"Aren't You Tired of Toys?"
I was asked recently, on Twitter, if I was "tired of toys". And while I had an easy answer for it when asked, that question lingered on for quite a while on my mind. The reply; now conceived in a somewhat more "tangible" form in this blogpost, was more layered and complex than it actually should be, methinks!
I have invested so much of my time, energy and physical finances into "toys", it has become a part of my living, breathing life. Evolving beyond "just" being a erstwhile "hobby", and no longer just "work" which I execute everyday via my blog, it also affects my life outside of the www, inescapably intertwined with my day-to-day activities and interaction with folks I meet face-to-face, and online.
"Toys" and "Life" = I no longer attempt to separate them, and have since embraced them as part-of my "real world" (which also means it has become harder for me to seek refuge in my "toy-world"), for good or bad, healthy or unhealthy.
Inevitably, even my "presents" for friends and family, are pop-culture and/or toy-related! From birthdays to Christmas presents, each had a slice of my toy-life to own LOL
Above: Birthday presents for my brother and sister!
Below: Christmas present for mum, bro and sis were gasaphons hung from the
mini XMAS Tree placed next to my late-Dad, in homage to his passing this year.
2013 was a year filled with surprising-ups and extreme-downs, never truly a moment of peacefulness, a year pondering in limbo and fueled with supressed emo. Of unrequited plans and unfulfilled dreams. Of personal tragedy and incredible sadness, all of which had directly affected how I blog, and the time spent on blogging, "play", and of living my life.
And while I had struggled to share words of toy-joy with the sanity of my family-life teetering in the balance, one of the more uplifting happenstances, is of rediscovering my joy of toys.
My interests for toys expanded beyond the art toy scene, to licensed products, most notably anime-related, chief of all being Attack On Titan, and other "fringe" concepts including relooks at Gatchaman, Captain Harlock et al … "Media influence" had done it's job.
Subconsciously though, live-action "Hollywood" movies paled somewhat in comparison to my new re-developed interest for anime, which in turn influenced how I embraced the toys and merchandise. Never underestimate the Power of Media, which in some cases might only mean "moving visuals" to hold the attention of an entire new generation of folks-with-nil-attention-spans.
Being financially strapped also impacted my experience with toys and collectibles, but then again, the "being strapped for cash"-situation is not new to me haha. While unable to procure big ticket items - which I ironically blog about every other day - I turned to gasaphons, and even fast food "happy meal" toys, for comfort and to sate my toy-grabbing-needs. Being "interested" in the art toy scene is one thing, but being able to afford it, is another harsh reality altogether.
And "looking back" and rediscovering the joy of toys and of play in the past - my past - reminding my of WHY I loved toys in the first place … something I will be looking into more, in 2014 and years to come.
The Effect of "Affordability", and The Power of "Past Memories" and how someone reacts to both, are not to be ignored, and is something folks should look at, to sustain longevity and relevancy, IMHO.
[Rediscovering Playmobils from my childhood / More on this later]
Fact is, I do not read other toy-blogs for news, instead depending on what ends up in my inbox, or pops up on my www-viewing-streams, which has become the norm in the new world where artists need no longer email press releases to me/us, which also means I am less imbued by products I can geek over, and even be excited about.
And what fills the void? Everything else.
There is a thin line between "discovery", and "learning" about something, be it it's genesis, significance, or simply it's existence. Can't hype something if I don't know it exists, can I? "Make Art for the Masses"? Or "Make Art for Yourself"?
I may not be an "artist", nor a (practicing) "designer", I am now a "consumer" moreso than ever before, an "outsider" looking thru the window-display (which I change "dressings" for daily, ironically), knowledgeable to a degree of what is available, and living with limited means and ability to sate my desires. The concept of "Limited to 10 pieces" versus "Limited to 100,000 pieces" has become the same conundrum for me.
Let's not forget the cold hard fact that toys are goods of "desire", not items of "need". Once you can get past that notion, and can literally afford to sate your desires? Then you are not chained to your limited means, and can own the embodiment of your "dreams" … within an approximately 12-inch size limit, of course LOL
Let's face it, blogs like mine hype the hustle of products the result of which either leaves smiling faces on the folks who scored it/them, or disappointed dreams of the folks who make them. The more I can share with folks, I certainly hope to put smiles on faces tho, regardless what genre of toys they are … least the disappointment of not being able to secure nor procure them leaves the enthusiast in the dust, like I personally have been in the past year, admittedly so.
And I have become quite fond of smiling, you know? But in recent months, the joy-of-toys also served as "distractions" from my personal loss, I admit.
[My DTA trophy from 2011 … would've been nice to
share a 2013-Win with my dad before he passed tho …]
"Toys"? I am not tired of them, as I am highly interested and intrigued in them still!
But perhaps if the question was instead asked; "Are you tired of blogging about toys?", then perhaps that might give me a pause, only because I would also want to have the chance to partake and "play" with them, rather than just hyping and promoting them online.
I am not "complaining", I am just being "greedy" muahahahahaha
Mind you, this blog-post is all about me and mine … as for how I view the state of the toy-world? Well, that's another "battered bag of rabid possums" for another post, for another time :)
I spent an evening of the second last day of 2013 posing and taking pictures of a trio of 1/6th kitbashed figures (for a group project I had initiated), for which I had been working on since before Christmas … and I passed 2013 and crossed over to 2014 midnight while playing with my Colossal Titan Nendoroid - not forgetting to hug my mum and wished my sister and brother "Happy New Year", of course - and there is no other way I'd rather spend my time doing right now. "Play" + "Bloggery" goes hand-in-hand, smile on my face and in my heart.
May YOUR New Year Be A Playful, Fruitful And Enriching One, my friends!
Happy New Year,
Andy TOYSREVIL
I have invested so much of my time, energy and physical finances into "toys", it has become a part of my living, breathing life. Evolving beyond "just" being a erstwhile "hobby", and no longer just "work" which I execute everyday via my blog, it also affects my life outside of the www, inescapably intertwined with my day-to-day activities and interaction with folks I meet face-to-face, and online.
"Toys" and "Life" = I no longer attempt to separate them, and have since embraced them as part-of my "real world" (which also means it has become harder for me to seek refuge in my "toy-world"), for good or bad, healthy or unhealthy.
Inevitably, even my "presents" for friends and family, are pop-culture and/or toy-related! From birthdays to Christmas presents, each had a slice of my toy-life to own LOL
Above: Birthday presents for my brother and sister!
Below: Christmas present for mum, bro and sis were gasaphons hung from the
mini XMAS Tree placed next to my late-Dad, in homage to his passing this year.
2013 was a year filled with surprising-ups and extreme-downs, never truly a moment of peacefulness, a year pondering in limbo and fueled with supressed emo. Of unrequited plans and unfulfilled dreams. Of personal tragedy and incredible sadness, all of which had directly affected how I blog, and the time spent on blogging, "play", and of living my life.
And while I had struggled to share words of toy-joy with the sanity of my family-life teetering in the balance, one of the more uplifting happenstances, is of rediscovering my joy of toys.
My interests for toys expanded beyond the art toy scene, to licensed products, most notably anime-related, chief of all being Attack On Titan, and other "fringe" concepts including relooks at Gatchaman, Captain Harlock et al … "Media influence" had done it's job.
Subconsciously though, live-action "Hollywood" movies paled somewhat in comparison to my new re-developed interest for anime, which in turn influenced how I embraced the toys and merchandise. Never underestimate the Power of Media, which in some cases might only mean "moving visuals" to hold the attention of an entire new generation of folks-with-nil-attention-spans.
Being financially strapped also impacted my experience with toys and collectibles, but then again, the "being strapped for cash"-situation is not new to me haha. While unable to procure big ticket items - which I ironically blog about every other day - I turned to gasaphons, and even fast food "happy meal" toys, for comfort and to sate my toy-grabbing-needs. Being "interested" in the art toy scene is one thing, but being able to afford it, is another harsh reality altogether.
And "looking back" and rediscovering the joy of toys and of play in the past - my past - reminding my of WHY I loved toys in the first place … something I will be looking into more, in 2014 and years to come.
The Effect of "Affordability", and The Power of "Past Memories" and how someone reacts to both, are not to be ignored, and is something folks should look at, to sustain longevity and relevancy, IMHO.
[Rediscovering Playmobils from my childhood / More on this later]
Fact is, I do not read other toy-blogs for news, instead depending on what ends up in my inbox, or pops up on my www-viewing-streams, which has become the norm in the new world where artists need no longer email press releases to me/us, which also means I am less imbued by products I can geek over, and even be excited about.
And what fills the void? Everything else.
There is a thin line between "discovery", and "learning" about something, be it it's genesis, significance, or simply it's existence. Can't hype something if I don't know it exists, can I? "Make Art for the Masses"? Or "Make Art for Yourself"?
I may not be an "artist", nor a (practicing) "designer", I am now a "consumer" moreso than ever before, an "outsider" looking thru the window-display (which I change "dressings" for daily, ironically), knowledgeable to a degree of what is available, and living with limited means and ability to sate my desires. The concept of "Limited to 10 pieces" versus "Limited to 100,000 pieces" has become the same conundrum for me.
Let's not forget the cold hard fact that toys are goods of "desire", not items of "need". Once you can get past that notion, and can literally afford to sate your desires? Then you are not chained to your limited means, and can own the embodiment of your "dreams" … within an approximately 12-inch size limit, of course LOL
Let's face it, blogs like mine hype the hustle of products the result of which either leaves smiling faces on the folks who scored it/them, or disappointed dreams of the folks who make them. The more I can share with folks, I certainly hope to put smiles on faces tho, regardless what genre of toys they are … least the disappointment of not being able to secure nor procure them leaves the enthusiast in the dust, like I personally have been in the past year, admittedly so.
And I have become quite fond of smiling, you know? But in recent months, the joy-of-toys also served as "distractions" from my personal loss, I admit.
[My DTA trophy from 2011 … would've been nice to
share a 2013-Win with my dad before he passed tho …]
"Toys"? I am not tired of them, as I am highly interested and intrigued in them still!
But perhaps if the question was instead asked; "Are you tired of blogging about toys?", then perhaps that might give me a pause, only because I would also want to have the chance to partake and "play" with them, rather than just hyping and promoting them online.
I am not "complaining", I am just being "greedy" muahahahahaha
Mind you, this blog-post is all about me and mine … as for how I view the state of the toy-world? Well, that's another "battered bag of rabid possums" for another post, for another time :)
I spent an evening of the second last day of 2013 posing and taking pictures of a trio of 1/6th kitbashed figures (for a group project I had initiated), for which I had been working on since before Christmas … and I passed 2013 and crossed over to 2014 midnight while playing with my Colossal Titan Nendoroid - not forgetting to hug my mum and wished my sister and brother "Happy New Year", of course - and there is no other way I'd rather spend my time doing right now. "Play" + "Bloggery" goes hand-in-hand, smile on my face and in my heart.
May YOUR New Year Be A Playful, Fruitful And Enriching One, my friends!
Happy New Year,
Andy TOYSREVIL
