Throughout its short history, there have been some amazing bursts of innovation in the Designer Toy movement – figuring out how to turn the industrial manufacturing process on its head to make art; creating a 3-inch blank toy mold for artists from all over to paint on; repurposing older toys to make customized art sculptures, just to name a few. These innovations have been inevitably followed by a
sea of copycats that vary the original innovation for their own creations, sometimes as an improvement on the original idea, sometimes not so much. But over the past couple of years, these kinds of exciting innovations have been few and far between. This subculture has grown into a market, which has in turn been buffeted by the winds of recession. Toymakers of all sizes have had to work harder to keep the cash flow positive, which has led to safer, risk-averse production choices. Many of the long-term collectors, artists and makers that have been involved in Art Toys for many years - including this writer – have heaved a weary sigh, thinking they’ve seen it all before and looking for something new and different to come along. In this context, Blamo Toys is a much-needed breath of fresh air. Hailing from San Francisco by way of Idaho and other exotic locales, Blamo makes some of the most unique art toys on the market today with great character design and high quality production values. Utilizing some of the mass-production techniques intrinsic to toy making, but with a more hands-on feel, Blamo creates their art sculptures from a variety of materials: wood, leather, metal, and the occasional dabbling in resin. The results remind me of what I have always loved about using toy production as a medium to create art. Written by Jim Crawford
Excerpt from CLUTTER Magazine Issue #16
