ToyCyte: Toy Culture Collected

Upper Playground Releases Volume II: 10 Years of Artistic Endeavors

Upper Playground always has these great free catalogs in their shops that are cut more like paperback novels than anything Lillian Vernon.  I’ve been saving them because it’s handy to have the artist bios/statements and view each designer’s range and watch how they (and the company) have evolved. To commemorate its upcoming 10-Year Anniversary, Upper [...]

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ToyCyte vs. Comic-Con Day 1

And it begins. It’s day one of Comic Con, and already I’m overwhelmed. This is my first time to be out here, as I’ve never been able to justify the expense, but damn, what a day for seeing some amazing things. Let’s try and run down some of the list. Skeletal Carnival 3 [...]

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Upper Playground and Pals Get the Last Laugh

Skid row is cleaning up. San Fran based retail giant Upper Playground along with Estevan Oriol (photographer/director) and Mister Cartoon (artist) will be injecting Los Angeles’s seedy downtown area with four “one of a kind retail establishments”. They’ll be apparel pieces galore as well as the finest of fine art – urban style of course. [...]

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