ToyCyte sale!
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I don’t buy a lot of 8-inch vinyl. Price and space are always considerations when one is attempting to make a living in toy journalism. That said, I will throw down the Benjamins for these 8-inch enlargements of Easy Hey’s Artoyz Elements. I love the concept and sculpting of the mini-figures, and based on these [...]
Continue reading...Monday, April 27, 2009
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Artoyz posted a sneak peek at the upcoming Auto project by Superdeux. The French company has been putting out some of the most unique and well-designed art toys around, so we’re excited to see how this develops. Artoyz said that Auto will be released later this year. Perhaps we will also see Play Imaginative’s Memory [...]
Continue reading...Tuesday, March 24, 2009
During yesterday’s segment, we profiled designer toy companies for our report on blind boxes. Today, it's all about the end users of blind boxes: the fans. Toy fans echo the diversity of the toys. We enjoy different aesthetics and buying styles. Some people care about edition size; some don't. Some fans like vinyl; some prefer resin. But all of us are a little crazy. We're in an economic recession, and we're buying toys. Let's look at what toy fans want and the possible ways of getting it.
Continue reading...Monday, March 23, 2009
Now over a decade since the beginning of the designer toy movement, Kubricks, Qees and Dunnys seem like distant cousins from the toys that sparked the scene. They have become a category all their own: they are blind box toys. Blind box toys are sold with their contents enshrouded in secrecy. The risk-factor of buying the unknown is mitigated by the potential reward of getting something rare. You don’t know what you’re going to get, and that is, ostensibly, all packaged into the fun of the experience. Depending who you ask, blind boxing is a “marketing strategy” or a “fun experience.” Depending who you are, it is either one or possibly both. The segments of this story include: toy companies, toy fans, toy stores, toy artists and toy bloggers. Let’s begin at the beginning, with the toy companies. Part 1: Toy Companies.
Continue reading...Thursday, March 19, 2009
SKWAK is back! Technically, he never went away. He's actually been pretty busy, and his current schedule includes new toys, new tees and a show. Johan of the French art blog Some Cool Stuff recently interviewed SKWAK. If you can read French, bookmark his site and read the entire interview here. Alas, I cannot read French. Luckily my mom is fluent and was happy to translate. Johan asked SKWAK excellent and thoughtful questions about his art, style, mind and world. SKWAK reports back onan 8-inch Dunny with Kidrobot (!), an upcoming mini-figures series with MINDstyle (!!), an American animation project (!!!) and maybe even some porn (???). So with props to Johan and my mom (who is now a SKWAK fan and too-kindly likened my habit of cramming pages with words to Skwak's style of "too much"), here's the latest news from the Maniac World.
Continue reading...Friday, March 6, 2009
Not all blind-box series are created equal, and Artoyz Elements Alpha Series stands out among the pack for its unique platform, roster of talented artists, how each artist has used the platform and the way the company is distributing the series with both collectors and casual fans in mind. You already know that the set of 20 figures includes: SKWAK, Steph Cop, RUN, Pulco Mayo, Koralie, KOA, Grems, Flying Fortress, Jon Burgerman, ARTIZARNAL, Superdeux, NYNO, MIST, iLK, YOKAIKAI, Nathan Jurevicius, GREGOS (in 3D!) and Supakitch. Now, Artoyz has now revealed that the rare figures are...
Continue reading...Wednesday, March 4, 2009
I'm really happy with the way Artoyz decided to distribute this series. They agreed that it's unfair to expect collectors to buy multiple cases of toys to assemble an entire series. So far, from top to bottom, here are the designs by SKWAK, Steph Cop, RUN, Pulco Mayo, Koralie, KOA, Grems, Flying Fortress, Jon Burgerman, ARTIZARNAL, Superdeux, NYNO, MIST, iLK, YOKAIKAI, Nathan Jurevicius, GREGOS (in 3D!) and Supakitch. If you look back through our other posts on the Artoyz Elements Alpha Series, you might get a clue as to who those rare figures could be...
Continue reading...Wednesday, February 25, 2009
OK, so I’ve been a bit harsh on blind box series of late, but here’s one I’d buy blind, deaf and mute. ARTOYZ is starting to drop preview pics of several of the characters comprising their forthcoming Elements Alpha Series on their Flickr set. First up are front/back photos of Elements by MIST, iLK, NYNO [...]
Continue reading...Tuesday, February 3, 2009
It just occured to me that Artoyz is like the French MINDstyle. This is really a self-indulgent comparison because the basis of it is that I end up wanting every toy that both companies put out. On February 5th, Artoyz drops an exclusive pink and purple colorway of Easy Hey’s Kid Onion figure. True, those [...]
Continue reading...Wednesday, January 14, 2009
OK, here’s something I haven’t seen yet: DIY luggage. Already, I’m intrigued, but combine that with the power of Artoyz and those microdots that obsessive compulsive people like myself enjoying color-coding things with, and you’ve got a winner. The collaboration finds France’s Artoyz partnering up with luggage specialists, Jump, to create the My Dot Drops [...]
Continue reading...Monday, October 20, 2008
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You can now wear your love for Artz Toys on your sleeve. Literally. Atz Clothing is the fabric component of the French toy company Artoyz (creators of Chaos Monkey, Elements, and Kid Onion). They recently released some of their stunning and oh so stylish Autumn/Winter T-shirts. They’ve teamed with artists such as Superdeux, Easy Hey, [...]
Continue reading...Monday, October 20, 2008
ARTOYZ has dropped some preview pics of several of the characters comprising their forthcoming Elements Alpha Series first seen here. Elements Alpha builds on the original transparent Elements line by putting their exteriors in the hands of a global array of artists, including: Skwak, Koralie, Nathan Jurevicius, Koa, Jean Spezial, Bwana Spoons, Steph Cop, Mist, [...]
Continue reading...Monday, October 20, 2008
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Over the weekend, Artoyz released two new colorways of Chaos Monkey by Bunka [tagged]. Earlier this month, we saw four colorways exclusive to disparate destinations. Currently, the Artoyz shop has two more: a white DIY version and a green Guerilla version. I’m digging the green, as is usually my weakness. Both are 5.5-inch rotocast vinyls [...]
Continue reading...Monday, October 13, 2008
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Yeah, the ELEMENTS figures designed by Easy Hey and produced by the French company Artoyz Originals, in their previous transparent, clear colored magic, are pretty damn rad. But you know what’s radder? The ELEMENTS FIRST DEGREE. It’s like the figures were literally fleshed out, and dipped in candy hues of cotton candy and chocolate. These figures, [...]
Continue reading...Wednesday, October 1, 2008
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Artoyz has just announced four new location-specific colorways for the “magnificent animal” known as Chaos Monkey by Bunka [tagged]. Following last month’s release of the original 5.5-inch rotocast vinyl Chaos Monkey (edition of 500), here come some more. The blue version (above left) is a Mondotozs exclusive, currently available, limited to 100 pieces, for [...]
Continue reading...Tuesday, September 23, 2008
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Bwana Spoons will be leaving the tree-lined haven that is Portland, Oregon and heading across that big old pond to Paris, France. His show Hunt and Gather opens on September 25th at the Artoyz shop and gallery (45 rue de l’arbreSec 75001 Paris). The show will feature painting, toys and an installation by Bwana. Bwana [...]
Continue reading...Monday, September 8, 2008
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Bwana Spoons will be dropping a Big Brother Little Brother Globby two-pack at Artoyz on September 25th. Little Bro is translucent neon green and Big Bro is translucent neon green and opaque milk blue vinyl with cream and pink spray.
Continue reading...Friday, July 4, 2008
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Awesome French webzine, Guillotine, made it to Barcelona for the Bread and Butter exhibition. They’re bringing us some great pics to supplement the coverage that Artoyz provided yesterday of their upcoming figures Kid Onion and Crazy Monkey. Easy Hey’s Kid Onion figure has 4 multi-hued colorways, while Bunka’s Crazy Monkey is shown in pink, blue, [...]
Continue reading...Thursday, July 3, 2008
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Artoyz is in Barcelona for the Bread and Butter exhibition, but they thoughtfully stopped to blog up a few photos of their upcoming toys: Kid Onion by Easy Hey (coming in October) just posted here and Chaos Monkey by Bunka (coming in September). These figures follow last month’s release of the Artoyz Elements Prologue [...]
Continue reading...Thursday, July 3, 2008
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The Shins were right, you should Know Your Onion. In this case, it’s not a simple yellow, red or Walla Walla, but rather a multi-colored creation by Easy Hey! Entitled Kid Onion. This delicious looking vinyl will be released in October of this year and is the second toy by the French company Artoyz Originals. [...]
Continue reading...Monday, June 23, 2008
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Amidst the bragging rights of a particularly cool couple weeks of toy-related freshness from France (see Customania and Paris Tout P’tits) comes a press-release from Artoyz. First seen here as as a prototype, the Artoyz Elements Prologue set now has an official release date of June 26th. The upcoming series takes its cues from Ancient [...]
Continue reading...Monday, April 28, 2008
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Tim Tsui is one of the pioneers of the urban vinyl toy movement. Da Minci is Bling’s brother who’s a bodyguard and part-time wrestler. Now that we know who everyone is, let’s find out where they are: unfortunately nowhere near my house. However, if you’re in Paris, check out the Artoyz Shop/Gallery to [...]
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Tuesday, April 28, 2009
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