TARA McPHERSON - POP UP AND SIGNING - March 9, Grand Central NYC

PIQ Grand Central Hosts the First Stop on the Tara McPherson  Pop Up Tour 2018

 Friday March 9th 6-8 PM

Internationally known painter, illustrator, and toy designer Tara McPherson kicks off her 2018 pop-up tour at PIQ Grand Central on March 9th 6-8pm. 

Tara brings her complex world of beauty, myth, and emotion to PIQ for an NYC start of her nine stop tour that runs from Akron to Asheville. Winner of Designer Toy Awards "Toy of the Year " in 2012, her partnership with Kidrobot continues with the recent Wonder Woman 7" and Care Bears Tender Heart figure releases. Choose from a comprehensive assortment of her prints, meet this stellar artist, and help give her a New York hometown send-off. 

About Tara McPherson

Tara McPherson is an artist based out of New York City. Creating art about people and their odd ways, her characters seem to exude an idealized innocence with a glimpse of hard earned wisdom in their eyes. She explores, through portraiture, the realms of our psychological states via myths, legends, astronomy, physics, nature, love, loss, childhood and good old life experience. Giving us a peek into the complexities of the human psyche through her otherworldly characters. Tara's success and influence runs through the worlds of fine art, music, advertising, comics, and toy design. 

About PIQ

PIQ (pronounced “pick”) toy and gift stores reflect the city that inspires them. Like New York, PIQ is unexpected, international, and a ready for a good time. With playful designs, witty books, irreverent novelties, designer toys, custom figures, and global treasures, everyone will find the gifts to make someone smile. PIQ is a division of the Sarut Group, with retail locations at Grand Central Terminal and Rockefeller Center in New York, PIQ UniversalCityWalk Orlando and PIQgifts.com. 

 

At PIQ form follows fun.

Judge awards 5Pointz graffiti artists $6.7M after works destroyed | WPIX 11 New York

"A New York judge has awarded $6.7 million to graffiti artists who sued after their work was destroyed on buildings torn down to make room for luxury condos."

Full article here:
Judge awards 5Pointz graffiti artists $6.7M after works destroyed | WPIX 11 New York

Graffiti Workshop for Teens with Louie KR1 Gasparro on January 27 in Long Island City

OKABALOO will be hosting our buddy Louie Gasparro on January 27th for a graffiti workshop geared towards tweens and teens. Louie will be teaching the art of the letter, showing attending kids how to write their names in a classic graffiti lettering style!

KOLORSTORM - Art as an Answer 

OKABALOO

35-52 32nd Street

Long Island City, NY 11106

January 27, 2017 from 4-6PM

For more info check out the OKABALOO website as well as Louie Gasparro's website.

Five Points Festival Kicks Off Saturday May 20 in NYC

Five Points Fest

Pier 36 NYC

299 South St

New York, NY 10002

BUY TICKETS HERE

You will find Tenacious Toys and Nugglife in Booth 229. Nugglife will be rolling up with apparel and customs, and Tenacious Toys will be representing the following artists:

• Nerviswrek
• Rampage Toys
• Taylored Curiosities
• Forces of Dorkness
• Pickman's Vinyls
• Cat Atomic
• NEMO
• Brian Ahlbeck (Dead Hand Toys)
• Manly Art
• Dollar Slice Bootlegs
• Jason Freeny
• Jason Adams
• Naptime Noah

Plus the roster of Resin Is King Series 4:

• Kyle Kirwan
• Eyehart Toys
• UME Toys
• Renone
• Forces of Dorkness
• TobyArt
• One-Eyed Girl
• Pickman's Vinyls
• Leecifer
• Dollar Slice Bootlegs
• Abe Lincoln Jr

Inside 3D Printing Conference in NYC March 14/15 - Free Entry If You Register This Week

Looks like if you click here and click Register before the conference begins, entry is free. Seems like a good thing to go to if you use a 3D printer. And FREE is the right price.

Peter Kato Bedtime Bunnies Release at PIQ Grand Central on Feb 1

15 exclusive color Bedtime Bunnie release and designer signing at PIQ Grand Central Terminal Wed Feb 1, 7:00-8:30 PM

Cult toy designer Peter Kato will release fifteen exclusive color variations of his Bedtime Bunnie figures created exclusively for PIQ. These custom versions of his signature sleep walkers hold contrast colored hearts in their hands. Only available at PIQ Grand Central Terminal and PIQgifts.com. Read the interview with Peter at PIQgifts.com.

Come meet Peter on Feb 1 from 7:00-8:30 PM at PIQ and find out why the Bunnies are so sleepy. 

“For me, my goals were kept simple: make the toy your art.” Peter Kato

About Peter Kato

Peter Kato’s art toys are collected and obsessed over worldwide. Starting as an illustrator and comic book artist, he learned sculpting through his work with Cortes Studios in Brooklyn. Through traditional molding and digital design, Peter creates strong silhouettes and simple shapes that somehow speak to all of us. 

About PIQ

PIQ (pronounced “pick”) gift stores reflect the city that inspires them. Like New York, PIQ is unexpected, international, and a ready for a good time. With playful designs, witty books, irreverent novelties, collectable toys, and global treasures, everyone will find the gifts to make someone smile. PIQ is a division of the Sarut Group, with retail locations at Grand Central Terminal and Rockefeller Center in New York

Friday Night Suck Salon: Suckadelic Blind Boxes and Tenacious Toys Pile O Toys

AFTER HOURS SUCK SALON FRIDAY JUNE 24 at 9PM 

Sucklord and I are very excited to show off a little bit more of what we will have on hand Friday night at his studios: He's going to be offering blind boxes for the first time, and they're price at just $25 each! Apparently each will contain a one of a kind figure (above).

Tenacious Toys will be rolling up with a wide selection of factory-made and hand-made collectibles. We will have some older Funko POP Rides and Hikari at insanely low prices, a Star Wars 6" action figure boxed set also at a discount, a grip of NEW Funko POPs that you've never seen before because they arrived yesterday: Dragonball Z, Sailor Moon, UFC and Hillary Clinton! Yeah. Also on hand will be toys by Sketchbot, Yummyworld, 123KLAN, Jason Freeny, Toy2R, and Android plus resin by Forces of Dorkness, the last BLUE BOX by Carson Catlin, DIYs by RIVALs, and probably more that I couldn't cram into this image (below).

We will be making deals and accepting both cash and cards. MOST items from our stock will be sold for under retail and in some cases UNDER WHOLESALE so get there early and claw your way to the front.

In case you missed it, the location is:

Suckadelic, 99 Canal Street #3C, New York, NY 10002

Ring the buzzer for #3C. 

Join the Facebook event here to talk shit! Some of you LOVE talking shit! See you tomorrow!

Ron English POPaganda Pop-Up Shop Opens June 11 in NYC

Starting June 11th Ron English will have a super awesome POPaganda POP-Up shop in New York City! Located at 72 Gansevoort St (2 blocks west from the old Yoymart location), this POP-Up shop will feature extremely rare items from deep within the POPaganda vault! The POPaganda POP-Up will also facilitate Ron English signings and events!

POPaganda Pop Up Shop

72 Gansevoort Street

New York, NY 10014

June 11th from 11AM to 6PM. Click here for more info on the POPaganda site!

We are all probably lucky that Hogs and Heifers (which was 2 block north) has closed, or else this event would get ugly fast...

Mass Transition All City Style Show by 156ALLSTARZ at TUF Gallery June 20th

156ALLSTARZ show at TUF Gallery: Mass Transition

RSVP to tuf.gallery@gmail.com

Come through June 20th at 7PM:

TUF Gallery

208 East 73rd Street

New York, NY 10021

Maker Faire is this weekend in NYC

Maker Faire | The Greatest Show and Tell on Earth

Part science fair, part county fair, and part something entirely new, Maker Faire is an all-ages gathering of tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, authors, artists, students, and commercial exhibitors. All of these “makers” come to Maker Faire to show what they have made and to share what they have learned.

The launch of Maker Faire in the Bay Area in 2006 demonstrated the popularity of making and interest among legions of aspiring makers to participate in hands-on activities and learn new skills at the event. A record 195,000 people attended the two flagship Maker Faires in the Bay Area and New York in 2013, with 44% of attendees first timers at the Bay Area event, and 61% in New York. A family event, 50% attend the event with children. Also in 2013, 98 independently-produced Mini and Featured Maker Faires occurred around the world, including Tokyo, Rome, Santiago, and Oslo.

Maker Faire is primarily designed to be forward-looking, showcasing makers who are exploring new forms and new technologies. But it’s not just for the novel in technical fields; Maker Faire features innovation and experimentation across the spectrum of science, engineering, art, performance and craft.
Maker Faire is a gathering of fascinating, curious people who enjoy learning and who love sharing what they can do. It’s a venue for makers to show examples of their work and interact with others about it. Many makers say they have no other place to share what they do. DIY (Do-It-Yourself) is often invisible in our communities, taking place in shops, garages and on kitchen tables. It’s typically out of the spotlight of traditional art or science or craft events. Maker Faire makes visible these projects and ideas that we don’t encounter every day.

All City Style Trains are back on track and available to shops at wholesale

Big news from Bigshot Toyworks: their insanely popular All City Style blank subway trains are back! Bigshot is now accepting wholesale orders from shops interested in restocking this product which sold out nearly everywhere, world-wide. I'll definitely get some.

ACS trains are 20 inches long and are essentially a half of a train car- back is flat and comes with necessary hardware to mount to a wall. Each ACS train also comes with pegs and holes so 2 can be combined to form a whole train car. A versatile piece. So many famous artists have customized ACS trains that it would be absurd to even begin to list them. Basically, it's everyone you've ever heard of. Go to the ACS website and click on Shows to see a bunch of custom painted trains. ACS shows have been help in countries around the world. I think the last one was in South Korea. Next one I believe will be Cardboard Spaceship... and I only know that because I'm paying attention to attentive bloggers. Just like you're doing now. How meta.

Anyone wishing to purchase single trains, or small numbers, will have to contact your favorite local retailer to obtain them. SRP is $40 each.

Shops wishing to make wholesale purchases can email orders into sales@bigshottoyworks.com - wholesale pricing begins with orders of 40 trains. The ACS trains come in 10-pc cases and you can buy 10, 20 or 30 of them but you'll be paying a higher price per piece than you would at true wholesale pricing you get when you order 40+ pieces.

Best of all, Bigshot has for the first tme produced crystal-clear Ghost Trains (pictured below) which are ONLY available at wholesale to shops that make 40-train purchases. Shops can buy 20 Ghost Trains for every 40 silver (original) ACS trains they buy.

The shipment of All City Style trains is headed our way... so get your orders in!

If you need more info, click here to view the most recent ACS email. Or sign up for their email list yourself at the bottom of their Contact page.

Perfect Examples 5in Custom MadL Show at PIQ in Grand Central on July 11

Our friends at PIQ are hosting a custom show starting July 11th in their Grand Central, NYC store. Platform for the "Perfect Examples" show will be the 5-inch MadL, and the artist roster looks pretty sweet: Sket One, Carson Catlin, Juan Muniz, Jason Thomas, Jeremy MadL (of course!), Jeremi Rivel, Crummy Gummy, Yema Yema, Riot 68, The Graphix Chic, Brian Flynn, Dillion Boy, Dolly Oblong & more!

Come visit PIQ on July 11th to help kick off this show! Grand Central is pretty damn convenient to... everyone. So there's no excuse. I'll even make locating PIQ easy for you: go to the famous clock in the middle of the main room of Grand Central. On either end of the room there are "passages"... walk towards the one marked "Shuttle Passage" and you will see the bright colors of PIQ in front of you. Easy.

I am helping organize few cool shows at PIQ later this year, so stay tuned for info on those.

Foox interviewed in Creem about his New Money show

I had the distinct pleasure of attending the opening night party of Foox's New Money show at a hidden back bar in the ridiculously swank Beautique next to The Plaza and the Fifth Ave Apple store.

This was the first time in my life I was escorted into hidden lounge literally through the kitchen... One of those quintessentially New York "Baller Moments" you only see in movies.

When I tell you that Foox operates at the next level, this is why. 

Check his short but sweet interview in Creem Magazine here: 

http://creemmag.com/david-foox-new-money/

Vinyl Thoughts Debuts in NYC this Friday with Unmasked: Secret Identities & Hidden Desires

Come to Brooklyn's Bottleneck Gallery to attend the opening of the first NYC event thrown by the Vinyl Thoughts Nation: Unmasked: Secret Identities & Hidden Desires. Featuring an open, free bar (magic words), live art by RSIN and even a Kidrobot discount code for attendees, this promises to be an excellent event. Opens at 7PM on Friday April 18th.

Bottleneck Gallery

60 Broadway

Brooklyn, NY 11249

PIQ Opening at Grand Central Terminal, New York; Supporting Local Artists Like Jason Freeny

I cannot adequately describe to you how excited I am about the opening of the new PIQ store in Grand Central... I have been wanting to bring art toys to an uptown NYC shop myself for 9 years now... I just never had the capital to make that a reality. So when I found out (through my friend Jason Freeny's FB feed) that his products were being featured in a new shop in Grand Central, possibly the most convenient and accessible location in all of New York City, I was SO STOKED!

Now PIQ has contacted me to make a blog post about their shop. From the images they provided, it looks like they have an AMAZING selection of new and old vinyl art toys, from Freeny and JLED to NadaOne, Toy2R... next time you visit NYC, GO TO PIQ! I'm gonna visit as soon as I get back from vacation in early February.

THE SARUT GROUP, a leader in the gift industry, and widely known for their vibrant collection of eclectic gifts, has announced the roll out of their new retail store concept called PIQ.

The PIQ stores were first introduced in 2012 at Universal CityWalk, Orlando and Caesars Palace, Las Vegas. The stores themselves, bold, bright with a very contemporary look, are replete with unique and unexpected items. PIQ features designer toys, focusing on vinyl collectibles, books, limited editions, and rare pieces from such names as Frank Kozik, Ron English and Buff Monster. Other gift items include games, chic home and kitchen accessories, nostalgic souvenirs, funky novelty items as well as rare pop culture finds. Partnerships with established and upcoming designers such as Jason Freeny, Robin Van Valkenburgh or established vendors like DKE comprise a major part of the PIQ brand and showcase the unique merchandise that PIQ brings to the marketplace. The first PIQ New York City store opened mid January 2014 in Grand Central Terminal, Shuttle Passage.

PIQ Store in Grand Central Terminal
Shuttle Passage
89 E 42nd Street
New York, NY 10017
(212) 867-0969
http://www.piqproducts.com/ 

Holy crap! They went BIG! Bigger than I could ever dream of launching Tenacious Toys... good for them!

The Toy Mafia Takeover this Thurs at Toy Tokyo

Join the Toy Mafia crew as they takeover the Toy Tokyo Underground spot on Thursday, September 19th, 2013 from 7PM until 10PM.

Featuring exclusive Designer Toy releases fromGreen Plastic Tunnels, Mechavirus, Ministry of Kongz, and Rampage Toys. There will also be a new version of the ultra-popular Toy Mafia t-shirt that will have you glowing from ear to ear. First dibs on all these releases (and more!) are for those that attend the event, where the drinks will be free, the partying will be hard, and the fun will be flowing!

NYC Art/Toy Mob rollin deep

What's a typical night like in NYC for people like us? Here ya go: a big mob of toy artists, creators, designers, traditional artists, sculptors, toy retailers on the way to Art Battles from the Marka27 solo show. Good times.

Get some Orbitz coupon codes and join us next time.

3A Large Martin Auspublic

WWRP Large Martin figures by ThreeA are finally in stock! The Auspublic Region Def figure, pictured above, had significantly more detailing on the final product than we originally knew about, so I popped one open and brought it up to my roof for a photo shoot. You can buy your own 9-inch Auspublic figure here (as well as see more images from my rooftop). The rest of our 3A pieces can be purchased here.

FriendsWithYou Rainbow City coming to NYC

FriendsWithYou is a design studio working in a variety of industries: they have designed some cool toys, like the kid-safe Wish Come True series of mini figures. They also put up these crazy 40-piece inflatable installations, and I was very excited to read in their newsletter that they are coming to NYC some time this summer! This is an event sponsored by AOL (yeah, that surprised me too- does anyone under the age of 60 use America Online anymore?) and further details are forthcoming. Namely, date and location. I'll post that info here as soon as I get it.

"Take Out: Tasteless Artworks" PON Show at ToyQube 3/6/09

Take Out: Tasteless Artworks by PON

ToyQube is hosting it's first art exhibit at the new location, which includes a cafe, show space and toy store.

PON will be showing his pigeon artworks. Cool guy, we met him at NYCC.

Friday March 6 at 6pm:

ToyQube

37-06 Prince St
Flushing, NYC

718-939-8605