View from the Zoo

Francois Chetcuti waited over ten years to see his paper toy project published. His first publisher in Germany went bankrupt in 1999 just before it was scheduled for production and the project was shelved until this year when H.F. Ullmann picked it up. Comprised of 8 superb toys to build yourself, the sturdy cardboard cards come packaged with a detailed instruction book in a beautiful tin box . The toys actually have moving parts and require a bit of patience to build. The difficulty levels and the estimated time required to complete each toy is indicated.

Francois is inspired by illustrators Tibor Gergely and Richard Scarry and the Little Golden Books series from the 1950s. He has been collecting vintage toys and children’s books for over 20 years. Francois Chetcuti lives in Lille, France. He has a website-game that shows his work as an illustrator and sculptor.

More great news! My designs are now available as greeting cards, business cards and stickers on moo.com, a dynamic young printing company based in London, England. You choose the designs you want, mine (preferably), someone else’s (I am in very good company) or even your own (your travel photos, for example), drop and crop them on the products you want and place your order.  I love the quality of their printing, their range of products and their choice of artists (besides me!). Even the packaging of the cards are neat.

New York designer David Weeks (known for his lighting fixtures and playful product designs for Areaware and Kikkerland) created Hanno, named after the Greek voyager who discovered gorillas 2,500 years ago. Hanno is a clin d’oeil to the Danish teak monkey (by Bojese) and commercial action figures. 12 inches tall, Hanno can hold many poses and is made is from sustainably harvested new-growth beech wood. Available in November at Areaware, just in time for Christmas!

David kindly answered a few questions about the origins of his line of toys.

Q : What was your inspiration?
A : Remember on Gilligan’s Island how the professor would make cars of bamboo, or radios out of coconuts?  The inspiration behind Hanno began with an idea of making a wooden robot –and the counter-intuitive, illogicalness of creating a hi-tech object out of an organic material like wood.

Initially, it was meant to be a robot but eventually evolved into a gorilla as I sanded the articulated parts.  I was also able to create a real personality for Hanno and Ursa ( a bear) through their posture and stance, as well as the carved features on their faces.

I started collecting miscellaneous action figures from yard sales for my son; the more unusual and anonymous the character the better.  After playing with him, I started being aware of all the different methods of creating movable joints.  I also liked the idea of combining the mechanisms and aesthetic of these cheap plastic toys with the classic, iconic quality of Danish wooden toys.

It becomes this great crossover product – it’s not just for kids, it’s not just for collectors or 20-somethings, it’s for everyone.

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