Episode 148: Talk w/ Ben Goretsky (Founder of Designer Con and Owner of 3DRetro)

0:00 Yo, hello everyone. Welcome to Uncle Dad Talks. As always, I am Uncle Daddy. With me is the ever so handsome, the Tyco loving man himself, the one and only Just Mike. Mike, what's up? Ooh, hey, yeah. Nice little Tyco shout out there. Hey, you're welcome. I just did it because of your hat. That's the only reason why. That's right. I'm wearing that hat. Yes. And I was maybe listening to them today. I don't know. Okay. Well, use that energy you got right now, that Tyco energy, because we got a good one today. We are speaking you know what i probably should have asked to say his last name properly off before we aired we are with the man behind one of the best cons around period seriously i mean that it's one of my favorite ones to go through in this business uh let's give it up to boar uh ben, gore gorsky goretsky goretsky if you can't if you don't know how to pronounce it it's it's very much like the hockey player no relation it's so you know it's wayne gretzky but with me it's ben Goretzky.

1:00 So very close. But if you say it fast enough, it's basically the same thing. Ah, so what we're saying is you are the goat of cons. I've never thought of it that way, but I'll take it. Sure. Why not? I love it. I love it. Yeah. So, you know, just to kind of start it off, just for people who don't know who you are, can you tell them who you are and what you founded? Yes. Hi, everyone. Thanks. First of all, thanks for having me, guys. Really appreciate, you know me being able to be on the show yeah my name is ben gretzky i am the founder and i guess ceo designer con which is an annual show that happens and it basically is a show that brings together the whole collectible toy community art you know artists manufacturers all the people that are involved in that kind of like designer toy and designer collectible scene that's what that's what we run we run designer con and on the flip side i also own a toy store and manufacturer of designer vinyl called 3d retro which is now we have a retail store in las vegas word uh mike go ahead well that's exciting because uh i know we are coming to decon so we will uh definitely have fun at the show.

2:23 And I don't know, is 3D retro? What's it like for people to check that out? So it's funny because a lot of people that are coming to the show, they're like, oh, man, we're going to get to finally see your store while we're out there. And because our staff is going to be so busy with DesignerCon, the store is going to be closed. But if you are staying a few extra days while you come out to Vegas, I think we'll be opening back up the following Tuesday after DesignerCon and you can come visit the store. Or if you're here a little bit before the show uh the show starts on friday the 15th if you come like a day or two earlier you'll be able to come visit the store that way oh we might be able to do that mike there we go yeah and you don't want the the convention to have any competition with any stores in town anyway right so it only makes sense you close the store in addition to having exactly and by the way if you can't make it to the store or if we are closed then you're going to get your fill of all the stuff that we sell in the store multiplied by like a thousand at designer con anyway but that's what i do guys that's that's pretty much where where i come from and he's also incredibly charming and handsome so let's not forget that oh okay cameras are off right okay that's good.

3:50 Uh you know so the thing about this con i've been able to do a lot of cons in our in our work of doing this and we every time we do this con mike is never able to go he's always having something come up and this is the first year that mike is going to be able to join us so i know mike is very excited about it so mike i kind of want you to kick it off with your your first hard-hitting question, if you will. Very hard hitting. I mean, nothing but the hardest. Well, you know, I'm a graphic designer by trade. And so I usually sell at events and there's always an event that I'm doing that always coincides this time. It didn't happen. And correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the first time it's in Vegas, correct?

4:31 Yes. The show has been growing organically size-wise. We started off in Pasadena back in 2005. We moved to Anaheim in 2018, and this is going to be our first year in Las Vegas. That is correct. Yeah. See that? I mean, that was a pretty hard question there. So, okay. So I looked a little bit at your bio that's online that everyone can see, and I saw you did some work in the music industry before you founded 3D Retro, So one of the big hip hop head here when I saw you work with black IPs among a couple other big names. So how'd you find your way into design and the field you're in now from the music industry?

5:17 I don't think I was doing anything in the music industry. Are you looking up the right guy? Yeah. Haven't really done anything in the music industry. Sorry to burst your bubble. I was actually, my background, surprisingly, is in fintech. I'm a tech guy. You're a tech guy. Yeah, my background is kind of like, and I mean, maybe we did stuff with the music guys and things like that. But yeah, it's weird. Like my major in college was computer science. I was heavy into programming and I was just literally like a big computer guy. I still am. I still am a big computer guy.

5:57 And my background being in fintech kind of helped launch 3D retro because when we were building out a lot of the technology for the e-commerce platforms out there in the fintech industry, I was like, damn, we need we need to like open up like a store to try this out. I was getting into collectible figures and I was like, you know what? I'm going to open up an online store using this technology that we're building for back end credit card processing, financial technology, e-commerce platforms, things like that. And I opened up 3D Retro as an online store using all this new tech.

6:41 Not knowing that people were actually going to go to the website and buy things. So as that started to grow, I started to get more relationships with suppliers and manufacturers. And I was already into the whole thing. I was already a collector. So now I was becoming a retailer. And I was like, oh, man, you know, it's like this is really a nice way for me to be able to get exclusives. To make relationships with these guys. And then what ended up happening was as i became a larger retailer i was like there really isn't anything for this community this like collectible art collectible toy community i mean there's art shows out there there's like the comic cons out there that are kind of like they have maybe an artist section or like these art figure sections like this little group that huddles together but there was really nothing set up for this this kind of like show that we are and that's when.

7:44 I started you know the very first decon in in 2005 which was actually called vinyl toy network we didn't switch the name to designer con until 2009 and literally the reasoning was the the concept was always to bring in everything in the aspect of the vinyl toy world you know like like resin figures and plush toys and prints and posters and all that stuff but whenever we would mention the name vinyl toy network people are like hey bro we don't do vinyl toys so and we're like but you don't understand it's a network it expands beyond vinyl toys and they're like yeah no so in 2009 i changed the name to designer con and the first show in 2009 was Vinyl Toy Network Presents DesignerCon.

8:38 And then like, you know, 2000, 2010, 2011, we started taking away the presents and it became a standalone name because people started to like the name. I guess D-Con and DesignerCon was a little bit more catchy and people were starting to remember that more. So, you know, here we are today where D-Con is DesignerCon and that's it. But yeah, that's pretty much how it started. And, you know, going back to the whole thing, it's it's kind of because of my background in fintech that I was able to like, hey, I got to open up the store. The store started to grow. I started this, you know, getting more into the community. And because of that, we now have decom today. So there you go.

9:24 I love that. So on the show, I'd like to keep it real as possible. And I know where Mike got that from. So you did a podcast, sir, called Clean Break. Do you remember that one? Yeah. Clean Break was, I believe, wasn't that Matt Gondex? It is. So his bio that he has for you, he states on there that you worked with including Black Ice Peas, Justin Timberlake, and Britney Spears. And that's where I got that from. If that's an inside joke but uh i promise that is under your name and it's on the internet so i believe it to be true if it's on the internet then it must be true we all know it's out there, well you know what i i've got to hit up matt about that that is you know matt aside from being an amazing artist he has an amazing sense of humor i would not be surprised if he put that in there to kind of like just kind of throw it in there like let's see if ben actually reads the shit that i write but i mean i i like i wonder how it's got to be like an insight like it's got to be like a joke on his end but i apologize to you mike that you know you read it and you're like wow this guy like has been in the in the music scene for a while he knows all these guys i mean i've been to a justin timberlake concert if that

10:57 counts okay we're cleared yeah i mean it's kind of my job on this show to look like a bumbling idiot and it happened naturally so there we go. It is not your fault. Like I said, clearly, I mean, if you read it on the Internet, then I can only assume that there's about maybe like 20 other people that read it, too. So you and like 19 others out there are just like, man, this guy, Ben, he's been involved with all these like musicians. So I don't know if I should thank Matt for that one or what. But I apologize. I misinterpreted. You know, it's funny. And our longest time doing that, we've never had that happen before.

11:38 So that's why i was like i need to correct this right now it's a first amazing i'm here. I knew i knew no one's gonna bring the party i knew it, i was gonna say there must be a black ip's toy line exclusive for the con right now okay all right uh we know it's funny the the only the only musician that we've actually worked with in producing a toy on the 3d retro side is we've actually produced a figure with nick cave back in the day we did we did it it was a vinyl figure that we did with the artist oh my gosh oh my gosh why am i skipping out on his name plastic god thank you so plastic god made a rendition of nick cave and then nick cave liked it and his team liked it so much that we actually produced the vinyl figures and then actually two years ago we or no it was last year was it last year geez we worked with a very popular asian pop singer artist by the name of jj lynn and jj lynn produced his 20th anniversary tour bare brick with us where we worked with medicom we we didn't actually like manufacture it but we worked with the company medicom to make that happen so i guess we're kind of tied into the whole, entertainment music scene.

13:00 You can't really help it with designer vinyl toys and collectibles, but, But yeah, I don't know about that bio. I love the turn that this interview took. Yeah, now we're talking about that. So it must feel really great to create something from the ground, right? And then watch it grow. Now you're moving it into a bigger facility. You're in Vegas now. I mean, who doesn't want to go to Vegas for a convention, right? Like, so were you, were you intrigued a lot by, by design or like designer artists, graphic designers or more like the toy or was it just a combination of both?

13:44 Cause I know when I get a toy, there's toys I, I will buy to collect that I will never open. Right. Just because the package is part of the collect, the collectible, you know, and then there's other stuff that you open and you, you know, you put somewhere and probably falls behind the counter. And you never see it again, but so, so what, what are you a most a fan of, or is it just the whole package as well? So for me, it's a little bit of everything, honestly, for me, the toys were a stepping stone into the art. And when I started getting into designer toys and designer vinyl figures, especially like that's, that's really my love.

14:26 I was introduced to artists. I mean, some of the first artists I was introduced to, and this is from companies like Toy2R and CritterBox back in the day. I was introduced to artists like Gary Baseman and Tim Biscop and Joe Ledbetter and Nathan Javicious. These are all, even artists like Fafi, which is a big thing for me because she's finally doing decon. Like these are all figures that were the very first in the vinyl toy scene like i said made by companies like toy 2r made by companies like critter box you know sympathy for the record industry type of guys like that like you know long gone john the the initial guys that were doing this and even the initial figures from like kid robot when they first started back in the day back in like 2003.

15:18 So for me, I love the figures. And then I love the figures so much where I'm like, who is this person? Who, who are these artists behind these figures? I started looking into their art and I'm like, man, that art really looks like my figure that I like. And wouldn't it be awesome to have the art that matches the matches the figure. It's kind of like what you're talking about in terms of figures with you know the packaging that is so you know matching to the figure itself like you don't want to take it out of that so for me it was it was that way with art figures where i love the figure so much the art that the artist did that matches the figure that i was buying i got intrigued into i i fell into this whole art world so you can't you can't help but mix that.

16:11 Like even though you might start separated out where you're, oh, I'm only buying these like kind of collectible figures. If you are really into a specific artist, you actually end up buying either their books or their art or their prints or whatever it may be, just like you would when you buy a figure and you're like, man, I love the blister pack and I love the box art and I'm, you know, I love all this stuff that falls into it. And there's even artists behind that. So for me, it was like kind of like, you know, one thing led to another. And now I love it all. Beautiful. There's the package design, the product design. And I see, correct me if I'm wrong in the background, one of my favorite artists, I was a fan of his like, you know, 2D visual art.

17:00 And then now he does lots of toys or mounted things on the wall, which you have three masks back there. Are those shag? josh eagle pieces that you have on the wall yes so yes you notice so right behind me those are the the hitchhiking ghosts done in tiki format by shag jack josh and i love his artwork i've always loved his artwork we've worked with him on exclusive prints a 3d retro we actually made an exclusive back to the future 35th anniversary print with him in 2020 and he has been an amazing supporter of designer con for years he always comes and brings amazing prints and any kind of like figures or household items 3d retro also produced one of his vinyl figures the elephant the pink elephants where if you like his art style he did he does these drawings of these pink elephants and we actually made them into vinyl figures but he loves making figures or he loves making things that actually have use so the way that we did it was that if you lift the hat off these pink elephant vinyl figures it's actually a coin bank and you can put put the money into into these elephants and there is a little thing on the bottom that you can open up but these are some he is an amazing artist.

18:29 And yeah i i love his style and yes that's that's awesome that you noticed those those uh tiki masks which are the three ghosts from the haunted mansion, yeah i love that mike mike is hands with the eye you can see everything i swear you just see you just might get the wrong information sometimes. So before we end the show can we talk about any specific highlights that are coming for the Las Vegas version of DesignerCon that you want to have the audience know about. Because to be honest, it's so exciting that it's in Vegas. It's going to add a different level of excitement to it. I think designers are going to come out in ways that we've never seen before. And we'll be there, of course. And I just want to know what we have in store for us.

19:13 We, we were really excited. I mean, Vegas is going to be incredible. We actually were initially worried, like, are people going to make it out? And like, no, I think it's actually easier to get to Las Vegas than it was to get to Anaheim. So, but some of the highlights this year, our rock stars are always the artists. So this year, there's no difference in that. We have some amazing artists coming. I've already mentioned that coming from France, we have Fafi, we have from Japan, we have a ton of artists coming from Japan, along with the usuals like Punk Drunkers. But this year, we have renowned artist Rockin' Jellybean, which is known for his a little bit more risque art, but we figured, hey, it's Vegas, baby, so why not, right?

20:02 Rockin' Jellybean hasn't really done a lot of appearances out here in the US, but he is coming out for designer con and he has made an amazing print that is exclusive for decon along with him we've got this guy is blown up he is incredible casting long the creator of little monsters and he's worked with companies like pop mart which are also going to be pop mart's going to be at the show how to work which is another company that he works with is going to be at the show but most importantly casting himself will be at the show this is huge he has never done a show in the united states he's also part of kai kai kiki gallery which is associated to murakami for those who know so maybe we'll get some special appearances there not going to name anybody but uh we have i mean the list goes on and on like we have from amsterdam london police coming back out again.

21:00 Once again, from Japan, we have Toma and his crew coming out. We have Rhymes Like Dimes doing exclusives with us this year. We have some really cool products, as usual, coming out from companies like Medicom. Collaborations with. Keith Herring and Coca-Cola. We have special bare brick releases with other artists such as like Tara McPherson and OG Slick. His very first bare brick is going to be debuting at DesignerCon along with some special maybe OG Slick is very well known for his LA hands, the LA, but if you turn it this way, it kind of looks like LV.

21:42 So there might be a special drop on that happening. So what i would say is i know i'm forgetting about a million things here and there's going to be a lot of great figures a lot of great companies coming you know from mondo to tokidoki to robbie to medicom to you know lucky emma to all these guys from around the world and that's actually one thing that we were we were actually surprised is we were worried that is it going to be harder to get these international guys from hong kong singapore philippines japan china is it going to be harder to get them to come out to las vegas and what we actually found was that they are more excited about coming to vegas and it's not easier for them to come out here than it was for anaheim so we have all these big guys all these big manufacturers all these exclusive drops.

22:41 And it's all happening all under one roof at designer con so that's the amazing stuff that's happening that's that's incredible and we do got to wrap up soon so where can audience members still buy tickets right now you can buy them now by going to designer con.com there's a link right there for for tickets and i believe we still have a few vip tickets available so vip tickets are capped at a certain number. Friday night is strictly for VIP. That's 5 PM to 9 PM. That's VIP night and press and media. So you guys, I better see you there. And, and then of course there's like general, and we, we've always said that we prefer that people spend their money inside the hall than outside, which is why we keep tickets at such an affordable rate where the weekend, if you're just buying a regular weekend pass, it's still only $40.

23:36 That's really great. Yeah, because a lot of places, they jack up the prices, and you got nothing left when you go inside. So thanks for doing that for the people and for the artists inside, too. Yeah, no problem. I mean, the way we see it is because kids 12 and under are free, usually a family of four can get into the show for the weekend for like $80 for everybody, which is not that bad, in my opinion. Especially in Vegas. Yeah, especially in Vegas. You walk out the door, you spend $80 in Vegas. One last question though ben so will fans get to get a chance to meet you if they want to meet you there and will fergie be there that is the final hard-hitting question i have for you, let's see will they be able to i i will be walking the floor i usually do walk the floor a little bit there's usually a panel on the stage or at least a talking session with me i think i have one planned with mark brickie he runs a podcast called adventures in design and he usually runs the stage so i'll probably going to be on there but yes you can see me walking around the hall if you can catch me and we have sent out the invitation to fergie but we have not heard a response back yet so i'll keep you updated on that one mike okay thank you thanks ben i'm glad we uh work together on that yeah oh man uh what a fun one hey ben it was an absolute pleasure if you um do you think we'll have an opportunity at least to say hi to you during

25:06 the media night absolutely looking forward to to seeing you guys as well and shaking your hands in person yeah we'll bring a gift for you a special black eyed peas album for you all right no more black eyed peas jokes, speaking of capped we're capped. Hi everybody uh yeah so please go check them out i seriously i can't wait thank you again ben it It was an absolute pleasure talking to you. I mean, really, DesignerCon is seriously the funnest event I go to every year. I'm excited to have my man Mike with us. It's going to be such a great time. So thank you again for your time, Ben. And I guess that's really it. And without further ado, we're not uncles, we're not dads. We'll see you all next week.