Nota Bene

The Vaio Zoom notebook concept takes everything we know about holographic technology and squeezes it inside a thin glass form factor. When off, the screen is completely transparent and the keyboard goes opaque. Turn it on and the touchscreen holographic festivities begin. Even the mouse buttons are holographic!
It’s just a concept so there’s no info on important tidbits like tactile feedback, battery life, system stats, etc., but rest assured technologies like this are closer than you think. It may not come all at once but it’s coming.
Designer: Eno Setiawan

COMMENTS
I am so in love…Can I get a side order of future now with my reality?

Mmm… *futuristic gadget lust* I would pay an obscene amount of money for a laptop like this, and then light myself on fire when I scratched/dropped it.
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Dance Dance Revolution: The Hottest Names in Canadian Dance

Created in 2002 by co-artistic directors Victor Quijada and Anne Plamondon, RubberBanDance's focus is the exciting new wave of "intelligent hip-hop," which takes an intelligent approach to urban dance.


A woman breaks free of the physical and psychological binds of a stifling relationship.
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David Seidner: Paris Fashions 1945
In 1944, the war-battered French couture industry decided to revive its international reputation by conceiving a small exhibition entitled Théâtre de la Mode. The exhibition organizer enlisted the major fashion designers of the day, including Jeanne Lanvin, Lucien Lelong, Elsa Schiaparelli, and Pierre Balmain to create outfits for small wire-frame dolls just over two feet tall.

The exhibition of over 230 dolls, displayed in artist-designed sets, opened in Paris on March 27, 1945 at the Museum of Decorative Arts. It was an instant sensation, and traveled to London, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Vienna, New York, and San Francisco. With the return of the French fashion industry, the dolls had completed their work and were donated to the Maryhill Museum near Portland, Oregon, where they disappeared from view.

[photog: David Seidner]
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Since arriving in New York, Leigh Pennebaker's work has been featured in the windows of Barneys New York, as well as Saks Fifth Avlenue, Calypso, Frock Vintage, Screaming Mimis, Fragments and Shreve Crump & Low...Her sculpture has adorned the Manhattan studios of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Her work is in private collections across the United States as well as Europe and South Africa.

"My sculpture deals with my lifelong fascination with fashion, women and beauty. I view my work as three-dimensional caricature through which I channel the spirits of southern belles, divas, vixens and ingenues.

To me, style is about so much more than fabric or fashion. It's about how something is worn, and even more importantly, why. With each wire dress I explore the presence of the female form and gesture without sculpting representations of actual female body parts. Instead, I allude to physical bearing, spirit and impulse through sculpted clothing."
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Mirror mesh+Square bracelet (bag) by acrylic__€172

Masako Ban was born in Tokyo. After working for Shigeru Ban Architects, she was active as a graphic designer. In 2001, Ban began designing accessories through self-education in London and established acrylic in Tokyo, 2003. In 2005, her first collection was selected for the MoMA Design Store, New York, and in November of the same year, she opened "acrylic shop" in Tokyo.
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Admirers of Marc Newson’s streamlined furniture and crisp industrial design may be surprised to see his latest creation — a strikingly ornate diamond and sapphire necklace he conceived for Boucheron, the French jewelry house. The one-of-a-kind Julia necklace, which is being introduced at a couture-week party in Paris tomorrow evening, was inspired by Newson’s obsession with fractals — geometric shapes that can be subdivided into smaller versions of themselves, specifically the Julia Sets of fractals discovered by Gaston Julia in the early 1900s.

“Fractals are fascinating, complex and rich,” Newson says, “and gemstones really lend themselves to exploiting their beauty.”

The scientifically-spawned sparkler contains around 2,000 paved stones and took the company’s craftspeople 1,500 hours to realize using rapid-prototyping technology and a minimal three-prong setting, so the stones appear to float on the wearer’s throat. One thing that won’t be floating, however, is the price tag.

“I wasn’t thinking luxury at all, but the technical rigorousness of the piece, as well as the sheer number of stones that went into it will probably make this one of the most expensive necklaces Boucheron’s ever made.” [The Moment - Jul.09]

Fractal Images
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Everyone who has used an eraser would agree with the wish for an eraser with a comfortable and precise corner that never wears out. With the new Viss, Metaphys has given shape to this reality.
[€56.50 / 15 pcs]
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A master at combining aesthetics and mechanics, artist Jonathan Schipper recently joined forces with fellow artist Amelia Biewald to create a stunning metal iPhone case that they've dubbed Exovault.

Made from solid aluminum, brass or titanium, the handcrafted cases lend a steampunk look to the device—a big step up from the plastic varieties that house most iPhones today. Over time, the lustrous surface will develop a uniquely exquisite patina, making the durable casing that much more appealing... The aluminum and brass versions run $95, while the titanium version will set you back $300. [Cool Hunting]
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Things to Improve Your Life
Our 2009 global round-up of the people, places and pursuits to improve the way you live, work and rest.
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The Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative is an international philanthropic programme created to assist extraordinary, rising artists to achieve their full potential. It seeks out these artists from around the world and brings them together with great masters, for a year of creative collaboration in a one-to-one mentoring relationship.
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In Pictures: The Most Successful Male Models

No. 1: Sean O'Pry
The Kennesaw, Ga., native had never even flown on a plane before he was discovered through his MySpace page at the age of 17. O'Pry has 2009 campaigns for Joop, H&M and Lacoste and has appeared in editorial spreads in magazines including Numero Homme, Details and Interview.

[pic: InterviewMagazine.com]

McFarlane Toys

McFarlane Toys, a subsidiary of Todd McFarlane Productions, Inc., is a company started by Todd McFarlane that makes highly detailed models of characters from movies, comics, musicians, video games, and sport figures. Founded in 1994, the company was originally dubbed "Todd Toys," but the name was changed in 1995 following pressure from Mattel (who feared the new company's name would be confused with that of Barbie's younger brother).
Exquisite attention to detail is the most defining feature in a McFarlane Toy. However, it is almost always at the expense of articulation, making them more akin to semi-poseable statues than action figures. Still, the line proves popular especially among young adults, and is arguably the most commercially successful toy line at the moment. It has also influenced many other toy lines to try and imitate McFarlane Toys' style.


Sam and Twitch__Betrayal


Sam and Twitch


Detective Sam Burke

Sam and Twitch
The detectives from Spawn get their own series. This noirish crime series centers on the lives of New York City detectives Sam Burke and Twitch Williams and their adventures in the back alleys, deep nooks and dark crannies of the Big Apple. Todd McFarlane calls these thought-provoking stories "hard-boiled, true-crime cop tales."


Slash Slays


Evil Ash__Movie Maniacs 4


Dawn


Radioman


Hell


Wonderful Wizard of Oz


Mongroid__Clive Barker's Tortured Souls


The Creech


The Creech





Collectors Edition__Spawn Issue #138


Zombie Spawn

McFarlane Toys Group Pool
On The Money (CNBC)
McFarlane Toys is the 5th largest action figure manufacturer in the U.S.
In the News
I hope they learn that art can be a career - or that a career can be fun and enjoyable.
McFarlane Presents the Halo Odd Pods
Well, I guess it had to happen eventually. Every last toy company ever has given in to the ‘designer toy’ aesthetic. Everyone’s got a cute, chubby, rounded-off form that they’re slappin’ properties into now. Even McFarlane, who we used to be able to reliably turn to for a naked, tattooed chick hanging from hooks from an overcomplicated, ornate apparatus….
Nope. Now, we get Mighty Beanz with legs. Oh, what a world we live in.
McFarlane's Monsters Series 6: Six Faces of Madness



Spawn is a fictional comic book character created by Todd McFarlane. Spawn primarily appears in a comic of the same name, published by Image Comics, and his first appearance was in Spawn #1(May 1992).

The religion-heavy book began with a very superhero-like tone, much like McFarlane's previous work, but the title character evolved into a more flawed anti-hero. The current book has skewed significantly darker than early issues would suggest. McFarlane attributes this to being a necessary part of development. To introduce the book to readers it had to be slightly cleaner than he really wished it to be so that it read like a superhero tale. As the book took off and became more established he was able to alter the tone closer to his vision.

An African American CIA agent killed by his own boss for witnessing his corruption, Al Simmons was sent to hell. To see his wife one more time, he made a deal with the devil Malebolgia to become an undead "hellspawn". Spawn has tried to retain his own humanity while finding a way out of Malebolgia's control and battling a variety of enemies, both supernatural and criminal.

The series has spun off several other comics, including Angela, Curse of the Spawn, Sam & Twitch and the Japanese manga Shadows of Spawn. Spawn was adapted into a 1997 feature film, an HBO animated series lasting from 1997 until 1999 and a series of action figures whose high level of detail made McFarlane Toys known in the toy industry.

Spawn Movie Trailer



Todd McFarlane (born March 16, 1961) is a Canadian cartoonist, writer, toy designer and entrepreneur, best known for his work in comic books, such as the fantasy series Spawn.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, McFarlane became a comic book superstar due to his work on Marvel Comics' Spider-Man franchise. In 1992, he helped form Image Comics, pulling the occult anti-hero character Spawn from his high school portfolio and updating him for the 1990s. Spawn was one of America's most popular heroes in the 1990s and encouraged a trend in creator-owned comic book properties.

In recent years, McFarlane has illustrated comic books less often, focusing on entrepreneurial efforts, such as McFarlane Toys and Todd McFarlane Entertainment, a film and animation studio. In September, 2006, it was announced that McFarlane will be the Art Director of the newly formed 38 Studios, formerly Green Monster Games, founded by major league baseball pitcher Curt Schilling. McFarlane used to be co-owner of National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers but sold his shares to Daryl Katz. He's also a high-profile collector of history-making baseballs.

SuicideGirls Interview
Daniel Robert Epstein: You were one of the first people to bring good looking women into comics. What was your inspiration for that?
TM: That was easy. I was doing Spider-Man and in the storyline, Peter Parker was married to Mary Jane, who was a New York model. I've seen pictures of models and they're quite sexy. They were drawing Mary Jane with straight hair and she was wearing clothes from K-Mart. This isn't a lady from Alabama that's working in the factory. This is a New York model and she didn't even own a curling iron. My wife is pretty and she actually puts on makeup, curls her hair and puts on nice clothes. I'm sure if she were a model, she'd still do that. They hadn't updated Mary Jane since 1965 when John Romita drew her. I just thought it was time for somebody to do a new paintjob so I just decked her out.

DRE: Was there any resistance against it?
TM: Nah, it was one of those ones where they just went, "By God, now that you mention it Todd, you're right." I go, "You're out of your mind. You guys haven't seen this for the last 20 years? She's wearing the same clothes she's been wearing for 20 years, even though she's got a better lifestyle? Wow." With these moments somebody just might be looking out for Todd because if they had been updating Spider-Man every three or four years, the changes that I made to the book wouldn't have looked nearly as impressive. But the book was in status quo and everyone was too afraid to move so they just kept emulating what they did in the 60’s and the 70’s. But again, at that point we were pushing the 90’s and even Peter Parker was wearing the same clothes he wore in issue 27. I've been fortunate to come on places where the question isn't why did I do it? The question to me is always, why didn't anybody else do it before me? Those are the ones that I scratch my head about.

DRE: With the new Spawn trade paperback, how was it to go through the issues and look at them again?
TM: Every artist is going to torture himself, whether you're in music or in Hollywood or whatever else and comic book artists aren't that much different. To me, my best art is always in front of me so sometimes I look at the stuff and go, "Eh, I could have done better on this." You start looking at it too much and you want to redraw, rewrite it and you want to do the whole thing over again. You’ve got to let it go and say it was the best I could do at that time and place in my life. You hope that the thing you're doing next is a little bit better. Here is a fear for me, I never wanted to be one of those guys that was defined by a body of work 20 years old. In 1987 I used to go to conventions and people used to say Bernie "Swamp Thing" Wrightson. He did Swamp Thing in the 70’s! Let it go guys. John "X-Men" Byrne. Obviously, both were brilliant when they were doing it, but I just go, "Oh my God. I don't want kids standing in line going, "What you did nine years ago was the best stuff you ever drew. The last eight years have been mediocre to below mediocre." That was my fear, which is why when I was took over a book, I was always trying to tweak it a little bit so that it looked like I was trying to add something instead of keeping the status quo.

DRE: Did looking at these books remind you of when you were that brash, young guy who said, "Screw you Marvel, goodbye!”
TM: Yeah, that crazy guy. But again, I put in my time with Marvel and DC so there was that period of my life of trying to learn how to draw and tell stories in a proper fashion. That became a big time in comic books because it's when people were starting to break out into independent stuff, the market was getting choked with speculators and everybody was trying to do their own trick covers. A lot was happening, plus there were an enormous number of people in the industry that were going to conventions, so it was a pretty fun time. Also there was a lot of controversy and I was at the forefront of some of that. So if you're going to write a book about the history of comic books, the early 90’s would be a couple of interesting chapters.

DRE: think it'd be difficult to find a better monthly book on the racks than The Walking Dead.
TM: Yeah, it's cool. I know this is hard for people to understand but there are two different Todds at this point. There's Todd who's running his own empire, who's actually doing stuff to an agenda that's conducive to him. Also there’s Todd who's a co-founder of Image but is just one of four voices now. There was a time when there was a little bit of a dispute between [Brian Michael] Bendis and I when we were putting out Torso and Powers. So just because Todd doesn't want to do something with somebody it doesn't prevent that person from doing it with Image. If somebody wants to work for me or hates me, at no point did I ever say, "And they can't work for Image." Absolutely not. Image has to be its own fortress, in spite of the owners. People can't separate that or they don't comprehend that you can turn that on and off for each one of the different entities.

DRE: Besides the Image 10th Anniversary book, when are you going to draw something on paper that we can see?
TM: Wow, that's a good one. I still do some inking here and there and I’ve actually got a book that I’m going to ink entirely. Drawing? I don't know. If I ever do anything, it actually might be some fantasy elf thing or even some cute, funny thing. Just to do something a little bit out of the ordinary. I've done my superhero gig. A lot of the drawings that I do are just little noodle drawings that are not superhero stuff, but just to keep my hand moving. At some point I would like to put them in a book and let people go, "Todd did all that?" Some artists will take their artwork and modify it from time to time like Keith Giffen and Frank Miller. They both didn't rest on their laurels, they both advanced or digressed, depending on what your opinion is, but they moved their artwork ahead instead of doing the same style for 25 years.

DRE: What'd you think of the Sin City movie?
TM: It's cool. But as a fan of the comic book I go "They were so faithful, there weren't too many surprises for me." I even knew some of the dialogue but it was definitely cool to look at. We always argue that the movies should be loyal but in this case I could argue that it might have been too loyal.

Maxim Earns Geek Cred with Todd McFarlane
It's not the reality of who they are, but if that's what they think they look like when they close their eyes at night then that's what gets our approval.
Todd on Entrepreneurship
A 20-year-old buying for himself is a lot more discriminating than a 5-year-old being bought something by his mom.
Comics on Comics Interview
I'm not trying to reinvent it - I'm just trying to polish it.

Designer Toys

Designer Toys is a term used to describe toys and other collectibles that are produced in limited editions (as few as 50 or as many as 2000 pieces) and created by artists and designers. Designer toys are made of a variety of materials; plastic and vinyl are most common, although wood and metal are occasionally used. The term also encompasses plush, cloth and latex dolls. Creators of designer toys usually have backgrounds in graphic design, illustration or self-described low brow art; some are classically trained in art and design, while others are self-taught. Designer toys first appeared in the 1990s and are still in production today.

Spring TWEET by Julie West__$24__[Ningyoushi.com]
Featuring a new vinyl character series by artist, Julie West. TWEET features a bird’s nest bonnet and two magnetic birds. This special Spring edition features a soft green colorway. Packaged in a clear tube. Produced by Strangeco.


CHAOS Monkey by BUNKA__$30__[ningyoushi.com]
A puzzle for zoologists, this monkey has been seen through the ages on every continent but his origin is still a mystery. Based on scientific analysis, CHAOS MONKEY may be one of the first gene mutations ever. With large eyeballs, this hungry creature has escaped from his ancestral slammer in order to devour all human beings on this planet. Born with short legs and enormous arms, he's able to move faster than any other ape without any hope of escape for their casualties. They'll eventually eat you raw. From the largeness of his eyes, billions of monkeys are watching us, waiting for a bloody vengeance. Now forever as a vinyl statue, his hypnotic look and his little sharp teeth will keep you scared to death.
CHAOS MONKEY is the first vinyl toy created by French illustrator BUNKA. It's the second release on the French label ARTOYZ ORIGINALS created by ARTOYZ. Vinyl. This USA White colorway is limited to 500!


Tsuchi by DGPH__$50__[Munky King]

In 2005 Martin Lowenstein and Diego Vaisberg created DGPH, one of the leading Argentinian design houses that blends art, illustration and animation. Here's what they have to say about Tsuchi:
"Tsuchi is Father Earth, the oldest god and wisest being that has ever lived. Seated on his throne in the planet's core, he rules the seas and the land, surrounded by his little minions.
His upper half controls all the nice good things that happen in the world, while his bottom half rules the mysterioius dark side. The energy caused by the friction of his internal struggle keeps the planet on its rotation. As long as both sides keep up the fight, life will continue its natural course."

Gardener Series: Brian 004 by Michael Lau__$90__[ningyoushi.com]

Michael Lau is an artist from Hong Kong who is known for his illustration and designer toy figures. Lau is widely credited as the founder of the urban vinyl style within the designer toy movement. His work has had a significant effect on toy manufacturers, as well as street culture, including artists and musicians, throughout the world. His style is particularly influential to Asian and American hip-hop and skateboarding culture. Lau has won several awards for his work, including four from the Hong Kong-based Philippe Charriol Foundation.

Lau began his career when he graduated from Design First Institute in Hong Kong in 1992. While some of his art was on display in small galleries in Hong Kong, Lau began work as a window display designer, before finding employment in the advertising industry. In 1997, Lau was hired to illustrate the cover art for the Anodize electronic music album. In 1998, he began the Gardener comic strip in East Touch magazine for which he is best known. The characters featured in this comic strip were the basis for his first series of vinyl collectible figures.

In 1999, his work became popular enough to attract the attention of the Sony corporation, who exclusively distributed a selection of his Gardener pieces in Asia. Lau signed a contract with Sony which lasted until 2003. During this time, Lau continued to work steadily, creating illustrations and vinyl figures in a graffiti-influenced style.

Lau worked with the Hong Kong hip-hop group LMF, creating a series of figures based on them. He has created other series of urban vinyl figures, such as Crazychildren and Lamdog, in addition to stand-alone pieces. His work is highly collectible and is predominantly collected by adults; his figures are almost exclusively available from designer toys retailers.

In 2004, he opened his own gallery, called michael, in Hong Kong. [Wikipedia]

The Art of Michael Lau - Gardener Comics
Discovery Short Film by Michael Lau



Michael Lau Set

Uglydog by Uglydoll Plush__$20__[Rotofugi]

Uglydolls are taking the world by storm! The limited edition plush collectables emerged from the minds of two star crossed artists Sun-Min Kim and David Horvath who met at Parsons School of Design in New York City and based on the doodles David drew at the end of their love letters.
That Christmas, after moving back home to Korea. Sun-Min suprised David with a plush, hand sewn version of the first character he drew, Wage. He showed it to his friend Eric Nakamura who owns Giant Robot in LA. Eric thought he was pitching a product and promptly ordered 20. The rest, as they say is history.


Jello Fox__$85__[munkyking.com or $70 @ Rotofugi]
Jellofox came from the creative mind of Chinese contempory artist Tong Yan. The ceramic version of Jellofox was exhibited in various art exhibitions in Mainland, and this vinyl version was exhibited at China Design Now Exhibit at V&A Museum in London as well. The 10" (25 cm) tall vinyl sculpture is a signed and numbered edition of 500 pieces.


Benny the Barb by Stash__$55__[ningyoushi.com]

One of New York's graffiti legends, Stash played a role in the pivotal East Village Scene of the early 1980s, exhibiting his first canvases at the famous Fun Gallery alongside pop art pioneers Keith Haring and Jean-Michael Basquiat when he was only 17. While his contemporaries turned to Pop Art, Stash stayed true to the subway, working on trains until 1987 when he created his last underground piece alongside Zephyr. His early works on canvas demonstrate a loyalty to his early career in the use of subway map-collages and signature bold outlines and clean shapes. By the late-1990s, Stash had pioneered the use of graphic elements of graffiti on streetwear through high-profile collaborations with companies such as Nike and Bathing Ape. The move ensured his work reached a much wider audience than the gallery crowd and played a key role in the widespread understanding of graffiti, which in turn led to its public acceptance and the shift in its perception from vandalism to art form. Stash is now firmly established as an innovator and influencer in the world of urban design, and his fascination with the urban environment is also evident in his perfectly-executed photographic work, which features a combination of city motifs alongside the latest lighting and printing techniques.

Europe's popular Flying Fortress graffiti artist continues to spread their army of Teddy Troops with their latest blind box mini figure artist series:

Teddy Troops Series 3__designed by Joe Ledbetter__$15__[ningyoushi.com]


Flying Pigs
The Art of Joe Ledbetter


Cluster II by Joe Ledbetter__$14.95__[gelaskins.com]

Known for his popular paintings of cute cartoon ruckus and innovative toy designs, Joe Ledbetter's career has rapidly accelerated in only a few short years. A 30-year-old Los Angeles native, Ledbetter studied Sociology at Humboldt State University, before returning to his hometown where he worked as a graphic apparel artist for 3 years.

He also became involved in the LA underground art scene showing in small group shows as well as Cannibal Flower's monthly art extravaganzas. By the summer of 2004, Ledbetter was able to quit his day job and focus entirely on his art career. His unmistakable style can be characterized by an amazing combination of vibrant colors, shadows, character expressions, and thick black lines. Utilizing imagination and the subversive with a light-hearted approach Ledbetter's work often illustrates the harsh realities of everyday life, but also reminds us not to take things so seriously sometimes.

Joe Ledbetter Official Site
The Vinyl Frontier Spotlight


Teddy Troops 3__designed by PARSKID__$11

PARSKID Interview by CrownDozen.com
Parskid might be a man of few words but his work speaks loudly. From the Pacific Northwest, Parskid brings beauty to the damned and all their friends. With many products under his belt, shows always in the works and collaborations continuing, I am suprised he has any time left to "vandalise" the city. I am always pleased to see Parskid's work in a gallery or on a street in my local hood. I am sure he will leave a strong impression on you as well.

CrownDozen.com: I am not sure if you are a man of very little words or what but I had a very hard time finding information on you. So I thought we could start at the beginning. Can you tell the readers of C12 a little bit about your life up until now?
Parskid: I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. I’ve had a love for drawing and creating ever since I was youngster and had a lot of artistic people around me growing up. I went to a little bit of art school and worked as a designer for a bit but realized that wasn’t really for me. Meanwhile, I got into graffiti in my late teens/early twenties and it had a pretty big influence on my art and way of life. From there I pretty much have just been focusing on creating and distributing my ideas everywhere I can. And I’ve always been a man of few words.

CD: Do you think growing up in the Pacific Northwest, where it is often pretty dark and dismal, has influenced your art?
P: I think the climate here has definitely influenced my art quite a bit. Not only has the overcast weather been an influence but the landscape as well. And not in a negative way at all… the dark clouds, the rain, the rivers and lakes, the hills, the forests and trees, all inspire me immensely.

CD: The themes of your work often seem to portray subjects such as death, life and rebirth with a certain element of light that makes each piece less menacing and more serene. Can you talk about your process?
P: My process in coming up with my ideas is very free-form I think, in the sense where I just start working and see what comes out. Usually very little pre-planning is done. I just try to explore my subconscious thoughts and places that I wouldn’t normally think about in day to day life. There are definitely moments of darkness there, as well as moments of serenity.

CD: Do you believe in ghosts or spirits?
P: I think I do, whether as just an idea in a story or something physical that can be seen by the living. I think it’s just the belief that there is more to our lives than just the period between birth and death, and that there is more to us than our physical selves.

CD: As one of your favorite past times is still vandalism, how do you feel about the occasional bad wrap that graffiti artists receive?
P: Graffiti will always receive a bad wrap and I don’t necessarily disagree with that. That’s part of the appeal of doing it. It’s illegal and will affect most everyone who sees it, either in a positive or negative way. I think graffiti is best when it’s intrusive and not pretty to look at. If I was making everyone happy, I would really question whether I should be doing anything at all.

CD: You do a lot of collaborations with galleries, other artists, etc. Do you have any favorite projects that you would like to do more of?
P: I love making products. It’s great to see the project from start to finish and see the final product in quantities and then distribute those to people. I also like doing installations and working with other artists on shows. I have a couple shows where I’m collaborating with another artist coming up next year (2008) that I’m really looking forward to.


Wiggs of Vortigern's Machine by James Jarvis__$41.27__[Designer Toy Store]
Rusty's trusted companion William Ignacius Guthrum, aka Wiggs, will be available complete with his precious front door keys. These keys, as insignificant as they may seem, are paramount to the plot and the very reason for their great adventure. Wiggs will come with extended index figure from which the keys can hang safely forever.

Vortigern's Machine is a cutting edge study of today's youth. Rusty and Wiggs roam the sub-urban/semi-rural mean streets of a fictional town looking for answers to the conundrums that life throws their way. On their quests they seek the help of the mystic visionary Mr Vortigern. Through his magic they are dramatically sucked into a psychedelic vortex and transported to different lands and dimensions where they meet fantastic characters and embark on epic adventures.
All this and a magic slide machine.


Wrestling Elves by James Jarvis__[amostoys.com]

James Jarvis created the Wrestling Elves as a depiction of the struggle between good and bad. These characters were designed for the special CD box set packaging of Hong Kong artist Juno’s fifth LP, 'Chapel of Dawn'. The Wrestling Elves appeared throughout the CD box, the enclosed booklet and the accompanying marketing campaign. Amos were then commissioned by Hong Kong lifestyle brand, Silly Thing, to produce a three dimensional, soft vinyl rendition of the two characters locked in their eternal battle.

Amos was set up in 2002 by James Jarvis, Sofia Prantera and Russell Waterman. James had previously designed toys for fashion brand Silas, beginning with the now legendary Martin figure, released back in 1998. Along with Bounty Hunter in Japan, Silas unwittingly became one of the pioneers of the soft vinyl designer toy revolution. With help from Bounty Hunter, who had already released two figures, Martin was unleashed on an unsuspecting world and the work of James Jarvis reached a whole new audience.

James Jarvis Interview by Design Museum
Inspired by classic cartoons like Tintin and Popeye, the British illustrator JAMES JARVIS (1970-) has created his own three-dimensional casts of characters as the World of Pain and In-Crowd plastic toys. He also invents imaginary worlds for his characters each of whom has their own role and personality.

When James Jarvis dreamed up a group of bikers as a new collection of the plastic In-Crowd characters he designs for the toy company Amos, he pictured them as “reasonable, sound, sane, wise, balanced, rational, sagacious, prudent, judicious and level-headed”. He even invented a club for these do-gooding bikers – the Forever Sensible Motorcycle Club.

The members of the Forever Sensible Motorcycle Club, like the musicians in Ages of Metal, his next In-Crowd characters, stem from the drawings that Jarvis has created since childhood. He was inspired to start drawing by his love of illustrated books such as Tintin, Rupert the Bear and The Tale of Peter the Rabbit. Born in London in 1970, Jarvis went on to study illustration at the University of Brighton and then at the Royal College of Art in London.

A Japanese friend suggested that Jarvis should turn the characters drawn in simple, sparing strokes in his illustrations into toys which he did by creating the engagingly raffish Martin, a moulded plastic model, for the London-based fashion company Silas. Jarvis then developed equally engaging characters to live with Martin in the World of Pain, the imaginary world inspired by Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings which he invented for them and depicted in a book and website. Eager to create different characters, who would not necessarily fit in to the World of Pain, he then invented the In-Crowd series of figures.

James Jarvis Feature by Ika Zcha
A short film I made about the illustrator James Jarvis. Its main focus is his drawing and the thought processes behind his work. Filmed over 2 days on location in Amos offices.


Smorkin' Labbit by Frank Kozik__$72.39__[designertoystore.co.uk]

Kidrobot is a producer and retailer of designer toys founded in 2002 by Paul Budnitz, specializing in artist-created toys and imports from Japan, Hong Kong, and Europe. Kidrobot has a commercial website, as well operating retail stores in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami Beach, and Toronto, Canada. Most items are produced in limited numbers and are, or become, collector's items. Each of the three retail stores features a gallery of designer toys and related art, and often host artist signings to commemorate the release of limited-edition figures, such as the Bondage Labbit by Frank Kozik.


Bunch of Dunnys by various artists__[flickr.com]

Munny is a do-it-yourself toy from the American designer toy company Kidrobot.
Munny is primarily a "Do-it-Yourself" type action figure which the owner can decorate using pens, pencils, markers, paint, and supposedly, ketchup. The action figure is made out of vinyl and has moveable joints. The first Munny action figure was white, and has since been available in other colors such as black, pink, blue, and glow in the dark green. The figure is housed in a box which includes 4 random accessories that vary from a different series (1 through 4, 4 being the latest) and can be many things, such as a carrot or a hat. The doll also includes one out of a series of collectable coloring books which have been designed by a variety of people.

The Dunny character is similar to the Munny character. According to Kidrobot "DUNNY is an action figure made of soft, smooth vinyl. DUNNY was created to be customized in a broad variety of styles by diverse artists working in different mediums."
Unlike the Munny, Dunny is not sold blank. Instead, Dunny's are designed by artists and released in 8" versions almost every month. Typically, two blind boxed series of 3" Dunny figures are released a year.

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