both ;)

And in a reversal of the prior question: What kind of advice or information would you like someone to give you (regarding business & creativity, I mean)? Is there some creator you admire and there’s some aspect of his or her success that you’re curious about…?

I hit people up all the time, talk with them every chance I can get. One thing I like to do is bounce ideas off of random people, talk shop, and read a lot. So probably the most people I would mention, I already have talked to…maybe someone like Warhol, Pollock or Lichtenstein.

Lastly: New Haven. Why New Haven? What are the pros and cons of it as a place to live, and do your creative work?

Well, let’s see.

Pizza and the hamburger both began in New Haven

The 1st lollipop, corkscrew, fish hooks, stone crusher, sulfur matches,
corset, almanac, American English dictionary, Frisbee, silly putty, rubber
boots, artificial heart, Erector Set, and lobster roll all began here.

I also began here. 8/16/1970

Now tell me WHY you wouldn’t want to live here.

Murketing.com thanks Sket One for his time and generosity, and encourages you to support his work. Check Sket-One.com for details, and note that coming soon, via Kid Robot: Sket Bot.