Toys on Tap

James Majewski, Director of Operations for DesignerCon, joins Toys on Tap for a special preview of DesignerCon 2026.We’re talking changes, improvements, artists, panels, parties, exclusives, and what attendees should actually expect when they hit the floor.We talk about:• Why DesignerCon continues to build around Las Vegas • Making load-in easier for artists • Lowering vendor costs • Reducing artist-table pricing • Doubling the number of artist tables • Mixing newer artists with major brands • Why discovery is still the heart of DesignerCon • The new Friday panel setup • Licensing opportunities • DesignerCon nightlife and after-parties • New vendor and attendee portals • Building schedules around drops, raffles, and signingsYou probably already know who you’re going to see.James wants you to leave knowing someone completely new.On Instagram: @designerconThanks to Our SupportersRate & Review the Show! Leave a rating and review wherever you listen it's the best way to help Toys on Tap grow!Subscribe and Follow AlongInstagram:@toysontapLinkedin: Abraham MustoFacebook:@toysontapYoutube:@ToysontapSubStack: @toysontapPalmstreet: Toys on Tap: Live on Sundays 6pm

Tato joins Toys on Tap to talk about hyperfixations, Mexican toy culture, failed Kickstarters, and actually getting your first toy made.After years bouncing between photography, 3D, clothing, jewelry, drones, and more, Tato discovered the Mexican art-toy scene, and everything clicked.We talk about:• Growing up with cartoons and Mexican bootleg toys • Photography, 3D, jewelry, and endless hyperfixations • Discovering Mexafubi • Buying DesignerCon tickets days before the show • Walking around with a prototype in his pocket • How welcoming toy artists changed everything • Creating Ramiro • Launching and failing a Kickstarter • Deciding to make the toy anyway • Producing soft vinyl in Mexico • Learning to paint his own figures • Bringing Ramiro back to DesignerConSometimes the campaign fails, but that doesn’t mean the toy has to.On Instagram: @tato.fbxThanks to Our SupportersRate & Review the Show! Leave a rating and review wherever you listen it's the best way to help Toys on Tap grow!Subscribe and Follow AlongInstagram:@toysontapLinkedin: Abraham MustoFacebook:@toysontapYoutube:@ToysontapSubStack: @toysontapPalmstreet: Toys on Tap: Live on Sundays 6pm

Xander of Xander6 Comix joins Toys on Tap for a conversation about comics, toys, grassroots marketing, and what it actually means to hustle for the thing you want.Xander started selling art at swap meets before eventually finding his way into DesignerCon, comics, indie toys, events, and his own characters.We talk about:• Growing up on cartoons, comics, and action figures • Teaching himself to draw using toys • Selling art at swap meets • Discovering DesignerCon • Hand-sculpting his first toys • Accidentally creating blind bags • Selling 500 toys across three shows • Building his character Z • Painting original art over comic covers • Turning that work into professional cover gigs • Creating Homage Homie • Giving toys away to build awareness • Why experiences and community matter • The move toward soft vinylXander’s philosophy is simple:Start. Work. Prove the idea. Then keep going.On Instagram: @zander6comixThanks to Our SupportersRate & Review the Show! Leave a rating and review wherever you listen it's the best way to help Toys on Tap grow!Subscribe and Follow AlongInstagram:@toysontapLinkedin: Abraham MustoFacebook:@toysontapYoutube:@ToysontapSubStack: @toysontapPalmstreet: Toys on Tap: Live on Sundays 6pm

Ryan Brunty of Depressed Monsters is back and this time we have some announcements.The Toys on Tap x Depressed Monsters Yerman is finally headed to DesignerCon, and we’re going BIG.We talk about:• Bringing Yerman back to DesignerCon • Sharing a Toys on Tap x Depressed Monsters booth • The official Yerman release party • A Depressed Monsters emo night • DJs, art, mystery bags, giveaways, and more • The OG Yerman colorway • Clear, Kintsugi, gray, glow, and blank variants • Extremely limited DesignerCon quantities • Last-minute production stress • Why the factory remade the clear figures • What Yerman means to the people who connect with him • What comes next for the collaborationThe Kickstarter was only the beginning.Now Yerman is going to DesignerCon.On Instagram: @depressedmonstersThanks to Our SupportersRate & Review the Show! Leave a rating and review wherever you listen it's the best way to help Toys on Tap grow!Subscribe and Follow AlongInstagram:@toysontapLinkedin: Abraham MustoFacebook:@toysontapYoutube:@ToysontapSubStack: @toysontapPalmstreet: Toys on Tap: Live on Sundays 6pm

Jacob and Jay join Toys on Tap to talk about what happens when years of collecting, podcasting, obscure monster movies, and toy obsession finally turn into actually making toys.Between them, there’s a lot going on.We talk about:• Growing up with Godzilla, Ghostbusters, and Ninja Turtles • 12 years of podcasting • How Jacob and Jay met through Dr Pepper and Waffle House • Building Toku Toy Town • Creating Kaiju Go • Turning cryptids into an '80s-style toy line • Licensing Bat Boy • The success and future of Cryptoids • Creating Okashi Station • Licensing incredibly obscure tokusatsu characters • Designing vintage-inspired sofubi • Working with Rabbit Giant • Seven more Okashi toys already in production • Building toward their own original universeThey spent years talking about toys.Now they’re making the ones they always wished existed.On Instagram: @okashiistationThanks to Our SupportersRate & Review the Show! Leave a rating and review wherever you listen it's the best way to help Toys on Tap grow!Subscribe and Follow AlongInstagram:@toysontapLinkedin: Abraham MustoFacebook:@toysontapYoutube:@ToysontapSubStack: @toysontapPalmstreet: Toys on Tap: Live on Sundays 6pm

Drew joins Toys on Tap to talk about QUZU Critters, a new electronic toy that lets you discover collectible creatures and more hiding inside everyday QR codes.What started as something Drew wanted to build with his son quickly turned into something much bigger.We talk about:• Growing up with weird '90s electronic toys • Pokémon, Barcode Battlers, and scanner toys • Building the first prototype out of cardboard • Drew’s “duct tape method” • Designing the electronics from scratch • Fitting dozens of creatures into tiny amounts of memory • Hand-designing every monster • Turning lost internet data into creature lore • Trading cards, rarity, and exclusive creatures • Wireless trading and competition • Why QUZU Critters uses AAA batteries • Refusing to gut the product just to make it cheaper • Building toward KickstarterIt feels nostalgic without simply copying the past.And somehow, every barcode becomes part of the game.On Instagram: @quzucrittersThanks to Our SupportersRate & Review the Show! Leave a rating and review wherever you listen it's the best way to help Toys on Tap grow!Subscribe and Follow AlongInstagram:@toysontapLinkedin: Abraham MustoFacebook:@toysontapYoutube:@ToysontapSubStack: @toysontapPalmstreet: Toys on Tap: Live on Sundays 6pm

Scott Cherry of Barbarian Rage is back and somehow we had to record this episode TWICE.This time we dig into a year of conventions, creative obsession, GWAR, black velvet paintings, and the biggest toy Scott has tackled yet: The Destroyer.We talk about:• Going all-in on conventions this year • WonderFest, Kaiju Go, and KaijuFornia • Sculpting The Destroyer as if it were his last toy • Entering the “valley of despair” • Constantly trying to outdo himself • Making GWAR figures in seventh grade • Finding those SAME toys in a gallery 30+ years later • Twenty years of painting on black velvet • Why creative limitations can actually help • What Barbarian Rage does nextOn Instagram: @barbarian_rageThanks to Our SupportersRate & Review the Show! Leave a rating and review wherever you listen it's the best way to help Toys on Tap grow!Subscribe and Follow AlongInstagram:@toysontapLinkedin: Abraham MustoFacebook:@toysontapYoutube:@ToysontapSubStack: @toysontapPalmstreet: Toys on Tap: Live on Sundays 6pm

Neil Ewing of Bombastic Plastic is back, and this one goes everywhere.Fresh off a trip to Japan, Neil joins Toys on Tap for a brutally open conversation about what it actually takes to survive as an independent toy maker.We talk about:• Selling toys in Japan vs. the U.S. • Why some conventions just aren’t worth it • Losing $2,800 at a show • Original IP vs. “art hacks” • Pricing toys realistically • Gatekeeping, education, and factory secrets • Why collectors can smell a cash grab • Ego, jealousy, failure, and artist drama • Why craftsmanship still matters • Supporting artists instead of punching down • His upcoming Big Pounder KickstarterNeil puts it perfectly:It’s easier than ever to make a toy.Making a GOOD toy is another story.On Instagram: @neil_ewingOn Instagram: @bombastic_plasticThanks to Our SupportersRate & Review the Show! Leave a rating and review wherever you listen it's the best way to help Toys on Tap grow!Subscribe and Follow AlongInstagram:@toysontapLinkedin: Abraham MustoFacebook:@toysontapYoutube:@ToysontapSubStack: @toysontapPalmstreet: Toys on Tap: Live on Sundays 6pm

Space Rabbit Studio joins Toys on Tap to talk about turning a creative escape into their full-time life.They started Space Rabbit with no business plan, just two creatives who wanted somewhere to make their own work. Then a logo became a character. The character became a resin toy. And eventually they quit their jobs and went all in.We talk about:• Growing up with Care Bears and giant robots in Taiwan • How Space Rabbit started as a website logo • Teaching themselves resin casting • The VERY rough first Space Rabbit • Building Mellow Meow and God! Gelato • Creating a strong character universe • Quitting their corporate careers • Taking Space Rabbit around the world • ToyCon UK and their first international show • Why making toys isn’t for everyone • AR, animation, projection mapping, and what comes nextSpace Rabbit started as an escape.Now it’s the thing they built their lives around.On Instagram: @space_rabbit_studioThanks to Our SupportersRate & Review the Show! Leave a rating and review wherever you listen it's the best way to help Toys on Tap grow!Subscribe and Follow AlongInstagram:@toysontapLinkedin: Abraham MustoFacebook:@toysontapYoutube:@ToysontapSubStack: @toysontapPalmstreet: Toys on Tap: Live on Sundays 6pm

Tattoo artist and toy maker Chris Reed of Creeder Toys joins Toys on Tap to talk about what happens when decades of tattoos, horror movies, Japanese art, vintage toys, and monster obsession all collide.Chris started apprenticing as a teenager and has spent nearly 30 years tattooing—but eventually collecting turned into sculpting, mask making, resin casting, monster banks, and finally sofubi.We talk about:• Tattooing at 17 • Punk, skateboarding, and horror movies • Falling into vintage toy collecting • Japanese tattoo history and yokai • Making latex masks from scratch • Sculpting and casting his own toys • Why his first sofubi HAD to be made in Japan • Collaborating with Chaz • Selling out his first toy shows • Resin vs. vinyl collector obsession • Kong banks, Frankenstein, and what comes nextChris may not have a master plan.He just wants to keep making cool shit.On Instagram: @creedertoysThanks to Our SupportersRate & Review the Show! Leave a rating and review wherever you listen it's the best way to help Toys on Tap grow!Subscribe and Follow AlongInstagram:@toysontapLinkedin: Abraham MustoFacebook:@toysontapYoutube:@ToysontapSubStack: @toysontapPalmstreet: Toys on Tap: Live on Sundays 6pm