is it still ok to be a kid? kidrobot tells me it is! :)

From the other blog posts below, you can probably tell that the family was out in force this weekend. One pit stop that we had to make was Kidrobot on Melrose. As we walked in we were greeted by Hoang, a very cool store manager, and a co-worker who were kind enough to explain to a newbie like me all that there is to know about this new generation of pop art.

Fact #1: Kidrobot is planet Earth's premier creator & retailer of limited edition toys, clothing, mini-figures, artwork & books. Where Giant Robot is more focused on Japanese or Asian pop art, kidrobot opens themselves up to international designers.

Fact #2: Kidrobot merges urban street trends, fashion, and pop art to produce limited edition, collectible toys and apparel. They blend graffiti, fine art, fashion, industrial design, graphic design, illustration, and music to create the ultimate experience.

Fact #3: Many Kidrobot toys are extremely rare and collectible and cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Toy artists often choose to create a series of only a few hundred or a few thousand pieces, so once a toy is sold out, it's sold out forever. Kidrobot toys retail from $6 to $20,000, and may appreciate in value over time.

Fact #4: MOMA acquired 13 Kidrobot toys in late 2007, which are now part of the museum’s collection.

As they explained to me, in the world of pop art Murakami is THE man. In fact, he may even be the Warhol of our generation. (Wired Magazine article.) Where Murakami has collaborated with Louis Vuitton, Tokidoki has worked with SportSac. Now he's speaking my language! In this world Murakami is respected not only for his groundbreaking work, but for his understanding of art, even graffiti art over his own billboard.
LA Weekly

I walked away from the store armed with about 8 different toy figurines and with a younger brother and older sister wondering why I was so caught up in this. Granted, it's like a cracker jack box or happy meal toy. I liked them, not for the fact that they are little pieces of plastic, but rather, because the experience in opening a little box and not knowing what's inside is intriguing to me. Damn the suspense! Plus, the laugh I get out of looking at these is worth far more - maybe it's that I'll always remember when I bought these (nice, chill weekend with the family) or the fact that each one is unique and hilarious in their own way.

Here's the suspense part: Blind Box or Blind Assortment:
1. When you purchase blind assortment figures they come packaged in identical boxes. The boxes are the same in every way and you can not see what is inside!
2. On the side of the boxes will be a list of different possible figures. One of these figures awaits inside the box!
The chances of you getting a particular figure are listed as percentage rates on the side of the box. These percentage rates are based on a sealed carton of figures. As you can see, some figures are harder to get than others.
3. When you open the boxes the figure will be wrapped in foil. At this point you STILL cannot tell which figure you got!
Foil is used to wrap the figure so people dont open the box and peek inside! It is also used so people don't scan the boxes under X-ray machines. (Believe it or not, it DOES happen!)
4. Finally! After peeling through the foil you see which figure you got! It looks like these two boxes contained a 2/25 Dunny by ATTABOY and a 3/25 Dunny by CRAOLA. If by chance you get a figure that is not listed on the side of the box, Congratulations! You have found a rare 'chase' figure! Some of these figures are so rare and limited that people pay BIG $$ for them (We're talking hundreds here!).

Finally, here's the basics, for the beginning collector, DUNNY. 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. Some of my favorites:

Now tell me you didn't laugh once? :P