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Kidrobot
Kidrobot is a producer and retailer of designer toys, vinyl art toys and collectibles founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Paul Budnitz. The company was one of the earliest creators of designer art toys in America. The company was acquired in November 2014 by National Entertainment Collectibles Association Inc. after almost going bankrupt. Frank Kozik joined the company as creative director that year. Company History Entrepreneur Paul Budnitz saw vinyl art toys during a business trip to Asia in 2002 and decided to create a market for art toys in the United States. He started a website and began importing toys from Japan, and opened a brick and mortar store in San Francisco a few months later. A few months later, the company began producing its own toy line with Tristan Eaton as the product designer. The company moved to New York City and opened a physical retail store in 2003. Stores were later opened in Los Angeles, Miami, London, Los Vegas, and Boulder. The Dunny and Munny toys ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Budnitz
Paul Budnitz (born September 14, 1967) is an American entrepreneur. He is the founder of retailer Kidrobot, and the social network Ello (social network), Ello. He also owns Budnitz Bicycles in Burlington, Vermont. Biography Early life and education Paul Budnitz grew up in Berkeley, California in a Jewish family. His father was a nuclear physicist, and his mother was a social worker. He graduated from Berkeley High School (California), Berkeley High School and eventually transferred to Yale University in Connecticut. Career Budnitz is also a film director, and in 1996 he directed the film ''93 Million Miles from the Sun''. In 2001, he directed ''Ultraviolet'', a 13-minute short film. Budnitz is the founder of Kidrobot, Ello (social network), Ello, Budnitz Bicycles, and Superplastic. Personal life Budnitz has lived in Boulder, Colorado; New York City; Montana; and Shelburne, Vermont. He is married to Sabine "Sa Budnitz" and the couple split their time between Vermont and New York ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nathan Jurevicius
Nathan Jurevicius (born 1973) is a Canadian/Australian illustrator, director, toy designer, author, and fine artist whose diverse range of work has appeared in numerous publications, advertising campaigns, festivals, and galleries around the world. His most acclaimed project to date is ''Scarygirl'', which started in 2001 with a vinyl toy range and has since developed into graphics novels, online games, a VR Free Roam experience, and an animated feature film that is currently in production. Scarygirl Appearing in comics, vinyl toys, games, and internationally exhibited artwork, Scarygirl is about a misshapen orphan searching for the truth about her past. The cute but slightly odd little girl was abandoned late one night and later found and brought up by a friendly octopus called Blister and guided by a mystic rabbit called Bunniguru. A vision of psychedelic colours, surreal landscapes and personal discovery, Scarygirl recalls the fables and folklore of our shared cultur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tara McPherson
Tara McPherson (born April 7, 1976, in San Francisco, California) is an American artist based in New York. McPherson creates paintings, murals, poster art, and designer toys, within the New Contemporary Art movement. Biography Tara McPherson studied art at Santa Monica Community College and earned her BFA from Art Center in Pasadena, CA in August 2001 with an Illustration major and a Fine Art minor. McPherson's artwork has been featured in ''The New York Times'', ''Esquire'', '' Vanity Fair'', ''Playboy'', ''Elle'', ''Marie Claire'', ''Juxtapoz'', ''Hi-Fructose'', and the ''Los Angeles Times''. In 2007, she won an Esky Award from ''Esquire'' for Best Concert Poster. Solo exhibitions In 2006, McPherson's works were exhibited in a solo show at BLK/MARKT in Los Angeles, followed in 2008 by ''Lost Constellations'', her first solo show at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York. In 2015, Dorothy Circus Gallery hosted McPherson's first solo exhibition in Rome. In 2010 ''Bunny in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huck Gee
Mark Gee (born May 19, 1973, in Newcastle upon Tyne, England), better known as Huck Gee, is a contemporary artist, illustrator, toy maker, and designer best known by toy enthusiasts for his iconic "Skullhead" character. He works and lives in San Francisco, California. Work Influenced by Japanese and Hong Kong pop art, Huck produces illustrations and custom figures and has released production toys through Kidrobot including figures for The Standard and DJ Qbert. In 2005, Huck Gee released the "Skullhead Project", a joint project between Kidrobot and Barneys New York in conjunction with five top fashion designers: Marc Jacobs, Jil Sander, Dries van Noten, Rick Owens, and Duckie Brown. With this project, 12" figures of Huck's Skullhead character came immaculately dressed in the 2005 spring collections of each of the five fashion designers. In October 2007, Gee's second original figure, "Akuma Bomb" was released. In the winter of 2007, three Kidrobot toys were accepted into the perm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Designer Toys
Art toys, also called designer toys, are toys and collectibles created by artists and designers that are either self-produced or made by small, independent toy companies, typically in very limited editions. Artists use a variety of materials, such as ABS plastic, vinyl, wood, metal, latex, plush, and resin. Creators often have backgrounds in graphic design, illustration, or fine art, but many accomplished toy artists are self-taught. The first art toys appeared in the 1990s in Hong Kong and Japan. By the early 2000s, the majority of art toys were based upon characters created by popular Lowbrow artists, linking the two movements. Overview A typical example of designer toys are the Qee series, produced in Hong Kong by Toy2R. The standard size of Qee figures is 2" high, but 8" and 16" figures are also produced. Qees vary in their design, usually with the same basic body type, but with head sculpts that may be of a bear, a cat, a dog, a monkey, or a rabbit. Variations of the Qee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Art Toys
Art toys, also called designer toys, are toys and collectibles created by artists and designers that are either self-produced or made by small, independent toy companies, typically in very limited editions. Artists use a variety of materials, such as ABS plastic, vinyl, wood, metal, latex, plush, and resin. Creators often have backgrounds in graphic design, illustration, or fine art, but many accomplished toy artists are self-taught. The first art toys appeared in the 1990s in Hong Kong and Japan. By the early 2000s, the majority of art toys were based upon characters created by popular Lowbrow artists, linking the two movements. Overview A typical example of designer toys are the Qee series, produced in Hong Kong by Toy2R. The standard size of Qee figures is 2" high, but 8" and 16" figures are also produced. Qees vary in their design, usually with the same basic body type, but with head sculpts that may be of a bear, a cat, a dog, a monkey, or a rabbit. Variations of the Qee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WildBrain Entertainment
WildBrain Entertainment, Inc. (stylized as W!LDBRAIN, formerly Wild Brain Productions and sometimes simply WildBrain) was an American animation studio that developed and produced television programming, motion pictures, commercial content, and licensed merchandise. Established in 1994, it maintained offices in Los Angeles and New York City. It had been operated in some form for 22 years before its eventual shutdown and repurposing of the brand name. Its film productions included the Annie Award-winning CGI short ''Hubert's Brain'', while its television work included the Nick Jr. series ''Bubble Guppies'' and ''Yo Gabba Gabba!'', and the Disney Channel series ''Higglytown Heroes''. WildBrain also produced earlier animated shorts and television specials of ''Monster High'' for Mattel. They have produced national commercials for clients like Esurance, Chiclets, Target, Nike, Honda, Kraft, ''the Wall Street Journal'', and Lamisil (featuring Digger the Dermatophyte). Their ad work ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Horvath
David Z. Horvath (May 28, 1971) is an American illustrator, comics artist, toy designer and author best known for creating the popular Uglydoll characters as well as the world they inhabit, The Uglyverse, with his wife, Sun-Min Kim. The toy line began in 2001 with a single plush toy called Wage, hand sewn by his sweetheart and creative partner, Sun-Min Kim for David as a gift, and grew into the brand. Kim and Horvath were later married. Today they live in Los Angeles and have two kids: a daughter and a son. Along with a plush Uglydoll line, he is also the author and illustrator of 12 ''Uglydoll'' books, including the four "Ugly Guides" and a series of comic books, and the Bossy Bear series of children’s books. His books have been reprinted in Korean, Japanese, and Spanish. Education Horvath attended Parsons: The New School For Design. Characters David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim are the creators of multiple characters and toy lines including: * Uglydolls * Bossy Bear, Bis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yo Gabba Gabba!
''Yo Gabba Gabba!'' is a children's musical television series created by Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz. The series is about five costumed toys come-to-life and their friend DJ Lance Rock ( Lance Robertson). It is co-produced by Magic Store Productions and WildBrain. Its first episode premiered on Nickelodeon on August 20, 2007, as a part of its Nick Jr. block. Its original run ended on November 12, 2015. A single topic is addressed in each episode (such as "Adventure", "Friends", or "Dance") through songs and short storylines. Additionally, the show teaches children life and social skills, such as sharing and trying different foods. It also encourages viewers to move along with and dance with the characters in the program. The show is noted for its indie-culture guest stars and bands, and for drawing visual inspiration from 8-bit video games and ''H.R. Pufnstuf'', among other television shows. Created by Christian Jacobs (lead singer of the Aquabats) and Scott Schultz, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Entertainment Collectibles Association
The National Entertainment Collectibles Association (mostly known by its acronym NECA) is an American manufacturer of collectibles typically licensed from films, video-games, sports, music, and television based in New Jersey. The company was founded in 1996 and has over 60 licenses for which it produces products. In 2002, "NECA's Reel Toys" was formed as a division to produce toys, action figures and dolls that are targeted towards action figure and toy enthusiasts. They are intended for teens and adults as collectibles for many licenses that no other company would market as a toy. On September 14, 2009, they announced acquisition of the WizKids assets from Topps, for the collectible miniature Clix games and Pocketmodel games. NECA Licenses (current and past) *"Weird Al" Yankovic * '' 9'' * '' 300'' * ''A Christmas Story'' * ''AC/DC'' * '' Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'' * ''Adventure Time'' * ''Alien'' * ''Aliens'' * '' Alien 3'' ** Alien 3 (NES game) * '' Alien: Covenant'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Kozik
Frank Kozik (born January 9, 1962 in Madrid) is an American graphic artist best known for his posters for alternative rock bands. History Kozik has worked with Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Melvins, The Offspring, Butthole Surfers, and Helmet (band), Helmet. Kozik used to run Man's Ruin Records, a media outlet and record label, and has published several books including ''Man's Ruin: Posters and Art by Frank Kozik'' and ''Desperate Measures Empty Pleasures''. Kozik has been described as "one of the rock world's top poster artists", and interviewed in ''Rolling Stone''. Kozik created Smorkin' Labbit and is the Creative Director of Kidrobot. Although primarily known for his screen prints, a rare painting of the Labbit sold on the TV first-price sealed-bid auction, blind auction show ''Four Rooms (TV series), Four Rooms'' for £4,000. Kozik has been a force in the designer toy movement with many of his works produced ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Privately Held Company
A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is offered, owned, traded, exchanged privately, or Over-the-counter (finance), over-the-counter. In the case of a closed corporation, there are a relatively small number of shareholders or company members. Related terms are closely-held corporation, unquoted company, and unlisted company. Though less visible than their public company, publicly traded counterparts, private companies have major importance in the world's economy. In 2008, the 441 list of largest private non-governmental companies by revenue, largest private companies in the United States accounted for ($1.8 trillion) in revenues and employed 6.2 million people, according to ''Forbes''. In 2005, using a substantially smaller pool size (22.7%) for comparison, the 339 companies on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
