Andy
Sara Harvey the winner of the 2nd Clutter Annual Designer Toy award give us an insight into her world of toys and style. Being an artist and a huge collector for many years its a match made in heaven, her house is beautifully displayed with toys and art which combines well with her house decor. Sara, a designer and illustrator and all around nerd who lives in a world full of toys.
TTC -First of all Thank you for having us interview you and taking time out to answer all our questions and taking time out. You are not just a collector, you’re a designer and illustrator no wonder you a have a great house full of awesome toy/art just digging your colour coordinated display if you have to choose your top 5 toys which ones would it be?
SH– Oh man, my top 5 toys, well it’s always difficult for me to answer these kinds of questions because I love so many things and my favourites change a lot. I guess if I had to pick 5 right now it would be my custom Apak Sug I have that was the first custom toy I purchased many years ago. My other four would be my two Pete Fowler Van Orlax figures (I’m combining them as one since they are the same but just different versions.) Travis Lampe Accidental Mishap resin figure, Nathan Jurevicius’s Geguzis resin figure, and one of my custom Kathie Olivas and Brandt Peters Greeter Skelves. A lot of the figures that are most important to me are ones by an artist who have become some of my dear friends over the years. I love supporting the people I care about.
[pullquote]Alot of the figures that are most important to me are ones by artist who have become some of my dear friends over the years. I love supporting the people I care about.[/pullquote]
Do you have a Holy Grail Toy/art?
Going back to the question above, I never just have one favourite of anything and there are many toys and artwork from artists I admire that I would love to own. If I had to list one of them though it would be to someday own one of AJ Fosik’s pieces. They are amazingly detailed and wonderful use of patterns and colours.
What was your first ever designer toy?
I can’t honestly remember what my first designer toy was. I’ve collected toys my entire life and it just naturally progressed to designer toys when they started being created and my favorite illustrators started creating them. One of the first ones I remember when it comes to vinyl toys is Micro and Underson by Tomyuki Washio. It’s hard to find any info on him for some reason and I don’t ever see him come up when I see collections but I’ve always loved the figure.
What got you collecting designer toys?
I kind of answered this in the question above a little but most of the artists whose toys I collect I’ve known or admired their artwork for many years and have watch and grown up with their art. I was able to start collecting their work in a 3 dimensional form which a lot of times were more affordable than owning a piece of artwork or print. I could create my own world with what I loved and I already collected other kinds of toys so it was a natural progression. I’ve always loved character design and they are a constant source of inspiration.
I really love your Miffy lamp is that the only toy lamp you have or do you have more?
Miffy is the only toy lamp I have, so far. I would love to have more someday though if I have room for them.
Not only do you have a stylish house, you have a great fashion sense, will you start your own branded clothing line?
Thank you so much! Well honestly I’ve always loved fashion and have considered that so you never know what could happen in the future. There are so many things on my list of “things I would like to accomplish.” So finding time for them all is a struggle. I have designed a lot of T-shirts in the past and screenprinted my own for awhile so that may come back as well.
Having worked for Hallmark and having most toys ever produced is there any future plans to design your own toys?
Yes actually. I’ve always wanted to create my own toys. I did a lot of sculpting in college and at the time I collected a lot of Todd McFarlane toys which are what started my dream of creating my own. My life went in a different direction and I had to stop a lot of my art so that dream unfortunately never went anywhere. Now that I have the time and knowledge I hope to get back to my toy designing dream someday.
Do you have a favourite artist?
I don’t have one favourite. I’ve never had one favourite of anything when it comes to art. It’s always multiple people. I love different styles and it would be impossible for me to pick one person.
What’re your favorite toys from 2013?
I didn’t actually collect much in 2013 because it was a difficult year but I would say my favorite that I did purchase was Muckey by Hirto Ohkubo, the blue version.
Being the clutter 2nd Annual Designer Toy Awards Best Collection Winner, how did that feel?
That felt wonderful, strange, and humbling. I would never consider my collection as winning something like that because collections are very personal, well mine is at least, and to label one “The Best” is very objective. That aside, it was very wonderful to receive that title and to be acknowledged for the love and passion I have for the designer toy world. My toy family is very important to me and receiving an award in something like this is just pretty crazy but amazing. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined something like that would ever happen.
Winner of the 2nd Annual Designer Toy Awards “Best Collection” Award, Sara Harvey
Sara Harvey Acceptance Video from Clutter Magazine on Vimeo.
You have over 3 Million Pinterest followers I guess we all love what you pin and love seeing your style and interests, what drives you to be so creative?
This is probably a common answer but everything drives me to create. I have to do it, I really have no choice. My brain never turns off and I get inspired by everything around me. It honestly gets hard for me to do actual everyday things in my life that need to get done. I’ve always collected and organized things including inspiration so Pinterest was very natural for me. I already did it in the form of many books and binders and more folders saved on my computer than one person would ever be able to go through. It also helps having really talented artist friends. They keep me inspired and push me everyday to do the things I love. Sara Pintrest linkHERE
Have you found any new / breakthrough artists work that you are interested in right now?
If you had to pick one Toy for the rest of your life what would it be and why? (I don’t ever wish that would ever happen to you )
Oh man, that’s the hardest question but actually, I can answer it pretty easily. The one toy I would pick would be my teddy bear that I’ve had since I was little. Yes, an ugly stuffed bear whose eyes you can’t see and nose is pretty much gone. Memories mean more to me and that bear has been with me through a lot of really hard times throughout my life.
These 4 are at saraharvey.bigcartel.com there probably won’t be anymore like these.
Thank you again Sara for doing this interview and sharing your personal collection. We appreciate the time taken to answer all the questions and giving us a glimpse into your personal life. You have a wonderful collection and wonderful style, all the best for the future.
Make sure you all follow Sara via
Instagram (use her famous tag #ToyADay)
Email : 4theloveoftoys@gmail.com
