An impressive group of artists and vinyl toy companies have come together for “This One’s For The Children of Sichuan,” a charity auction orchestrated by MINDstyle to benefit victims of the Chinese earthquake. The auction includes original paintings, rare toys and limited-edition collectibles from KAWS, Joe Ledbetter, Michael Lau, Ron English, Buff Monster, tokidoki, Shepard Fairey, Devilrobots, Amanda Visell, Doktor A, Tim Biskup, Kathie Olivas, Brandt Peters and many more. A few of the auction’s highlights: Lau’s sold-out “Jordon” Gardeners, Ledbetter’s signed lot of monotone toys, a 4-foot tall KAWS companion (and pair of promo Nikes) and numerous large-scale resin figures. There are 29 lots posted with pictures and estimates on eBay here. The auction commences August 31st at 6 p.m. PST, but absentee bids can be placed immediately. Be charitable if you can afford to, and be sure to read all the rules of the auction, which may include additional shipping costs.

I’m not sure if Kidrobot’s Dunnys are the “world’s greatest vinyl canvas” as their press releases proclaim, but they certainly are one of the most popular. As a designer toy created by KR founder Paul Budnitz (with Tristan Eaton), Dunnys have been released in four core assortments and a handful of special series. Series 5, however, is prepared to dominate with a truly amazing selection of artists.

The 19 new Dunnys include designs by: Amanda Visell, Aya Kakeda, Clutter, Devilrobots, Dirty Donny, Frank Kozik, Huck Gee, JMGS//Jellymoon, Jesse LeDoux, JK5, Junko Mizuno, Kathie Olivas, MAD, Mad Barbarians, MISHKA, Reach, Sneaky Raccoon, Steven Harrington, TOOFLY.

Each Dunny is sold blind-boxed for $6.95. You might get doubles, but you’ve got a shot at the Kozik Mecha or 1 of 600 Golden Tickets redeemable for an exclusive Huck Gee figure (that’s like, $8 million dollars on the aftermarket…). Dunny Series 5 drops September 4th. Let the trading parties commence!

No matter how far, far away you are from Skywalker Ranch, one thing will always ring true: fan boys and fan girls alike can’t get enough of the Holy Sextilogy. Over the last several days Star Wars freaks and geeks flocked to Japan’s Star Wars Celebration where they caught a glimpse of 2008 Vader Project. The exhibit was a result of the efforts of some of Japan’s top designers, such as Devil Robots and Mad Barbarians, who, when asked to re-imagine the helmet of the film series’ most infamous character, certainly came through with flying colors. We’re sure the masks made more than a few fans gasp (or however that Darth Vader sound goes). The celebration came to a close yesterday, with no word if, or where, the exhibit might pop up next. We suggest using the force.

The Japanese have a penchant for creating unique characters. They’ve more or less made brand mascots into an art form — just ask anyone who has become addicted to Pokemon or Hello Kitty. When MoMA announced that they’d be releasing their Destination Japan product collection, it seemed only natural that it have its own brand identity creature. Thanks to toy designer and retailer Kidrobot (along with Japanese design studio Devilrobots) they now have Mochi. Not only is Mochi a welcomed addition to the kawaii (cute) mascots menagerie, but eager collectors are already lusting after him (her? it?). The limited edition Mochi toy can be purchased at the MoMA store along with tons of other Eastern-inspired products. Get yours now!

Mike and Katie are TADO, the UK based duo whose darkly adorable characters have taken the design and vinyl worlds by storm. Only a few years out of university, the pair has already parented a unique aesthetic — one that everybody loves, young designers emulate, and clients the world over hope to associate with. This sort of acceptance has made Mike and Katie a busy pair, so it's a good thing that drawing monster mushrooms and pirate marshmallows is something they're rather adept at. Of course, it's an even better thing that it's also something they just happen to love, because from the looks of it, slowing down isn't much of an option.

JoshSpear.com: Everything TADO works on — including emails, it seems — is given the signature of “Mike and Katie.” Is everything that the two of you do really such an even collaboration, or do each of you specialize in certain areas?

TADO: Yes! Pretty much everything is done 50/50 -– it's really quite odd. We’ve barely spent a day apart since we first met so we guess we’ve slowly become one 2 headed creature. These days, we draw pretty much identically (although Mike presses harder and ruins the pens), and share all the work. One of the things that is important to us is that each piece of work has input from the both of us — we often pass files back and forth and bicker about what works best. READ MORE…

Thunderdog, an NYC creative agency and designer toy label, is holding a one night exhibition at London’s Exposure Gallery tomorrow night, Thursday, May 31st, from 7 till 11 p.m. The event will feature, toys, music, live painting, drinks, and plenty of art courtesy of their awesome collective (a juicy line-up that counts Tristan Eaton, Jeremyville, and DevilRobots as members). Thunderdog is blowing up right now, and this is absolutely where I would be tomorrow if I wasn’t in Colorado — send us pictures if you go, please!

Full flyers after the jump…

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While at the Kid Robot store in San Francisco this weekend, I got my foodie kick from the toy world. I'm totally head-over-heels for the Tofu Kubrick Series by the Toyko based Devilrobots. This limited series is an assortment of tofu figures like Bone Tofu, Bear Tofu and Cherry Tofu (my favorite that comes complete with a dog tofu cube). With typically cute Japanese toy packaging, including quirky sayings on topics like dumplings, you want to collect them all.