the soft side of be@rbricks

This Bearbrick created by Japanese dj-turned-designer Hiroshi Fujiwara for the "4th Bearbrick World Wide Tour" is what you call a "flocked" toy.

FYI, flocked toys are those that have undergone the "the application of monofilament fibers, usually nylon, rayon or polyester onto a surface that has been previously coated with an adhesive." The resulting texture is very soft, similar to velvet or velour.

Back in the 70s, flocking was the rage. Almost all types of Christmas decor – trees, snowflakes, stars, lettering, candy canes, and holly – were flocked to death. Printers flocked everything from greeting cards to invitations to colored paper.

Very quickly, flocking became mass produced, and soon spread extensively to cheap and whimsical objects defined as kitsch. Even the once-luxurious jewelry box became tacky with all the flocked red lining. By the end of the 80s, flocking had lost its appeal.

Today, toy designers like Gary Baseman, James Jarvis, Touma, etc. have been reviving interest in flocking by creating flocked versions of their famous toy designs.

Hiroshi Fujiwara's Bearbrick is one example of how flocking is appropriately/tastefully used. It turned a hard-edged Bearbrick into a soft and furry teddy bear.

My dog Hogan, who loves all things soft, was instantly attracted to my flocked bear.

But I quickly grabbed the thing away from him.

That left Hogan with nothing but a soft and silky comforter to snuggle in.

Well, at the end of the day, softness is happiness. :-)

Info from craftflocking.com, swicofil.com, wikipedia / All pics by yours truly

an unsolved mystery

Two weeks ago, I received an unexpected call from S, my business partner.

"My driver is missing!" she blurted out. "Around 5pm, I asked him to drop me off at Santi's Deli in Rockwell. He was supposed to park the car at the nearby mall and buy me meds for my headache. But when I called and texted him – countless times – to ask him to pick me up, he never answered. To think that I told him I wouldn't take long! After waiting for two hours, I decided to take a cab home. Should I call the police?"

My mind raced. Was her driver's phone on silent mode? Why didn't he check it for messages? Did he fall asleep in the drivers' lounge? Did he meet an accident? Or was the car hijacked in the basement parking area of the mall? (The car was a high-end SUV, a vehicle on the police's list of cars-most-likely-to-be-carnapped. )

"We must be very sure before we report the matter to the police," I replied, "I think they issue shoot-to-kill orders on drivers of stolen vehicles."

"Then I should go back to the mall and find out if the car is still parked there," she said, sounding worried.

"That may be dangerous. You want my driver to come with you? He can be your bodyguard."

"I'll go alone."

At 7:30pm, I called her on her mobile phone.

After three rings, the call pushed through but no one said 'Hello'. There was a sound of rustling like someone was fumbling for the phone. Then I heard a very loud and shrill scream! What the hell was going on?!

She finally spoke, "Hi, I'm on my way to the mall."

"Are you okay? I heard a scream–" I asked.

"Those were my brakes screeching." Then she put the phone down.


At 8:30pm, she called and said, "The security guards found my car in Basement Parking Level One but my driver's nowhere to be found. They've paged him already."

"Ask the guards to check inside the car – maybe kidnappers tied him up in there, and are waiting for you," I spoke slowly, horrified at the thought.

At 9:30pm, my phone rang. "Found him. Said his phone got busted. He didn't hear any ring or any text message beep."

"But he got the messages?" I was so perplexed.

"Yup, they were in his phone inbox," was her exasperated reply.

"What an excuse!" I exclaimed to S. Then I thought to myself, "What a lie!"

Consider the facts: (1.) He knew that S would only take a short while at Santis Deli. (2.) Four and a half hours had passed since he dropped her off. (3.) All the text messages telling him to fetch her were in his phone.

Was he lying or not? What do you think really happened?

For me, the mystery was far from over.

(Top) This rare 'secret' bear with a big '?' on its forehead is the Series 3 Artist Be@rbrick by famous Japanese DJ-turned-streetwear designer Hiroshi Fujiwara. The "HTM" logo on its chest is from his spring 2002 streetwear line for Nike.

Click here to check out his blog / artworks.