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 !
<-->
Cleveland artist Chris Ryniak, whose “Big Muscamoot” vinyl figure is due to be released by Rotofugi & Squibbles Ink any day now, will launch the second installation of his new “Bug Jar” series of customized vinyl figures this Friday at Shoparooni.com! The Bug Jar Series will feature customized mini figures from MINDstyle, Kidrobot and other companies. [...]
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...Saturday, February 28, 2009
Wondercon isn't about toys; it's about comics: superheroes, Star Wars, cosplayers and comics. Semantics aside, Comic-Con has more toys. That said, we scoured Wondercon in San Francisco's Moscone Center for several hours seeking out the toys. We were happily surprised by who and what we found. Read on for vinyl, plush, plastic and resin--from prototypes without websites all the way to finished convention exclusives. Click each heading to go to a full post about the subject with tons more photos. Enjoy the tour.
Continue reading...Saturday, February 28, 2009
Comments Off
For art toy fans, the best booth at Wondercon was undeniably Rotofugi, which along with Squibbles Ink, made up for the designer toy deficit in force. On display were the new Ninjatown micro-plush series, a full set of Marshall Mashumaros, Travis Lampe’s Tear Drips and Chris Ryniak’s Lake Eerie Monster. Rotofugi was one of the [...]
Continue reading...Thursday, February 26, 2009
Cleveland artist Chris Ryniak, who has a new toy on the horizon and a recent feature in Hi-Fructose Magazine, will launch his new “Bug Jar” series of customized vinyl figures this Friday at Shoparooni.com! The Bug Jar Series will feature customized mini figures from MINDstyle, Kidrobot and other companies. One custom figure will be released each [...]
Continue reading...Friday, February 13, 2009
Attaboy just dropped us a link to Hi-Fructose’s interview with Chris Ryniak and more of his upcoming vinyl. I love seeing sculptors’ desktop and WIP shots and even better, Chris describes a bit about how he sculpts. Check out our recent peek at The Lake Eerie Monster as well!
Continue reading...Friday, February 13, 2009
Cleveland-based artist Chris Ryniak is finally gearing up to drop a vinyl toy of his own. Partnering with Chicago-based vinyl toy juggernaut Rotofugi and product developers, Squibbles Ink, it would appear that Chris Ryniak’s first figure is going to be an original sculpt of his very own version of the Lake Erie Monster, aka “Big [...]
Continue reading...Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Gino Joukar, a Los Angeles-based pop surrealism and urban art collector, is curating Movers & Shakers, a group show with an amazing roster. For a Valentine’s Day date that seeks to go beyond dinner and a movie, POVevolving Gallery is the locale. There are over 80 artists involved, and a sampling reads like a who’s [...]
Continue reading...Monday, January 26, 2009
Comments Off
“I think the teeth freak me out…” – Artist Jeff Soto, talking about Chris Ryniak’s sculptural work. Shoparooni is incredibly pleased to announce the availability of several older works by Cleveland artist, Chris Ryniak! These pieces were part of Chris’ personal collection that he has recently opted to make available to fans and collectors. A graduate and [...]
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...Monday, November 10, 2008
Comments Off
Along with the seemingly manifold custom shows that premiered last Friday all over the place, middle America represented for the softies with the Midwest Plushform Show [blogged] at Shoparooni. Steve writes that there were a tremendous number of artists in attendance, which is always nice to see. The first batch of auctions (benefiting Toys [...]
Continue reading...Monday, October 27, 2008
Steve from Shoparooni just sent us some plushform previews from the upcoming Midwest Plushform Show [tagged]. The reveals include softies by ToyCyte homies Phoebe Marie (in collaboration with Rancid) and Chris Ryniak, as well as innovative submissions by Cheryl Andrey, Craig Tucker and Sean Mahan. See the evolving roster of Plushform customizers here. [...]
Continue reading...Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Comments Off
After a few months of blogging about Letter Pressed’s Artist Series [tagged], I’ve finally got my (clean) hands (gently) on (the corners of) a couple Letter Pressed cards–and they’re amazing. Please click to enlarge these pictures of Art Print #12 by Chris Ryniak and try to take in the beauty of the process. Briefly revisiting [...]
Continue reading...Monday, October 6, 2008
Comments Off
You can view all the decks here. A few of the ToyCyte familiars and favorites who are contributing decks include: Amy Sol, D*Face, Mear One, Chris Ryniak, Tara McPherson, Buff Monster, N8 Van Dyke, Morning Breath, Paper Monster, David Flores, Indie/Cope2 and Mike Hyp.
Continue reading...Tuesday, August 19, 2008
This November, the midwest adds something big to all of that stereotyped farmland and endless Applebys chains: The 1st Annual Midwest Plushform Show. The event will showcase customized plush figures based on the platform design of Chicago artists Shawnimals & Squibbles Ink. Artists on three continents, as well as bands, celebrities, and “other notable figures” [...]
Continue reading...Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Comments Off
Hi-Fructose Magazine wants to dress you up with their love. And a truly stylish love it is. These peeps with friends in very creative places will be releasing their first set of brand spanking new shirts designed by some of the participants at the opening night of their star studded group show at the CoproNason [...]
Continue reading...Tuesday, July 8, 2008
We’re just days away from the Hi-Fructose Group Show which opens on Saturday, July 12th at Copro Nason Gallery. The exhibition marks the 3rd anniversary of Hi-Fructose Magazine. If you’re not a subscriber, you’re missing out on the good stuff. They posted a few sneak peeks on their blog. The above painting is titled “Clouds [...]
Continue reading...Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Comments Off
You know what I like about the Comic Con, the evenings. Yeah, I totally love working the floor and checking out what’s new, what’s upcoming, and it’s always fun see to see gawky teens dressed up as Worf. But by the end of the day my head is just spinning from information overload. After grabbing [...]
Continue reading...
Thursday, March 26, 2009
2 Comments