Some projects come in fully specced. Files ready, dimensions decided, "just print this." Those are fine. Those pay the bills.

And then there are the projects that start with one image and a sentence.

That's how the TALU figurines started.

Meeting Josh

I met Josh Tiktin through The Kollective — the maker store he runs, with locations across south Florida in Delray Beach, Las Olas, and Wynwood. I reached out about renting a shelf for Kartzy at the Delray spot. Josh wrote back warm, generous, said he loved the work, and then almost casually added: "On a side note I would like to discuss doing some custom 3D printed figures with you."

That side note turned into one of my favorite projects we've done.

The Brief Was Basically a Face

Josh is the artist behind TALU — Things Are Looking Up. The whole brand is a call for positivity, and the face is its anchor. If you've seen his work you know it instantly. Expressive, simple, his.

That was what I had to work with. The face. And a wish: I want this as a figurine.

No 3D file. No reference. No "make it look like this other thing." Just the art and the trust.

I'll be honest — that's the brief I love most and also the one that's scariest. There's nothing to copy. You either understand the brand or you don't. And if you don't, the client knows immediately.

Designing TALU into 3D

I spent real time on this. Not just modeling — looking. What is TALU? What's the posture? What are the proportions that make the face read right when you give it a body? Should it be cute? Confident? Cheeky? All of the above?

I came back with concepts. Two of them landed:

A classic pose — clean, centered, the TALU you'd want first.

A pointing pose — finger up, a little attitude, a little wink.

When I showed Josh, he said three words that made the whole project worth it: "You nailed it."

And then he said he didn't want to pick. He wanted both.

The TALU Crew

Once the designs were approved, we built out the full line:

Both poses

Three sizes of each

Keychain versions for the impulse-buy / gift price point

Standard finish and a glossy variant that makes them feel almost ceramic

Print times on the larger pieces ran close to two days each. The time-lapses are mesmerizing. The first time you watch a TALU emerge layer by layer over 40+ hours, and then you line a dozen of them up on the shelf together, it hits you — things really are looking up. That's the whole point of the brand and it's somehow truer when you can hold it.

The full crew is now stocked across all three Kollective locations — Delray Beach, Las Olas, and Wynwood. From one piece of original artwork to three South Florida retail shelves.

Why This One Matters to Me

A lot of 3D printing shops will run your file. Fewer will design with you. Even fewer will think about your product line — the sizes, the price tiers, the keychain as the entry point and the big glossy version as the collector piece.

The TALU project was all three at once. Design, production, and product strategy. Josh trusted me with his brand. I got to take a face I'd never seen before in March and turn it into a retail-ready collectible line sitting on his shelves.

That's what Kartzy Studio is for. Not just printers running prints. A studio.

If You're an Artist Reading This

You probably have a character. A face. A logo. Something people already love in 2D and ask about in real life.

You don't need to know how 3D printing works. You don't need a file. You don't need a concept sketch in three views.

You need someone who'll look at your art the way Josh let me look at his — and bring back something that makes you say you nailed it.

That's the part I love. That's why we did this. That's why we'll do it again.

Want to bring your art into 3D? Reach out — we're in Delray Beach and we work with artists and brands across the country.

Shoutout to Josh @taluartist and The Kollective for the collab.

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How a Face Became a Figurine Line: The Story Behind the TALU Crew