ToyCyte sale!
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Gary Ham has been making figures out of bass wood for a while now, and was instrumental in me adding a wood toys category to ToyCyte. Now he’s “testing out the DIY world” with his first do-it-yourself bass wood toy: Itty Bitty. Itty Bitty will come unassembled for easier painting and multiple head variations. There [...]
Continue reading...1. May 2009
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Tonight at Rotofugi in Chicago, Scott Tolleson’s Major Minnow figure first seen at the Resin Collective makes its triumphant return. Each of the ten resin figures are available for purchase and come with a giclee print. Check out the Common Nonsense preview for more original resin and wood figures, an AP, a couple custom Mad*L, [...]
Continue reading...27. April 2009
Noferin has announced a drop date for the previously teased Natural Wood Pecanpals: May 5th. The 6.5-inch figures are all 100% wood and hand-crafted with articulated joints. They will be limited to an edition of “300 friends.” In addition, Noferin adds: Pecanpals are made from 100% sustainably harvested wood. They are made from rubber tree wood [...]
Continue reading...17. April 2009
ToyCyte wouldn’t be the site it is today without our contributors, in particular Collin David, who works the east coast beat and never fails to namecheck Octomom, Nadya Suleman when opportunity avails. Collin is also an artist and just unveiled his new Woodunnies series. The figures are painted vinyl, wood and sculpy. Check out more [...]
Continue reading...8. April 2009
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Resin has been dominating ToyCyte this week, but we just posted some delicious vinyl and now here’s some good wood. Hands down, one of our favorite toys from 2008 was Noferin’s Pecanpals. Since their painted predecessors promptly sold out, Noferin is offering up a stripped down natural wood series. The 6.5-inch figures are all 100% [...]
Continue reading...2. April 2009
I actually dig squirrels, but I understand why people are driven to madness by them. To that extent, the Grass Hut gang has invited 3 Los Angeles-based artists and one from Berkeley (represent!) up to Portland for The Squirrels Made Me Do It. Amanda Visell, Michelle Valigura, Anna Chambers, and Joe Ledbetter will be on [...]
Continue reading...13. March 2009
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Amanda Visell, Michelle Valigura and Joe Ledbetter will be involved in a group show entitled The Squirrels Made Me Do It at the Grass Hut in Portland next month. Amanda blogged that she’s excited to see Bwana Spoons and refers to her painting below as “doing a little something different for my bearded peeps in [...]
Continue reading...6. March 2009
Well, the date is upon us! The Illazilla Attacks tonight in NY and begins its cross-country tour thereafter. Here are a few final previews before the show goes live at APW. We’ve seen Kat Brunnegraff’s ‘Night Walker’ before, but lo and behold, it contained a secret. A secret, coincidentally, that is only visible in the dark. [...]
Continue reading...5. March 2009
We love Doktor A and Gallery1988, so the only sad thing about their pairing up as part of the Transcenders group show is that it’s showing in the LA Gallery, not the SF Gallery, where we could peep it with our own eyes. Luckily, G1988 always blogs up their shows for all to see. Following [...]
Continue reading...4. March 2009
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These are halcyon days, my friends, when our children can grow up in a world with toys as charmingly basic and friendly as the Illazilla. Screw you, Pokemon – this is where the heart is. Here are a handful of artists who will also be adding their unique visions to the canvas that is ‘Zilla. Deepcover [...]
Continue reading...3. March 2009
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The wooden dinosaurs keep on shambling in! The show is this Friday, so let’s see who I can squeeze in here. I can’t help but notice that Scribe’s badass lizard bent the original format more than just a little, but I have hardcore respect for his woodworking skills. As a guy who has more than a [...]
Continue reading...2. March 2009
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March 6th, APW Arts Gallery, ‘Attack of the Illazilla’ Custom Show. That’s all you need to know. Also, gallery owner (and toy customizer) Hans Yim’s solo show will be opening at the same location, at the same night, so you get a whole double-whammy of awesome, populated by some of the best artists that NY [...]
Continue reading...26. February 2009
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Coming March 6th to the awesome APW Arts Gallery’s new location in Queens : The Illazilla Custom Show. I’m personally very excited to see a traveling show based on a wooden platform, being a fan of the ol’ treemeats myself – and these early previews of works by Kat Brunnegraff, Okkle & Ed Zepln only pique [...]
Continue reading...6. February 2009
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Gary Ham is single-handedly keeping our wood category alive these days. And he doesn’t even realize the seriousness of this role he plays when he casually blogs about a new wood toy he made recently. Following his wooden Boston Terrier, Tinky and Superham toys, comes this panda Gary handmade and painted. I don’t think the [...]
Continue reading...21. January 2009
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Chris Yates, who we recently wrote up for his puzzling collab with Andrew Bell, tipped me off to his latest hand-crafted wooden Baffler! puzzle, “Hope,” currently up for auction on eBay. This is the third and final edition of “Hope” based on Shepard Fairey’s iconic design. The first debuted at SDCC this summer (amidst Yates’ [...]
Continue reading...6. January 2009
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Gary Ham has modestly explained his wood toys with: “I have a decent wood shop and since I don’t know how to sculpt, I do what I can with wood.” Wood is a great, organic medium for toy-making, and as our ever-expanding wood category shows, Gary is not alone. Shown here, and following his wooden [...]
Continue reading...23. December 2008
Jeremy Fish’s latest solo show recreates a San Francisco saloon from the 1850s at FIFTY24SF. The exhibit includes a repurposed 100 year old redwood fence, 500 pounds of solid wood from Indonesia and enough saw dust to take a little piece of the show with you via your sneakers when you leave. It’s been a [...]
Continue reading...17. December 2008
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One of the figures we’ve been the most excited about over the last few months is finally available for pre-order. David Choe’s 5.5-inch hand-painted wooden Choegal can be reserved for $45 at Ningyoushi here. They have an allotment of the figures ready to ship in time for the holidays. Choegals will also be hitting designer [...]
Continue reading...17. December 2008
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Stumbled across some woodwork by Bwana Spoons while looking through the Grass Hut shop the other day. This 14×7x3 signature bat is made of zircote hardwood. That means Steven’s been rendered in vinyl, metal and wood so far. Bwana pointed my attention to another wood piece he did: the OG sculpt of Maynard. Both pieces [...]
Continue reading...15. December 2008
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Here’s a bit closer look at the hand-painted sample of Choegal, painted by David Choe. Text courtesy of Denise from Ningyoushi. Upon showing the sample to the factory, their initial reaction was, ‘Thanks but no thanks. We can’t replicate this. It looks too hard.’ So what we had to do was call David Choe and ask [...]
Continue reading...11. December 2008
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So, you’re dead. While your new state of non-being should have severed all ties to earthly desires, loves and possessions, you just can’t shake your love of toys. Unfortunately, you couldn’t take them with you to your new residence in the underworld, and the place is lookin’ kinda drab. These toys are all completely sympathetic [...]
Continue reading...9. December 2008
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The time is finally here for the Carrara Island crew of Fanelli, Pandacake, Pecan, Claudius and Jac Jac to leave the nest. Noferin’s wooden figures range in size from 4.5 inches to 6.5 inches and were produced in editions of 200 pieces per character. Each figure features moving parts and comes with accessories. When you [...]
Continue reading...9. December 2008
We are loving wood toys lately, and David Choe’s Choegal is a great illustration of why. When we first blogged about Choegal, David said, “I gave detailed instructions to the factory on how to replicate my multi-layered style, and looking at this toy, I can’t even tell the difference from the original, I should just [...]
Continue reading...8. December 2008
Vinyl Toy Network Winter 2008 was a lot of fun and a great opportunity to chat with artists, toy companies, shops, fans and collectors. People were lined up hours in advance to get a crack at exclusive art toys by Joe Ledbetter, Kathie Olivas, Frank Kozik, Gary Ham, Doktor A, MAD, Marka27 and others. Customized [...]
Continue reading...6. December 2008
OK, it’s been a long day and I’ve got a lot more to blog, but I’m going to leave you til Monday with a slew of posts tagged VTN 08 and two artists with whom I had a great conversation ultimately leading to a “we are not alone in our neurosis” catharsis: Scott Tolleson and [...]
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7. May 2009
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