My name
is Oscar Robles. I'm the creator of the Fuzzy Figures. It all
started in 1986. At that time, I didn't use pipe cleaners to make
these toys because I didn't know anything about them. Instead,
I used regular twist ties. I kept obtaining twist ties from boxes
of trashbags and bags of bread.
When I started
using twist ties, I was just bending them when I was watching
cartoons. One day, I took a strip and I made a stick figure out
of it. I was impressed on what I did. A few months, I started
using more than one twist tie to make more figures that looked
normal and bizarre. I took the best ones I've made and used them
as toys for my own amusement. I kept using twist ties until I've
gotten better. From that, I started making animals, monsters,
etc.
In the end
of 1987, I started using twist ties in different colors for
more details. One day, I kept collecting blue and
orange twist ties. I collected them because I wanted to make Donald
Duck. By the time I gathered enough, I've succeeded in making
Donald Duck. It was very small too. It was at least one and the
half inches.
In the end of 1990, I was
introduced to pipe cleaners by my brother when he had one strip.
I used that strip and a orange twist tie to make a duck. It left
me curious on where can I get more pipe cleaners with different
colors. I asked my brother, but he didn't know. A few months later,
I saw a pack of colorful pipe cleaners in my mother's closet.
Feeling overexcited, I didn't waste any time in using them. From
my experience in using the twist ties, I knew what I was doing.
For my first fuzzy figure, I made Cookie Monster from Sesame Street.
In 1991, my mother told me
where the pipe cleaners were sold. It was information that I wanted
to hear. A few days later, I took the bus to go to Frank's Nursery
in Cherry Hill, NJ. I had enough money to get myself packs of
pipe cleaners of all colors. When I came home from my shopping,
I went crazy with the pipe cleaners by using them to make more
toys for me to play with. From that day forward, I made a lot
more figures of characters that I was interested in.
In 1993, I stopped making
these figures because I was focusing on my schoolwork. I was also
training myself on illustration and I've been at that throughout
my time in high school.
After high school, I went
to the Art Institute of Philadelphia for Computer Animation. I
live in the dorms and I bought out my fuzzy figures for my friends
to see. Believe or not, a lot of people came in to my room to
look at these toys. A few days later, I've gotten my first request
from a friend of mine. He requested Homer Simpson. It wasn't too
detailed at that time, but it looked fine.
In the year 2000, I worked
at a marketing research firm in the Cherry Hill Mall in Cherry
Hill, NJ. I had a friend who worked there who found a way to help
me sell my fuzzy figures at a Kiosk in the mall. My friend introduced
me to a couple of people who were selling imported products. Their
business was called Elevator House. They allowed me to sell my
fuzzy figures on their display. As I put my figures on display,
I didn't get too much out of it. It was mostly because my display
of the figures wasn't shown out for the customers to notice. The
Kiosk focused more on their products than mine. In October of
2001, Elevator House went out of business. Before that happened,
I took my figurines back with me in case the company did anything
stupid. I felt bad in some ways that Elevator House went out of
business. From the whole time I was selling them, It was a start.
Today, The Fuzzy Figures
look better than before. I kept getting more request from my family,
friends, and others. I usually sell them now to the ones who requests
them. Also,
I participate in craft fairs for sales. Having this ability to
make these things is a gift from the man upstairs and I'm happy
with that. I'm not too sure on what these fuzzy figures will be
like in the future, but they will always remain to be the most
remarkable crafts ever made. |
