let us count the ways

We always count the days to a long vacation or the minutes before an exciting show. We also count the things we want to buy with our Christmas bonus, and the gifts we receive on our birthday. And every time we join raffles, we tend to "count our chickens before they're hatched".

However, there are a few things that we sometimes lose track of. Here are some useful tips on what to count in life:

1. Count your money before you leave the cashier. It sucks to be shortchanged.

2. Count your calories. It's costs more to lose weight than to gain it.

3. Count your luggage when you travel. Remember, once you leave a city, there's no turning back.

4. Count to ten when you are upset at someone. It will stop you from saying things you don't mean.

5. Count your time online. Don't forget to spend quality time with the people you actually live with.

6. Last but not least, count your blessings – your family, your friends, your job. There is always someone else who has so much less. :-)

(Top pic) The 'tally marks' logo on the Bearbrick's chest belongs to the Japanese streetwear brand Undefeated. This bear is a collaboration with two other fashion brands, Stussy and Real Mad Hectic, to promote the the New Balance MT 580 Running Shoes (below).

Bearbrick pic by yours truly / Shoe pic & info from highsnobiety.com

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

yesterday... today... futura

Finally, it arrived – my Series 18 Secret Artist Bearbrick designed by Futura 2000.

It is a 'must-collect' for me, because Futura 2000 was one of the pioneers of the 80s graffiti art scene. Back in the 70s, when there was practically no 'scene' yet, Futura (born Leonard Hilton McGurr) was already writing (also called 'bombing' or 'tagging') in the subways of New York.

While graffiti artists moved from the streets to the galleries during the 80's (like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Kenny Scharf), Futura's career took a different turn. An unfavorable review by a prominent art magazine drove him away from New York galleries and into illustration and graphic design. In the 90s, he worked on record labels, created collectible vinyl toys, and collaborated with famous street fashion brands such as Recon, Nike, North Face, Undercover, Supreme, Levi's, and A Bathing Ape. Today, he designs for his own clothing line, Futura Laboratories which has a store in Fukuoka, Japan.

The Series 18 Bearbrick's 'paint splatter' design (above) was first seen on the "Clarks X Futura collaboration" Wallabee boots (below), a colorful classic that was launched late last year at Stless).

After that, the design reappeared on Futura Laboratories' Selvedge denim jeans, sold last March 2009 for $350 a pair.

If you're wondering what made Futura famous in the vinyl toy scene, look below. That's his 'Nosferatu', a 16-inch futuristic figure rendered in various colors and patterns. It looks more like a piece of modern sculpture than a toy, if you ask me.

And if you're curious about how he looks, then check out the pics below: Futura then (left, with Madonna)... and now (right).

While today's Futura 2000 seems to have embraced all of pop culture and the new media (his website has become his new subway walls), he still paints for art's sake. Last February, he exhibited 150+ postcard size paintings – not at a big New York City gallery – but at a local bar! Each artwork was raffled off for free (!) as his way of saying 'thank you' to his loyal followers and friends.

While Futura is not finished with fine art, he's done with art galleries. Who says art has to be hung on a white wall, anyway?

Futura Laboratories Bearbrick pic by yours truly / Info & other pics from coagula.com, Highsnobiety, flshop.exblog.jp, Wikipedia, streetlevel.com, Flyglobalmusic, dapperkid.blogspot.com, bkrw.com

a yellow tribute

For the people of the Philippines, the song "Tie A Yellow Ribbon 'Round The Old Oak Tree" (composed by Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown) is a meaningful one.

"Tie a yellow ribbon 'round the old oak tree,
It's been three long years, do you still want me?"

It was the theme song that marked the return of Filipino national hero Ninoy Aquino (Ferdinand Marcos's political opponent) to the Philippines in 1983, after three years of exile in the US. As a welcome sign, yellow ribbons were scattered along the streets of Manila by his supporters. But upon his arrival – just as he was stepping off the plane – he was brutally murdered. For a long time, we Filipinos endured the shocking image of Ninoy, our hero, slumped and bloodied on the airport tarmac, in our minds. (While the soldiers who assassinated him were sentenced to jail in 1990 after the ouster of Marcos, the mastermind remains unnamed and unpunished to this day.)

His wife, Cory (below), empowered by the Filipinos who were clamoring for change, continued her husband's fight against the tyranny of the Marcos dictatorship. The yellow ribbon, as well as the yellow color, became the symbols of her campaign. After leading the first non-violent revolution in 1986 (called the People Power Revolution), she became the first female president of the Philippines and served the country up to 1992.

Yesterday, August 1, 2009, our beloved Cory Aquino succumbed to colon cancer. Like millions of Filipinos, I am deeply saddened. Under her leadership, we Filipinos learned the real meaning of democracy, and how it felt to be free from military rule, free from fear. We will forever be grateful for this most priceless legacy.

Maraming Salamat, Cory!

(Top) The yellow-colored Bearbrick with a medal was created by Medicom Toys to commemorate the 100th year of the Teddy Bear (1902-2002). Did you know that this stuffed toy was named after former American president Theodore Roosevelt? Read about it here.

Bearbrick pic by yours truly. Cory pic from the blog, Stray Cat in the City

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the 'mj' be@rbrick

There is an 'MJ' Bearbrick (above, left), but it does not stand for Michael Jackson. It's the one designed by 'Miura Jun' (or Jun Miura), a famous Japanese illustrator, for Bearbrick Series 16. One of his artworks exhibited at the Tokyo Laforet Museum in 2002 (above, right) must have been the inspiration for it.

Judging from the pics below, it is easy to see that Miura (right) has something in common with the King of Pop.

Check out a video of him here.

However, the similarity doesn't end there. Like Michael, Jun has spent a lifetime of trailblazing artistry. He is also a cartoonist, painter, essayist, novelist, musician, record producer and a very good friend of music legend Bob Dylan. How akin to creativity can one be? :-)

Info from we-make-money-not-art.com, cduniverse.com, assemblylanguage, 1101.com /MJ pic from o.aolcdn.com / Jun Miura artwork from assemblylanguage.com / Pic of Series 16 Animal (Miura Jun) by yours truly

seoul searching

To tell you the truth, I didn't know what to expect of my first South Korean trip. My friend J and I only decided to fly there because Cebu Pacific Airlines had a big sale and it was the only Asian country that we hadn't been to. If you ask me, I knew nothing of the place, except that Seoul, the capital where we were headed, was the site of the 1988 Summer Olympics.

It was a trip in search of an itinerary. Fine by me. The prospect of deciding where to go and what to do 'on the spot' was truly liberating. And I loved it!

After days of wandering leisurely around the busy Myeongdong shopping area, taking a guided tour of the Gyeongbok Palace (with my Korean Flag bear, top pic), and strolling down the touristy Insadong-gil, I finally decided to try my luck with Bearbricks.

That search took me across the Han River to the Gangnam-gu area where the huge COEX Mall was. There, I found one (1) of the four (4) Kinki Robot stores in Seoul (see below).

The toy store chain's managing director happened to be there. We got to chat a bit (nice guy) and he even helped me get a cab to the other Kinki Robot store in Sinsa-dong Kangnam-gu.

That other shop is this one below. The guy with glasses is Jerry, the store manager.

On the wall beside the cash register is a poster by the famous Seoul-based figure maker, Coolrain. He's a Michael Lau copycat, but a very good one (the miniaturized Nike shoes are wonderful!) But you have to order online, where each of these handmade 12" figures will cost you US$770 – whoa!

Just when I thought my search was over (I was ready to head back to my hotel with several new bears), I stumbled upon this cafe/toy store called Le Caviar (below), just about 50 meters from Kinki Robot Sinsa-dong.

Outside, the place looked loaded!

Inside, stuff was spilling over to the cafe's dining couch! LOL

100%s.

400%s.

That night, I went back to the hotel happy – with 8 new Bearbricks (including the first die-cut metal one from Bandai) from three different stores.

Bearbrick-hunting may be tiring for the body, but as far as I'm concerned, it's damned good for the soul, too!

All pics by yours truly.

coffee, tea & serendipity

Three weeks ago, my friend J and I spent four days in Seoul, Korea. We arrived at our hotel in the trendy Myeongdong district late in the evening (11pm), so we had to walk quite far to find a restaurant that was still open.

On our way back to our hotel after dinner, the rain suddenly poured! Naturally, we took shelter inside the only place that was still open at that time – a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf cafe. As we approached the counter to order anything that could legitimize our stay, J exclaimed, "Look, a Bearbrick!"

Below was what he saw.

It was the 2nd Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Be@rbrick, a Korean exclusive – you wouldn't find it anywhere else in the world. I was really planning to get one – what a coincidence, eh? :-)

This (below) was the box that it came in.

Those angular brown patterns are the same ones on the bearbrick's torso. They are supposed to be the Korean letters for b-e-a-r-b-r-i-c-k. On the actual bear, the consonants are in front while the vowels are at the back. (Or is it vise-versa?)

And you probably thought they were just pretty patterns, huh? :-)

All pics by yours truly.

the day the robbers came

I won't forget the date – June 9, 2009.

10 a.m.

I received a notice from the post office that my L.A. Robber Bearbrick (above, designed by Simone Legno of Tokidoki) had arrived via registered airmail. I asked my driver to pick it up.

Who would have known that this bearbrick with darkly whimsical markings was an omen of the bizarre coincidences that followed?

10:30 a.m.

I got a message from a client. He informed me that our 2 pm meeting at their office might be cancelled. He said, "Some robbers broke into our 3rd floor offices last night and all the tenants have been forbidden to enter the building since this morning.... for security reasons."

11:30 a.m.

My client called back to say that they've already been allowed to go up to their offices. "Let's proceed with our meeting at 2pm," he advised.

1:50 p.m.

I arrived (with my colleague) at the back entrance of my client's building where a crowd of people were gathered by the sidewalk. As we moved towards the door, a security guard stepped in front of us and said, "Sorry, sir, ma'm... we are securing the building. Nobody's allowed to go inside."

Before I could open my mouth to speak, he had already turned his back.

My colleague whipped out her cellphone and dialed our client's number. "We thought you said that we'd be permitted to enter the building already... How come we're being asked to leave?" she asked him.

He apologized, "Sorry, there's been another robbery, just 20 minutes ago. Happened so fast, I wasn't able to warn you... A group of armed men held up the bank on the ground floor!"

Our jaws dropped. Had we arrived earlier, we would have witnessed the whole thing! Because to get to our client's 3rd floor office, we needed to take the elevators which were right in front of the bank's glass doors.

My client continued, "Meeting's canceled, of course, I'll call you people next week. Bye!"

By that time, we've been ushered to the sidewalk where the rest of the crowd was milling about. I couldn't help but overhear someone say, "I heard that the two adjacent buildings were also robbed last night – can you believe it? Must have been the same thieves!"

Another voice quipped, "It's election time, that's why...."

The first voice replied, "Yeah... election time."

When I got into the car to go back to our office, I told my driver about what happened. He quickly commented, "That's because it's election time..."

Now, what in the world do you think they all meant by that?!

I shudder at the thought.

(Pic by yours truly. Copyright Bearbrick Lover June 2009.)

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wanted: gardener be@rbrick

An Open Letter To The Famous Toy Designer, Michael Lau

Dear Michael,

I am an obsessed fan, a crazy toy collector who used to check eBay diligently for your 12-inch Gardener figures, hoping there would be a seller who was insane enough to part with his.

But after years of waiting in vain, I've learned to accept defeat (and the fact that those footlong toy figures with poseable extremities could cost me much more than an arm and a leg).

So I've switched to running after your 6-inch vinyl Gardeners instead. As the pictures below will show, I've been quite successful in acquiring a decent collection of your shorter Gardeners. You can't imagine how proud I am of these 'guys'. :-)

(Left to right) Maxx, Square, Tatto

Fatwest, Prodig, Brian

Young BB, BW, Mono...

Box B, Box C...

Future, Womax...

... and the catatonic-looking DJ Tommy.

But here's my case: much as I am devoted to your Gardeners, I am, above all, a Bearbrick lover. As such, I can't help but wish that one day, you'll find in your heart to create a 'Gardener' Bearbrick, complete with the hip streetwear and edgy attitude. Not just generic bearbricks (like the ones on top which you created for the 2001 Hong Kong Toy Con) stamped with the name of your toy company, Crazysmiles.

Please? :-)

Yours truly,
Bearbrick Lover

(Inset: top, right) 12-inch Prodig Gardener pic from crazytoyz0709.blogspot.com

collector's profile: the boy behind bare

This letter B stands for...

... the handsome Bill Psonis (below), the brains behind Bare (barenomore.com), an online toy shop based in Greece. He's the one who took the pic of the Series 16 'B' Bearbrick (above) against the famous White Tower of Thessaloniki.

Bill told me that his love for Bearbricks inspired him to start his own web-based shop in 2006. Today, he sells a good variety of toy brands such as Medicom, Toy2r, Kidrobot, Amos Toys, Strangeco, Crazylabel and creations from known designers like Kaws, Michael Lau, Patrick Chow, Kennyswork, Devilrobots and upcoming ones like Michael Kwong and T9G.

His blog (which you can access from barenomore.com) highlights new toy releases, as well as news about designers that he personally likes.

That's a 1000% Mastermind Bearbrick he is holding in the pic above. (I love his dotted Nike Dunk shoes designed by Japanese musician/trendsetter Hiroshi Fujiwara.)


(Above) His shop's official business card. You can tell he's a very creative guy.

(Below) Bill with his 1000% (0r 28-inch) Bearbricks and other toys from his collection.

(Left to right) Sex Pistols "Never mind the Bollocks", Sex Pistols "God Save the Queen", Rolling Stone, and Mastermind. FYI, the 16-inch bear on the extreme right is not a Bearbrick – it's a Qee Toyer Bear.

As you can see, Bill (in black Converse x Fujiwara sneakers) has a simple but sharp sense of style. He wears Sophnet, Visvim, Originalfake & Head Porter Plus, all trendy street fashion brands from Japan.

He has around one hundred eighty 100% Bearbricks...

...and twenty-five 400%s (or 10-inch) bears.

Aside from Bearbricks, Bill also collects Kubricks and Hasbro Star Wars 4-inch figures. His favorite Asian toy designer is Michael Lau. He told me that he even managed to get Lau's latest CSBOOTH16 figures in his shop – at very reasonable prices!

Part of his vision was to provide toy collectors an alternative to today's outrageous eBay prices. Boy, do we need more guys like Bill! :-)

Bare Shopping Tip: Enjoy FREE shipping via registered airmail for all purchases above 70euro. Happy shopping!

All pics by Bill Psonis / Nike X Fujiwara pic from www.tierze.ro

pencilworks

Back in kindergarten, I learned the basic things that I could do with a pencil:

1. Write.
2. Draw.
3. Stab an annoying classmate.

But through the years I discovered that pencils could also be used as backscratchers, earpicks, darts, bookmarkers, chopsticks, corkboard pins, etc. I especially like filling a coffee mug with newly-sharpened colored pencils and using it as decor, in lieu of flower arrangements.

My artist-friend Christina Quisumbing-Ramilo has been more inventive with pencils. Her latest artworks make use of hundreds of them glued together to create bas relief-type sculptures of various kinds.

From paisley-shaped eraserheads to pencil tips that form a large teardrop.

Don't these remind you of art deco architecture? Like the top of the Chrysler Building?

Honeycombs?

Deep sea flora?

I like the one on the right. The arrow-tips inside the black crater look like volcanic spew.

From pencil scraps to pencil art. From a simple tool to a slew of possibilities. Congratulations, Christina – once again, you've turned the mundane into magical. :-)

These sculptures were part of a group show entitled "PARAMETERS + PLAY + REPETITION = PATTERNS" at the Manila Contemporary Art Gallery along Pasong Tamo Extension in Makati City, Philippines. Conceptual artist Judy Freya Sibayan curated the exhibition.

(Top) The bearbrick with childlike pencil scrawls is the Series 8 Secret Bearbrick. Named 'Stash & Ariel', it was created by Brooklyn-based graffiti artist Stash (a.k.a. Josh Franklin). From spray painting 60 X 20 feet subway trains in the eighties, 37-year old Stash has moved on to selling his brand of pop art in galleries, collaborating with fashion labels such as Nike and his own Recon streetwear, and designing toys. See more pics here.

Info from livingproofmag.com and guardian.co.uk. All pics by Bearbrick Lover, Copyright 2009.