TOYPUNKS PHILLY STYLE: DEC 14th @ WTHN!

On December 14th, Toypunks screened in Philadelphia at Mason Warner's shop, WTHN. The turnout was solid, the people were rad, and Mason and crew showed us a great time, Philly style.

We started out in Baltimore, having just come off of a screening there on the 7th. On the drive North, toypunks Chris Nelson snapped a shot of this fresh billboard off of rt 83 in Charm City--Baltimore mascot culture! Of course, we stopped by Shop Gentei while in B-more. This shop is always beautiful and stocks a ton of killer brands.

Following a short drive, we arrive at WTHN! The store is rad and features a nicely curated selection of sneakers, streetwear and some choice soft vinyl. Early in the night, shop owner and host Mason and Kovalsky catch up. Check out the fresh WTHN logo mural behind Mason.





The store begins to fill. Packed with old friends, toy heads, new friends, and a few music people, the vibe was fun and relaxed. We heard Chuck Treece was there early in the night, but had to bounce for a show in Jersey. Mr. Treece's legendary skaterock band, McRad, is featured on the Toypunks soundtrack.

The lights dim, and toypunks Chris announces the film...
And it plays! Mason set up some lawn chairs in the front row for the best seats in the house.

After WTHN, there was a wild afterparty at Skinners, a bar located just a couple of blocks away.

Isaac Ramos, Kerri Koch, Kyle and Will brought the holiday cheer in these new RFSO Christmas shirts.

Mason, Issac and our new pal Jon spun vinyl and the dancefloor got a little crazy. The movie played in the background. It was cool to cut loose with everyone.





Kerri Koch, Julie "The Kid" Gardner and Missy Mazaferro broke it down at the table amidst the madness.
toypunks musical collaborators, TS, drove in from NY!
!
toypunks family style! Andy Gardner, Chris and Justin get some holiday hang time in after the event. Thanks a lot to Mason at WTHN and Skinners for the hospitality and great times.

(Thanks to Missy Mazaferro, and Kovalsky's brother-inlaw and sister, Andy and Julia Gardner, for the awesome event picks! Missy also has a ton of great shots from the event and some hysterical captions up on her flickr account.

TOYPUNKS WORLD PREMIERE RECAP: 12/7/07 BALTIMORE + HAMBURG!

On December 7th, designer vinyl shop, Atomic Pop, in Baltimore, MD, hosted one of the premiere screenings of Toypunks Volume 1 and the turnout was awesome. The film also premiered in Hamburg Germany on the same day. Benn and Rachel, Atomic Pop's owners, also run the venerable Atomic Books in Baltimore. They were great hosts. It was awesome for us to hang out for the night, watch the film, and to catch up with old friends. Early copies of the DVD were for sale as well as these wild vinyl prints that Atomic Pop had created. A massive shout out goes to everyone who attended and said hello! Also, thanks very much to talented Baltimore-based writer Raven Baker and the Baltimore City Paper for running this story the week of the event. http://citypaper.com/arts/story.asp?id=14936

The opening moments of toypunks projected on the far wall.....

With a full bar located in Atomic's spacious back room, the afterparty went down in the store. It was a blast.

Below, toypunks' Kovalsky catches up with Emily Devan who recently penned a great interview with Osaka- based punk band, Balzac, for Purple Sky magazine. Balzac is featured in toypunks and we're big supporters of the band's work in music, fashion and toys. It's cool to see them getting more English-language coverage.

Here's a shot of two super solid amigos and toypunks contributors: Will Sulima (additional photography) and David Manganaro (promotional art). Dave keeps the look sincere while Wild Willy brings the mischief!

And here are a few rad toys that we put on display that night. A special thanks goes to Isaac Ramos, a star of the toypunks film and a great friend who was in attendance that evening. Isaac loaned his Kid Hunter vinyl (far left) for the display. Created by Bounty Hunter brand, who's a major focus of toypunks Volume 1, the Kid Hunter is considered the world's first designer vinyl toy.

Attendees look over the display of Japanese vinyl toys and original art created for toypunks by Mike Giant and Dave Manganaro. Also in this shot you'll see Oliver of Shop Gentei in the blue cap. It was good to see Oliver and the Gentei crew. Shop Gentei is hands down one of the most well-curated streetwear shops in the US. If you're ever in the Baltimore or Washington DC area, hit this spot!

Here's a look at the original toypunks mascot drawing that was on display in Baltimore. This was hand-drawn by Mike Giant, who we were blessed to hire as illustrator for our logo and character mascot. Mike is one of the best line artists on Earth. Until you flip this piece over to see the marker bleed, it is impossible to tell it was drawn with a sharpie by human hands. Unreal!


Tony Pence of Celebrated Summer kept the fun going by playing some choice cuts. Celebrated Summer is a fresh record store and Tony is a good dude. Tony's band, Deep Sleep, contributed a song to the toypunks soundtrack. They rock. Also pictured here is Chris, an avid Balzac collector and massive Go Nagai enthusiast. Awesome.
Meanwhile, in Hamburg, Germany, toypunks Volume 1 gets its European debut. Armin Stroemmer of Shocker Europe hosted this event at the 3001 theater. While we would have loved to attend that night but could not, Armin says that it was a tremendous success and that everyone had a great time.


This is the poster created for the event which was hung around the city. Looking good.

The theater before the show......

Toypunks takes the big screen. Kozik in Deutchland! So rad.

TOYPUNKS VOL. 1 IS SHIPPING NOW!

We've been mad busy packing pre-orders and shipping from Toypunks HQ! As of today, all individual domestic and international orders have shipped. Wholesale international orders are on the way this weekend. The response so far has been staggering and inspiring!

We're still accepting pre-orders via paypal at sales@toypunks.com The rate is 17.99 plus 4.00 domestic shipping per DVD. International shipping rates are 10.00 per DVD. Please inquire for wholesale and multiple DVD shipping prices at justin@toypunks.com Thanks again to everyone for the support. You know who you are. You rule.

Then, if you're in Hamburg, Germany, this weekend don't miss Shocker Europe's (http://www.shocker-europe.com/) screening of Toypunks Volume 1 on Friday, December 7th at 3001 Theater! Stateside East Coasters can check some early screenings in Baltimore at Atomic Pop on Dec. 7th (http://atomicpop.blogspot.com/), and a screening + afterparty at Within Luxury on Dec 14th at 8pm. (http://www.withinluxury.com/) These will all be a blast. Please come out and support these killer local shops!