Matucha
Delightfully ruthless by AlanU
“I have no other talent but my hands and my ideas� Matucha 1 Interview to Matucha
For some years now the world of art toys in Mexico has been adding more and more followers to their ranks, without doubt the country has many talented toy makers. But very few people know their real names, the things they like, their dreams or their problems, which is why today I am about to tell the story behind a great person named Angie Vazquez. Angie Vazquez, better known as Matucha, is a graphic designer who has been active in the world of illustrations and art toys since 2005, she has made a large number of customs, she has participated in several series like Most Wanted and recently in “Dunny Hecho en Mexico”. She has exhibited in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Berlin, Hong Kong, Barcelona and in her own country, Mexico. Matucha history begins in Guadalajara, in a company called gusanito.com with which she had a contract to work with them for seven years, some will say that seven years is a long time and in fact she thought it too but it also opened her eyes to see that someone could live off character design. When she returned to Puebla she started her own illustration studio and made many jobs for magazines and books, but while doing so she discovered the art toys. She, like many others, no one taught her how to intervene pieces so she experimented and discovered new techniques with every piece she was creating, 2 Interview to Matucha
in the end she did it as a hobby, because she was passionate and such was the passion that there were nights she didn’t sleep to A crucial point for Matucha was life, so she had to stay home and take care of him, because of this she began to revive her brand, which led her to go to bazaars and expositions to get known and publicize her products. This generated some interest in her work and people began to ask for her artwork and products, this made her neglect her own brand and her characters. The birth of her second son made her to retire from her job for two and a half years. In this period she realized that she was much happier working on her own projects, like her illustrations and her art toys. The key point for her brand, Matucha, started all because of a party. It was the birthday of the
daughter of a client, this girl didn’t want a princess party like the typical girl, she wanted a party of Matucha. So Angie and her now partner joined forces to relaunch the brand, after several talks the relaunch big day arrived, and that day was Angie’s birthday, so it was more special. For those who did not know, Matucha means audacity for business or demon, but for Angie, Matucha is her life, is a world where she can express her feelings, her craziness, it’s a way to express to people through her creativity, is her story. You may wonder How did she choose this name? Many people believe that because her name is Martha that’s where the name Matucha comes from, but this is not it. She did something very peculiar for choosing this name, she grabbed a Spanish dictionary, closed her eyes, opened it at a random
Matucha and her style
she was pointing was Matucha. This name seems to be made just for her, because she has always liked the stories of murderous women, creepy things and the stories of serial murderers. These kind of Her work is deeply intertwined with its name as stories inspire her. most of his illustrations and toys are demons but if we are observers we realize that her toys are “Matucha it is me, it’s my bad creepy, this effect is achieved by making them look dirty or worn out, but like anything in life sometimes side, the side that says the thing happen by chance, this effect is no exception. things that nobody dares to say. When Matucha began to intervene pieces, she didn’t have a good pulse so the lines were a little bit She likes spicy food but she crooked, so she came up with an idea, she thought doesn’t like anything sweet and of disguising the errors littering them with oils and scraping them so it couldn’t be noticed, this became also this side is heartbroken, is a her unique style.
girl disguised as a demon”
For those who are familiar with the work of Matucha will know she assigns a name and creates a story for her characters. This was not always the case, just for fun, but then realized that when creating characters, illustrations or toys, it could be a way to connect with people, with feelings and emotions. This was implemented in all its pieces after making a design, this one she made it for “Blankie series 1” her design turned out to be the winner and was
she hates it and loves it. This is because she is not entirely proud of this piece, she designed it in just 10 minutes so she could send it just before the competition was closed, but also represents a major shift in the vision she had about art toys, she realized that she could dedicate professionally to this and from that experience she told herself “I’m a toy designer, I do not just make little toys”
“I’m not a nice girl who likes princesses” For more info on Matucha, please visit: www.matucha.mx 3 Interview to Matucha
“When I tell a story I add more elements and the character becomes more interesting. It can connect with people”
Matucha as Toy Maker As I mentioned before Matucha starts in the world of art toys as a self-taught maker and one of her that was held to raise funds for the Hurricane Katrina victims. At that time, she didn’t know very well what art toys were, so all she did was to paint and decorate. Days later, she was surprised to learn that her piece had been sold and that was very satisfying for her. From this she entered to more and more contests, she started buying magazines and books about art toys and this became a hobby, a hobby for which she began to be paid by the collectors around the world who wanted the pieces she made. However, there was people who didn’t support her and didn’t believe in her. There was people who criticized her and told her she was not going to get 4 Interview to Matucha
Recently the spotlight has landed in Mexico, it has grown thanks to the support of collectors and Mexican connoisseurs, new talent has emerged, the Wolf” produced by Kidrobot. For Matucha this sounds great because she remembers when people were not interested in art toys, she loves seeing new talent emerge and that known artists are noticed more.
very far in the art toy scene, people told her that her style was horrible also people that didn’t believe that she could earn money by making little toys, one of the was her father. But she didn’t care about that, tried to forget it and kept making them no matter what people would say, she had a dream and she was going to work to get it. For Matucha the art toys are part of her life, she even considers them as her children, she touches them as if they were human because for her this is art, in each piece she embeds her feelings and emotions. Sometimes when people don’t understand what they are or their function, she gets mad.
Matucha doesn’t like to be envious of the fame of other artists, she is the kind of girl that will tell you “Wow! How sick is your job! “. And besides Shiffa she also admires Cucaracha Borracha, Jump Jumper Ant and Mr. Mitote to name some, with this last one, M.r Mitote she remembers having sessions in which they painted new pieces all night and learned new techniques together. But still she believes that there are artists who have very big ego and she doesn’t like this kind of behavior, however, she recognizes that everyone can be and act as they want.
After so long in this art toy designer world, she considers that the art toys are art but she didn’t liked being called an artist, she only considered herself as an illustrator who was experimenting and learning. Eventually began to appreciate it as an art and began to accept the term artist. these was Red Mutuca, and belonging to this group was an honor for her because she was the only woman among man. Members of Red Mutuca, taught to her how to price the pieces, gave tips, invited her to part icipate in the series of Most Wanted, contests and exhibitions. Despite this, she started to get bored, she wanted to create her own pieces, so she began to expand her horizons, so she took a sculpture course in which she created wooden toys.
Mexico and art toys 5 Interview to Matucha
Matucha considers that in order for boom to last in Mexico, the toy art community has to come together and believe in the Mexican talent, there should not be envy among artists. One of the clearest examples of support she has seen, comes from Veneno Toys, Mexican brand, which is a company that is betting on local talent, they have been producing toys for Mexican bands, D.I.Y. platforms and the have also organized exhibitions. While the art toy movement has gained support and there have been some art toys exhibitions, she thinks that there have been very few compared to other parts of the world, she remembers the time when Vinyles Chiles invited her to participate in exhibitions but that sort of events are in the past because she hasn’t neither exposed or has seen exhibitions. She thinks that these types of events are important to raise awareness of art toys.
you will have to work until you achieve your dreams, but certainly the most important thing is to believe in yourself, your talent and the rest will fall into place.
In the future
When I asked Matucha about which artist she would like to do a collaboration with? The immediate response was Gary Baseman because she admires his work, with Kathie Olivas because for she her toys really, sculptures and dark style inspired her. In her list she also included Scott Tolleson, with him Scott has previously been in contact with her and this was thanks to some toys that she sold to him from her series called “Piratuchas”. Matucha also recognizes Mexican talent and would like to collaborate with Shiffa, Cucaracha Borracha or Mr. Mitote, this last one she admires because he taught her how to love toys. In addition to making some collaboration she would also like to make a new piece on vinyl. Now Matucha is more mature and recognizes that surprises will come with Veneno Toys more products, more illustration and more demons. Finally, she would love to have its own shop where she could sell all of her new products, also she would like to see up close how her products are being used by people, because it’s a feeling that excites her for example when she sees that someone is amazed about her work.
Suggestions for new artists Matucha recommends to people who are starting to get involved in the art toy media, to do the things they like, don’t start with the desire to make money, do it because you are passionate about it. She also thinks that sometimes you could encounter with people that don’t believe in you or in your art, but you have to believe in yourself, because this is all that is needed to succeed. Matucha encourages people to work hard to make their dreams come true, not just to spend the time dreaming about it, 6 Interview to Matucha