Where do I begin. I have been wanting to do this interview since the birth of this site and the stars finally alligned. Darkside Paul is a man that I have admired since I got into this hobby many, many, many moons ago. To see Paul grow as an artist and business man has truly become an inspiration for myself. Being able to create amazing pieces of art in latex form all while keeping the price centered around us blue collar collectors is what this hobby was built on. As the hobby has grown more and more artists have raised the bar but with that comes prices that many of us simply can't afford. There are mask makers and then there are mask companies. I put Darkside Studios in the latter category.
TO CHECK OUT ALL OF PAUL'S CURRENT WORK AND FOR ORDERING INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT....
http://darksidestudio.com/Here is a brief history for those that might not be familiar with Paul's work. This can be found on his website under the "about us" tab.
"We offer some of the worlds nicest masks at a decent price. We also offer some of the best customer service that you can find!!
My Name is DarkSide Paul,at least what they call me. I started DarkSide Studio back in 1995 out of my garage and laundry room in my house.
Since then we have moved into a bigger studio that can accomidate larger production.
Pretty much, we are one of the first mask sites that appeared on the web, I guess that is something to be proud of.
I, along with a small production team produce the stuff that you find on this site. Everything is produced here, so I oversee all of
the pieces.I also personally check everything that leaves here, that it is of the highest quality.
My wife Kim, does the business book work, which keeps her pretty busy.
My twin Sons- Scott and Chris help out in the busy season with painting and hairing.
My other assistant Al, can pretty much do it all but airbrush. So, he is well worth the money that he is paid.
I have two other children who would be upset if I didn't mention them-Hi Marriah and Jake!! They are 10 and 4.
The great web design is done by my old friend Gary Phillips, he does such a wonderful job each and everytime-Thank You Gary for you great web skills!
We also like to carry lots of different types of artists work. It makes for a great variety and some cool stuff. Special thanks to the wonderful sculptors
that help us create such a wide array of mask each and every year.
Thanks to- Jeremy Bohr,Pete Infelise,Doug Goins, Jeff Wehenkel , Joe Lester,Don Lanning, Jon Fuller, John Smith, Vincent Van dyke,
Jamie Salmon, and Joe Riley.
Special thanks goes out to Jeff Death for helping us throughout the years, without your insperation, there would be no DarkSide.
So, after reading this long speech, take a look around and enjoy your stay at "DarkSide".
DarkSide PaulNow onto the interview. Hopefully this will give you a sneak peak into the life of Darkside Studios and what exactly makes Paul still giddy about that sweet pungent smell of latex...
How did you get started in mask making? I've been an artist as long as I can remember. Drawing as a child, sculpting in ceramics in High School and starting creating creatures and monsters for the yard beyond that. Found Death Studios and my curiousity made me order Jeff's How to make masks video. The video is quite scary if you haven't watched it. From an artist standpoint, it looks super involved from start to finish. I found Monster Makers and started using their clay and armature. Needless to say, the bug had bitten. I still have photos of my first sculpt,mold,and copy. I do still own my first mask I have ever made. What mask maker can say that?
Met my future long time friend and co-monster creator Pete Infelise, he inspired me and asked me to produce some of his designs. DarkSide was born shortly after.
With the help of various artists like Jeff Death,Doug Goins,Jeremy Bohr,and an unending list of talented artists, DarkSide grew and bloomed into the beast it is today.
How important is it to strike a balance between being an artist and a businessman to survive in this business?Personally, being an artist is about 40% of the job. The businessman side is the main key. You could sell doody burgers if you market them right. I know it is funny and all but it is true. Yes, burgers made from poop. If you found a way to tell people that burgers made from dog poop was healthy for them,people would buy them.
Presentation is another thing. If you show off your works in a professional manner, you can sel sell sell. Look at what happened at Mask Fest. We were super busy at the DarkSide booth. Right price, right look and we sold 80% of what we brought. I think it was my Phil Collins look that sold the stuff! (:
Price is a big thing for me at DarkSide. I could charge $200 + for my stuff ,but I wouldn't sell alot. I can honestly say that I spend as much time if not more time than alot of artists on my stuff. I would rather sell a hundred masks at $75 than 25 masks at $200. I know it is crazy but it is something that was burned in the old brain from the Death Studios days.
I love to sell in numbers.
Now,finally the artist thing- I've been an artist since I was young. If you told me I would make money doing these kinds of things in my 30's and 40's. I'd laugh at you.
It was my wish but i didn't think that it would happen. I find most mask makers who focus mainly on the artist thing suffer the business side. This works vice versa as well. You can make 25 decent masks and only sell 5 masks a year. Mask makers must try and find a level ground somewhere between.
A point I'd like to make to people who are thinking about doing this kind of thing is: You must become a number of things. A designer,a sculptor,a moldmaker,a painter,an airbrush artist,a semi chemist,a hair stylist,a marketeer,a shipping expert, a trend follower,and among anything else a social worker. Take my advice-go buy one of those cool crotch rocket bikes and pick up women. Life will be more interesting! :)
I recall reading in a Horrorhound interview that Halloween is your favorite horror movie. Why haven’t we seen a Myers mask from Darkside Studios?Halloween is my favorite Horror film because it is the closest to being a real story. This is what scared the yell out of me.
As for a DarkSide Myers- you guys need to check out your DarkSide history books. My third sculpt was the DarkShape. I'll take a tiny bit of credit. My sculpt was the first sculpted Myers offered through the internet. We are going back to 1996 here folks. The sculpt was not good and I still sold a ton of them. This was before the great Myers craze. I believe I offered them through the old Back Talk Message board. I do know that Eric Austin and Steve Todd bought one. Scary memory I have, my wife hates this about me!
How do you feel the advent of Myers collecting has affected the hobby as a whole?There was a time that I thought that the Myers market took from my side of this thing. I've been proven wrong. The people who collect Myers masks will continue to collect just that. People who buy from me will be happy with just one or no Myers in there collections. I love a good Myers mask, But I'm happy with just one sitting here.
How has family played a roll in the success of DarkSide Studios?My brother gave me a hundred dollars in 1995 to by an armature and some clay. He saw that I had a strong desire for this thing I do.
My wife helped me name DarkSide. We were both sitting and talking about a name that I could use. I kept saying how I wanted the name to represent a DarkSide of myself. I blurted out "How about DarkSide Studio"? She told me that she was just thinking the same as I was. Kim is my book keeper and without her, DarkSide would go bye-bye
My mother makes the collars for the clowns and my Father goes with me to pick up the drums of latex each and everytime I go.
My twin sons-Chris and Scott are my assistants. They are 17 years old and can sponge paint and base coat along with hair with some of the best makers out there. They have even sculpted a mask or two. A chip off of the old block.
My 12 year old daughter has shown some interest in learning the biz in the next few years. Jacob, my six year old comes in and helps Daddy paint some bad blanks. He is starting somewhere. The boy can mix his colors.
I have a grand-daughter coming in Sept-Oct. So I'm sure she will be part of "DarkSide" in some form. Yes, you read right-Grandpa-DarkSide!
So, I guess family is a huge part of DarkSide.
There is much anticipation for this years lineup of masks. How many are you offering this year and can you give us a sneak peak on what we might expect?We are just as excited. Some stuff has been run off from last year. Stuff that didn't make it into the line-up last year, will this year. Things must be good if you have too much.
We are going to be releasing 12-15 new designs. Some familar faces and some from the past. Some familar painted face fellows and a few hockey masked wearing dudes will be showing up. Maybe I'll send you a pic or two for a preview. We always like to surprise the DarkSide regulars. DarkSide has been known to surprise the mask world, and we never disappoint!
Are there any regrets you've had since starting DarkSide Studios?I guess there are two- One is I wished I would have begun a few years earlier. But it wasn't my time yet.
Next is- I wished I wouldn't have had a falling out with a certain mask maker. I won't name them but it isn't hard to figure out. In hindsight, it was over stupid stuff and in my advancing age I see things much more different and clear. The world is a funny place, you can never say never. After a year of anger management, I see lots of things much much clearer.
I have noticed several photos over the years of your Halloween yard displays you set up. How long have you been doing this? I've been at the yard thing since 1986 or 87. I made a huge dummy for my front yard and put it out. I'm riding past my house on the school bus and I heard a kid say "Damn that dummy looks scary"! The seed was planted.
One other part was in 1984 my grandfather hung himself in his garage on Oct 30th. I had a choice either abandon the Halloween thing or embrace it. You know what I did! Plus it helped keep my mind off of the incident. They always say that the things that hurt you the most ,make you stronger.
You’ve been a friend of HorrorBid for some time now. Is there anything you would like to see different about our site or forum?Hell yeah! More DarkSide coverage!!!
Really, I think you guys have carved yourself a nice spot on the web. You guys are taking on the monster called Fee-bay!
Now in this next section we did something a little different a first if you will for our Behind the Mask interviews. We gave Paul a phrase and he gave his first reaction. This is something we hope to do more of in the future. Thanks Paul for being our first!
Death Studios- What can I say Jeff Death is still Yoda. If you would ever model yourself after a successful company , why not the best?!
The Mask Maker- Gary is one of the most talented webmasters I have ever seen. That is why it is over 10 years of working with the guy.
He is a damn good friend and we have been through alot together.
Jeremy Bohr- One of the best friends that I've ever had. Plus the guy is one of the most talented mask artists that is out there. Thanks Jeremy.
Jason Voorhees- He'll always be second to Michael Myers, I hate to say it. But, he makes me alot of money.
The Economy - Terrible, but is controlled by the media. We will overcome it and be stronger!
Latex- If Wolverine has adamantium in his bones. I have latex in mine!
The Halloween Season- Hell time! But it is an experience each and every year.
Horrorbid-An up and coming website that must not Forget DarkSide Paulie when they make it big!!!!
Clara Peller- The sexiest woman to ever walk the planet and had the the sexiest commercial line in history!!! If you don't know who she is-google her!
Chimp Eden- The best show on Tv!
Judge Judy- Almost every mask ever painted here at DarkSide has watched an episode or two with me. For some strange bizarre reason, I have a Judge Judy addiction. Beats booze and drugs, I guess.
Now onto some rare Darkside Stduios pictures from over the years...
Thanks for the great interview Paul! 
Paul's masks are what got me into mask collecting, can't wait to see whats coming out this year
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