ToyCyte sale!
We've slashed our prices for a lot of our toys to make room for more customs! Go get some amazing deals today at our store !
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In 2008, two of my favorite artists released awesome art books. If you don’t have them yet, pick up Alex Pardee’s Awful Homesick and Jon Burgerman’s Pens Are My Friends. 2009 is already looking like a good year for art books with news of Bwana Spoons’ first tome, Welcome to Forest Island. The hard-cover book [...]
Continue reading...Friday, April 17, 2009
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In addition to the treasure trove of customized toys available at the It Came From Skullbrain show tomorrow night, Super7 will also have a few new production pieces: Bwana Spoons Cosmos Dokuwashi. Glow in the dark vinyl with spaced out sprays and splatters of pink, purple, blue, red and black. These are made in a signed [...]
Continue reading...Monday, April 13, 2009
Following quite the fever pitch, Red Hot Robot opened its doors for the Resin Collective, and the red dots started flying. Store owner Jason Kiningham was way ahead of the curve curating this show, which featured standout work from today and tomorrow's hottest resin designers. Even a local Phoenix rag covered the show, re-interpreting Jason's "lowbro" lingo as "way cooler than that boring museum crap" in their article, Anti-Toy Story. Those familiar red (sold) dots were quickly adhered to Cris Rose's Rotund's Romp, Cris and Okkle's Happy Joy Bot, Le Merde's Vanfar, Hello, Brute's Danny, Makkinoso's Evil Spike, WeKillYou's William Palerne and pretty much all pieces by Arbito and 2Petalrose. The dotting continued into the night, as fans circled around the display and marveled at the diversity of the medium.
Continue reading...Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Welcome to our first Guest Expert feature! Here we have Toy Art scholar, collector and curator Steve Agin putting words to the visual magic that is the Grass Hut Gang. The fraternal kinship and individual strengths of Bwana Spoons, Justin "Scrappers" Morrison, Martin Ontiveros and Le Merde are discussed. There really is no other working art collective like these guys in America right now. Sampling of words (both real and imagined): "breathtaking," "inexhaustible," "optimystic," "synesthesia" and "ukulele." Click in and prepare to be learn something.
Continue reading...Thursday, April 2, 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...Monday, March 16, 2009
Well its the beginning of a new week, and let’s start it off with some good news! This past Saturday Double Punch in San Francisco held the opening reception for the group show Continuous Spectrum, which will runs through April 5thth. The artists featured are Mark Todd, Martin Ontiveros, Bwana Spoons, and local artist Jesse [...]
Continue reading...Monday, March 9, 2009
The second weekend in April is really heating up for a select type of art geek. The same night that the Resin Collective kicks off in Phoenix and some Organ Donors show up in San Francisco, the m modern gallery in Palm Springs opens its Russ Meyer tribute show, HOSTED BY TURA SANTANA. It features [...]
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...Friday, March 6, 2009
WOW. I repeat: WOW. Beginning April 11th, Red Hot Robot is hosting an unbelievable group show of resin toys. I don’t think I’ve ever been able to say this about a group show of this size before, but I’m proud to say I’ve written a little something about every artist on this roster. So either [...]
Continue reading...Friday, March 6, 2009
It’s super-cool to finally meet artists I write about, and it looks like I’m going to have the chance when the much-blogged Bwana Spoons [tagged] and Martin Ontiveros [tagged] arrive at local toy shop slash art gallery, Double Punch next week. From March 14th through April 5th, Bwana, Martin, Mark Todd and Jesse Balmer will [...]
Continue reading...Tuesday, February 3, 2009
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Valentine’s are picky creatures (mine likes Victoriana and embroidered dish towels), but if yours likes Bwana Spoons, he’s got you covered. He’ll soon be dropping two new greeting cards, a Valentine’s Dolly the Dolphin (complete with chocolates), a print and a pocket Globby in plane. To get on the waitlist, contact Bwana here.
Continue reading...Thursday, January 22, 2009
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This Friday, Bwana Spoons will have his very first hand-painted Dolly the Dolphin release: “Out of thee Sea Dolly the Dolphin.” This is a limited run using a clear with gold dust base and turquoise transparent blue and transparent green sprays. According to Bwana: “Painting the scars in was the best part.” These will first [...]
Continue reading...Wednesday, January 21, 2009
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This new figure by Bwana Spoons in conjunction with Switcheroo is so wonderfully whimsical. Hand-painted, signed and numbered, the Wildasaurus Rainbowsaurus measures ten inches long and features two movable birds. This is ultra-limited to an edition of just 20 pieces, so expect to pay about $375 for one if you can find one. The figure [...]
Continue reading...Monday, January 19, 2009
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They are currently selling 10-25 of each card starting with Nathan Jurevicius's (#5) and ending with Abe Lincoln, Jr.’s (#14). In addition to Nate and Abe, up for grabs are also cards by Jon Burgerman, Kathie Olivas, Brandt Peters, Jermaine Rogers, Bwana Spoons, Jeremiah Ketner, Brendan Monroe and Candykiller.
Continue reading...Tuesday, January 13, 2009
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The Grass Hut/ Gargamel Gang event went off this weekend, and somewhat shockingly, there are still a bunch of customs and exclusives available in their webshop. Act now to get customs by Chanmen, Kiyoka Ikeda, Naoya Ikeda and Koji Harmon and the three exclusives: Zombie Ojo Rojo, Dolly the Dolphin and a Tokoki Sejin.
Continue reading...Monday, January 5, 2009
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As the Grass Hut/ Gargamel Gang event creeps closer, Bwana Spoons is sending out some custom sneak peeks. The Martin Ontiveros/Gargamel Zombie Ojo Rojo figure above is one of three exclusive pieces they will have on hand. But there will be copious customs. Bwana sent us the two below, but he’s dividing up the previews [...]
Continue reading...Wednesday, December 17, 2008
I'm having a real Steven the Bat kind of day. First, Bwana's hardwood Steven. Now this. Bwana Spoons worked with Fully Visual on his metal Steven figure back in April (still available here). The collab returns as a new belt buckle from Switcheroo.
Continue reading...Wednesday, December 17, 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...Tuesday, December 16, 2008
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The all-star lineup includes: the Grass Hut Corp (see image above), Jon Burgerman, TADO, Shawnimals, Dehara, Reach, Abe Lincoln Jr., Peskimo, MCA, Nakanari, Stephan Britt, Nanospore, KOA, Jeremyville, DGPH and many more.
Continue reading...Friday, December 12, 2008
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We’ve been waiting for Bwana Spoon (of Grasshut Corp fame) to debut the piece he’s been working on in conjunction with Switcheroo and finally, it’s here. Switcheroo, for those of you living under a rock, is the design studio created by Michelle Valigura and Amanda Visell. Yeah, this pretty much guarantees an instant coolness (and [...]
Continue reading...Tuesday, December 9, 2008
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Some of the many artists involved include: Gary Baseman, Tim and Tigerlily Biskup, Matt Furie, David Horvath, James Kochalka, Travis Lampe, Nikki McClure, Jesse Reklaw, Souther Salazar, Bwana Spoons, Deth P. Sun, Jeremy Tinder, APAK! Bigfoot, Buff Monster, Cupco and Le Merde.
Continue reading...Tuesday, December 9, 2008
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Bwana Spoons’ email read: “Gar-gamel gang is co-ming to town. That was supposed to sound like the christmas song.” No offense to Santa Clause, but the Gargamel gang is real. And if the current prices of gas stay where they are, you might be able to travel from somewhere in the US and actually [...]
Continue reading...Wednesday, November 26, 2008
I've been expounding the virtues of Letter Pressed for a while. Their Artist Series reads like a Who's Who of the vinyl toy community: Joe Ledbetter, Jon Burgerman, Nathan Jurevicius, Bwana Spoons... In theory, every one of us should own something letterpressed. In practice, as with paint colors and Venetian blinds, you need to see a sample. I'm holding some such items. While I want my words to convey the elegance of the paper and the clean, vibrant impression of the art, you need to touch these for yourself. To that end, Letter Pressed's Mark Begley will provide one lucky reader with a pack of hand-numbered Cool It letterpressed cards by Le Merde. To win it...
Continue reading...Friday, October 24, 2008
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From a Grass Hut in Portland, OR to an auction house in New York, NY, the faces of western kaiju have beards. The Phillips de Pury auction will present a generous selection of Grass Hut pieces, including figures by Martin Ontiveros, Bwana Spoons and Scrappers x Gargamel, Mike Le Merde. The toys are a [...]
Continue reading...Thursday, October 23, 2008
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Sweet sweet Switcheroo, these girls on to something. Switcheroo is a company by the ever fabulous artists and toy designers Amanda Visell and Michelle Valigura. They design, create and commission various items made out of plush, resin, wood, metal and paper. Yeah, everything but the kitchen sink! On their “projects” section of their website was a [...]
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Monday, April 20, 2009
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