Adventures in Design podcast

If you are not aware of the Adventures in Design podcast or who Mark Brickey is, I cannot  wait for you to listen. Adventures in Design is a daily talk show for creatives exploring how others design happiness into their professional lives. Yes, that does say daily, Monday through Friday.

While the podcast is not strictly about toy design, they do have a monthly episode co-hosted by Huck Gee where they talk to artists such as Sket-1, Ferg, Jason Freeny and Joe Ledbetter. The podcast includes shop talk with various designers, a monthly poster countdown, plenty of interviews and a behind the scenes look at the state of design and the real numbers behind it.

While the podcast is free (for the first half of each show), they also offer a more in depth look at the design scene through their Circle of Trust membership. For $10 a month you get access to over 400 episodes with extended content for each episode. 

Klim Kozinevich Interviewed on Adventures in Design Podcast

Our friend Klim Kozinevich of Bigshot Toyworks is interviewed by Mark Brickey on the AMAZING Adventures in Design podcast. They talk toy design and development, working with clients, managing development projects and the evolution of Klim's career... all the dirty details, from tendonitis due to days of sculpting by hand, to the early moment of desperation that led Klim to don a homemade monster suit and hand out resumes outside of Toy Fair.

REALLY fun to hear the backstories of "the dude behind the dude." He's come a long way since then, stacking up some of the biggest brands in the world as his clients. Listen here on the AID website where you can play the track via SoundCloud or iTunes.

Adventures in Design Podcast - Episode 377 - The Collection with Huck Gee - Part 5: Ferg of Playge

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN! Adventures in Design Podcast site is here.

The Collection is back and this time Huck Gee and Mark Brickey bring you a man who was part of the new school even during the heyday of the old school. Ferg spearheaded the DIY designer toy game and has always taken matters into his own hands from his very first toy all the way to present day where he created Playge and developed the multiple toy lines within it. Once the bubble popped, many designers fell to the wayside while Ferg saw an uptick in his bottom line since his production and distribution means were always something he controlled. Ferg's story is one of self reliance, unbridled creativity and doing what you love on your own terms.

Talking Points:

• Huck returns from his homeland and ToyCon UK energized and ready to go.
• The popularity around social media and how it ties into your creativity and ego.
• How The Collection is bringing down the curtain on the toy industry, where its going and who will be players in it.
• The similarities between all creative markets and learning from the successes and failures of each.
• TSA and the 80lb. duffel bag and Mark's Blood Sugar Vest.
• The evolution of the blank and its variations.
• Strategizing on who you want to work with in your industry.
• The return to Gold Life.
• Finding a scale where characters remain true to size.
• Determining price points based off exposure and production in America.
• The Huck Gee Vannen Watch Giveaway
• Doing the new school model back in the old school days and how to avoid losing control of your product.
• Starting with the sqube.
• Moving away form cutesy designer toys.
• Ferg's entry point into the world of toys.
• Making clothes for very small things.
• Making a living selling direct to consumers.
• Unrealistic standards for selling out a product.
• Readjusting your ego and predicting the end of hype.
• Assembly as a Build A Bear for Squadt.
• Inventing the Third Eye and using visual tricks that engage your audience.
• Drawing inspiration from the illustration techniques of the skateboard industry.