I came across this great new design for a vinyl toy a while ago and it instantly appealed to me. I am not sure what appealed to me but it was a mixture of the strong symbolic feel of the closed fist and the cleverly worked design. I got in contact with the designer, kaNo, and asked him to tell me a bit more about the toy, Moneygrip, and what inspired him to create it. This is what kaNo had to say.

“Vinyl toys is something I’ve always wanted to do, it just always appealed to my sense of design. I drew Moneygrip in my sketchbook one day on my way to work. I was trying to find something original, that said Hip-Hop without being so literal, which is always my approach when I’m designing anything.”

“Moneygrip was simply a design that came along at the right time, because I had just met Eric Nocella of Goldmane entertainment, which is the sculptor for Moneygrip. He liked the design and was willing to work with me on it. My boy Jared Deal from Carnival Cartoons had just put out with his Buzz Carney figure, which was very inspiring in getting me to do a toy line. My sculptor hooked me up with Eric Scarecrow at ESC toys, and we where off and running.”

“I guess that’s what I mean about Moneygrip being a sketch that came around at the right time, because I just happen to click with other artists that can get the job done right.”

It is great to see more and more new artists getting involved in the vinyl toy scene as the new artists keep things very fresh. At the moment there is one colourway for Moneygrip as well as a blank version.

Moneygrip will debut at the New York Comic convention in February 2007 being held at the Javitz convention center. kaNo will be in the artist alley section table A247.

I am really looking forward to seeing this toy being released and I think it will be a great success. Good luck to kaNo with this vinyl toy and other toys in the future.