Delivered by STACK July, 2012: Wooden Toy Quarterly
It’s not made of wood, it’s not a toy and it’s not quarterly, but apart from that Wooden Toy Quarterly does exactly what it says on the tin. A one-man project made by illustrator and Kaleidoscope festival organiser Timba Smits, WTQ comes out when it’s ready and is packed with Timba’s favourite things, all presented with his characteristic lowbrow art aesthetic. Issues come bundled with their own prints, zines and other treats, helping to turn a great magazine into an instantly collectible work of print art.
The Stack interview
Name
Timba Smits
Job title
Full-time designer/illustrator/publisher. Part-time crime fighter.
What is Wooden Toy Quarterly?
First of all, it’s the only quarterly publication to come out once a year. It’s neither a magazine or a book, instead it’s in a colourful area in between – a boogazine. It’s a seriously rad publication about art, design, photography and creative culture. It’s a little bit of this and a little bit of that all wrapped up in a collectible package of awesome!
What makes Wooden Toy different?
Where do I start? First of all there are NO ads. It’s 156 pages of awesome content. Incredible illustrations. Amazing type (mostly hand-made). It comes in a toybox… whhaaaaaat? With a print. And a certificate and sometimes a zine. Call me crazy but well over 500 hours goes into each publication so the design is pretty super-rad-to-the-max.
Who makes Wooden Toy?
The last time I checked it was just me, myself and I.
Who reads it?
Everyone from art/design/illustration students and recent graduates to design professionals, creative directors and brands, to your mum! Trust me, she’ll love it! My mum does.
Why do you work in magazines?
It’s definitely not for the money! Let’s just get that out of the way. I work in magazines because I have a passion for print that’s hotter than a Spanish romance novel! Nothing beats the late nights, hours spent cursing at your printer and screen-eyes in exchange for that moment when a magazine comes back from print. The smell, the look, the feel… It’s quite orgasmic in a paper-addict kind of way.
Aside from the print magazine, what else are you involved in?
Off the back of WTQ I’ve had the unique experience to work with a number of great clients from around the world including snowboard brands, other magazines and fashion brands like Johnny Cupcakes – whose business book I’m currently designing. I also make art and run a collective studio called Studio Bow & Arrows, in which we run a unique creative festival called Kaleidoscope. Apart form this I like to dabble in a bit of crime fighting. True story!
What would you change about Wooden Toy if you could?
Not much really. I’m pretty happy with where it’s heading. If anything, some helping hands. It’s a BIG beast and too much to handle for just one lion tamer.
Can you pick a favourite issue of Wooden Toy?
Because of its evolution I’m always most happy with the most recent edition. So the music edition is my favourite! However, I do have a soft-spot for edition four, which is when it first changed size and it won me a handful of awards (not that I’m into that shit). But it’s nice to know that people have taken notice of the ridiculous efforts that go into the making of Wooden Toy.
Where do you see Wooden Toy in five years?
In five years I hope that hover technology is readily available because I’d like to see Wooden Toy just float off the shelves and into peoples’ hands! More seriously though, I’d like to be working with an international publisher and producing Wooden Toy as a much bigger BOOK version of what it is today.
