Interview Back Alli Toys YNuK
https://www.instagram.com/reks...The world of streetwear is not confined to sneaker raffles and copping the latest hype item, but rather creates a space for like-minded individuals in a community filled with a diverse history. At Shelflife we always return to our roots of sneakers, graffiti and bringing something special to our people! It's no surprise then that Shelflife and adidas ZA have teamed up with Back Alli Toys, a proudly South African art toy collectible company to create a one-of-kind piece. In celebration of the adidas YNuK series dropping at Shelflife, we decided to bring back one of the YNuK characters and our personal favourite, the graffiti character!
Back Alli toys started in 2021, and has done collabs with multiple local artists, and is one of the only local collectible toy producers in SA at the moment. We caught up with Ali, the mastermind behind Back Alli Toys and the creator of the adidas YNuK's special edition toy, to find out more about his creative process, being one of the few collectible makers in the country and what he’s up to next.
SL: Where did you grow up?
A: Born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa. No place quite like it!
SL: What is your creative background that lead you to creating toys, did you have any training?
A: From a young age I’ve always been drawn to creating things, whether it be drawing or building something out of odd bits I could find. Later on, I had started with a multimedia design course which I quickly realized was not for me, it did however give me the programs needed to start exploring digital art. I found I really enjoyed working with 3D software’s and over the years slowly taught myself various programs like Cinema 4D and Zbrush… I had never fully committed to this though as it felt a bit anticlimactic to make something that purely exist on a screen. It wasn't until fairly recently that I discovered 3D printing and the world of collectable toys which I’ve been hooked on ever since.
SL: Back Alli Toys is awesome, how did you come about the idea?
A: The idea Back Alli Toys came about pretty naturally- I had made a couple toys already and was planning to release a few that I had made with some friends so it felt like a good idea to get everything under the same name to start building a collection.
The focus going forward is simply make cool collectables and toys right here on home soil!
SL: When did you make your first toy and what was it?
First toy I ever made from scratch was a couple of years ago in 2021. The character’s name is Bunzo, a baseball bat wielding bunny, it taught me a whole bunch about the process and is still one of my favourites and I definitely plan on officially releasing it one day.
SL: Which artists have you worked with in the past?
A: I’ve been lucky to have had the chance to work with some really dope artists already, guys like ChowMein, Anser and Rekso have really helped me hugely in getting things going.
SL: Do you have any artists you'd like to work with in the future?
Yeah absolutely! I’ve got one or two really cool projects in the pipeline with people I would have never dreamt of being able to work with! Obviously with being at such a small scale, I can only take on so much, but hoping as everything grows I will be able to bring more and more local collectable collabs to life.
SL: What keeps you motivated to keep creating amazing collectibles?
A: People's reactions to the toys is always cool to see and a big motivator! I think it’s also become something I enjoy so much, the whole process from design to prototype to production, I'm always thinking about the next one and how to make it even better!
SL: What is your proudest moment to date running your company?
A: I’ve had some really cool moments so far, from debuting our toys at Comic Con last year after a mad few months, then bringing to life our little retail space ‘The Corner Store,’ and now to working with Shelflife x adidas on an epic project. It’s really been wild and I cannot wait to see what the future holds!
SL: Where can the general public view more of your creations, and can you tell us a bit about this space?
A: Anyone wanting to view more can visit our shop ‘The Corner Store,’ co-located with my team at ‘1933 Classic Tattoos’ and ‘Grayscale Store & Gallery.’ It's a small space showcasing what we've got going on, from all of Back Alli Toy releases to rad sticker packs and other local merchandise! We also have a Website backallitoys.co.za which will be home to much of what we do!
When purchasing either of the 4 adidas YNuK's for the following month you will be entered into a raffle. We will give away one toy per door (Cape Town, Joburg and Online). Stay tuned for more and good luck!
The adidas YNuK's drops on Wednesday, the 24th of May in-store & online!
Adimatic: R2699 in UK6-UK11 (online) & UK7-UK10 (in-stores)
Adimatic Mid: R2799 in UK6-UK11 (online) & UK7-UK10 (in-stores)
Campus 00's: R2499 in UK6-UK11 (online) & UK7-UK10 (in-stores)
Supermodified: R2699 in UK6-UK11 (online) & UK7-UK10 (in-stores)