In addition to being a time for Hallmark’s profits to spike, Valentine’s Day is time for the lovelorn to come together and make magic. In the romantic tradition of the holiday, Meletta, a designer MIMOBOT fashioned by our friends at Tokidoki is quite the smitten kitten — or smitten girl with a monkey on her head as it were. The new and improved mimobot goes by the appropriate name of Pink Meletta, and makes for the perfect token of affection for that special tech geek in your life.
Why mess with a winning formula? What’s good for ‘08 is a good bet for ‘09. Onitsuka Tiger has once again teamed up with the Japanese inspired, but Italian created brand Tokidoki in a sneaker collaboration. This time, two low-top kicks were created (in white and gray colorways). The shoes have classic Tiger styling with bright accents you’d expect from Simone Legno. A lace charm and a full bottom gumsole depicting the characters adored by junior high girls and collectors everywhere round out the creation.
Has the current state of the economy got you down? If so, there is one thing that universally brings nothing but pure joy to everyone — clowns. Luckily, Corey Helford Gallery in Los Angeles is debuting an new exhibit on November 15th (running through November 29) titled “CLOWNS!” The show features reinterpreted works inspired by the classic American clown painting. The show will feature an unprecedented lineup of artists including Gary Baseman, Shag, Tokidoki, Colin Christian, Dave Kinsey, Chris Anthony, Natalia Fabia, Buff Monster, Joe Ledbetter, Audrey Kawasaki, and many more. Also, Corey Helford Gallery teamed up with London’s StolenSpace Gallery to feature some of the U.K.’s hottest new artists, including D*Face, Chloe Early, Word To Mother, and Will Barras. Do you think this is funny … does it amuse you? Well it should.
A few months ago a film crew, photographer, assistants of all types and literally dozens of people with color meters, cameras and lights descended on my NYC office and later at my home to shoot a spot and interview for the Yahoo! Start Wearing Purple campaign. A unique experience to say the least, and one of the most exhausting days of my life. Lights, camera, action. Not my world, but interesting to be a part of for a day.
The interview and photos turned out pretty well I think– but it’s always weird seeing yourself on screen and wondering what was going through your head, and how they chopped and edited you together in that way. For people that don’t know me very well, it might offer some better insight into where I work and what I do all day.
The campaign is what they refer to as a “call-to-action’ by Yahoo! for people to live life as an individual, and with an exclamation point. The campaign emphasizes (despite any economic situation) their roots through the color and spirit of purple — it means individuality, imagination and innovation.
The program features four main components. Technology (a set of pretty amazing bikes that take photos every 45 seconds around the world and stream them direct to Flickr), personalities (the pioneers of purple), some products, and the improvisation work done by Charlie Todd of Improv everywhere. There’s a ton of content over there so I encourage you to check it out– but be nice.
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.
Tokidoki, the Italian lifestyle brand with the Japanese name, has just ventured into laptops. Simone Legno’s Cactus Friends and Moofia characters are easily recognizable gracing the top of Fujitsu’s new LOOX U series ultra-mobile PC. Let’s face it, anyone who is shopping for this ¥123,800 (about $1100 USD) Japan-exclusive UMPC are doing so for the tokidoki branding. To that end, people who purchase the laptop will be rewarded with a 1GB tokidoki USB drive, stickers and an original T-shirt. Check out the product page (in Japanese) here.
Toy2r has done many collaborations with fashion labels over the years — from DKNY to tokidoki. Their latest range of collectible 2.5-inch Qee figures includes Mark Fairwhale (above) and LUISAVIAROMA (after the jump). The Mark Fairwhale brand was created in 1999 by Shanghai-based designer Mark Cheung. Cheung incorporated familiar elements of his clothing line into this elaborately detailed set of four figures. LUISAVIAROMA is a Florence, Italy based retailer of high-fashion from designers like Roberto Cavalli, Marc Jacobs and Jil Sander. For their set, they produced a series of five bear Qee. The Fairwhale Qee look great together or as standalone art toys. (In fact, an 8-inch Bear is also available.) The LUISAVIAROMA Qee work best as a cohesive group. Both sets are currently available in Toy2r’s new double window-box packaging at designer toy retailers worldwide.
Karmaloop TV continually points its cameras in the direction some of the most influential design minds in the world. This week is no different as they sit down with Tokidoki’s founder and creative director Simone Legno. In the exclusive one on one interview, Legno offers a glimpse at the brand’s history and explains the influences behind his creations. Viewers will also get a sneak peek at some of the upcoming characters and products slated to make an appearance rather soon. Check out the interview and see what all of the fuss is about.
At the end of the month StrangeCo will make their descent on classy San Diego for the area’s annual Comicon to unleash a menagerie of characters that might not be so out of place in the fabled zoo of “America’s Finest City.” Their booth will have a bevy of creations from their usual collaborators like James Jarvis and tokidoki in tow. However, they’ll also have a brand partner in crime in the form of the San Francisco artist, toy collector and designer Mark Nagata. Nagata’s Max Toy Company specializes in making hand-painted, limited release figures in the tradition of classic Japanese character toys. If you’re going to San Diego in search of innovative creature comforts, check out Max Toy’s Eyezons, Pharaohs, and Booska figures, amongst others, and maybe snap one up before someone else does. These babies won’t last too long.
I was browsing around the site reflecting on how far we’ve come and couldn’t help but notice the wealth of inspiration and content we’ve got in the SpearTalks archives. So, I figured I’d round them all up for easy consumption. Whether you like fashion, technology, art, or just about anything else– with nearly 40 incredible interviews, there’s something for everyone thanks to our very own Carmel Hagen. Go, dive in, it’s just a click away.
It was a tough decision, but after sifting through all of the sometimes serious, sometimes hilarious, and generally well-written entries, we have decided on our tokidoki mimobot winners. First, a few gems from contestants that didn’t make the final cut, but still kicked some serious flash drive tail:
“For ease, we’ll name them 1, 2, and 3. Now, 2 is stuck in a predicament. He has to choose between two sets of friends. One represents the good friend, yet is carrying a pineapple grenade. This can best be compared to your best friend who has recently started with a substance abuse problem and is trying to get you to join him.” (We’ve all been there, Dumplins!)
“The pirate captain was known as USB-lackbeard” (Witty, Adam, witty)
“ketchup on noodles why Japan oh goodness why must you ruin food”
(Gillian’s got a grudge, and we like it.)
Coming in first for sheer effort: Timothy Nakayama; Second place: Emi, for the best all-around haiku’s; and second second place (yes, we can): Kary, for making us laugh in the shortest amount of sentences.
Winners, send your addresses to feedback@joshspear.com and we’ll hook you up with some tokidoki love. Thanks for participating, everyone — and thanks for making it happen, Mimoco!
Today is Cinco de Mayo, and not only are we guzzling margaritas faster than Mexico smashed that French army, we are also gearing up to judge the entries of the Tokidoki Mimobot contest. If you’ve yet try your hand at winning some of Mimoco’s finest flash drives, now is the time to read up and get busy. A word of warning: If your short story, poem, etc. happens to closely mirror any of the themes present in the previous entries, you may be disqualified, so put some emphasis on keeping it fresh. Another word of warning: There’s a chance we may be terribly hungover and/or still drunk by the time we choose our champs this evening, so, y’know … no big words, please.
Do you like Mimobots? How about Tokidoki? How about winning free goods from Tokidoki, Mimoco, and JoshSpear.com? Thought so. All you need to do is submit a story in the comment section of our Tokidoki Mimobot Contest post telling us what you think these little buggers are up to together. A monkey boy, a pirate, and an Italian chef — they look like trouble to us. Haikus, stories, lyrics, epic poems — all accepted entries. We’re choosing winners on May 5. Go, go, go!
Ah, Mimobots. Nerdy enough to help us appear left-brained, arty enough to help us appear right-brained, and tiny enough to keep our top secret files close to our hearts at all times.
If you’ve yet to experience the flashiness of one of these flash drives, today is your lucky day, as our good pals at Mimoco have graciously unloaded some of their new tokidoki ‘bots into our wide open arms. These latest tech wonders are smothered in the classically kawaii artistry of Italian designer Simone Legno (who we interviewed not too far back), and combine cute and creepy to create some of the most hyped Mimobots to date. We know you want some, so here are your choices for retrieval: A) Battle off hoards of rabid tokidoki fans/throw down some significant dollar; or B) Get arty/nerdy with us.
Game plan: Study up here. Consider what those little ‘bots are up to (Satan pasta and pineapple bombs, oh my!). Write us a little creative short story explaining your theory (or haiku, or song, or algorithm — we don’t care, whatever). Cut and paste to the comment section. Cross your fingers and wait.
May 5th we’ll announce our first and second place winners — who will receive flashy prizes on an only slightly descending scale — and publish their entries. Okay….GO!
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 
Tokidoki
At the end of the month 
Today is Cinco de Mayo, and not only are we guzzling margaritas faster than Mexico smashed that French army, we are also gearing up to judge the entries of the Tokidoki Mimobot contest. If you’ve yet try your hand at winning some of Mimoco’s finest flash drives, now is the time to 
Do you like 
