David Rondinelli
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| (Left: Stewart Buffaloe/ Right: Tom Kopian) |
This Peculiar Life NYC: Tell readers what you do and what you are known for?
Creatures
of Delight: Creatures of
Delight is a three dimensional art studio which specializes in wacky creatures
of all sizes and shapes which they sell mostly through a collection of
galleries and shops across the country. Our creatures are mostly made from a latex
and fiber process which Tom patented when he was younger. It's a lot like paper
mache’ but with Bounty paper towels and liquid latex. The material is then used
to create soft sculpture, puppets, dolls, and a line of backpacks and bags
which are unlike anything on the market.
T.P.L.
NYC: How did you come up with the concepts for Creatures of Delight?
C.O.D.: Creatures started out Tom's love for
Halloween and the Rankin Bass holiday specials and shows like H.R. Pufnstuf.
As a teen, Tom worked in his parent’s basement creating monsters, masks, and
make-up in hopes of a career in special effects.  |
| Hugo in Red Backpack. |
T.P.L. NYC: Once you did find the concepts, what made you feel that it could become a business?
C.O.D.: During the eighties Tom would decorate his parent’s
Long Island house with elaborate displays for Halloween which attracted a great
deal of media attention. Thousands of people would come by on Halloween - one
of which happened to be a man who owned a wholesale gift company. He fell in
love with the look of the creatures, which were much rougher looking and more
monstery. He told Tom he saw a market for the designs if the monsters could be
made soft and squishy. At the time, they had been a mash up of wire, wood,
plaster and latex. Tom took on the challenge and the very first creature- J.
Amberson Troll - was born. Right out of the gate, FAO Schwarz took a sample
order and liked them so much they featured them in their front window for
Christmas that year! Networking at Toy Fair led to working with theme parks
such as Disney and Universal where custom made lines of specialty merchandise
followed.
T.P.L.
NYC: What materials do you use to make the characters?
C.O.D.: The materials and process for the creatures have
stayed pretty much the same over the years. We use a medical grade natural base
latex and pater towel fiber. We work with molds and forms to make each piece.
The process is simple and requires no special machinery.
T.P.L.
NYC: What is the process to making one of these? Tell us how you do it from
concept to finished product?
C.O.D.: In 2001 Stewart began working with Tom as a
studio manager. Over the years he has become invaluable- teaching himself to
create all of our two dimensional layouts as well as web design and sewing so
that we can do all of our work in house. While Tom comes up with most of the
character design Stewart is also responsible for most of the color choices and the
final look of each character.
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| Nonesuch Dragon 2 (early model) |
T.P.L. NYC: How do you come up with the fun names for the different characters?
C.O.D.: Naming the characters is one of the most fun and
challenging parts of the process. As a character comes together, many times
they just seem to tell you their name.
Groups like the large monsters usually get names that sound good
together- like "Scamp," “Scourge," "Squalor,"
"Scalawag," and "Skirmish." Sometimes, however, a really
fun character defies you to come up with a cool name- it took us years to
finally have a name for our first Flamingo - "Fleetwood"- he was
always just "Flamingo."
T.P.L. NYC: Will
there be any new characters or concepts that you will be creating or debuting?
C.O.D.: We love coming up with new characters. Our newest
line "Unusual Suspects" was created for the very reason. The smaller
scale of the pieces allows us to sculpt and mold characters quicker and more
cheaply than the larger pieces. This allows us to try lots of new ideas and
make new characters as in the same way as a two dimensional artist would do a
sketch. If the piece works and becomes popular we can refine it and make more;
if it isn't a hit it becomes a more collectible piece because there will only
be a few made.
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| Squalor Backpack reaches out for a hug |
C.O.D.: Picking a favorite is really tough. It’s like
picking a favorite child. I've carried a "Happy Creature" backpack
forever so that would probably be one of them. The only creature that I have as
a decoration in my house is a large purple troll so that might be another. Stewart likes the Halloween ladies and has a
set of them in his room so that might be his favorite.
T.P.L.
NYC: Which one do you find to be the most challenging to make?
C.O.D.: The most challenging pieces we make on a regular
basis are the ones with the most hand painting - like "Lionel
Fishie". Custom work can be challenging - especially if we have to capture
the essence of a particular subject while retaining our unique look. We made a
number of masks of Chris Sullivan (founder
of Outback Steakhouse) for a surprise party his wife was throwing for him. He
doesn't have any discernible features so it was really hard to make it look
like him but funny yet not insulting. Some of the larger pieces such as the 14 foot
mermaid we created for a float in Tampa, Florida was also challenging but at
the same time lots of fun.
T.P.L. NYC:
Aside from business, what are some other things that you like to do? Do you
have any other hobbies or interests?
C.O.D.: Luckily my hobby became my business so I enjoy
the long hours we put in around here. In Tampa, our studio was in a restaurant
and entertainment district so we got really spoiled with good food. Living in Tampa,
it was also pretty affordable. Moving back to New York I've had to learn to
cook if I want to eat good food on a regular basis and that has turned out to
be something I really enjoy. Stewart loves to read, garden, and is working on
restoring the house, which is a cool little former summer cottage built around
1900.
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| Feed Me |
T.P.L.
NYC: Where do you see the future of Creatures of Delight going?
C.O.D.: Right now our main focus is on the three
dimensional rubber creatures. In the future we'd like to branch out to do
greeting cards and fun t-shirts and stuff like that. In the past, I
supplemented the creature business doing life masks and castings as well as
private makeup jobs for costume parties and such.
T.P.L.
NYC: So this blog is about peculiar things. What is the most peculiar thing
that has happened to you in New York City?
C.O.D.: When you make rubber creatures all of your life
the idea of "peculiar" is very hard to fathom. We've met lots of
peculiar and wonderful people and been able to do lots of peculiar and
wonderful things. Lots of our customers could be called peculiar, like Marilyn,
a nice lady who lives here in New York. She has a great number of our pieces
and is known, on occasion, to take small groups of them to restaurants to have
dinner with them.
T.P.L. NYC: What
is the most peculiar thing to happen to you in your life?
C.O.D.: We've also had numerous requests which some might
find peculiar, but, at this point, they seem par for the course. One time in Tampa,
we created a life sized transgender S&M shot dispenser for the owner of a
gay bar who had a fetish for transgender people- it was totally nsfw! But even
that doesn't seem so strange anymore.
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| Eyes |
