'Vinyl' toys

May 27, 2009

I was walking around SoHo in lower Manhattan yesterday when I noticed the Kidrobot store. I had heard a lot about Kidrobot but had never actually been in one of their stores (they have four, one each in NY, Miami, San Francisco and Los Angeles) so I decided to go in.

Kidrobot deals in “urban vinyl” or “vinyl toys” that are aesthetically on the cutting edge. Produced in limited edition runs, they are either on the border between consumer products and art or are art. It depends upon who you talk to. As Kidrobot puts it on their website: “Kidrobot is planet Earth’s premier creator & retailer of limited edition toys, clothing, artwork & books.” I have to tell you, it was a really cool line up of toys as art. Because we are dealing in a visual issue I am posting several pictures.

What I liked was that the pricing really ran the gamut from $4.95 to high hundreds. This means that there that is something affordable for everyone. I asked a clerk in the store what the average age of a shopper was and she said it really ran the gamut. As I looked around, that was what I noticed as well. There were hipsters, kids with parents, teens and…me.

When I got home I did a Google search and found that there were a number of stores and websites dealing in the category as well as a community that supports it, writes about it, reads about it, buys it and collects it.

So, here are my questions:

1. Just how big is the limited edition toy market?”
2. Who are the players?”
3. How does this apply to the rest of the toy industry?”

If you are a fan of this type of product or have information to share, please write in and tell us.

Posted by Richard Gottlieb on May 27, 2009 | Comments (4)

July 28, 2009

In response to: 'Vinyl' toys
Anonymous commented:

FYI - This post is dated 1,000 years in the future which means it always remains at the top of the list, obscuring newer entries. Any chance you could correct the date and improve the readability of your excellent blog?

May 27, 2009

In response to: 'Vinyl' toys
Marian - TIA commented:

Toy Fair NY has been a fan of this genre of "toy" for a number of years. Beginning at TF06, we have had a featured product section "Urban Bazaar:Indie Art Toys" dedicated to this product. The section's name was the result of a contest we ran for exhibitors with this product because we, admittedly, did not have a clue about what to call these toys/works of art. We just knew we loved them and wanted more of it at Toy Fair. Just this year, we changed the name from Urban Bazaar to Designer Art Toys. As the years have passed we've seen many elements of the designs find their way into mainstream products and we are as hooked on the look today as we were five years ago. Thanks for highlighting the category.

May 27, 2009

In response to: 'Vinyl' toys
Kim Vandenbroucke commented:

Here in Chicago we have Rotofugi, which is really similar to KidRobot. Deuce is right that Mattel modeled Funkeys in a style that mimics what we've been seeing in the vinyl toy market for a while. Vinyl toys are really more art than toys and are typically clean, sleek and funny - a style that appeals to a large group of artists and designers. Personally, I know a bunch of industrial designers who are avid collectors of vinyl toys. They proudly display them on their desks. One of the interesting features of vinyl toys is the idea of a "blind box" purchase, which is somewhat similar to buying a pack of baseball cards. You have no idea what's inside the box until you've paid for it. Do you already have it or is it something new? Typically this is only seen in the lower price point items - but it's definitely an interesting aspect to the market. As a side note before I quit rambling - the very popular vinyl “Dunny” and "Munny" series can be seen in most contemporary art museums - and you can purchase your own blank one to deco in their museum store. Still don't be surprised if you drop $10-$200 for a BLANK one. And the artist done ones can go for much, much more. One more thing – the vinyl toy market coexists nicely with the art plush which is where the Ugly Doll and Domo lines got started.

May 27, 2009

In response to: 'Vinyl' toys
Deuce commented:

U.B. Funkeys by Mattel has been aware of this trend in urban vinyl for almost 2 years. Very fun game too. www.ubfunkeys.com