Taxonomy term | Designer Vinyl Toys & Art Culture | Clutter Magazine | Category | DIY

Most people identify punk as a certain genre of music or a kid with a bad hairstyle & not as a design or art style. Everything the punks of the 1970s & 80s did came from the Do-It-Yourself way of thinking; punk kids took the initiative &  made the fanzines they wanted to read, organized shows they wanted to see, made the music they wanted to hear & the clothes they wanted to wear. The punk aesthetic stems from punk's DIY ethics. It was all a statement. 

Dont forget! Tonight is the first ever Zukie Custom show at Toy Tokyo!!

I want to start this post by saying that CS Moore Studio produce some awesome sculpts/toys for the main stream comic and games market, so I am not writing this post to simply downplay their work. I'm writing this post because I am frustrated. I'm frustrated because it seems the outside perception on how to become involved in the designer toy market is to produce some half assed DIY character platform. I guess its due to the success of the Munny - companies see these units fly off the shelves and want a piece of the action.

Toy Tokyo Underground Gallery wil be hosting Miss Zukie's first DIY Zukie show July 27th - 29th. Zukies are a blank vinyl base & they're "Mysterious characters that do not talk; they have thought bubbles and facial expressions. Zukies are about color." Zukies also "intend to generate emotions through their visual thoughts."  They also look like cute little marshmallows. 

Hey paper toy fans. Shiny And Colorful have finally released a DIY version of Pencil. Whoot Whoot ( as the Jugalos say) !  It's still a 3D version of Pencil but now you can do it your own way.  This is what the DIY pencil looks like prior to you expressing your artistic self all over it. 

Seems that 2012 is definitely the year of DIY platform toys.. get your custom on! The latest and greatest blank to be released is this DIY 6" Fonzo figure by Freak Store.  Inspired by the French Bulldog Mascot of the store, the Fonzo figure will soon be the basis of a custom show, so stay tuned for information on that.  Due for release at some point in June/early July, I think this is a pretty successful blank figure, generic enough for artists to stamp their style on it, but with enough character to be stand alone.

Sara, from the San Francisco based portable speaker company Boombotix, has just given us news on their upcoming event! Boombotix is collaborating with over 30 local artists to participate in customizing their speakers. Their speakers were originally conceived from Do-It-Yourself vinyl toys.

UK Based DMS has released his first DIY Resin - The Mini Mecha. In an unlimited run the DIY/blank resin version measures in at 2.75" in height.This is an unfinished cast (slight sanding/flash removal required) designed for toy customisers and lovers of raw resin!

Dudebox have just given us the (first) heads up of the first release of their video interviews produced by  by DBTV (a little film production arm of Dudebox). This one features Pete Fowler and not only does it shows clips of Pete's studio but it  also has the full reveal of the 3 DIY characters he has created for them (see above).

Urban Rascal has got some awesome new products up their sleeve. Not only is Urban Rascal focused on bringing us the best deals on urban vinyl figures, but they have been working on combining urban culture with creative product over all. So here it is ladies and gents, 'Sneakerskinz!!! Sneakerskinz is their newest item in which DIY crosses paths with the urban movement to create your own, non permanent, customized sneaker.