Toymart! YAY!!!

As many of you might know, I like toys. Not necessarily the typical ones, but the urban vinyl designer toys. These are toys done by contemporary artists, many of them with roots in the graffiti and underground art world. Part of the reason I like these toys and this type of artwork is the social commentary and sometimes sarcastic and anti-establishment tones. No, I don’t want to burn the house down, but I do think we need some mirrors in our world to bring about awareness. I also like a good piece of art, just like most of us love a good cheeseburger once in awhile. Yeah, its not good for your body, but it f’ing lights up your soul.

So the Toymart is technically one building, similar to a jewelry mart, but its a mixed bag of toys and trendy women’s clothing. Why mix the two? I don’t know… Anyhow, this toy area on the street called Fa Yuen has a cluster of toy stores in this specific area. Some stuffed animals, scale models, urban vinyl, and of course the Japanese Gundam Robots. I was a little disappointed considering this was the mecca where the designer toys started from, but apparently those stores pop up seasonally for a short duration and are quite a spectacle if you’re lucky enough to experience it. On with the tour...


I think the reason this place was called Toy Ant was because there is only 4 feet more to the store that you can't see. Its to the left. I walked in, almost hit the wall, and walked out. Toy Ant!


This place was AMAZING! See where this guy is standing? He was looking at what I will show you in the photos below...


I apologize for the photo quality, but I couldn't use a flash in this setting.


Still more to see of this display.


See the 'No Photography' sign? Well, I cheated a bit... oops!


I couldn't pronouce the name of this place, but I think its, 'Hot Toy' or something to that effect. They had many of the reproductions here. A very clean store with a great entrance. It looked similar to a doorway in a Star Wars ship.


Pre-order for the Michael Jackson Thriller Toy?


More stuff...


Look at the size of that reproduction of the Batman car from the Batman Returns! WOW!


Does anyone remember the Mon Chi Chi's? We did. This place had a ton of them in all difference costumes and sizes.


Another case full of Mon Chi Chi dolls that were much larger than inside the store. I think Laura even tried to break the glass for tbe big one on the corner. (I had to stop her)


Its hard to read, but this the outside of a Gundam Robot gallery. It was very impressive, but we had to leave quickly. There were 2 workers making the robots and it smelled like glue. I think we left with a buzz... look at all the twinkley lights!


This was store that specialized in stuffed animals of American Icons, such as Sesame Street, Disney, and Charlie Brown to name a few...


Animate was a store that was extremely impressive. Its too bad I couldn't get any more pics of this place.


Its hard to tell, but the entire place was tiled in white and back lit everywhere. This place felt like the ultimate product design office, or toy display area. Perhaps one day, I'll have a place like this for both...

So, with that in mind, I started thinking about this experience with visiting the toy stores. Why not release my toy line here? Good idea! Now I just need some capital and customers… hmm… I’ll keep you all posted…