ToyCyte: Toy Culture Collected

Dustin Cantrell’s custoMONDAY reached critical mass ( I’m referring to that in the literal meaning, not saying a bunch of biker activists quickly took note). For Dustin, sudden attention like 9,000+ views on Gizmodo (not to mention being deemed worthy of translation on Spanish Gizmodo) and his own “Dustin Cantrell” tag on HypeBeast was staggering. For me as a the curator of custoMONDAYs, I was proud to see nods to the series on blogs I read like Gorilli and Make.  Dustin’s name now goes on for several pages on Google. Perhaps our proudest (read: randomest) moment came from the Kaws-loving Kanye West, who blogged about the Plasma Dunnys here. It’s very cool and encouraging to see custom toys being written up in non-toy contexts (though we also got a nice post from our toy friends at SpankyStokes). No doubt all the attentioncombined with the awesomeness of these figures led to the sell-out of Dustin’s trio of Plasma Dunnys, which marked the premiere of our ToyCyte Store. Congratulations, Dustin Cantrell! Stay tuned for more from Dustin (and our other custoMONDAY artists) in the store soon.

Now to the part you’ve been waiting for: Over 340 people entered the contest to win the fourth (and freest) custoMONDAY Plasma Dunny. After a ton of deliberation, Dustin chose Toycyte Reader, Stark Raving, who wrote:

My favorite piece of technology is the Transmogrifier, as popularized by Calvin and Hobbes. Here is a box that can turn anything into anything else, limited only by your imagination (and maybe not even by that). It is created from recyclable material, can be upgraded with a marker, and, when you’ve reached a certain age or mindset, can be easily converted to a storage container for the rewards of youth. Unlike many other devices, it doesn’t make the user lazier or dull the senses, but instead relies on the user’s ingenuity and imagination, even while it expands them.

According to Dustin: ” Their choice of The Transmogrifier from Bill Watterson’s, Calvin & Hobbes, was my favorite answer.  Every once in a while I need to be reminded of that comic strip and how awesome it is.  I think it’s also important to remember that throughout the series, Calvin used cardboard to make a Duplicator, Time Machine, a Cerebral Enhance-O-Tron, and The Transmogrifier.  He was quite the inventor and he was dedicated to constantly pioneering new technologies. Stark Raving touched on many of the reasons I find The Transmogrifier so charming and for that, they get the Plasma Dunny.”

So congratulations, Stark Raving! Check your inbox for an email from me about your winning entry. And everybody else: stay tuned for the next custoMONDAY: which should be hitting the front page shortly. In the meantime, enjoy a few screengrabs below which spread the plasma love all over the blogosphere…

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