Category: Art
Congrats…
This is Not a Toy @ The Design Exchange in Toronto!
I haven’t posted in a long time as it’s been challenging to find some free time to put a post together. Also, after pausing for so long, it’s been hard to get back on the horse. I haven’t written about Boutiqueoeuff (the name of this blog) for some time so it’s fitting that this first blog entry is about the Oeuffs. Back in February, the Design Exchange (DX) museum in Toronto held an exhbition called “This is Not a Toy”. The exhibition showcased “contemporary sculptures, figures and artworks freauing works by Takashi Murakami, KAWS, Coarse, Huck Gee, Friends With You…
Boutiqueoeuff
Original “Oeuff” platform toy and customized samples (2004). Back in 2004, having been a collector of vinyl toys for some time, I decided to take a shot at creating my own figure. I designed the “Oeuff” platform figure modeled off the egg or oeuf theme, pulled some money together, found a manufacturer and within six months, I approved the sculpt and we were ready for production! Could it be that simple? Unfortunately not. Between production delays, factory errors, a financial crises and shady middle men, production eventually halted. Despite these complications, I have no regrets. I learned a lot, didn’t…
Holy SHIT!
I was just browsing around the other day and came across this auction listing from Christie’s auction house in London. The auction was from September 2012 so it’s pretty recent. This is for a pair of prints from famed Japanese artist, Yoshitomo Nara. The set is called “Cosmic Girl (Eyes Open, Eyes Shut)” and it’s a pretty nice set. There was a limited run of 500 of these back in 2008 published by the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art. Several years ago, you could spot a few of these on Ebay pretty easily from $800USD – $2,000USD for the pair. That being…
Fashion Fan?
When I was growing up in Toronto, the weekend 6:30pm time slot was reserved for family TV time. Specifically CityTV’s Fashion Television (FT). I think it began with my mom wanting to followup on the latest trends and fashion designers. For my Dad and I, it was a chance to check out the models and get the rare glimpse of booby on the runway. I can’t remember when this ritual started, but I’ve been watching FT since primary school (although the network and time slot have changed). I’m not too fussy about what I wear myself, but since watching FT,…
Grass
Years ago, I was put onto a site called You Thought We Wouldn’t Notice. It’s basically a blog where people post “blatant rip offs” of others artwork. Recently, I’ve been in baby mode, buying all kinds of stuff I never knew existed and came across a rip off moment of my own at home. One item we purchased was this Skip Hop counter drying rack for baby bottles which retails for about $25. It’s pretty useful and looks nice. After purchasing it, I realized it was very similar to something I purchased about 5-6 years ago. We’ve always collected various…
Work in Progress
I’m working on a new Oeuff figure now. It’s inspired by a few different things in my life right now but it’s predominately based on the work of an artist I’ve been into lately. I’ll show more pics as this figure progresses. Can you guess what it’s based on? Here’s a clue (it’s not Kaws).
Pinocchio!
I picked up my second Kaws toy a month or so ago. This is KAWS’ rework of Disney’s Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket characters. My friend Ryan built the stand for it using some plywood and an acrylic garbage container. The picture above was done by my niece when she was five. Speaking of Kaws, I also received a copy of his recent book. I’ve found that buying books online at Indigo or Amazon is pretty great! There are usually decent discounts on new releases and there’s free shipping if you spend up to a certain amount ($39 for now). To get me over the…
Whodunit?
Having relatively bare walls in our house since moving in several years ago, we’ve always been on the lookout for affordable art. This weekend, we participated in the Ontario College of Art and Design’s (OCAD) fundraising event “Whodunit?”. Although its been going on for many years, this was our first time attending. “Whodunit?” is basically a mystery art sale of over a thousand pieces of original art donated by artists who are famous and not-yet-famous, including well-known and celebrity artists, OCAD faculty, alumni and students. Past mystery artists have included Margaret Atwood, Tom Cochraine, Gary Taxali and Atom Egoyan. All…
Northern Touch
Until recently (with the success of Drake), Canada and specifically Toronto, hasn’t really been known for its hip hop. However, over the years, there’s been a strong contingent of Canadian talent that may not have been recognized south of the border. My very good, long time friend, DJ Filthy Rich recently released an awesome mixtape of some classic Canadian Hip Hop tracks. You can download the mix here. Here is the cover art that we worked on together. Here’s the tracklist: 01. Rascalz, Choclair, Thrust, Kardinal – Northern Touch (Filthy Rich Cross-border ReFix) 02. Infinite – 360 03. Choclair – What…
Comes to Toronto?
Back in May, word started spreading that famed “street” artist Banksy had left his mark in Toronto. Having just released his film “Exit Through the Gift Shop”, he had been passing through a variety of cities including LA, New York and Toronto. For those who don’t know, Banksy is a graffiti artist from Britain. Probably best known for his stencil work, he regularly leaves his pieces on walls across the globe. If you’re ever in a bookshop, check out this book. It shows a good chunk of his work. I’ve never been a big fan of his stencil work, but…
Finally got one!
I’ve been tracking this thing for over a year now. Not really into collecting Bearbricks, I passed when the first version was available on Kawsone. I attempted to get the grey one but was five minutes too late and they were sold out. Not willing to pay the insane reseller prices, I kept searching online for a bargain. No go. The Black version was then released and I was ready to pull the trigger but they were never made available on Kawsone. I was pretty sure I missed out again. For my birthday, my wife not only tracked one…
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