Hybrid Design and Super7: Monster Designers
According to Drimalas, finding distribution channels for completed products is less of a problem than it might seem. “For the pillows, it was easy: I love housewares, so I had this library of business cards for stores I’d visited in different cities. That gave me a little distribution network of stores I could at least contact. Then we set up at a trade show, printed some postcards, and did a mailing.”
Personal contacts and timing also played a part. “We had a friend visiting who worked for the W Hotel in New York,” Drimalas recalls. “The pillows weren’t even produced yet, but I showed him the designs and he said, ‘Well, how quickly can you have them made?’ So I threw together a catalog over the weekend, and on Monday the W Hotel placed an order for their Fashion Week hospitality tent. We quickly produced the pillows here in town. Then I was watching TV one night, and they were broadcasting from the hospitality tent! I think I screamed.”
“Yeah,” laughs Flynn. “Naomi Campbell was sitting on Dora’s pillows!”
Super7
Super7 started out as “a fun little side project,” says Flynn. After collaborating on a book called So Crazy Japanese Toys, he decided to follow up with a magazine on a similar theme. “And that became an outlet for other personal projects we wanted to do.”
Today, the Super7 empire includes a physical store in San Francisco’s Japantown neighborhood, a website and online catalog, and a series of print publications, including two semiannual hardcover books. The latest is a travel guide to the toy stores of Tokyo, which sold out its initial print run of 5,000 within a week.
“We make t-shirts, hats, glasses, notebooks, books, posters — and tons and tons of toys,” says Flynn. “Whatever we want to make, we can do it through Super7.”
The store carries a variety of vintage and modern toys, many of which are designed by Flynn and other artists, including noted illustrator Gary Baseman. Some of Super7’s most popular items are Flynn’s Frankenghost and Ghost Fighter characters, which he created in collaboration with Japanese company Secret Base. “We’ve been doing them for three years now, so people have gotten to know them,” he says. “We’ve made tons.”
Among Super7’s recent additions are Flynn’s Ghostland figures. “It’s a set of miniature ghost figures, cute little guys that have taken on the manifestations of whatever killed them,” he explains. “There’s one that’s like a little octopus with a peg leg and a little battleship on his chest, and a guy that looks like a blowfish from eating sushi, and an office ‘working stiff.’ The first wave of production is 15,000, and there’s a second run of 15,000 already being made. This line is distributed pretty much everywhere — but with other stuff, you can only get it at our store and a couple of stores we deal with in Japan.”
Multitasking with Macs
Hybrid Design is home to nine Macs, while another four reside at the Super7 store. Flynn also uses a 15” MacBook Pro for his travels to Tokyo and other locations.
Macs were an obvious choice for Hybrid, says Flynn. “If you’re a designer, you use a Mac. I know people who use Illustrator or Photoshop on the PC, but it’s just not the same. If you want to be creative on the computer, you’re going to get a Mac.”
“The Mac is a beautiful tool, from an industrial design point of view,” adds Drimalas. “It does what it needs to do, and makes doing it a pleasure.”
“You don’t have to fight the machine,” says Flynn. “With a Mac, you can customize the way your computer functions to make it work best for you. The way Macs are set up, they’ll literally help you figure out what’s wrong with your machine and make it work right.”
The Sum of the Parts
Though Drimalas and Flynn have distinct design and work styles, their goals remain perfectly in sync. “We’ve developed a system where it’s very clearly stated who’s in charge of a project, and that’s worked well,” Flynn says.
“For years we said we’d never, ever work together,” Drimalas remembers. “But then it became the best option.”
“Yeah,” says Flynn. “It got to a point where we realized other people weren’t willing to work the same way we worked.”
“Maniacal, and around-the clock,” interjects Drimalas.
“We’re just wired the same way,” concludes Flynn. “Sure, we’re very different in some ways. If Dora does everything, it gets too Swiss. If I do everything, it gets too wacky. But when the two of us come together, it’s a good blend — not too dry and not too crazy. We’ve learned that if we’re both happy with the design, it probably works.”
