Turtle Tetsujin - Giant Robot

Giant Robot Store, established in 2001 features products from around the world. Notably, fun house wares, gifts, stationeries, t shirts, comics, plush and toy figures. Giant Robot is often cited as the birthplace for Asian Pop Culture products and Uglydolls. GR2 Gallery features art exhibitions by notable artists like Katsuya Terada, Luke Chueh, David Choe, Mari Inukai, Deth P Sun, Rob Sato, Ako Castuera, Sean Chao, Yoskay Yamamoto, Uglydoll, and countless others. Self-produced art toys are designer collectibles created and manufactured independently by the artist or small teams without the backing of a large toy company or mass-market brand. These toys are often highly personal, artistic expressions and are usually made in limited runs. Key Characteristics include independent creation where the artist is in control of the entire process from concept, sculpting, and painting to production and packaging. These are usually made in small batches, often 10–100 pieces, which adds to their rarity, made using materials like resin, sofubi (Japanese soft vinyl), or 3D-printed components. My name is Peter Kato & I have been a fan & have worked in this toy industry from almost every point ( collecting, retail sales experience, designing …) all except making. My background is based in comic book /manga illustration dating back in the late 90′s(Team Smile Inc / Apollo Smile Live Action Anime Girl) , to many years working in sales/managing in specialty toy store retail(Toy Tokyo), to currently working in an art studio that focuses on decoupage(John Derian Co.) Currently I am a member of the Cortes Studio in Brooklyn, New York. Under the guidance of master sculptor Dave Cortes I have learned all the points of traditional hand sculpting, mold-making, resin castings and presently starting the lessons in digital sculpting. Now I spend all my free time doing what I love most. Making toys.