Jeffery

Rotofugi Designer Toy Store & Gallery, established in July 2004, is located on the border of Chicago's Lincoln Park and Lakeview neighborhoods in a beautiful vintage building. Since opening, Rotofugi has grown to become one of the world's premier sellers of designer toys from artists all over the world. Rotofugi features a diverse selection of vinyl figures, capsule toys, plush and more from both eastern and western designers. The adjoining Rotofugi Gallery features monthly art exhibits by a range of both local and nationally known artists. Beginning in late 2007 Rotofugi partnered with Chicago based product development specialist Squibbles Ink to begin producing artist-designed figures by the talented designers located in their home town. Click here for more information on Squibbles Ink + Rotofugi projects. Rotofugi is owned and operated by husband and wife duo Kirby and Whitney Kerr. You can find the couple in and around the store on most days. They love to talk about toys and art. Jon Knox is a designer/illustrator/artist based in Portland. He was born and raised in North Carolina, and lived in Perth (Australia) for the better part of 2006. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in graphic design from the College of Design at North Carolina State, but spent his free time screenprinting, drawing, and painting. He lived and developed his work in San Francisco in 2008, then moved to Portland where his studio is currently located. His current work focuses on an all-boy crew who are often stuck somewhere between the best and worst moments of their lives. Jon's work has been exhibited around the globe, including solo exhibitions in Chicago and Seattle. He's best known for his series of hand cast resin toys produced in limited editions. Felt Mistress AKA Louise Evans is a UK based stitcher and prolific tea drinker who creates a range of one-off bespoke creatures with her partner, illustrator Jonathan Edwards. Originally trained in fashion design and millinery, Louise has brought many of the skills learnt through years of work as a couture dress maker to the world of character design. As well as original Felt Mistress characters Louise has also collaborated with a variety of other artists including Jon Burgerman, Jon Knox (Hello, Brute), Ben Newman and Pete Fowler (Louise created "John Evans" from Pete's designs for Gruff Rhys' "American Interior" film, 2014). Her work has been exhibited in the UK and internationally and in 2010 she was given her own window on Oxford Street as part of Selfridges' Christmas display. In 2011, together with Jonathan, she spent 6 weeks in Japan creating work for a gallery residency in Nara which culminated in headlining the Headspace arts festival in Osaka. In 2013 she was a speaker and exhibitior at the prestigious international character design festival, Pictoplasma, in Berlin and staged her largest exhibition yet, The Hiber-Nation, at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff. It featured her biggest creations to date