We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jalen Vasquez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jalen, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I’d love to! I would say that Youtube is a very powerful tool. Starting my journey, making custom toy collectibles, I didn’t expect to be at the level I’m currently at. When I first started, I just made 1 of 1 figures. Eventually I wanted to learn how to self “mass produce”. At the time, I worked for Blick Art Materials and that was probably the best place to figure it out. Between Blick and Youtube, I was able to experiment using silicone molds and casting out of resin. There was some trial and errors at first, but it was a learning process. After I started to get more comfortable, I invested in other equipment to make better molds that lasted longer and using other materials that were easy to reuse and didn’t have to have such high recurring costs since silicon itself is pretty expensive. The biggest thing is figuring out where I can expedite some of the process without losing the quality and save money in certain areas.

For making custom toys, I know many other makers going the 3D printing route and while I respect people who do digitally sculpt and 3D print, there is something personally for me that makes hand sculpting more therapeutic. So I try to hand sculpt everything I can. I will have a friend I know to 3D print things that I know will be too small or delicate for me to hand sculpt.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I consider myself a creative solopreneur. My journey is a bit random and chaotic which is how I’d accurately describe how I work. I started doing random gigs during college and grad school, whether if that’s basic designs or illustrations to help build my portfolio and looking to transition careers from architecture. I started off doing logo design, various illustrations and even color work for comic books.

I focused my business in graphic design and later spreading out to digital marketing and social media content management for various local clients in the food/restaurant industry. Including all of this, I started a side hustle making custom toys/collectibles, ranging from KidRobot Munny Dolls, Funko Pops and other Art Designer toys. I’m most known to my followers, making custom Power Ranger Funko Pops that the company doesn’t make.

I’m known to do a lot of various things. I’m the type of person that likes to learn a lot and get his hands dirty. I know many designers, freelancers, solopreneurs will say you should find a very specific niche of either clients or a service you provide. The phrase “a jack of all trades is a master of none” often gets told to me, but that’s not the complete phrase. The complete phrase is ““a jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.” That’s generally how I live and do my work.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

When I was in grad school, I was working on a career transition from architecture to graphic/web deisgn and a bit of marketing. While doing all this, I started making custom collectible toys and figures for fun. The first figure I made was for a Christmas themed contest for my local Blick Art Materials for a custom KidRobot Munny Doll. I made Ralphie from A Christmas Story. It ended up winning first place and someone bought it from me. That was my first real art piece sold and I really enjoyed the process of making it. From there, a friend saw it and commissioned me to make a custom figure of Saitama from One Punch Man. I later just tried characters I wanted to try or characters I think would fit that style and made a Baby Groot and a Buzz Lightyear for personal collection.

I started to dabble a bit with Funko Pops as well, making custom Power Ranger ones, since that was a big thing for me as a kid growing up. The first Pop style figure I made, was the red ranger, Jason in his morphing pose. I shared that on social media and many people asked if it was real and how they could buy it. I researched how to “mass produce” figures using silicone molds and resin. Luckily, Blick sold all those supplies needed. And being that I have a wide knowledge of graphic design, designing the packaging was the easy part. I experimented a lot with the materials and learned as I went. But eventually, I got the swing of things and was able to copy my sculpts so they were consistent in each figure. Since there are other Power Rangers, many people asked me to do the other rangers to complete the team. The completionist in me had to oblige.

I expanded making more figures, but the second one was the most popular character in the franchise, Tommy, played by the late Jason David Frank. Both Jason David Frank and Austin St John (actor who portrayed Jason), both were attending NYCC that year. I went and presented both with their own figure and had them sign mine. Both actors loved it and even the fans in line asked me where did I get that figure. Luckily, I had business cards on hand. Both actors shared the figure on their social media pages and Jason David Frank even created a hashtag ‘#JalenVasquezExclusive’, which I still use today for all my custom toy products. Since then, I have continued doing more Power Ranger figures, meeting the cast and making connections within the fandom. Even other actors of other seasons of Power Rangers whom I have yet to meet, have seen or know of my work which is surreal as a fan.

I did my first convention as a vendor this past November at Rangerstop Orlando. A convention organized by two former actresses of Power Rangers and their business partner. Both knew of me and my work and said I’d be a perfect fit for their convention. It was a great opportunity for me and the biggest shocker was many attendees visiting my table an automatically recognizing my work.

5 year old me is definitely losing his mind if he knew that this is what I’d be doing. I’ve invested in better materials, equipment and streamline as much as I can in my own home. I don’t make toys full time, but it has been a great portion of my income that I never thought could be possible.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Based on my own familial expectations, this is the wrong way to go or seen as a “not a serious job”. Thankfully, my parents are very supportive in that matter. As long as I’m not homeless, or asking for money, they know I’m doing fine. I do have other members in my family who generally always question my decision for trying to start my own business or selling my creative services as my primary source of income. I’m part Filipino, so my family expectations is to be a nurse, lawyer or work for the government to some extent. None of those jobs sounded intriguing or rewarding. I think that’s where the disconnect is. That I have to take a traditional high paying job for status and security and not for my own personal happiness. I’ve heard plenty of stories through friends and family that feel unfulfilled or unsatisfied with their traditional job, even if it pays more.

Technology today has opened the possibilities of types of jobs you can have as a creative and to really get your work out there than 20-30 years ago. I think that’s what non-creatives may not realize, that this is a feasible and lucrative career path for people to take. It’s not easy, but it is possible.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jalenvasquez.com
• Instagram: @jalenv515 or @jalenvphotography
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jalenvasquezdesigns
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jalenvasquez/
• Other: I’m also the Director of Freelancers Hub – a coworking space operated by the Freelancers Union www.freelancershub.nyc