Today we’d like to introduce you to Serena Chan.
Hi Serena, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’m Rinicake (@rinicakez), an artist with a vision of bringing my original characters “to life” as physical toys, and creating a world for them. My art style is cutesy, has a lot of pastel color schemes, and includes many cute animals such as alpacas and cats.
I have been drawing my whole life and got my first drawing tablet when I was in middle school. I mostly did digital art up until I started making art toys/designer toys in 2020, when I funded production of my first vinyl toy via Kickstarter. From there, I started hand painting some of my vinyl toys, as well as customizing toys made by other toy designers, and participating in group gallery shows. Nowadays I am 3D modeling and self-producing new toy designs, and continuing to expand the universe of my original characters.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Self-producing art toys is hard work and can be very expensive. I don’t have a big company behind me to provide funding for production. I work a regular 9-5 job while designing and painting toys after work hours. There is a big learning curve when you are making art toys for the first time in any material. There are many different methods of production to choose from (for example: soft vinyl, resin casting, etc.)
My newest toys have been produced almost entirely at home so far. I started learning 3D modeling less than a year ago with the goal of sculpting new toys 100% myself moving forward (having had a manufacturer do the 3D models of my early toy designs that were produced in vinyl). My friend is helping me 3D print the pieces in resin, and although they come out a lot smoother than filament 3D prints, they still require a lot of sanding and priming before I am able to hand-paint every piece. I want to move to having the toys casted in resin in the near future so I will be able to increase production significantly.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I entered the art toy scene in late 2020 when I ran a Kickstarter campaign to produce my first vinyl toy based on my character Dollypaca. Dollypaca, or Dolly for short, is inspired by Matryoshka dolls (also called Russian nesting dolls) and she is a pink alpaca doll that wears a strawberry shaped hat.
Dollypaca has a family, and together they look like a set of nesting dolls. In 2022 I produced them as vinyl toys as well. Her mother Pearidot is pear-shaped, like some Matryoshka dolls are. Pearidot opens up like a real nesting doll and one of her daughters can comfortably nest inside. Dolly’s sister Berrywinkle (Berry) who wears a blueberry shaped hat, and her other sister Pommella (Mella) who wears a red apple hat with a leaf hanging from it.
My newest toy design “Nyatryoshka” is a set of chubby cats that are functional nesting dolls. The name is a play on the words “Matryoshka doll” and “Nyan” (the sound a cat makes)! The Nyatryoshka toys are made from resin and are all hand painted myself.
At designer toy shows such as DesignerCon, I tend to stand out as the booth with lots of pastel pink and a super “cutesy” aesthetic. In my experience, this style is not all that common at western toy shows. On top of that, being a female toy artist in itself is rare, with the toy community being mostly male. That’s okay though, as everyone I’ve met through the community has been extremely friendly and supportive of my journey as a toy designer. I’m proud to be a female designer and I hope to make a name for myself in the toy community.
What does success mean to you?
As an artist, I define success as being self sufficient while having ownership of the entire creative process, from designing to manufacturing. This can be hard to do when you depend on your art for income (as of right now, I cannot do so myself). I want to be able to create anything I feel like making, without worrying about whether or not it will sell.
I also relish in bringing joy to people that engage with my work. That’s one of the reasons why I am drawn to being a toy artist, because my pieces will be displayed in homes and hopefully bring a little joy into someone’s daily life for years to come.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rinicake.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rinicakez
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rinicakez
