What Edward Low Thought of 2018 Toy Releases
I had earlier asked Edward Low (one of the Administrators for MY Toy Hoard on Facebook - one of the more active groups and the more diligent of toynews-sharing by Admins on FB I have since come across) "WHAT HE THOUGHT OF 2018 TOY RELEASES", and this was what he shared, presented here in full and non-edited :)
I was very interested to read what he had to share, especially as he is entrenched into the collecting community besides very actively sharing toynews and video coverage of related events (*In all transparency; I had previously asked him to blog for TOYSREVIL, which he graciously turned down).
Cheers & Enjoy The Read, folks!
Andy TOYSREVIL
(Above image: The first ever MY Toy Hoard members meet up at
the 2018 TAGCC / Toys, Anime, Games & Comic Con / Original Image)
EDWARD LOW: To be honest, 2018 went by quite fast and definitely the designer/ art toy world grow way faster than previous year/ years. Although I only started collecting and get to know more in late 2016. I am still very very very new in this scene and this is just purely my own opinion being an amateur toy collector.
The market in Asia is crazy & we hardly talk about releases from the West anymore. Literally every other day there will be one new release from somewhere. Every other month there is a convention in one of the Asia countries. Art galleries that focus on toys exhibition are popping out everywhere! Investors from China are flooding in and they definitely catching up in terms of productions & releases as compared to other Asian countries. Collectors have too many options and eventually suffocated. At least that is how I feel in 2018.
2018 for the Asia’s toy market definitely can be summed up with Blindbox and Collaboration. It is a good thing for new collector as blindbox tend to be more affordable. Not everyone will understand why we pay USD80 for a 4-5 inches toy.
Collaboration allow supporters/ fans to cross over and have something new to collect. But then again, too much will cause exhaustion as well.
EDWARD LOW: Frankly speaking, I can only remember a handful of artists on what toys did they release in 2018. Others, they just come and go or fail to catch my attention.
Most of the new toys are being released for the sake of releasing. Especially those cute toys. I am a sucker for cute toy but I feel that most designs doesn’t stand out anymore. I just wonder, do those artists really enjoy designing those toys or they just want to make something that can sell.
As compared to my collection in 2017, 2018 I tend to focus more on up and coming artists. One of the main reasons is I can’t afford toys by most developed/ well known artists and they release way too often. I can’t stay in front of my computer waiting for the clock to strike and fight with thousands of collectors online for that 150 pieces limited release. I just can’t be bothered anymore. Not to mention the multiple colourways of the same design in a year.
Furthermore flippers are crazy! Seeing all the grandmas grandpas queuing up at toy show is pure madness. Yet to witness it with my own eyes but saw an aunty argue at the booth during STGCC saying not fair to queue up but can’t get that limited edition toy.
I just wish 2019 the Asia market will slow down a little or else it will die off way sooner than it should be. Both artists and collectors need to catch a breath! But I know it will not happen. We already seen some 2019 sneak previews late last year.
Regards,
Edward Low
Insta @edwardlow25 (toy collection)
Insta @drawdelow (doodles & handmade stuff)
I was very interested to read what he had to share, especially as he is entrenched into the collecting community besides very actively sharing toynews and video coverage of related events (*In all transparency; I had previously asked him to blog for TOYSREVIL, which he graciously turned down).
Cheers & Enjoy The Read, folks!
Andy TOYSREVIL
(Above image: The first ever MY Toy Hoard members meet up at
the 2018 TAGCC / Toys, Anime, Games & Comic Con / Original Image)
EDWARD LOW: To be honest, 2018 went by quite fast and definitely the designer/ art toy world grow way faster than previous year/ years. Although I only started collecting and get to know more in late 2016. I am still very very very new in this scene and this is just purely my own opinion being an amateur toy collector.
The market in Asia is crazy & we hardly talk about releases from the West anymore. Literally every other day there will be one new release from somewhere. Every other month there is a convention in one of the Asia countries. Art galleries that focus on toys exhibition are popping out everywhere! Investors from China are flooding in and they definitely catching up in terms of productions & releases as compared to other Asian countries. Collectors have too many options and eventually suffocated. At least that is how I feel in 2018.
2018 for the Asia’s toy market definitely can be summed up with Blindbox and Collaboration. It is a good thing for new collector as blindbox tend to be more affordable. Not everyone will understand why we pay USD80 for a 4-5 inches toy.
Collaboration allow supporters/ fans to cross over and have something new to collect. But then again, too much will cause exhaustion as well.
EDWARD LOW: Frankly speaking, I can only remember a handful of artists on what toys did they release in 2018. Others, they just come and go or fail to catch my attention.
Most of the new toys are being released for the sake of releasing. Especially those cute toys. I am a sucker for cute toy but I feel that most designs doesn’t stand out anymore. I just wonder, do those artists really enjoy designing those toys or they just want to make something that can sell.
As compared to my collection in 2017, 2018 I tend to focus more on up and coming artists. One of the main reasons is I can’t afford toys by most developed/ well known artists and they release way too often. I can’t stay in front of my computer waiting for the clock to strike and fight with thousands of collectors online for that 150 pieces limited release. I just can’t be bothered anymore. Not to mention the multiple colourways of the same design in a year.
Furthermore flippers are crazy! Seeing all the grandmas grandpas queuing up at toy show is pure madness. Yet to witness it with my own eyes but saw an aunty argue at the booth during STGCC saying not fair to queue up but can’t get that limited edition toy.
I just wish 2019 the Asia market will slow down a little or else it will die off way sooner than it should be. Both artists and collectors need to catch a breath! But I know it will not happen. We already seen some 2019 sneak previews late last year.
Regards,
Edward Low
Insta @edwardlow25 (toy collection)
Insta @drawdelow (doodles & handmade stuff)
