They used to pop up everywhere: crappy ‘designer’ toys that were nothing more than Nijntje rip offs with faux graffiti over their generic limbs. This isn’t about that. This is about true artists that know their pop culture and create imaginative figures you just want to collect. Le Merde (Mike) is one of these people. Super long MiniMail coming up!

What’s the proper name for your scene?
“Not sure. I’m floating between a lot of scenes. There is a whole resin scene that has a DIY approach which it seems I help create. But also now with teaming up with Gargamel and getting vinyl toys made in Japan that’s a whole other scene. Neo-Kaiju maybe for that scene. But I also have art shows with paintings and prints at galleries and retail stores that are apart of this new art market.”

You all customize each others characters, right, why is this?
“Customizing toys is a very common practice in the art and toy world. When you customize a toy you are turning it into a 1 of a kind art object I guess. Collectors like to have a 1/1 painted toy by an artist. Affordable artwork for the masses. It combines the need to have a 3D object by an artist that is also a special 1/1 art object.”

Aha
“There are just so many possibilities in colorways options for each toy/character. Putting your spin on another artists sculpt is a way of putting their character into your world. I like to customize my own sculpts and other artists sculpts. You get to work out ideas and concepts that maybe shouldn’t be more then a 1/1 thing.”

Isn’t it expensive to create these figures? How does it work?
“Resin figures are a way for the everyman to make their ideas into a 3D figure. It costs money but no where as near as expensive it is to make a vinyl figures/toy. To make a resin figure you start with a sculpt. Then you make a mold of the sculpt. Once you have the mold you then make multiples with resin. It costs some money but mostly it takes up a lot of time from start to finish. Once you have the figures cast in resin you then have to clean them up and paint them. This is the part that takes the most time and energy.”

You’ve worked with David Horvath, co-creator of the Ugly Doll brand. Is he the only one that can make a living out of this?
“I think there are a lot of people making this art thing work for them. David and Sun-min are very smart and talented artists. They are very special and have turned their artwork into this amazing company. For me it’s a lot like being an independent illustrator or freelance artist. I make a living doing Le Merde. It’s like any business. You put in the hours for many years working other jobs until you can make the art thing work for you.”

When you create a character do you also come up with stories for them? Would you like to turn these into a comic or animated show?
“For sure. Every character has a back story and all. I would love to do a comic or cartoon someday but with making most of the figures myself I’m more of a mini factory right now. So a lot of time is spent making resin figures. Takes a long time. In the future maybe doing less art shows and freeing up time to work on projects like comic books might be an option. For now their stories are told through my paintings, drawings and prints. Most of my characters have a very mischievous look to them so the viewer also can make up their own stories for these crazy dudes.”

What are your most famous characters?
“Hollis Price, Burgerbuns, Le Turd seem pretty popular. I’ve done 15 original sculpts in resin so far and 2 vinyl figures. So my character count in 3D is getting up there. I have so many more characters in my Le Universe that only live in my paintings and drawings. I hope to get them all in 3D someday.”

What’s the best place to start for a beginning collector?
“A good place to start is to buy what you like. Not what is popular. If you stick to that your collection will be varied and interesting. Don’t get sucked into eBay and the secondary market. Try to buy at retail or close to it. Seems like a lot of new people get sucked in to the hype of certain something and spend like $800 on a toy that was just released yesterday.”

Are large toy companies interested in doing bigger runs of your figures?
“Not that I know of. They work mainly with movie and TV shows licenses, not artists like me. Getting a toy made by Hasbro or someone like that is like trying to get your script made into a movie in Hollywood. Long shot. Would I like this? Totally if it was a killer project.”

Which toys from the eighties do you have on display at home?
“I have Kinnikuman (M.U.S.C.L.E in the USA), Star Wars, G.I. Joe, He-Man and random junk toys from the 80′s. I really like Star Wars Knock offs and erasers.” Check out Mike’s awesmoe collection here, here, here, yes, here too and here.