TeXt Marks The Spot

This was a great story that saw a local company turning to designer toys to support a good cause. Of course, I had to write a feature on it.

17FEET is a small and mighty interactive design group based in San Francisco. They’ve worked with heavyweights including Microsoft and Samsung and local favorites like CLIF Bar and SFIndiefest. When it came time to send holiday gifts to their clients, they looked past the traditional offerings of logo’d t-shirts and fruitcakes. A passion for designer toys had been brewing like a constant drip of Peet’s coffee in the office, and with that in mind, the Feeters set their designs on combining that interest with feeding San Francisco’s hungry.

Read the rest here.

Jeremy Fish’s latest solo show recreates a San Francisco saloon from the 1850s at FIFTY24SF.  The exhibit includes a repurposed 100 year old redwood fence, 500 pounds of solid wood from Indonesia and enough saw dust to take a little piece of the show with you via your sneakers when you leave. It’s been a decade of Bay Area living for me. What began with a dot com bubble now closes with an economic recession. But California has a really unique way of rising from the ashes–and that’s what The Ghosts of Barbary Coast is all about.

Read and see the rest here.

The Vivisect Playset has become one of the signature group art shows for our community. For five years now, Luke Chueh and Gallery1988 have curated and hosted The Vivisect Playset, an art show that features artists who regularly employed animal characters in their work to illustrate the human condition. The show has illuminated the talents of several artists, helped set the foundation and direction for Gallery 1988, and spawned a series of toys, produced by STRANGECo.

Read the rest and see all of the art.

I made a few “crossover” gift guides around the holidays. Here’s one originally published on ToyCyte.

Most guys would rather get toys than clothes for the holidays, but how about when the lines between the two are blurred? Over the past year, more toy designers have been venturing into the field of fashion. Thanks to their fluidity,  it’s now easier for you to wear your love for toys on your sleeve (belt, socks or fannypack).

1. Joe Ledbetter Hoodie from GAMA-GO – $98. JLED interprets the Deathbot in fine embroidery on the front and back of this limited edition, individually numbered 100% cotton hoodie.
2. Jeremyville Converse All Stars – $150. Australian designer Jeremyville imagined these kicks as “being worn with like a pair of black skinny jeans and a faded Mickey tee and 70’s sunglasses.”
3. Sam Flores Socks – $12. If you’re going to give/get socks for the holidays, you might as well get this pair adorned with Fatima by Sam Flores for Upper Playground.
4. Futura’s Brooklyn Clothing Range – varies. The collection includes t-shirts, fitted New Era caps and paint-splattered selvedge denim jeans–all accompanied by a Be@rbrick.
5. Sebastian Curadeau’s Luchador Coin Wallets – $25. Hand-made in Canada. Don’t let anyone call your Mexican wrestler coin carrier a “purse.”
6. Jeremy Fish’s Barbary Coast Belt – $30. This tribute to San Francisco’s history of harlots, hoodlums, and heroes is made of leather and features a removable metal belt buckle. Lots of other Barbary Coast gear is also available from Upper Playground.
7. Frank Kozik shirt for ARTCOTIC – $14.95.  Simply the best deal in designer t-shirts. The slim-fit shirts feature contrast stitching on all seams, reversed side seam stitching, outer shirt tag, and side vents. Check out the Dalek design too.
   
8. Le Merde’s Cloudman Windbreaker – $64.50. Le Merde and Nike collab on this windbreaker that features  full mesh lining, logo-pull zip front, double drawstring hood, two zip hand pockets with ribbed hem & cuff detailing.
9. Kaws Messenger Bag – n/a. Kaws’ company, Original Fake, dropped these collaborative (with Gallery 1950 and Porter) messenger bags following the JPP toy release. The interior, lined with bright blue waterproof vinyl, is printed with the companies’ logos and a JPP figure. Good luck getting this.
10. Daniel Johnston Fanny Pack – varies.  Through its FABRICK project, Medicom Toy Co. created a collection of accessories with White Line, all featuring Daniel Johnston’s Jeremiah the Innocent character.  The collection includes a fannypack, backpack and cell phone case.  As with the Kaws bag, these were released only in Japan.

I made a few “crossover” gift guides around the holidays. Here’s one originally published on ToyCyte.

Savvy designers know that the toy collecting scene is not just a simple sausage fest. Here are eleven items that are designed with the ladies in mind. Each piece was created by an artist who also makes toys. In several cases, the accessory includes a limited edition figure.

1. Metal For Monsters – $81. Cool artists like Anna Chambers, Jon Burgerman and Brian Taylor contributed designs to these laser-etched metal pendants. A portion of the profits benefit UNICEF.
2. Toy2R Qee Duffel Bags – £20 – £35. A series of messenger bags, duffels and backpacks, each accompanied by a randomly-packed Qee figure.
3. Labbit Hoop Earrings - $120. A collaboration between Frank Kozik and Tarina Tarantino that sees Frank’s Smorkin’ Labbits marked up exponentially when rendered into bling. The 1.5″ Labbits hang from 1.75″ leverback hoops.
4. DGPH Socks – $10. Argentine design duo, DGPH, released these socks in four colorways. Try Japan LA for the pink ones.
5. Geneviève Gaukler Sunglasses – $199. The French designer collaborates with Australian label Colab on these limited edition shades. Entitled Geometric, the sunglasses come in a recycled cardboard tube with Geneviève’s signature packing tape, poster, sunglasses cover, lens cleaning cloth and biography.
6. UAMOU Capsule Bag – $95. The black and silver bags contain a Uamou figure. Get one now and start getting hyped for her figure in the upcoming UK Dunny Series.
7. Jeremy Fish Bunny Skull New Era Cap – $55. There’s about 900 different ways to wear it, and each one makes you seem like a total badass. (The kind of badass who wears pink bunny ears.)
8. tokidoki T-shirt – $33. A questionable mashup between Italian cute/chic and British bad ass that somehow seems to work.
9. Camilla D’Errico Bags – $99-$155. Each one comes with a 2.5″ Bax Bear and some come with a harim chain with her little chibi characters.
10. Amanda Visell Belt Buckle – $65. Doubling as a bottle opener, this 4×3 metal belt buckle was made by Fully Visual and comes with a signed print.
11. Tim Biskup Helper Rings – $195-$275. The iconic character comes in a sterling silver open edition or a ruby pupil limited edition of 25.

Vinyl Toy Network Winter 2008 was a lot of fun and a great opportunity to chat with artists, toy companies, shops, fans and collectors. People were lined up hours in advance to get a crack at exclusive art toys by Joe Ledbetter, Kathie Olivas, Frank Kozik, Gary Ham, Doktor A, MAD, Marka27 and others. Customized figures by Attaboy, Erick Scarecrow, Dli$h and Dril One also got snapped up. Though there was less of a haul for eastern toy fans, the double threat of Flopdoodle and Super7 cleared out a few wallets.

I developed my style of covering conventions at VTN. I gave each designer an individual post and then wrote a feature round-up. All of this was achieved within 24 hours after doors opened for the first day of the convention. I love to travel for art! Hire me if you need me!

Read the round-up here.