ToyCyte: Toy Culture Collected

Martha Stewart Makes Munnys

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtjaj3P6Jx8&feature=player_embedded]

WOW. Rosie O’Donnell is making the circuit with Munnys. She’s now gone from late night with Craig Ferguson to day time. She recently turned up on none other than The Martha Stewart Show where she picked up a couple glittered and yarn-wrapped from Martha and implored her to “Sign the bottom, you wench!” This might seem ridiculous on the surface, but Martha Stewart served her little stint in jail, so consider that, all you haters. When I had bad insomnia, her droning voice used to lull me to sleep in syndication at 2AM. Against all predictable odds, I’m finding this random embrace from mainstream media rather enjoyable.

I saw this on SpankyStokes under the heading “Munny is Mainstream,” and John said: “My thoughts are no publicity is bad publicity, Kidrobot is a company designed and created to make money from consumers, and they have got to be eating this up right now even if it is not in the direction I think they initially wanted their brand to go. In recent time Kidrobt has gone from an underground cult following to a media crazed phenomenon!” I agree, and I think also Kidrobot is putting the “Kid” at the forefront of their market these days.  I just met a terrific 9-year old who draws on Munnys. If I could turn back time, though, I would have liked to see Kidrobot communicate a change in branding to their followers. There would have probably been a lot less complaining about things that look like “Happy Meal Toys” if we’d known they were, in fact, kind of going for that.

What do you think?

Vinyl Addiction Episode 1 with Marka27

At VTN, Jesse Hernandez showed me a trailer for Vinyl Addiction via his iPhone. Now, Episode 1 has hit the airwaves, and Jesse represents for the media (in a Bay Area T-shirt) when he interviews Marka27 about toys, culture, influences and collabos.

Jesse spent over a year working on the show for MYXtv (“The only music lifestyle channel embracing the entire Asian American Community.”). The show has its own website, vinyladdiction.tv, where you can find two other exclusive interviews from the first episode with Biddies creator Roy Miles and Joe Hahn of Linkin Park.

Vinyl addiction is a behind the scenes in depth view of the designer toy world, with information-packed artist interviews , art shows, profiles of our favorite stores, and a sneak peak into the art collections of some well known celebrities you may not have known were hard-core art collectors.

They’ve got interviews coming up with Greg “Craola” Simkins, Huck Gee, Frank Kozik, Brian Flynn, Gallery 1988, Munky King, MAD, Kano, DJ Qbert and many more. Even better, at under 5 minutes a piece, they can keep even my wandering attention. Check it out below:

Alex Pardee Channels Steve Urkel for Idiot Box

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4VHei6qGeQ]

If there was ever any doubt that Gallery1988 is the art gallery for our generation, this is really all you need to know. For their 5th anniversary, they are throwing a tribute show to the small screen, and Saved by the Bell’s Mr. Belding is presiding. On April 2nd, the walls of the LA gallery will be cloaked in past (Small Wonder) and present (LOST) homages to the Idiot Box. Shown here is the inimitable Alex Pardee’s contribution to the event. I wish I could go to this one. So much happening in April!  Katie and Jensen stood up for the scene when other art outlets were ignoring it. Happy anniversay, G1988.

Humble Pictures’ New Brow Documentary Debuts Tomorrow

The contemporary  underground art scene has been in effect for a very long time. Most underground artists go unnoticed by the majority of society, but now art takes center stage in Humble Pictures’ upcoming documentary “New Brow”. The film takes an in-depth look at underground artists (Shepard Fairey, Anthony Ausgang, Gary Baseman, Tim Biskup, Ron English and Travis Louie among them) and the influences that have inspired them to do this type of art. The documentary will have its opening screening at 602 West 7th #A, Austin, Texas, Thursday March 19th. The official world premiere for “New Brow” will be March 27th in the Golden State Theatre in Monterey, California. For more information check out the “New Brow” film web page. Big ups to underground artists everywhere! Watch the trailer below.

New Brow Trailer 1

Toy Break Episode 69 is Resintastic

If you’ve yet to watch an episode of Toy Break because you can’t sit still for 40 minutes or you find Matt annoying, give episode 69 a look. Over the course of this video, Neil Winn fills in for Matt and along with Ayleen and George, they discuss resin toys exclusively. Someone wins two customs by custoMONDAY alum OsirisOrion. Now they’re giving away two Billy Syn figures by NREAZON. They review Robot Unicorn, who is packaged in Easter grass and gets a trio of thumbs ups. Mr. TeePee, Gus and Barrister Ghost by custoMONDAY alum Aaron Arel of Uh Oh Toys make an appearance and the ToyBreak crew is polarized on this one. Jouwe by Marine Ramdhani raises the bar on resin toys with size, articulation, packaging, smoothness, fair pricing and lots of homemade goodies. Says George: “It’s freakin’ awesome.” Then they go on location in Toronto with We Kill You who wears a mask and talks about how Paul Budnitz invited him to submit a Dunny design but instead he decided to do his own thing. Check it out on your lunch break or something.

Nerds Like Me: Mishka x Lamour Supreme Video

Last week, we told you about Mishka’s awesome party to coincide with the opening of its flagship store. There would be booze, monsters, music and more. But we’re all the way in the Bay Area and they’re in Brooklyn. So the web has yielded us this great video from ItsBongoBoy.com of the party. Highlights include footage of all the exclusives, some chats with L’amour Supreme and Mishka founders, and my personal favorite quote, “I like Mishka, they’re nerds like me, they’re not pretending to be gangster criminal drugdealer lowlifes…they’re just 30-year old nerds being what they are…nerds…like me.” Well done, Bongo Boy! Video below the pic.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwCCEEPCBy4]

CCP’s New Kaiju: Spectreman’s Dust Man

I’m inclined to believe that there are kaiju and tokusatsu that have been made in just about every material and theme, from the notorious chick with the shower-knob nipples that spray acid, to the awesome giant lobster creatures, and every animal / food combination in between, but a Dust Man? That’s news to me.

Coming right out of Spectreman Episode 11, the truly bizarre 1/6th scale Dust Man is a pretty awesome piece of PVC (and even brings to mind the aesthetic of Plaseebo’s Journey of the Stonewalker). With a giant goofy face (though without the light-up eyes from the episode), and kinda looking like my mom’s ex-boyfriend, Dust Man will cost in the neighborhood of $120. He’s even sculpted with the mouth-breathing-holes that the original ‘actor’ needed to survive, so no detail is spared. Really, a foot of big, lumbering ugly is worth it.

God, Japan – you’re so weird and wonderful. I wonder what you think of our Masters of the Universe and Get A Life. That’s the equivalent, right?

Chronicles and Monocles: Professor Fliggins Comes to Life at A.Okay Gallery

Well this event really looked like a lot of fun. And as our friend Tamika from VIMBY and Candied Cartel notes: the whole agenda mapped out in the press release makes a ton more sense when you pair the words with their visual counterparts. Shawn Smith will be working on this project for the next year, releasing a plush a month. Cheers to Shawnimals and the curators at A. Okay Official (Lana Crooks and Max Bare, shown below with Shawn’s partner, Jen Brody) for bringing high-concept back to lowbrow art. Pictures from the A.Okay Official blog, where a member of the Fliggins clan left a comment seeking to ID Shawn and the Professor for her family tree. I love the Internet! The show runs through March 28th.

Shawnimals Sneak Peek! from Tamika C on Vimeo.

Bunk Bots vs. Watchmen

Jason Hilbourne has too much time and spare felt on his hands. How is this possible with kids and a job as a product design engineer? Is there a clue in this latest Bunk Bots video? Everybody’s doing a Watchmen thing, and we’ll keep posting ‘em while their funny and clever til the film opens.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9Vs8s2gYkQ]

Billy Syn Rapper Resins by NREAZON

Are you ready to shift from “urban vinyl” to “urban resin?” If so, Dallas-based artist,Vanessa Davis aka NREAZON, (whose customs we last wrote about in August) has got your fix. In her continuing effort to show Texans that art extends beyond the canvas, she handmade an original cold-cast resin figure based on Dallas’ own rapper/producer Billy Syn. The figures are 5 inches tall, and each was molded, cast and painted by NREAZON. You can pick one up in blue, green and purple here. The Billy Syn figures are available separately for $35 each or as a trio for $90. The NREAZON website will soon have a interview with Billy Syn to talk about what’s going on in the Dallas music scene and what he’s been up to in the recording studio. Click the thumbnails to see details of Billy ballin’ below, and check out this video of NREAZON doing her thing too.

NREAZON Painting of Yeti Frou Frou Pop from N’REAZON on Vimeo.

Bunk Bots Camp Out at Toy Fair in New York

Jason Hilbourne sent us the latest Bunk Bots video wherein the plush robots discuss the booth babes at Toy Fair and why birds shouldn’t eat chili.  For more Bunk Bots at Toy Fair, read Collin’s coverage here. Oh! And Jason also audio-video-ized my little Bunk Bots comic for YouTubers, which you can see below. Connecting with people with whom one shares a similarly campy and ‘tarded sense of humor is always refreshing.

Kidrobot Rebrands Cartoon Network

Out with the old. In with the new. Cartoon Network has now been rebranded Kidrobot style:

Cartoon Network’s brand identity is inseparable from the identities of the countless interesting and lovable characters which inhabit the CN airwaves. The characters themselves are the brand and their collective power makes Cartoon Network what it is. With this redesign we had the opportunity to create an undeniably strong connection between the network and its content. Using one unifying body shape (designed by urban vinyl legends Kidrobot) we created an interchangeable system of elements that gathered all of CN’s characters into one place. These blank figures, called Noods, are the canvases upon which characters of all shapes, sizes, and styles can coexist. The CN logo is also an extension of that vocabulary as the colors and patterns from the characters – their DNA – find their way onto the network’s blocky logotype for the first time. The resulting world is a playground of rich colors and unlimited combinations, ownable only by Cartoon Network.

Among many things that I love about Clutter is that they often tell it like it is, as well as ask insightful questions. Here’s an excerpt from Maz, who managed to already sum up what I would have said:

Working with Tristan Eaton they have created this ‘new’ generic shape called Noods. I personally think its lazy design which is simply a stretched Munny with a kinda lightbulb shaped head. However you can clearly see that its from the hands of Kidrobot, so from a marketing point of view its genius… Get them while they are young, Hook them in and get them spending! Does this devalue the high end of the ‘art’ based scene? Or does it capture children’s imagination and encourage creativity? It really makes me wonder.

My response to her question is “probably both.” Kidrobot has had detractors and defectors for a while now. In a similar way to how Big Tobacco knows its products kill, Kidrobot likely has been having meetings in which they discuss the relative off-putting nature of high-end handbags and mainstream movie and TV partnerships to its original core fanbase. No doubt they realize that “aging down” their toys, merchandise, models and collaborations ages out most folks who were born before 1980. Many people who began collecting Kidrobot products in the early 2000s have moved on to other companies, many more have remained faithful (or faithfully on the fence) and yet many more are new to collecting due to the efforts of Kidrobot. I do love seeing children open blind box toys in stores. In fact, children are probably the only demographic who can truly appreciate the “magic” of paying for an uncertainty. (Coincidentally, kids always seem to pull chases.) In a nutshell, it’s hard to fault a company for moving forward, yet one certainly has the right to grumble about the “good old days.”

Jesse Hernandez and The Nutshack at Wondercon 2009

The Nutshack is coming back to Wondercon. Jesse Hernandez blogs that they’re bringing some great stuff, including Nutshack shirts, a chance to win a mixed-media original piece by Oakland artist DASH, and a Nutshack vs. Justene Jaro poster. Justene, who can claim previous appearances in Penthouse and car shows, will also be live on the scene.  Check out some of the videos below and stop by Wondercon this Friday, February 27th through March 1st at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. See you there.

KAWS Opens The Long Way Home

There is a lot going on this weekend, but if you’re anywhere on the bell curve between toy collector and art hipster and you live in the greater Los Angeles area, you are going to be at HONOR FRASER. Beginning tomorrow, Saturday, February 21st, the gallery will host KAWS‘ first west-coast solo exhibition, The Long Way Home. KAWS, who, like me is from New Jersey, will indeed be a long way from the NJTP, but I somehow think legions of fans will make him feel right at home amidst the 405.

The Long Way Home will include a life-size Chum in the entrance way and several new, large-scale paintings and sculptures, no doubt influenced by the pop-culture and cartoon iconography that have made him (in)famous. There will be an opening reception tomorrow from 6PM-8PM. I’m guessing media outlets like TMZ will be on hand, unfortunately less about the art, than the celebrities who will be arriving with gold AMEX in hand. The show runs through April 4th. It’s been 5 years since I’ve seen KAWS’ work in person, and with the new busts and giant Chum, I’m long overdue for a visit. I hope to get down to LA before the show concludes. Oh, and for those of you who can’t make the show and haven’t seen the KAWS CNN clip yet, here it is, too.

Harley Davidson’s Art of Rebellion Video on VIMBY

If you didn’t make it to Harley Davidson’s Art of Rebellion show, VIMBY put together a short video with clips from Alex Pardee,  Bob Dob, Frank Kozik, Shawn Barber and Mark Dean Veca talking about their contributions.

Vinyl Frontier Spotlight on Huck Gee

This is vol.13 of “The Vinyl Frontier” Spotlight, taking a brief look into the world of an artist featured in the upcoming documentary by Daniel Zana. This week, they take a look at Huck Gee. In the episode, Huck talks about his influences, the story behind Skullhead (it has to do with a girl), and all about the “Save Huck Show.” One of the most interesting things to me is how Huck talks about how he hadn’t been too much of a “charitable” person in his life, but how much the help generated by the deportation scare changed him into someone who gives back.

How Le Merde Makes His Figures

Have you ever wondered how Le Merde makes his figures? When it came to the Portland artist’s Mossy & Glossy show at GRNY, Giant Robot’s Eric Nakamura said: “I have no idea how he makes these and they look effortless and just right. They fit the style, even though they may not be perfectly molded. There’s stuff inside them, and he makes that work too. When the world is caught up on manufacturing toys, this dude, Le Merde makes his own.”

Well, today, Eric linked me to some answers as to how. He thought ToyCyte readers might want to check out a video from Le Merde’s Bruised, Blackened and Beaten show and a couple of How To’s. I thought: How awkward/awesome for Le Merde to be doing this presentation with a screen while people circulate around his gallery and children can be heard cooing. He credits friends in Japan with inspiring him to sculpt in parts and talks about being unintentionally innovative by putting innards (Burgerbuns has Burgerguts, for instance) in the molds. He says his basement mold-factory doesn’t smell too much, but recommends ventilation. Special appearances by Bwana Spoons and Kiyoka. Check ‘em out below.

How to Find Bunk Bots at Toy Fair: Video Primers

Toy Fair is coming this weekend, and the folks behind Bunk Bots have made a handy little video to help you find their warez. Bunk Bots are designer toys for kids, which means, among other things, they’re affordable. If you can’t make it to Toy Fair, you can order Bunk Bots online at Wizard Sleeve Toys (for $14) and Posh (for $14). (One percent of profits go to Oregon’s Museum of Science and Industry.) Once you have your Bunk Bots, enter the video contest and make a 2-minute YouTube short to potentially win the two Bunk Bots given away every Friday. Click the image below (and give it a sec to load) to see what I did with my Bunk Bots and a still camera one day last week.

Sucklord Gets Flashy With Mimobots

Most folks know what a MILF is by now. Thanks to Sucklord, “VILF” has now entered the vernacular. The NY artist, who was once featured on VH1’s “Can’t Get a Date,” is doing fine these days as these two signature collaborative flash memory drives with Mimoco will confirm.

Sucklord will be representing at this weekend’s New York Comic Con, spinning tunes and giving away Mimobots.  Friday, February 6th is ORIGINAL VILLAINS day. From 11AM on: Vectar, The Crystal Pharaoh and Baron Darkowl will be spinning evil beats and recruiting contestants for the 5 PM V.I.L.F contest. That’s a chance for the most evil girls and dudes to show what they got. Strut your evil stuff and the most villainous contestants will receive a Baron Darkowl customized Mimobot flash drive (a limited 12 piece edition).

Then, if you’re not too hung over, on Saturday, February 7th, for the first time, is MICROSEXUALS day! The little amoeba sized roommates have “grown up” and will be appearing in the Mimoco Booth # 857 in the synthetic flesh. Come party from 11AM m on and get ready for a chance to win yet another fully loaded custom Mimobot in the “absurd yet alluring FAB-TASTIC DANCE CONTEST. That will be
unraveling at 4:20 pm. Salt the rims!”

Leave it to Sucklord and Mimoco to make flash drives fun again.

MIMO-MICRO-VILLAINS NY COMICON 2009 from OriginalVillains on Vimeo.

World of Warcraft sculpture: Work in Progress

Even though this isn’t a designer toy, per se, I thought some my fellow World of Warcraft geeks out there may be interested in an interview I did about a sculpture I have been doing in my spare time. For those of you that don’t follow WOW, or know who Illidan Stormrage is, you can read up on him here.

You can see the video below, and check out my sculpting blog for more pics of the work in progress.

World of Warcraft Sculpture, Illidan from Jason Babler on Vimeo.

El Diablo Wave 2: Robbie and Eric Play the Blues

Further proof that you can believe the rumors you hear on ToyCyte, wave 2 of Robbie Busch and Argonaut Resins El Diablo figures will feature some translucent blues. Per Robbie:

This wave will contain: Tourmaline, Sapphire, Aquamarine, Onyx (with Blue Tint Skull) & the OG Red Pants colorway. Each one comes with a custom made box that compliments the color of the Diablo, a Certificate of Authenticity Print signed by Robbie Busch & Eric Nocella Diaz and a secret surprise…

As for Eric, he’s been busy with the How We Do It series on the Argonaut Blog. Check it out and learn yourself something. Below you can see a video of Robbie doing up the El Diablo packaging.

Wave 2 El Diablos go on sale this Friday at 9AM PST/12PM EST at the Argonaut Webshop.

Daft Punk x Obama x Adam Freeland x Qee x Kubrick

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLni8Zl6TeM]

In the latest mashup of politics and pop culture, Devo gets down with Obama on the dance floor. Only, it’s actually QeeVo, Mark Mothersbaugh’s Qee for Toy2R and the Barack Obama action figure by Jailbreak Toys. The pairing is in good company: all manner of designer plastic toys. While watching the video, I spotted a lot of Ox-Op Qees, a couple Kubricks, a lone Sharpest Sprayer. Figures by Gary Baseman and Jeff Soto get closeups. So what is all this?

It’s a mixed-media stop-motion music video and celebration commemorating the election and inauguration of Barack Obama as the forty-fourth president of the United States. The music is an Adam Freeland remix of Daft Punk’s “Aerodynamic” and the video is animated and directed by the progressive minds of the directing team GOLD, The piece is a labor of love that invites everyone to join in or create their own celebration this coming Tuesday, January the 20th. Thanks to Eric for the submission!

Buy Bunk Bots, Make Movies, Win More Bunk Bots

Jason Hilbourne of Portland’s Bunk Bots has created an answer to a very practical, almost obvious, problem: We give our children soft teddy bears and stuffed sharks, but are we then imparting the lesson that bears and sharks are lovable,  huggable creatures? Rather than directly answering that paradox, he has crafted his own solution: Bunk Bots. As Jason writes: “Bunk Bots are just channeling that same toy-versus-real and love-versus-fear energy. Except, everybody knows that REAL robots would never eat you.” Certain movie robots would disagree, but for now, let’s take a closer look at the Bunk Bots.

Bunk Bots are 8-inch handmade soft, fleece, “huggable” dolls. They are available in retail stores all around Portland or online at ThinkGeek (for $8.99) and Posh (for $12). (One percent of profits go to Oregon’s Museum of Science and Industry.) Once you have your Bunk Bots, you can enter the video contest and make a 2-minute YouTube short and potentially win the two Bunk Bots Jason gives away every Friday. We love contests, free toys, and handmade robots, so check out Bunk Bots here.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmNDcczORDs]

Toy Break 61: Plushisode Part 2

Toy Break follows up Plushisode Part 1 with more plush like SuperJuicyChicken from Q-You, Pistol Pedro by Michelle Valigura, Toofhairy from Spok-spok, Little 9 from Jon Schiller, plus much more!

New Video from Vinyl Toy Network

Tamika Petty from VIMBY was making the rounds at VTN Winter 08 last month in Pasadena. I was actually standing next to her waiting to get something signed while Frank Kozik pontificated about making the move from posters to toy design. I did not, however, hear him discuss how smorkin’ labbits have genital warts, as is excerpted in this video. Nice! The short video also features interviews and blips from MAD, Marka27, Lou Pimentel, Plex of Munky King, Matt from Toy Break and KRK Ryden.