Shawn Smith of Shawnimals

For October’s feature, FOUR tweets with artist, creator and founder of Shawnimals, Shawn Smith. After nearly a decade he has grown hand sewn toys into a cultural movement within the art, licensing and gaming sector. To understand the Shawnimals world, each character lives within a community which revolves around a story such as his latest Mr. Fliggins series, Vampire Pants. Recently he showcased  the Shawnimals brand with the first ever, Kid Robot’s Dunny series.

Original Interview Sept 17, 2009

mushiikloth - Hi Shawn! Thanks for spending your busy day

shawnimals - No problem, happy to be here.

mushiikloth – So lets get started, how should I address you an artist, toymaker…or businessman?

or all above

shawnimals – Ha! Well, depends on the day I guess, but all of the above works for me. At the end of the day, I like being a creative guy.

mushiikloth – n’ha! I shall call u Shawn lol, so u just had a show with @KidrobotRules for Dunny. Is this an annual event for you?

** My Kind Of Town, Rotofugi Gallery in Chicago, Illinois
September 25 – October 11,  2009 @ 7pm CST **

shawnimals – I’d like it to be But no, being part of the Dunny series is a first for me, and isn’t automatic.

In any case, we are very very excited to be a part of it.

mushiikloth – oh wow so this is a special series then! Where can you get a Shawnimals Dunny (if they r still in stock)? **

shawnimals - Definitely a special release. The Dunny series is a limited run, so eventually they’ll be out of stock… if not already.

mushiikloth – hopefully that will lead to another Dunny year Now, ur known for the Ninjatown series, is that ur most popular 2 date? **

shawnimals – Absolutely. NinjaTown has consistently been popular, maybe because of they’re Ninjas & more recently of course because of the DS game

Ninjatown is also our most developed world (or neck and neck with Professor Island). People realize that and get into the world

People can either enjoy it on a topical level, or they can dig deeper and see all of the details and hilarity

mushiikloth – now the Nintendo DS Ninjatown game, did they contact u or was this something you always saw in the future of Shawnimals?

shawnimals - I used to work in the gaming industry as a game reviewer (R.I.P. EGM) so because of that made some connections and talked games.

Fast forward to some friends at Pickle King Productions introduced us to Jeremy Pope and Southpeak and we worked out the deal

We then worked with @VenanEnt the game developer for almost a year on the game. They’re a great team & made an amazing game

mushiikloth – oh wow, so u where already tapped into the mindset of a gamer. So is it safe 2 say more games pitched for ur other series?

shawnimals - Games make sense so we always have that in mind. An NT game sequel is a no-brainer, but we have nothing to report at this time.

mushiikloth – so why ninjas? lol and for that matter what makes you come up with these characters? Because alot of them are pretty clever

** Check Out The NinjaTown Series **

shawnimals - Thanks! We started with the original Wee Ninja in 03 as part of a smaller plush series. We liked the Ninja & kept brainstorming

We really continued developing it into 2005, and then as we moved into 06 and 07 it picked up a lot of momentum

Finally, humor is in a lot of what we do, so even the core idea behind the Wee Ninja is CUTE ASSASSIN. We really ran w/ it.

Even though we make stuff here, in essence we’re a character design studio. As such we continue to develop characters & worlds.

mushiikloth – so with the WeeNinja http://bit.ly/jufjD, I’ve seen it everywhere & it appears 2 be licensed with a lot of ppl besides Nintendo

shawnimals – Not A LOT but we try to work with key players. SouthPeak for the DS game, Devil’s Due Pop for the Geeky Ninja and NT comic.

Also adFunture in the past, as well as @mimobot on our LOVE/HATE Ninja mimobot drives. We also like making our own stuff.

mushiikloth – so, u mentioned working for gamer review EGM, take me to the moment u realized Shawnimals is ur future

shawnimals – Sure: I left EGM in 2000 to continue my college degree. During that time studying painting, I saw some import plush and…

…loved them. I thought well these weird characters in my sketchbook aren’t bunnies or teddy bears & might work well as plush

That was in 2001, so we’ve been doing this a while!

I’ve always liked writing, but I loved making things and drawing, etc. So that’s pretty much when I knew. I needed to be visual

mushiikloth – now u mentioned make, a lot of the plushes are sewn, did u start off with a needle and thread or did you work with ppl?

shawnimals – Started with a needle & thread. The 1st few Shawnimals were hand-sewn, then my brother found a sewing machine at a garage sale.

Once I moved to the machine, I used it like a drawing tool basically sewing shapes on fabric that looked good as characters

We made everything by hand until 2006. My wife Jen, then two staffers and interns then we had some of the popular characters (Ninjas and moustaches) manufactured.

We live in a time when you can have a handmade, designer line, and a mass-produced line as well. And I can make studio art.

mushiikloth – u seem 2 be a pretty good businessman as well. 2001 & then boom? Or was there a lot of reworking and marketing before the boom?

shawnimals – Definitely a long time in the making, but most of all we love what we do. THAT comes through in our work. That’s why it’s loved

I used to fight the idea of being a businessman because I felt it was souless and anti-art, but that was silly and naive.

mushiikloth – oh wow, so this was a true labor of love. how many characters are now in the Shawnimals community?

Satellite View of Shawnimaland

shawnimals – HUGE labor of love. Over 400 characters in our world now.

mushiikloth – so what was ur big break for the Shawnimal brand?

shawnimals – We’ve kind of had a few: Daily Candy wrote us up in Dec 2002. Then we were mentioned in Ent Weekly thanks to Lupe [Fiasco] & New York Times in 07

We also owe a TON to our fans for spreading the word & always showing us love. We would be unknown w/o them & the internet

All of this stuff combined showed that we were the real deal and had some serious creativity and design behind our stuff

mushiikloth – so it seems than within 8yrs you’ve gotten a lot accomplished. Have you had a good team working with You?

shawnimals – The team is more recent. As we grew, like any business, we needed help. Sometimes that was outsiders, but then we brought on a couple of great people. Monte and Eric. Really creative, multi-talented guys. And of course ever-changing interns.

mushiikloth – so with all of these great things that resulted from love & hard work, what can be the icing or at least the greatest addition?

shawnimals – The DS game by far. Loving & playing games, and creating character and stories… seeing that in game form solidified so much.

It was surreal to get the production copy of the game & see everything come together. Games are the ultimate creative medium.

mushiikloth – what’s ur take on forgery? & artist integrity? Do the same rules apply for the toy world as in the graffiti world?

shawnimals – Absolutely. Death to biters! There’s no room for it. If it’s an honest mistake, so be it. But all too often people try to front

Mike Judge said it best when asked about Beavis and Butthead. It might be a simple, silly idea but he did it first.

mushiikloth – I think I have a new tagline lol gotta love Mike Judge

shawnimals - (sorry I had to pull out the Beavis and Butthead reference…) LOL!

mushiikloth – lol video games “now” seem to be the sure avenue instead of movies, cartoons? or dare I say a Professor Fliggins quiz game?

shawnimals - @pfliggins can go a lot of places next. Cartoons, games, books, etc. But yeah, games are very unique in what they do

Something about the combination of animation, interactivity, sound… When it’s done right, it’s an amazing thing.

mushiikloth – So last question, & once again thanks for spending time out of ur busy workday. Four things that keep Shawnimals possible & most of all fun

shawnimals - Let’s see… 1) Creativity 2) Humor 3) Hard work 4) Purpose

mushiikloth – any new shows for you this October or for the rest of 2009?

shawnimals – Yep, have a few things: Chicago show @rotofugi some customs including a giant Munny, and a mural for a store in Oak Park

But to be clear: Munny show is different than the Rotofugi show.

mushiikloth – Oh okay, I’ll be sure to make note when the event gets near for those in the Chicago area! Thanks so much shawn enjoy ur day!

shawnimals - Likewise!

******* End of Interview *******

Shawnimals Official Site | Facebook | Flickr | Twitter

Photo By Dave Jones

For the September feature, Four® tweets with Saturday Night Live alum, Finesse Mitchell about his touring stand-up review, his first serious role for the new film, “Loving The Bad Man” and a new pilot he’s working on. In addition, Finesse also talks about his budding writing career with Essence Magazine as an advice & relationship expert. A job that became the influence for the award winning book, “Your Girlfriends Only Know So Much.”

TWITTER INTERVIEW SEPT. 5, 2009

mushiikloth - thank you for spending time on this busy weekend

Finesse Mitchell - … what’s crackin.

mushiikloth - I hear your busy in general, what’s big for you right now?

Finesse Mitchell - A bunch of traveling doing Stand-up Comedy. Denver is Sept 10th 12th @ The Comedy Works. Edmonton Canada is 17th-20th @ The Comedy Strip…

Plus I just finished writing a TV PILOT for myself that’s pretty damn good.

Shopping the pilot around. Still writing for Essence Magazine giving ladies relationship advice and starting my second BOOK.

** Live Show Sept 10 – 12 in Denver at
Comedy Works / Edmund, Canada 17 – 20, The Comedy Strip**

mushiikloth – so far I know about your upcoming show on Sept 10 – 12 in Denver at Comedy Works but I hear you were on set for a new movie [tv show]?

Finesse Mitchell – The new Movie is called Loving The Bad Man … Its about a woman who gets raped and ends up preggers. She decides to have the baby and goes to the jail to learn to forgive her attacker so she can heal and move on with what happened to her.

mushiikloth - …wow. that’s um Deep lol, is this a new direction or new avenue ur starting?

Finesse Mitchell - its my first serious role. I play a thug in the prison, and I get to whooop some azz! I can fake fight now!!!!!

The TV pilot is coming and I can’t wait to get it to the next step. Nobody is working so finding actors should be EASY LOL

mushiikloth – I think your too true on that on lol, outta work actors might be the easy part.

thats good to hear, something I did want to get ur take on, Black shows on primetime, seriously what is going on with that?

Finesse Mitchell - Hollyweird is really trippin right now. There is only so much space for TV shows and they seem to lock it with just a certain types of stories. None of them being black. So we as black actors have to get in where there is a role for blacks on”certain” shows…. We have to create our own. I love working with everyone. But the jobs are very limited for Black folks

mushiikloth – yeah, lets just say I can completely cosign w/ u esp w/comedy. But, on the plus u seem to be doing well with writing

Finesse Mitchell - I took a break from writing and I don’t know why… Yes I do. i was playing too much POKER! LOL But I’m grinding now. I am writing some good stuff that will hopefully employ myself and others. We all have stories, I was l just lucky that my stories broke through. Essence mag had a big hand in that!!!!

mushiikloth – So ur potential new show, half or full hr?

Finesse Mitchell - My show is half hr. Cable tho becuz there are bad words. Through Comedy I am very observant and repeat stories I hear on stage…. My last season on SNL….Essence ask me to do a Q &A on women’s luv questions and my answers were a hit and funny

mushiikloth - hey, cable is where its at right now. i imagine more freedom to discuss certain this. so that’s great

Finesse Mitchell – YES CABLE TV has the best SHOWS!!!!! New comics are breaking through. i love the old ones but I am ready to laugh at new people!!!

mushiikloth - how did u end u writing for @ESSENCEmagazine? Like has the discussion of love & life just been ur thing. My guess ur hella observant

[Did it] rehashed some old relationships and memories?

Finesse Mitchell - I use to date a lot so when I finally was ready to settle down, I just used everything from my life and some of the things my my boys complain about and put it work! Then the comedy makes the advice more “refreshing” or topical.

Now, its been three years and one book later. “YOUR GIRLFRIENDS ONLY KNOW SO MUCH” is the title of my book…

Written By Finesse Mitchell Available On Amazon

” YOUR GIRLFRIENDS ONLY KNOW SO MUCH is the most informative, funny and quick to read (because I don’t know any big words, plus there are charts and quizzes) – finessemitchell.com “

mushiikloth - yeah your book, it won an African-American Literary Award for Best Comedy Book, wow did that catch u by surprise or what?

Finesse Mitchell - When my book won that award. I couldn’t believe it. I knew it was good but not like that. So now I’m cocky. LOL I am ready for the next one. I learned alot about the book business. Its hard work to move a book if you don’t have a radio show or Oprah

mushiikloth - oh so the dating variety help give you a bunch of references.

it seems for a lot guys like ur self [and] writing, its either reach the women, to help the men or just speak directly to men

Finesse Mitchell - Our generation is socially confused. We were all raised differently so we value different things. People get hurt becuz they are trying to give there ALL to the wrong person. The right person often gets overlooked and then it’s one divorce and two kids too late! Men and women are both getting abused out there!!!

mushiikloth - yeah, unhappy people can never be happy with someone else, so yes we have a lot of broken ppl who need help..first

So of course SNL, was a huge break but what was ur breakout 2 even get to that point?

Finesse Mitchell - my biggest break came when I did B.E.T.’s Comic View. I new if I did good, they would play me over and over. And they DID!

So I rode that little TV fame and moved from Atlanta to LA..Three years after that. I heard about the SNL auditions. WOW!!!!

mushiikloth – So for SNL, there is a scene that I don’t think ppl r aware of that stuck out 4 me

Starkisha, this scene with the “Patented Pouch” [ & Kenan]

Finesse Mitchell – go back to the Starkeisha sketch for a sec.. Patented Pouch.. remind me of that. My memory is bad! LOL

mushiikloth – Um it was Weekend up date & I’m not sure if it was scripted but Kenan made note about Men in women’s clothes & ur comment was basically what u had mentioned on, “its better to be in woman’s clothes that no scene at all” *robot dance*

Finesse Mitchell – YEEEESSSSS! I said something like. If I wanna be on TV, I gotta wear a dress! LOL Something like that. Those days were the best. but very stressful for me. I miss those guys! We should have spread the ball a little more though. Live TV is no joke

mushiikloth – u had some excellent scenes about race that I always felt SNL got wrong b4 u came & it was refreshing 2 see a diff take

now r u from Miami or from Atlanta originally?

Finesse Mitchell – I’m from Atlanta! All damn day Shawty! But I moved back to Miami becuz I love South Beach. I graduated from THA U! that’s UM (University of Miami) 4EVER I love The A… I am doing my next comedy special there. The folks in the want me to do it there so I can’t wait and, i met my Lil’ Mama down here. She made me change up my game and go into the next phase of my life.

My Standup Comedy is what I do best!!! People don’t know that about me. So I gotta change that and make sure they KNOW!

mushiikloth – now speaking of Kenan, what’s this running Snap famous joke you have?

Finesse Mitchell - when I got to NY.. People already new Kenan.. so when we went out to club or lunch… they thought I Kel… LOL

or Derek Fisher from the LA Lakers

mushiikloth – so Univ of Miami, u had a talented class & football team from what I hear

Finesse Mitchell – Dwayne THE ROCK Johnson and Warren “Twinkle Toes” Sapp was in my Freshman Class at the U… They have made Millions!

mushiikloth - so twitterland that buddy action film with the Rock and Finesse…just saying, but seriously would you work with Dwayne?

Finesse Mitchell – If they tweet… SEND A BROTHA 200,000. That’s it. I’m not greedy

I would love to work with Dwayne!

mushiikloth - now we’re just about done and I have a just two more questions to ask you

What would be your dream opportunity? I’m guessing a 10 yr run for your pilot?

Finesse Mitchell – God YES! SPEAK IT!!! I would to have a run that long. Syndication. I would retire and do Standup in Vegas like Seinfield.

mushiikloth – and last, Four Ideal things in your life, albeit something you’d want to maintain or gain

Photo By Dave Jones

Finesse Mitchell - 1) Healthy Wife and Kids 2) More Money 3) Good friendships 4) The motivation to keep going in this business!

mushiikloth – Well thank you so much for your time and much success to that new pilot, your upcoming shows at Comedy Works. Thank u!

Finesse Mitchell – Thank YOU !!! It was fun. I hope I wasn’t boring! LOL I will keep u posted on the progress. Good luck to you as well!

******* End of Interview *******

Visit the following links for news on Finesse Mitchell’s upcoming shows, books and projects
Finesse Mitchell Official Site | Myspace | Twitter | iMDb

Photo By: K. Escamilla Photography

For the first official interview for FOUR®, I met with upcoming Atlanta Hip Hop producer, Kato(@katohiphop) via twitter for a one on one and to discuss is current project , T.I.M.E and other upcoming projects. During this interview twitter followers were able to listen to this new album available for free dowload at katodaily.com. T.I.M.E features productions for Above Ave., Mike Petrone, Dumbfoundead, Lil’ Scrappy, Mic Masters, Mojo Swagger and more.

TWITTER INTERVIEW AUG. 8. 2009

mushiikloth- @KatoHipHop hey man!

KatoHipHop - @mushiiklothhellloooo, just finished mixing down this track for my man konsept…

mushiikloth- You finished up a track by konsept.? so is this for his project or yours?

KatoHipHop – both hopefully. all the new tracks im working on have a chance to get on the next T.I.M.E. mixtape.

mushiikloth- oh cool, so T.I.M.E that stands for…

THIS IS MY EVERYTHING, Produced By Kato

“THIS IS MY EVERYTHING.
music keeps my soul pumping.
same goes for all the good ppl around
me that i work with. - Kato”

mushiikloth– This is My Everything, why that title, what made you listen to your work and say you know this is it

KatoHipHop – its a perfect description of why i wake up every morning and what i grind day-to-day for.

mushiikloth- So in atlanta, are ppl respecting this cause the album is definitely a showing of your different styles

KatoHipHop – ATL has been nothing but good to me. ive met soo many cool ppl here and theres so much opportunity… i love it.

mushiikloth– thats excellent, so producing, I know you started as a rapper, but what or when did you realize, okay this is production is where its at

is there still an option to come out as an artist too?

KatoHipHop – i actually made my first beat before i wrote my first rhyme. i enjoy both, but somewhere along the line i realized production was my baby.

mushiikloth– and i guess after that everything just fell in place.

KatoHipHop – i think i will always have a rapper monster inside of me though, lol.

mushiikloth- oh lol well thats the persona of a rapper, well suppose to be..would you consider ur flow battle or just style fused

KatoHipHop – im NOT a battle rapper. lol. its just not my thing. i need to take time to construct my rhymes and flow.

mushiikloth- lol right before you get a batch of angry rappers drawling lines, yah son!

now who are ur influences?

KatoHipHop – as far as producers… dj premier, j dilla, dr. dre, dj toomp, black milk, just to name a few.

mushiikloth– I realized Toomp was a good Southern rep for beats

KatoHipHop – , yeah i cant think of a song toomp has produced that i dont like. i recently saw him at the Blue Flame Lounge. speechless.

mushiikloth- Now lets talk about the album, it features are a pretty eclectic group, i know most have beats but how do u work with the artists?

KatoHipHop – i do what any good producer does with an artist. i like to be IN the studio, making music WITH the artist. its a combined effort.

dont get me wrong tho. ive done long distance b4, so sometimes it isnt possible, but i still do my best via email and phone.

mushiikloth– riiight no fast serve lol could I ask your tools, what’s ur weapon of choice?

Photo By: K. Escamilla Photography

KatoHipHop – REASON 4.0, CUBASE SX3, M-AUDIO AXIOM 25. thats it, nice and simple.

mushiikloth– now one of the FOUR® favorites [is] Everybody Hating, By Grady sorta like that neo-classic Atlanta sound, what was the energy for that?

KatoHipHop – word! what up to the homie @gradythegreat!! i immediately heard grady on this track w/o intentionally making it for him.

i gave him a call the next day and he loved it so we knocked it out for the mixtape.

mushiikloth– Another fav is track 10, by A’Leus – I Got. That song is hilarious he’s got some funny verses but the beat is another ex. of being able to hear the clever the lyricist.

KatoHipHop – yeah and if u actually listen close, u’ll hear me doing the adlibs in the hook for that song

mushiikloth– Ooh, Okay. Yeah Its hard to not talk about all the tracks cause they all are so different its hard to say one is better than another

KatoHipHop – haha yeah. i try not to limit myself! i like messin with different styles and sounds. just gotta make sure it bangs.

mushiikloth- by the way I’d love to see a video for track 11, by Dumbfoundead – Rapper-O’s

KatoHipHop - out of all the tracks, i think Rapper-O’s has gotten special attention. ppl really love that one. shoutout to @dumbfoundead!

mushiikloth– now ur studio, on location or off

KatoHipHop - ON! [location] got my own studio here at the crib. SO convenient to have if i need to lay down an idea.

mushiikloth- oh dope! so whats the nickname(s) I know you got [them]

KatoHipHop – i did in middle school, lol. ppl just call me KATO now. i dont even think a lot of ppl know my real name!!

thats right ppl… do ur research and find out who kato REALLY is….

mushiikloth– and does your studio have a nickname too?

KatoHipHop – “kato’s studio” count as a nickname?

mushiikloth– yes kato’s studio count lol

now this chick Adrift Da Belle is fire, i know its hard for female emcees due to the asthetic factor but more from the two of u?

KatoHipHop – shoutout to @adriftdabelle!! and YES im definitely going to knock out another record with adrift real soon….

mushiikloth– so, T.I.M.E is out, any back tracks ppl can listen to or purchase to get a history of you

KatoHipHop – my last mixtape (2008), Ears & Voices is on itunes, cdbaby, amazon, etc. if u REALLY wanna dig deep.. 2006 Kato EP.

* you can get all these albums at http://katodaily.com and http://myspace.com/katohiphop*

mushiikloth– what the next project from you & would you be mad at a deal, esp with the state of music?

KatoHipHop – im not concerned with getting a deal right now. im busy being an independent hustler and the payoff is greater.

im currently working with mike petrone on his full-length LP. beginning stages but its gonna be fire. T.I.M.E. vol 2 in works..

also got big projects outside of music in the works as well. hint: street wear.

mushiikloth- oh wow can’t wait! great to see your expanding, can’t wait for your upcoming Mike Petrone project

were just about done and I want to thank you for your time [NO PUN]. one last question

now the obvious, your Asian, Korean right? Its sorta old 2 be surprised but, when ppl found out it was u, what was the reaction?

KatoHipHop – yezzir! reppin koreans across the world. asians in hip-hop is still a fairly new concept so i think its kinda hard to swallow

but its becoming more common so hopefully ull see more faces like mine in music.

mushiikloth– thanks for spending some time with mushii kloth & FOUR®

KatoHipHop – thanks so much for the support @fourideals!

******* End of Interview *******

You can find the latest music, news and more at the following sites.

Kato Official Site | Myspace | Twitter