custom labbit show

On Saturday 6 August, ToiToy in Cape Town will be holding their second custom vinyl toy show, this time using Frank Kozik's iconic Smorkin Labbit - and I'm super excited!

Not just because I love toys, and I do, but because I've been actively involved in this one, selecting some of the designers that would get to customise the 10" bunny-with-an-addiction.

The pieces will go on display on Saturday 6 August at 10.00 in the ToiToy store on Kloof St, but will only be available for purchase from the ToiToy website (for the benefit of international customers).

Here are the ones done by designers I chose:

Board Brain by Paul Oxborrow

Commander Jin by David Maclennan

Trash Magnet by Hilton Qiu

Senor DeMario by Ivana Raguz

Say My Name by Hannah Hughes

You can get a sneak peek of the rest of the customs here.

an exhibition

Nathaniel Stern is back in the country for a short sojourn and bringing his famous "lily scans" with him. Only this time, they're not our local Emmarentia lilies, but American Midwestern lilies.

For those who haven't seen this particular work before, Nathaniel has had a custom body-pack made so that he can strap on a desktop scanner and a laptop, and then he wades in to a lake - and literally scans lilies. Read more about his process here.

His latest exhibition will open this Saturday (30 July) at 2pm at Art On Paper (44 Stanley in Johannesburg).

beeg, very beeg

Check out this amazing art installation in Athens, Greece, where artist Shoboshobo created giant puppets and took over three buildings and a courtyard.

There were six giants in total draping their limbs over eaves, windowsills and stairs.

i am bare!

Some time back I posted about Am I Collective's Bare auction. And believe it or not, I actually did manage to win a Bare! I managed to win this not-so-little guy customized by Linsey Levendall...

I chose him in the end, because the design was quite Conrad Botha-esque, and he was a gift for hubby, who's a big Botha fan.
It made such a difference seeing the Bares on display when we were in Cape Town - the site really didn't do some of them justice, and man were they bigger than I thought!

park in ny

For one day a year, the streets of New York are not lined with cars, but with people come out to meet, socialise and have a little fun – in parking spaces.

“Park(ing) Day is an international event that reclaims parking spots and transforms them into engaging, people-friendly public spaces for one day a year.”

Started in 2005, Park(ing) Day has people pitching tents, setting up barbeques and starting yoga classes in the parking bays of cities across the world. It’s a fabulous affair and one I think worth employing wherever you are.

Watch the video and see the photos of Park(ing) Day NY.

Accompanying photo by Katie.

am i bare?

Cape Town-based creative outfit Am I Collective have launched a brave and exciting new project – the limited edition Bares. Based on the already-popular model of Kid Robot’s munnies and dunnies, Am I Collective have come up with a cute yet generic-shaped little figure and given it to various artists and graphic designers to interpret as they wish. The result is a 47-strong (and looks aimed for 100) collection of unique 40cm “Bares” to go on auction this week – all proceeds going to child welfare.

Each Bare has his own name, and a description of the artist’s inspiration. See the full collection of Bares, and get your credit card ready for the auction on 24 September.

brush up

The Brush Project! To raise money for Gigi's Playhouse (a down syndrome awareness center), the Rotofugi gallery in Chicago has started the Brush Project - a charity auction where the merchandise isn't art, but the tools used to make art. Well known underground artists have donated - and signed - their paint brushes for the cause. Artists include surrealists Mark Ryden, Dan May, Tara McPherson and many more.

Some artists have donated one brush, some a collection of brushes. Each has a tag with the artist's signature, a description of what the brush was used for and some even have an added personal design on the back of their tags by the donating artist. A collector's dream. Or as the Rotofugi gallery put it, "the best chance you'll probably ever get to own a Mark Ryden original".

keep an eye on kathie olivas

A couple of months ago I stumbled on some very odd yet intriguing looking toys by a designer I hadn't heard of before - Kathie Olivas. After a little browsing and research I'm hooked! Her work is a combination of Gary Baseman (fine artist turning his very noticeable painted characters into colourful figurines) and Mark Ryden (with his intricately detailed paintings that make you look twice to see the macabre in them). It's beautiful and dark - perfect for the toy collector's world.

Her site is miserychildren.com and the name alone perfectly sums up this latest collection. Children with metal jaws, gas masks, bear suits, straight jackets and zipper smiles.

"Her current body of work "Misery Children" is inspired by early American portraiture that often depicted children as small adults in an idealized new land, her characters parallel this vision within their own sense of post-apocalyptic conformity, uniquely documenting their own stories in a mysterious brave new world."

Her 3" inch toy collection is produced by MINDstyle and entitle The Scavengers - two series have been produced so far, and are largely sold out already. They're some of the most beautifully packaged toys I've seen, and I have two: Marabel and Brody.



While in Paris we came across an interesting piece. You could tell immediately who the designer was, but that's all I knew. After some deliberating, I bought her - Two-Faced Hazel (it takes some thought when you have to carry an awkward box around Europe with you and then on to a plane). And I'm so glad I did! Looking her up online, Two-Faced Hazel comes in very limited runs, only 200 of my version in particular.
She stands over 9" tall, wearing a gas mask on the back of her head while innocently sucking on a pink and white lollipop. She also stand on four stalks rather than legs. (As with all Olivas' work, it takes you a moment to realise this strange feature)


So now the dilemmas: I've started a whole new collecting craze (alongside my dunnys), and do I take her out the box or don't I? Ah, such troublesome thoughts on a Sunday night, how will I cope? :D

If you're at all in to vinyl art toys or modern, dark art, check her out: Kathie Olivas.



See more of her paintings here.

morph is immortal

It's old news, but lovely news. On 1 March hundreds of fans of Morph - and his creator Tony Hart - appeared at the Tate gallery with their own versions of Morph and his friends, creating a "flash mob" of Morphs in Tony Hart's honour. Hart died on January 18 at the age of 83, leaving behind a legacy of crazy plasticine critters, and a fan base across the world who grew up with his inquisitive creations.


It's a beautiful tribute, and one that few people receive - no matter how great they are in life. It's proof the Tony Hart's work touched the lives of thousands - most at an age when they were young, vibrant and excited about the world. A trait he tried to inspire in most of his work.

This is an event I wish I could have been at. Thanks uncle Tony, for giving us Morph :)

Watch the video of Morphs here.