Countless toys piled up
A wonderful life with a lot of toys like mountains
JIM, the director of MOUNTAIN STUDIO
This is how ms really means
From the confusion of the beginning
To the tacit understanding after continuous running-in
Although there were such and such "painful" experiences during this period
But JIM remembers more
The joy of everyone working together to move forward together
Players like works with heartfelt appreciation for encouragement
I want to spread the culture of designer toys
This is a phrase that JIM repeatedly mentioned in the interview
Because he said he wanted to make one since he was a kid
A toy that can move you and others
Hello, my name is Li Songlin and my English name is JIM
Aries, the first day of Aries
It considers itself to be the most impulsive and over-motivated head sheep
I worked as a game designer and illustrator for more than a decade
I have also taught students
I have been starting a business for about 7-8 years in a field that I am more familiar with
Usually like pets, have a lot of cats, a Shiba Inu
Recently, he adopted another Dharma Dou
Read books, draw and collect toys
In fact, as long as you think it is interesting, you will buy a disk
Q Let's introduce MOUNTAIN STUDIO.
A Mountain studio is my third venture in Shanghai, the studio is mainly to do designer toys, illustrators, animators, art lovers who have the potential to do designer toys, and even friends who want to make their own concepts into toys as long as they have good ideas, are our goals of exploration and cooperation.
Of course, we are also developing our own designer toys, the predecessor is the cat Tang Tai Drum Studio, and now there are many people called the cat Tang family, our goal is to be a designer toy company, spread more designer toy culture to the public.
QWhat special meaning does the name MOUNTAIN STUDIO have?
A In fact, in order to make Cat Tang have a sense of inheritance, I found a harmonic sound of Cat Tang. MOUNTAIN in English just means mountain, and this thing we do is not simple, we may need to make countless toys, until they can be piled up into mountains, we can achieve our wish, sitting on the beautiful life of mountains of toys.
Q What kind of opportunity gave you the idea of starting a brand?
A In my impression, the earliest designers in China are independent brands, although there is a brand, but either part-time, or use spare time, few people will put all their energy into toy creation and brand operation. Because everyone does not know how to do it, the income brought by toys can not support a good life after all, relying on a little player's enthusiasm to survive, it is more difficult to support a sustainable toy brand with a designer's work.
▲ 2018 at STS
So in our concept, the MOUNTAIN brand should be a multi-style collection, radiating player groups with each other at the same time, you can put the product experience together to develop better products, this is an opportunity, and then we created a lot of products, by trying different types of products, we accumulate experience from the feedback of different groups of people, so that the follow-up development and operation become more smooth.
Q MOUNTAIN STUDIO is a platform for brand collections, can it be understood in this way?
A This is not easy to say, in fact, I did not take MS as a platform, our core is the development itself, let the idea become a toy, can it become a platform that everyone understands, look at the future development, I just want to spread the culture of designer toys, what is specific or how to define is not important.
▲ 2019 at BTS
Q Can you still recall some of the things you did when you started?
A few things that impressed me.
The first is that the toy we made when we started is actually a cat Tang handmade, a hairless cat called Tang, is the mascot of our cat Tang Taigu, our original intention of making him was to give us a thank you gift to our long-term partners, I did not expect many people to be interested, our partners also hope that we can sell this work, and then the response after the release is very good, although there are many deficiencies, but also got a lot of players and friends around the encouragement.
The second thing is at the end of 2016 in shanghai SSF hosted the event, when the participation is mainly from the domestic creators, because the SSF exhibition is a fan-initiated form, quite not easy, can give the venue limited financial support, set on the roof of a design workshop, we blew cold air on the roof, it was really cold at the time, but there were still many players to cheer, and the designer friends at that time were also encouraging each other, very moved.
The third thing is that we participated in Taiwan TTF for the first time in 2017, I remember that MS was the only one of all the participating brands in the mainland in the past to have its own independent booth, with a lot of works, but the heart is also more nervous, for us to make toys, TTF is the oldest toy exhibition we can contact, there is a little sense of pilgrimage, naturally also very stressful. Later, the toys sold very well, and also received a lot of praise from overseas designers and overseas players, which made us more confident to persevere.
▲ Photo with Hiroto Okubo (right) at TTF in 2017
Q What kind of changes has MOUNTAIN STUDIO undergone since its inception?
A From confusion to firmness, at the beginning I didn't know anything, a little bit of learning and groping. At the same time, the understanding of good works is more clear, during this period there are core personnel leaving, there are also new people to join, more and more works are done, more and more players like our toys and brands, and what has not changed is the original intention of loving creation and toys.
Q What are the brands and designers under our current umbrella?
A has more brands, such as the Cat Tang Taiko series, which has always been a symbol of the origin of the studio, which has both toys and clothing and trend peripheral products. I led the SPACE JIM series, UNSPEAKABLE (unnamed) series; the FORMER Tencent Monster Penguin manager Pika Teacher's FEYCAT series; the domestic well-known illustrator Xiaohua Teacher's SENTIDUCK Weather Duck Series, as well as the previously acclaimed ZOE Kingdom Knight Series, the newly born HONEYE Candy Sister Series and so on.
Q Is there a lot of problems with this way of signing designers and brands?
A to say that the problem will definitely encounter a lot, for example, the cooperation with the designer at the beginning will have some problems that need to be understood by each other, such as the lack of understanding of the process, the vague cognition of the production cost, which needs to be constantly run-in and exchanged, but in the later stage of cooperation, it will be much better, and the communication between the designer and the designer has also accumulated some experience, and I am also a designer, sometimes I also need to take the initiative to empathize, and I will understand each other after cooperation.
There are also more sensitive issues such as the sharing of interests, new works in the beginning of the market is basically unlikely to have an overnight explosion phenomenon, the early continuous exposure of warm-up and the production of R & D and production are mainly invested, even if good works in the recognition of players also need time, so designers and brands need to be patient. Of course, sometimes there will be more embarrassing situations that the sales of toys at the beginning are not ideal, and the heart is very anxious, but it is still necessary to give the designer enough confidence, because the toys we decide to produce within our studio are repeated thinking and adjustment, and have experienced the results of layers of assessment and elimination, when all aspects are ready, do what should be done, and the rest of the time is to let it squat quietly in the corner and wait for someone to like it.
Q Are there any good and bad memories during this period?
A good memory must be a lot, for example, whenever the studio enters a difficult situation, there will always be designer friends can understand and support, most of the designers who usually cooperate have their own jobs, even when the work is busy, they will not resign from the exhibition itinerary, there is no delay in handing over the "homework", work together to arrange the exhibition, will also do preparatory work in the studio together, are tired but no one has complained, but it is particularly interesting, tired and happy.
Bad memories come more from people who don't have good intentions to dig up designers. They don't quite understand, often only see the final results, but in fact, good products are not designers can be completed alone, many situations are 0 to 1 developed by us after the studio groped together, the process contains a lot of outsiders are difficult to understand the efforts and entanglements. None of the designers who have signed contracts with MS in the past have brought their works to talk about cooperation - Dracula with hipster designer Benson is an exception, it is a rubber-lined version based on the existing sculpture prototype, in order to spread excellent works to more trend players through mass production.
Q What do you think MOUNTAIN STUDIO is in?
A should still be in the stage of trying more possibilities, continue to output good works, and try cooperation in different fields.
Q What is MOUNTAIN STUDIO's next step?
A As mentioned above to develop new series, in fact, there are already many designs that will soon be exposed; there are players who have been expecting MS to have a blind box series of products, and we are also looking forward to it; in addition, joint cooperation with tide brands will also be a more important part of the next year. We also considered developing mini programs for MS brand service optimization for players, and yes, there are also sticking to the production of MSTV, and the idea is a bit much.
Q So, as the principal, what are your main responsibilities?
A control the direction of the brand, make product plans, do design, coordinate management within the team, and communicate with partners.
Q How did you start designing toys?
A I think it is inevitable that I design toys, because I have a high degree of fit with my hobbies and previous work, and I have the desire to create, and I have always wanted to make a toy that can move myself and others since I was a child.
Q What kind of profession does it feel like to be a toy designer?
A I think it may be more appropriate to call an independent toy designer, an independent toy designer is different from a traditional designer, more like an artist's persistence, the traditional designer only exists to meet commercial needs, but the independent toy designer exists to create a need, with their own creation to produce the resonance of the designer and the player, the spiritual communication between the player and the player. Independent toys are inherently social currency, so independent designers will have more requirements and ideas for spiritual level and cultural expression.
Q What is your usual work status?
A I like to immerse myself in work for a long time, usually collect some fleeting ideas, occasionally relax and pet the dog and cat, and then call and reply to the message.
Q Where do you usually come from?
A Most of the inspiration comes from the original memories of toys in childhood, as well as my own fantasies and dreams, as well as unpopular old movies, some books on my favorite subjects.
Q What kind of style do you feel like in your work?
A I think it is a retro futuristic style, I prefer the retro style and the collision of popular elements, more interesting.
Q How do you evaluate the toy market and players in China today?
A I think China's toy market still has a lot of potential, a lot of possibilities, after all, just started, and many people do not understand the meaning of independent toys, but it is only a matter of time, more and more players, very enthusiastic, the contact between players will also appear more social and cultural circles, after all, online contact can also promote offline communication opportunities. What designers have to do is to design more good works that can arouse the thinking and resonance of modern people, and can also have a spiritual connection with each other, and players will naturally use their actions to identify with the creators.
Q Are you a player yourself? What are the collections?
A I'm a player and will collect, now it's more interchangeable between designers, so buying toys is a lot less than before, I'll buy some vintage toys, but not necessarily expensive old toys, but toys with retro style.
The collection is more miscellaneous, there are some statues in the studio, and then the more classic ones are like ThreeA's POPBOT, double-nose commander, etc., as well as various Japanese sofubi, and I am also fascinated by the retro hanging card toys from Super7.
Q What do you think is the biggest difference between a player and a designer?
A I think there is really no difference, because many designers are also players, many players are also designers in different industries, there is no difference in essence, just in a specific environment, playing different roles.
Q Say a few words to Nino and your fans.
A Thank you for providing this opportunity to communicate with everyone, MOUNTAIN STUDIO is considered to be the older toy studio in China, but it is rare to share such a heartfelt thing, and it is fortunate to be able to go all the way with fans for so many years.
In fact, I would like to call you a player, because I believe that the players who like our toys are the best, and you are more willing to understand our works with sincerity, so that we are all connected because of the same love of toys and love of creation, I hope that everyone can continue to support us MOUNT STUDIO, support your mouth of the cat Tang family.