V as in Vulture

Tons o' Toys

Tons of people out to see tons of toys at this past Downtown Art Walk hosted by AIGA Jacksonville. Designers in Toyland was a unique toy show that opened the theme to any customized or modified toy. The call went out at the end of October for artists to participate and help support The Big Fun Box charity which helps children who experience extended stays in hospitals, rejuvenating and inspiring them with toys and activities. Within a week of the call, the artist list went from 30 to 80, each representing a different perspective on customized toys.

There were plushes, urban vinyls, made from scratch sculpeys, wooden blocks and robots, and yes, even a jar of pickled Elmo (read: Pickle Me Elmo). In addition, there were elves customizing toys on the spot! A great experience to watch that creative process.

In the end, lots of toys were sold with more than a dozen of artists donating all of their sales to The Big Fun Box. And despite the rain, it was really great to see so many people come out and support the show and everyone that was involved. This city is MAD with talented people. Let’s keep it up!

If you made it to the show, what was your favorite piece and why?

If you missed it, luckily you can still catch some of the photos and videos online. But next time, you really just have to be there.

• Varick flickr set
• Pointshootenjoy flickr set
• Tifmann flickr set
• Fotobia.com flickr set
• REAX Magazine flickr set
• Video by Joey Marchy
• Video by Jesse Sison
• Remote Camera Toy setup by Fotobia.com (click “Client Login,” password “toy”)

Once again, many thanks to the sponsors of the show, the charity and to all the hard-working people who put it it together. AND the artists that got to play - Thanks!

• The Big Fun Box
• Urban Jacksonville
• 229 N. Hogan Street Art Collective
• Duval Destroyer
• Tommy Armageddon
• Bold City Brewery

Urban Jacksonville Weekly #43 Spot

(photo via Urban Jacksonville)

Yesterday, Chad Landenberger and myself were invited out for Urban Jacksonville Weekly #43 where we got to speak about the upcoming AIGA Toy Show “Designers in Toyland” tomorrow night and Chad’s “I’m Board IV” skateboard show. Thanks to the Urban Jacksonville Weekly crew for having us!

Check out the mayhem!

I'm on The Outer Box

WOOHOO!! Lookee there! I totally missed this mention - ie. I need to catch up on my blogs - but this is awesome! A great honor to be recognized by The Outer Box guys. Much thanks!