Finalists for "Best DIY Platform" in the 2013 Designer Toy Awards Are…
Android by DYZPlastic
The Dude by Dudebox
Fonzo by Freak Store
Jumping Brain by Emilio Garcia x Toy2r
Loose Tea by Lunartik
MAD*L by MAD
Munny by Kidrobot
Trikky by Kidrobot
Unicorno by tokidoki
What will the art toy world / culture / community be NOW, without DIY Toys? Remembering the onset of "Art Toys", where folks predominantly purchased their fix off the shelves or via online, and then displayed up their pieces straight out of the box.
I remember reading forum-threads where artists started cleaning off their Dunnys skins and started painting over them, and next thing you know, more folks get on the bandwagon, and a next 3-dimensional canvas was born.
And while folks might just produce uncolored pieces of their production pieces, folks have also entered the fray by just solely catering to the DIY movement.
Truth be told, I had my personal reservations when I started blogging about toys, and had felt that it might be somewhat "disrespectful" of an artist covering over another artists' design, or even blanking out the toy form he/she designed in the first place … but just like a blank wall in public being used by a canvas by different grafitti / urban artists, perhaps the notion of a toy form could be adapted as such? … Or so I comforted myself then…
I now welcome the notion of DIY toys, as they are MEANT to be painted over, without any preconceptions or reservations, to me likened to if public walls were/are erected specifically for writers and taggers to lay their aerosol art on, methinks :)
The finalists this year consists of usual fan-favourites, and a couple of new names. In the interest of advancing the scene beyond congratulating the mainstays, my vote goes to either or both Freak Store's FONZO and Loose Tea by Lunartik.
This particular category is CLOSED to public voting, and winner will be decided by a Judging Panel. That said, which particular toy form do YOU like to work on? Artists / Hobbyist = please feel free to weigh in, in the comments section :)
(DTA 2013 Finalists announced HERE / All listings via Designer Toy Awards Facebook)
