In a landscape where brands must move quickly from idea to execution, the line between creative development and manufacturing continues to blur. Bigshot Toyworks operates squarely in that space, offering brands and companies a way to translate concepts into fully realized products as a full-service creative agency.
“Since the beginning, we’ve always been a unique creative problem-solving studio,” Klim Kozinevich, CEO, Founder, and Creative Director, explains.
Bigshot Toyworks’ expertise spans character design, prototyping, and production, and it collaborates with a mix of entertainment companies, agencies, and independent creators. Whether developing retail collectibles or promotional items tied to larger campaigns, Bigshot Toyworks’ model gives it a tighter grip on each stage of development. Instead of handing off a project from one silo to the next, the team can protect the concept as it moves from idea to production.
“Sometimes we build relationships because the client comes to us because they have no other place to go.” A brand may design a toy in-house, but it may face challenges, such as producing a fully articulated figure, Kozinevich says.
That approach reflects a broader shift in the industry, where companies are increasingly seeking streamlined partners and fewer gaps between vision and finished product. That support can be especially valuable for companies entering the toy industry from film, gaming, lifestyle, or other adjacent worlds. The company’s primary work has been transforming intellectual property into merchandise for its partners, from $5 keychains to $300 statues, Kozinevich says.
“We’re like a very cool step uncle for our partners,” Kozinevich shares. Owning the model for a surprise bag figure can turn a previous project into giant sculptures worldwide, as was the case with Adult Swim, when it hired Bigshot Toyworks for a Rick and Morty project. It easily scaled the figures and built and managed a library of 3D assets.
Startups, Studios, and Global Brands
Bigshot Toyworks’ client list shows how wide that work can run. The studio has collaborated with established brands and entertainment companies, including Mondo, Sideshow Collectibles, UFC, Super7, Kidrobot, and Sun Bum. In some cases, the Bigshot team will plug itself into another company’s workflow.
“Sometimes a company will have to let its creative department go,” shares Bigshot’s Studio Director, Benjamin Kline, reflecting on a reality that many companies faced amid a tumultuous few years plagued by supply chain issues and tariffs. “They need a capable team that they can hire on a project basis.”
Bigshot Toyworks often gives a brand the push it needs to go bigger. “Sometimes we help a company merchandise themselves up to a certain point, and then they’re wildly successful,” Kline says. “It just runs the gamut,” he says, noting that the company has seen the rise, fall, merger, acquisition, and bankruptcy of many brands since its founding in 2000.
From NFT to IRL
Regardless of where a project originates, the studio’s process blends digital tools with hands-on sculpting, allowing for both speed and refinement during development.
One recent project is Claynosaurz, a digital-first IP that Bigshot Toyworks is helping to shape. The family-friendly “mostly clay” dinosaurs looking for adventure launched as an NFT and has evolved to include animation and physical products, such as blind box collectibles.“I’ve been a huge fan of their characters,” Kozinevich shares. “The moment that I saw that stuff, I was like, ‘Holy crap.’” Most NFTs had “terrible art,” he says, but not Claynosaurz. “Obviously, it’s a client, they’re paying us for our services,” he adds, “but when we engage with a client that’s just as aligned as we are, it’s like that’s the perfect combination.”
“We’ve been wanting to work with Bigshot Toyworks for a long time,” offers Nic Cabana, Chief Creative Officer and Founder of Claynosaurz. “Klim brings so much expertise and care during the creative and development process.”
Crafting Original IP
While client work pays the bills, Kozinevich and his team develop original properties, using them as both creative outlets and proof-of-concept for Bigshot’s capabilities. Here There Bear, a modern reinvention of the classic Teddy Bear, reflects a character-first approach, with an eye toward cross-category extensions.
“I’ve been working on this project since before [the] COVID-19 [pandemic],” Kozinevich shares. The bear has gone through a variety of sizes and iterations at the workshop and partner factories in China, and will soon arrive at the homes of Kickstarter backers. The bear is now at its perfect size, surviving fluctuations in production and shipping costs.
“It’s like a photography maquette that you just have to take around, take photos and tell stories with,” Kozinevich says. From North Carolina to Japan, travelers and neighbors are wowed by the bear; at a family reunion, Kline’s young relatives couldn’t let a prototype go. The most fervent demographics are Generation X and grandparents, Kozinevich says.
“It’s really freaking adorable,” Kozinevich enthuses of the bear. Available in two colors, the bendable, fully articulated plush bear encourages its companions to get outside and explore the world.
Developing internal IP also informs the studio’s client work, offering fresh insight into the present-day challenges of building a brand from the ground up.
“It’s never been more important for creators — any artist on the creative side — to lean into their own stories and creative ideas,” Kozinevich says. “You’re spending your entire time helping other people make millions of dollars and chase their dreams, you’re not chasing yours.”
For Bigshot Toyworks, Here There Bear is just one of many creative dreams.
Constant Evolution
As the toy and collectibles business continues to evolve, the team at Bigshot Toyworks is expanding its scope by forging new partnerships and developing more original IP. No matter where the stories being told emerge, the team is ready to help tell them.
“We’re very excited for all the people that are trying to build out new things,” Kozinevich says. “And we’re looking forward to working with some of them.”
Stay on the Pulse of Play!
A version of this feature first appeared in The Toy Book‘s 2026 Specialty Toys & Gifts Issue. Read the full issue here!
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