Reactor-88’s Custom Corner – Haus of Boz

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Welcome to the June edition of Reactor-88’s Custom Corner. This month we’re highlighting Laura Copeland, who works under the name Haus of Boz. Laura grew up in rural areas of the UK, where each day she ran around in the fields and woods, playing with animals and examining the natural world. This provided her with the inspiration that drives the direction of her work. These days she lives in Leeds, and to quote Laura, “is your friendly, highly-pierced, blue-haired, busty, comic book retailer and freelance illustrator who by night makes customs and toys in my basement studio.” Laura has been collecting toys since she was twelve, but has only been making custom toys for about a year and half. What started as a therapeutic exercise to recover from a hand injury has turned into a major love affair for her. After a chance meeting and some enlightening words from Squink!, Laura realized the possibilities are limitless and she could turn a plain toy into a real work of art. For Laura, turning these hunks of vinyl into works of art is all about the sculpting. She says that’s where the piece really comes alive, and it’s her favorite part. Her sculpting is definitely top notch, but the real magic for me is how she uses her sculpting talents to create her fantastic, dreamy, animal characters that I would love to think visited Laura in the woods during her childhood days. One other thing Laura mentioned is how blown away she is by the art toy community. From the reception of her work at ToyCon and her Clutter show, to her great fans, to all the fellow artists being so friendly and welcoming, Laura is just overwhelmed by it all. To quote her once again, “It’s been like one continuous cuddle from a magical glittering rainbow bear made of marshmallows. MORE!” As an added bonus, Laura sent over some fun facts about herself:

I LOVE bunnies.  I collect bunny things, I wear a bunny onesie all day, I’ve got bunny tattoos, and I have a fat grey bunny named Butters that lives in my studio.  Seriously, if you want something done to do with bunnies  CALL ME NOW!  LET’S BE BUDS!

I am really scared of small birds, moths, and butterflies.  Oh my god!  Get them away from me!  Don’t let them near my face!

I am a big wartime history buff.  I’ve got a WWII air raid shelter in my basement studio.

I used to play guitar, but now I couldn’t play a note if I tried.

Laura can be found on Twitter, Instagram, and Vine as HausofBoz- there you’ll get exclusive announcements and updates, WIP shots, and workspace tours. On Facebook she can be friended via Haus Ofboz.  Her online store is over at Hausofboz.bigcartel.com, and if you just walk to take a leisurely tour of all her custom toys, drawings, plush and other artwork head over to www.hausofboz.co.uk.