When I first began showing my work, I showcased much of it through a non-profit organization Graffitit Beach. The organization was all about the proliferation of emerging artists and I was lucky enough to show my work at many of their shows/events. So at the time of my second show with Graffiti Beach, I wanted to design and make my very own designer toy, similiar to Kidrobot and their vinyl toys.

 

At the time, their were no designer toys made from wood, so I thought I would start there and differentiate my design from all others. Long story short, I ended up creating this little "bomb guy" entirely out of wood and rope. I then painted him and being that my alias is KHOB, it only made sense that I call my first designer toy "Khoboom." I then had the thought "Wouldnt it be cool if I were to produce a large number of these, with some being blank for DIYers, and some with a custom design painted on them." 

 

Fast forward a couple years....

 

I decided that after several positive comments and a few online features on my Khoboom toy that I really ought to look into producing these, even if it was on a small run. After contacting several companies and doing some research, I decided that I would try to produce a small run of ten on my own since I didn't have an extra couple thousand that would have been needed to make my vision truely come true.

 

I then discovered that it isn't easy to reproduce something, despite the simple design as the simplicity actually makes it harder to reproduce... So I figured out a way to cast and mold the arms, feet and legs which were the hardest parts to reproduce. Finally I had a way to reproduce my design and successfully I reproduced 10 Khoboom toys. I then made the decision to paint a custom design on each one, while still keeping the Khoboom character intact. So I then went about designing and making a package, certificate of authenticity, and some special die-cut stickers of the Khoboom character.