Hello all,
As the classic line goes: long time reader; first time poster. There is defiantly a great buzz on these forums, happy I finally signed up! Should have done it years ago.
My name is Shane Haddy and I am from Adelaide, Australia - Some of you may know me from around the place
. I have been designing art toys for the last two years under the studio name 'Hints and Spices'. I have mostly focused on custom work but I have one sofubi production piece named 'Waniphant', which some of you may have seen? (There has only been a few small runs.) Over the last two years I have kept a semi-low profile. My online presence is shocking but I hope to change that in the coming months - signing up here is step 1! Last year I embarked on a very ambitious project, to me it's very exciting and I'm keen to spread the word. In August 2012, I found out I was the lucky recipient of the 'Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Japan Travel Fund' through Arts SA, which is part of the Australian Government. With this grant, I have travelled to Japan to develop new sofubi works while being influenced and mentored by talented Japanese artists and craftsmen. I have organised a very exciting list of mentors which include but not limited to: Sunguts, Touma, Zarigani Works, Dolroffo, TTToy and Studio Uamou. I am still blown away that I am working with such talented and respected designers and artists. I am forever grateful to all my mentors for their support and participation in my ambitious project.
I have been in Japan for two months (taking two weeks off over xmas/new years) and have currently spent time with Sunguts and Touma. I have learnt so much in my short time here and it has been a fantastic opportunity. This past week I have been very busy at the Sunguts character factory finalising and preparing two character sculpts for wax casts. These two characters will be produced in vinyl and released at wonderfest in early February!! Exciting times.
A koala/drop bear and a mermaid, I am still finalising their names. Sorry for the instagram image, I will take better photos soon
Throughout this project, I have been keeping a blog detailing my journey. http://blog.hintsandspices.com/ ~ Please follow and enjoy! This month will be action packed! You can also follow me on twitter, facebook and instagram. I use instagram the most for 'blow by blow' accounts of my daily adventures in Japan.
Well, there is my quick little introduction and display of new work. I think I will leave there for now ~ Thanks for reading, nice to meet you all.
Cheers,
Shane Haddy
