Supahcute Dream Team Show at Leanna Lin's Wonderland!

Leanna Lin's Wonderland is always hosting great shows, and I am so excited about the next one, the Supahcute Dreamteam Show! Hana, who curates the Supahcute blog, has fantastic taste and is always blogging great stuff, so I am sure this show will be awesome.

Here's the details from the press release, and two of my favorite pieces from the preview images!

Supahcute Dream Team Show

“Art Too Cute for Words”

May 12 – June 24, 2012

Leanna Lin’s Wonderland

Opening Reception: May 12 (6:00-10:00 pm)

Drinks + treats

Don Chow Tacos (7-10pm)

Music by DJ Ev-1

Goodie bags to the first 20 purchases of $25 or more

Event styled by Lovely Jubilee

justJENN Designs pop-up shop

The Supahcute Dream Team includes: Axelhoney, Beastlies, Bubi Au Yeung, Crowded Teeth, Doubleparlour, Fat Rabbit Farm, Gary Ham, Genevieve Santos, Hiné Mizushima, Jerrod Maruyama, Katie Cook, Liz Adams, Martin Hsu, Mekanikku, Melissa Hsu (Susuten), PodgyPanda, Sawdust Bear, 64 Colors, Susie Ghahremani, Yoko Nomura.

I LOVE this piece by Hiné Mizushima

Also, cuteness from Liz Adams!

Sale at PodgyPanda!

Since PodgyPanda is headed to San Diego for SDCC, everything in his shop is a whopping 30% off! Head on over and check out his awesome tees, buttons, and prints!

Podgypanda's Fatima Custom

Gorgeous new custom Fatima by Podgypanda. I really love this!

For the Love of Vinyl - Artist Bios & Project Pics!

For the Love of Vinyl (currently on view through April 2nd at Dragatomi) isn't just a one-time show. It's an ongoing project that has a great accompanying website. Not only can you check out pics from the pieces in the show, but there are behind the scenes work-in-project shots and artist bios as well. As the months go by, the artists involved in the project will be updating the site with new customs and current projects.

I spent some time admiring the lineup of artists and selecting some of my favorites to share with you!



Lou Lou & Tummie, who I feature often, have one of the most imaginative and fun customs in the show. They say that their inspiration for "Jack Lumber" was "the cold & wet weather outside that wanted me to make a cute brown coloured kind of forester caveman with a camera…" So awesome. I love the work-in-progress view!


PodgyPanda, another favorite, created a gumball machine! So creative! Here is his toy inspiration: "I came across an old gumball vending machine outside an old video store, which dispensed gumballs in a capsule. I thought it would be hilarious if it were pandas instead of gumballs, and as the symbiote already had a round head, it was a win win. That and i just wanted to squish pandas."

This pretty custom is the work of King Quan. Love the colors and sweet cherry blossoms! Quan is the founder of the excellent website Fresh Characters

Paul Shih's 'Veganpire' doesn't eat blood! Instead, Paul tells us, "After World War III, human become endangered species, Vampires have no choice but to evolve into Veganpire, vegetarian vampire loves sunbath and everything cherry!"

Taiwan based artist Olla Boku always makes super fun and cute characters, and this OB Monsterstaff is no exception! I love the addition of the felt hat!

Jeremiah Ketner's super rad little figure was inspired by his desire "to make something that would frolic through the forest eating bugs and berries". I'd love to stumble upon this guy in the forest!

There is just something about this custom by Helena Garcia that brings a huge smile to my face. I love her cute, curious expression! I REALLY hope that Helena does tons more custom toys in the future so I can nab one!

Dolly Oblong's Woollcott is another really cute and creative figure! A soda drinking sheep with the cutest floppy ears!

For the Love of Vinyl at Dragatomi

The lovely Denise Cortez, whom I had the pleasure of meeting at last years' SDCC, is curating a fantastic show opening this weekend at Dragatomi!

For the Love of Vinyl - Custom Show at Dragatomi
On view from March 12th - April 2nd
Opening night: Saturday, March 12 2011 from 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm

Dragatomi is excited to host the - For the Love of Vinyl - Custom Show, a collaborative group art toy show celebration of doing what you love, the way you want to,and how ever you want to do it, in this case the artists and designers had the opportunity to create their very unique vision, by encouraging them to use the technique, medium and theme of their choosing applying all their creative talent on a blank symbiote vinyl toy platform.

The show gathers 25 talented artists, designers and customizers form all over the world featuring:
Arwassa (Spain) - ARTDENKA (Japan) - Baby Vtec (USA) - Chauskoskis (Mexico) - Dolly Oblong (Netherlands) - Frank Mysterio (Mexico) - Emily Bee (Canada) - Helena Garcia (USA) - Jeremiah Ketner (USA) - JRYU (USA) - Jeff Lamm (USA) - Kat Brunnegraff (USA) - King Quan (USA) - Lunabee (UK) - Lou Lou & Tummie (Netherlands) - Matt Jones (UK) - Jamie Fales (USA) - Olla Boku (Taiwan) - Pocket Wookie (USA) - Podgy Panda (New Zealand) - Paul Shih (New Zealand) - Pandacrew (France) - Steve Talkowski (USA) - SpankyStokes (USA) - Warm ‘n Fuzzy (Mexico).

25 artists - 25 toys all For the Love of Vinyl “ Cause We’re crazy for Toys “

PodgyPanda's 'Geeks of Nature' at Nation Toys opens 8/5

Hey Calgary-ians! Don't forget to check out Podgypanda's solo exhibition 'Geeks of Nature' at Nation Toys tomorrow!

PodgyPanda's 'Geeks of Nature' at Nation Toys - Sneak Peeks!

Hey, Calgary, are you ready? Do you know who is coming to town? It's PODGYPANDA with his first solo exhibition, 'Geeks of Nature!'

I have some special sneak peeks of the show pieces, which will be exhibited at Nation Toys in Calgary, Canada, August 5th- September. The artist will be in attendance (all the way from New Zealand!) for the opening reception.

From the press release:
"What do King Kong, Godzilla, Bigfoot, Yeti, Narwhal, and an Unicorn
all have in common? They are troublemakers of the everyday world, they
are looked at and called Freaks. Not your average bunch of freaks. In
their world, being a misfit is the way to be. And you're in luck -
they're holding a Geeks of Nature Party and you're invited!"

PodgyPanda Sale! (ends June 6th)

Hurry your butt over to Podgypanda's fantastic webstore for some serious sale action- 20% off everything you order before June 6th! You even get A FREE SKETCH with your order! So awesome!

Super cute new Podgypanda merch!

Check out Podgypanda's awesome new stuff! Prints, tees, and badges.

Use the code "IMAWESOME" at checkout to save 10%

Shop here!

Noferin's 'We Heart Wood' Custom Jibibuts Show

The preview pieces for the 'We Heart Wood' custom show, opening this weekend at Munky King, are phenomenal! Tons of TokyoBunnie favorites exhibiting in the show, including Lola, Brandi Milne, Bubi Au Yeung, APAK, Podgypanda, Meomi, Peskimo, 64 Colors, Doktor A, Kelly Vivanco, Tessar Lo, Camilla d'Errico, Julie West, Noferin, Travis Lampe, Harley + Boss (Nathan J and Andrea), Colin Johnson, Andy Heng, Jason Limon, Dan May, Jeremiah Ketner, Brian McCarty, TADO, Yoskay Yamamoto, Stella IM Hultberg.

Opening reception, TONIGHT April 8th 7pm @ Munky King Melrose

PodgyPanda on Facebook!

PodgyPanda has a Facebook page! Let's be fans together!

Podgypanda's Twitter follower giveaway!

One of my favorite twitter pals, Podgypanda, has reached 1,000 twitter followers (it's well-deserved- he is awesome!) To celebrate, he is giving away this amazing engraved wood print. All you have to do to be entered into the giveaway is follow podgypanda on Twitter (if you’re not already) and retweet this:
“I wear doodley socks like @podgypanda #ppgiveaway”

He will select a winner on February 26th. One entry per person. I am going to enter right now, goodluck everyone :)

Podgypanda

The super awesome Podgypanda has the most amazing new laser engraved print (limited to only 10 pieces!) and handmade Christmas cards! I just love everything this panda makes!

Podgypanda's Laser Engraved Necklaces

I am a big fan of laser engraved jewelry, and I own several brooches by the wonderful Princess Tina. So, I was super excited to see that Podgypanda has delved into the world of laser engraved wood pieces! His mustached panda turned out excellent, and the very limited edition necklaces are now for sale in his Big Cartel shop, here.

He's also got a cute new tee, check it out!

Mutation: a vinyl show @ Black Maria Gallery

Mutation: a vinyl show
August 15th through September 5th, 2009
Opening Reception: Saturday, 15th of August, 7:00 - 10:30pm

*Image above is PodgyPanda's piece for the show*

From the Press Release:
Los Angeles – Black Maria Gallery is proud to present “Mutation”, an exhibition featuring a selection of some of the most sought after artists in the art toy scene today, proving that vinyl is the new canvas. Participating artists include: 64 Colors, Brent Nolasco, Bryan Collins, Button Eyes, Camden Noir, Draifet, Jeremiah Ketner, Kalypzo, Kat Brunnegraff, Kendra Binney, Kill Taupe, Motorbot, Mark Basa, Nathan Hamill, Okedoki, Podgy Panda, Reactor 88, Rosie O’Donnell, Shaun Wightman, TyleR & Zombie Monkie.

Urban vinyl toys have been saturating the art scene for the past several years. Some pieces have even become part of permanent collections in museums such as MOCA and recently sold via high-end auction houses like Christie’s, commanding thousands of dollars.

A hot generation of vinyl toy artists has been steadily infiltrating the art scene with their unique visions. These designers take a common “platform” toy, and through their creative and sometimes wicked sense of imagination, transform what is ordinary into the extraordinary. These pieces mutate into a custom art object, becoming highly sought after and truly one of a kind. In the custom vinyl world, there are no limits on what can be created.

Podgypanda's Online Shop!

The wonderful Podgypanda has opened an online shop! There's prints, button packs, and a super cute Chick Magnet tee!
Head on over here to check it out.

Don't forget to check out his new website and blog as well!

Swoon @ Black Maria

Gorgeous new group show, Swoon, opening at Black Maria Gallery this weekend. Featuring some of my favorites like 64 Colors, Podgy Panda, Jeremiah Ketner, and more.

From the Press Release:
Swoon is a group show that brings together an array of talented artists from around the globe. Each piece created for the exhibition has a story behind it and reflects a special emotion, memorable dream or precious memory from within its creator. The mission of this eclectic show is to invite the viewer into the artists realm.

Opening Reception: Saturday, June 13th, 7:00 - 10:30pm