I remember going into Goth clubs. In one corner people were dancing, another people were smoking cigarettes and then one more corner people were playing with Barbie dolls but complaining that Barbie's skin wasn't pale enough. Wait a second that never happened! It must have been a dream.
Well someone else had that dream and now they're going to make even more money than Spooky and Missy off of it. Last year a simple suggestion from a 15 year old inspired, his father, Steve Varner to sculpt some Goth dolls. Now he has created an entire company called Bleeding Edge to create an entire line of 5, 7 and 11 inch dolls.
Check out Bleeding Edge's website.
Daniel Robert Epstein: How did the idea for a line of Goth action figures come up?
Steve Varner: Well I had been talking to my son, Stefan and everyone at the company about starting our own toy company for a long time. I'm in the toy business already and we sculpt toys for other toy companies. We did the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a lot of the Star Trek stuff and the giveaways for McDonald's. I have one company already called Varner Studios that's been around for 23 years. But I've wanted to do my own toys for a while. I've done some licensed stuff for Lara Croft and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Stefan went with me to a meeting last year where we talking to some people about buying some licenses. After the meeting he said why don't you do Goths instead? There haven't been any Goth toys which is odd because there are so many Goths out there. There are more and more people electing to get tattoos and piercings. These people aren't really represented. There is no real toy or figure for kids to look up to because maybe their dad has piercings. I have a lot of people who work for me who have tattoos and piercings. I see a lot of these people get discriminated against when I help them find apartments and things like that.
They need representation because it's a subculture that isn't so sub anymore. There's a lot of Goths out there and they need to be validated.
DRE: They need to be represented by dolls.
SV: Right. Barbie is an idea that is pushed down everyone's throat. Maybe there should be some other options.
DRE: Is your son involved in the Goth culture?
SV: Not really. He has long hair but he's not into tattoos and piercing but he does want to get his ears pierced. That's fine with me. He's only 15 although I see people even younger than that with tattoos. It's a growing culture and really widespread.
DRE: Did you used to catch Stefan cutting the heads off dolls and painting them black?
SV: Not that so much but he does like to destroy toys. I shouldn't be telling you this but when he was a kid he used to like to put them in the freezer take them out and hit them with a hammer. They smash really good.
DRE: [laughs] You must have had hundreds of dolls in the house.
SV: Oh yeah. My studio is just full of the stuff.
DRE: Did you hire any people that were experts in Goth culture or part of it?
SV: Yes to a certain degree. Beth Colla who used to work with me when she was 18 had gone off to start a Goth makeup line called Decadence Cosmetics. It's still around but she had some partners that kind of took the business away. So I rehired her and her sensibility is very much the way I needed. She helped me a lot and there are others as well too. I'm hiring a new website designer, he did Marilyn Manson's website and his own website is www.brittle-bones.com.
One of the things I've done with this new line of 7 inch figures is that they are becoming more sensual. Instead of going with the gore and the horror film area I'm going more subtly sexy.
DRE: Are you ever going to do couple dolls?
SV: I've thought of doing that stuff but I don't know yet.
DRE: Are they anatomically correct?
SV: [laughs] No they're not. We've got three different lines. The 7 inch figures are fully sculpted which means I can really customize them. The 12 inch dolls all have similar dolls bodies. We're making new heads and clothing for them.
DRE: Did you ever go to Goth clubs to check out the scene?
SV: Well I trust the people who work for me. I haven't really been to any but Beth goes to Goth clubs in the Hollywood area. We're thinking about doing a launch party which will be at one of the Goth clubs.
DRE: Where'd you find the models for the dolls?
SV: I found them all over the place. A lot of it is just high fashion and came right off the runways in Milan that we put our own twist on.
DRE: If you're looking for more models you should definitely check out the Suicide Girls. How have the dolls been selling?
SV: The preorders are phenomenal. We've more than broke even and we haven't even shipped yet.
DRE: What kind of places are the dolls going to be sold?
SV: Comic book stores, gift shops and in places like Hot Topic, Spencer's. Tower Records bought a substantial amount.
DRE: Are you going to get them into Goth clothing stores?
SV: I would love to. We have gotten some orders unsolicited from those clothing stores. We don't really know that market but they're going to website and ordering them from us.
DRE: Do you realize that you're creating something that will be part of the culture for a long time?
SV: God I hope so and the cool thing about it is that we're first. There is nothing else out there like this period. There are some zombie dolls but that's not Goth dolls.
DRE: They're not out there yet I know but has there been any criticism?
SV: I'm sure there will be. If there wasn't I would be surprised but so far there has been zero. One of things I'm not doing is pushing the evil side of this. They're not demonic or satanic. I'm going to stay away from that like upside down crosses and things like that. I'm not anti-religion.
DRE: Did you do any market research for this?
SV: Not really. It was just the second my son said the idea to me I said, yeah! from that point on I've started full speed ahead. That was only august of last year and within three or four months we had finished the sculpted prototypes.
DRE: I saw the news piece that aired. The lead singer from Penis Flytrap liked the dolls.
SV: Absolutely. That was great. It looks like we may be getting a lot more press as well.
DRE: Do you see these dolls crossing over to the mainstream?
SV: I definitely do. In fact I'm wondering if the hardcore Goths will like it. That news piece interviewed some stringent Goths and they liked it. That surprised me I thought they would be more critical and my audience would be more of the peripheral Goths.
DRE: There are plenty of Goths who complain about the commercialization of the culture. But it's been commercialized so much anyway and the dolls are cool.
SV: Exactly. I'm not trying to get too serious about it. It's a nice thing to have if you're a Goth or appreciate the Goth culture or just have a sense of humor. I think it hits a wide range of people.
DRE: Do you see a life beyond dolls for these characters like cartoons?
SV: Yeah I do. in fact there's a guy coming out from New York this week to talk about stuff like that. At some point I would like to do things like that. Unfortunately once you get into that whole realm you lose creative control because there is so much money involved. I like to keep control.
DRE: Is your son going to get a piece of the money?
SV: I haven't talked to him about it but I'm sure he will.
DRE: He'll get the whole thing at one point.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
Well someone else had that dream and now they're going to make even more money than Spooky and Missy off of it. Last year a simple suggestion from a 15 year old inspired, his father, Steve Varner to sculpt some Goth dolls. Now he has created an entire company called Bleeding Edge to create an entire line of 5, 7 and 11 inch dolls.
Check out Bleeding Edge's website.
Daniel Robert Epstein: How did the idea for a line of Goth action figures come up?
Steve Varner: Well I had been talking to my son, Stefan and everyone at the company about starting our own toy company for a long time. I'm in the toy business already and we sculpt toys for other toy companies. We did the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a lot of the Star Trek stuff and the giveaways for McDonald's. I have one company already called Varner Studios that's been around for 23 years. But I've wanted to do my own toys for a while. I've done some licensed stuff for Lara Croft and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Stefan went with me to a meeting last year where we talking to some people about buying some licenses. After the meeting he said why don't you do Goths instead? There haven't been any Goth toys which is odd because there are so many Goths out there. There are more and more people electing to get tattoos and piercings. These people aren't really represented. There is no real toy or figure for kids to look up to because maybe their dad has piercings. I have a lot of people who work for me who have tattoos and piercings. I see a lot of these people get discriminated against when I help them find apartments and things like that.
They need representation because it's a subculture that isn't so sub anymore. There's a lot of Goths out there and they need to be validated.
DRE: They need to be represented by dolls.
SV: Right. Barbie is an idea that is pushed down everyone's throat. Maybe there should be some other options.
DRE: Is your son involved in the Goth culture?
SV: Not really. He has long hair but he's not into tattoos and piercing but he does want to get his ears pierced. That's fine with me. He's only 15 although I see people even younger than that with tattoos. It's a growing culture and really widespread.
DRE: Did you used to catch Stefan cutting the heads off dolls and painting them black?
SV: Not that so much but he does like to destroy toys. I shouldn't be telling you this but when he was a kid he used to like to put them in the freezer take them out and hit them with a hammer. They smash really good.
DRE: [laughs] You must have had hundreds of dolls in the house.
SV: Oh yeah. My studio is just full of the stuff.
DRE: Did you hire any people that were experts in Goth culture or part of it?
SV: Yes to a certain degree. Beth Colla who used to work with me when she was 18 had gone off to start a Goth makeup line called Decadence Cosmetics. It's still around but she had some partners that kind of took the business away. So I rehired her and her sensibility is very much the way I needed. She helped me a lot and there are others as well too. I'm hiring a new website designer, he did Marilyn Manson's website and his own website is www.brittle-bones.com.
One of the things I've done with this new line of 7 inch figures is that they are becoming more sensual. Instead of going with the gore and the horror film area I'm going more subtly sexy.
DRE: Are you ever going to do couple dolls?
SV: I've thought of doing that stuff but I don't know yet.
DRE: Are they anatomically correct?
SV: [laughs] No they're not. We've got three different lines. The 7 inch figures are fully sculpted which means I can really customize them. The 12 inch dolls all have similar dolls bodies. We're making new heads and clothing for them.
DRE: Did you ever go to Goth clubs to check out the scene?
SV: Well I trust the people who work for me. I haven't really been to any but Beth goes to Goth clubs in the Hollywood area. We're thinking about doing a launch party which will be at one of the Goth clubs.
DRE: Where'd you find the models for the dolls?
SV: I found them all over the place. A lot of it is just high fashion and came right off the runways in Milan that we put our own twist on.
DRE: If you're looking for more models you should definitely check out the Suicide Girls. How have the dolls been selling?
SV: The preorders are phenomenal. We've more than broke even and we haven't even shipped yet.
DRE: What kind of places are the dolls going to be sold?
SV: Comic book stores, gift shops and in places like Hot Topic, Spencer's. Tower Records bought a substantial amount.
DRE: Are you going to get them into Goth clothing stores?
SV: I would love to. We have gotten some orders unsolicited from those clothing stores. We don't really know that market but they're going to website and ordering them from us.
DRE: Do you realize that you're creating something that will be part of the culture for a long time?
SV: God I hope so and the cool thing about it is that we're first. There is nothing else out there like this period. There are some zombie dolls but that's not Goth dolls.
DRE: They're not out there yet I know but has there been any criticism?
SV: I'm sure there will be. If there wasn't I would be surprised but so far there has been zero. One of things I'm not doing is pushing the evil side of this. They're not demonic or satanic. I'm going to stay away from that like upside down crosses and things like that. I'm not anti-religion.
DRE: Did you do any market research for this?
SV: Not really. It was just the second my son said the idea to me I said, yeah! from that point on I've started full speed ahead. That was only august of last year and within three or four months we had finished the sculpted prototypes.
DRE: I saw the news piece that aired. The lead singer from Penis Flytrap liked the dolls.
SV: Absolutely. That was great. It looks like we may be getting a lot more press as well.
DRE: Do you see these dolls crossing over to the mainstream?
SV: I definitely do. In fact I'm wondering if the hardcore Goths will like it. That news piece interviewed some stringent Goths and they liked it. That surprised me I thought they would be more critical and my audience would be more of the peripheral Goths.
DRE: There are plenty of Goths who complain about the commercialization of the culture. But it's been commercialized so much anyway and the dolls are cool.
SV: Exactly. I'm not trying to get too serious about it. It's a nice thing to have if you're a Goth or appreciate the Goth culture or just have a sense of humor. I think it hits a wide range of people.
DRE: Do you see a life beyond dolls for these characters like cartoons?
SV: Yeah I do. in fact there's a guy coming out from New York this week to talk about stuff like that. At some point I would like to do things like that. Unfortunately once you get into that whole realm you lose creative control because there is so much money involved. I like to keep control.
DRE: Is your son going to get a piece of the money?
SV: I haven't talked to him about it but I'm sure he will.
DRE: He'll get the whole thing at one point.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
VIEW 25 of 25 COMMENTS
I don't like the dolls' eyes, so I liked this one because her eyes were closed and I liked her piercings and make-up and hair. I think she should have a better dress though. Maybe I'll make her one.
I found her in my local comic book shop, 2003/4ish I think.
I thought she was cool looking. I don't know if she represents goth culture more than uses it to make money. Hot Topic is like the Walmart of Alternative. But whatever, I bought one, I like it. She has hidden joints in her elbows and knees. She also has slightly discoloured skin at random areas, like bruises or death spots. Creepy.