November 20th, 2007 // g + c
Formed in 2002 the Royal Sarcophagus Society, is a Toronto-based group of artists who share the vision of - as they put it
“liberating magic, art, whimsy and idle daydreaming and setting it free from the shackles of mass produced, predictable, modern day, dim-witted, dunder-headed profit orientated sameness.”
Their online store features such things as hand printed black and white photographs, art books, hand made jewelry boxes, postcards, paper ephemera, games and clothing. Or how about The Nasty Clown toy. It’s one of those roll the small little balls back into the holes games and it comes in a coffin shaped container with a lovely inked illustration as the background. Check out the site for all kinds of oddities.
—-+—-+— The Royal Sarcophagus Society —-+—-+—
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October 11th, 2007 // g + c
I hadn’t seen anything new from Tanya Thompson lately (aka Misery) or maybe I’ve just been too busy to notice so I decided to poke around. I visited her site at MiseryBoutique.com and noticed there hadn’t been any updates for awhile. And after searching a bit I found out why - she has been working on a brand new site! So new in fact its still under construction. Misery.com was supposed to launch in September, and the splash page announces they are still working very hard to complete it. She also recently had an art show titled “Mighty Monster Masquerade“, in Auckland showcasing her new works.
She began as a street/graffiti artist, designed shirts for Illicit and now owns and runs the Misery Boutique in Auckland, NZ. selling Misery clothing, accessories, art, cosmetics, jewelry and toys. Combine that with her sense of style and feisty attitude, Misery is a great example of where passion and determination can get you. She has two distinct lines - her characters and her vintage collection.
I love her cute and lovable but damaged characters which have the potential to become the next “Emily Strange“. Reading an interview with her off her site she states that she is very much afraid of exactly that - as the Emily character started off as a really cool underground label but now she’s basically everywhere.
Visit Misery.com and sign up to be notified of the site’s launch. Until then you can visit her old site at MiseryBoutique.com and check out her paintings, bio, interviews and videos.
Posted in Dark Toys, Art, DIY, Fashion | No Comments »
October 6th, 2007 // g + c
A decent toy series is hard to come by these days and a really good one even rarer. One of those rare series is The Nightmare Before Christmas line for NECA.
I’ve collected these figures from the start and it was sad to learn that Series 6, released a few weeks ago, is apparently and unfortunately the final installment. In this set we see: ‘Experiment’ Jack Skellington, Mr. Hyde, Melting Guy with the Spider Hair Monster and Corpse Mom and Son.
The sculpting has been excellent during the entire six sets as well as the beautifully detailed paint jobs. The articulation is also decent for this type of figure and they did as much as they could while keeping them looking as good as they do. Each figure sells for approx $13 - $15. The Jack in this series (not pictured above) is the same Jack we have seen earlier in the series, so unless you’re a collector its not really necessary to pick him up.
It’s definately sad to see the end of such a well done series. Check the link below to see each figure up close, and then go out and buy series 6! I am =D
—-+—-+—-+—- Nightmare Before Christmas Series 6 —-+—-+—-+—-
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September 29th, 2007 // g + c
I’m sure most of you are familiar with the work of Camille Rose Garcia. If not then do yourself a favor and immerse yourself in her world for a while.
Her seemingly light-hearted paintings and drawings of charming cartoon-like characters actually depict dark tales of violence, corruption and greed, and seek to comment on the turmoil of contemporary society. Garcia says about her work,
“the Earth is older than humans and will rebound, but the fate of our species seems to be precarious at best. I try to be positive and use humor in my work, even while knowing this.”
Along with her paintings, she has released a series of vinyl toys, and since has vowed not to make any more out of vinyl due to her concern for the environment. So plush is in. Recently, she showcased two new plush toys from her new toy company PITCO (Prosthetic Industries Toy Company) . There are apparently a few more designs in the works. Release date marked: “soon.” I’ll definitely be keeping my eye out for the launch of the PITCO site and update here when live. Check below for a few links…
—–+—–+—–+—– CamilleRoseGarcia.com —–+—–+—–+—–
—+—+—+—+— PITCO —+—+—+—+—
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