TOYPUNKS IN WIRED MAGAZINE!

In the October issue of Wired, Toypunks Volume 1 finds its way to the No. 1 spot on the magazine's "Playlist." Each month in this section, Wired recommends 10 must-check-out items--from gadgets to games and DVDs. The Toypunks crew is deeply honored to be acknowledged by this world-class publication!

TOYPUNKS TO PLAY ROME, ITALY

On September 25, Toypunks Vol. 1 will screen as part of the No Budget! Suburbia film festival in Rome, Italy. Special thanks to Mauro Diciocia for selecting us for this event that showcases independent creators. With its usual English and Japanese dialog, Toypunks will feature Italian subtitles for the screening. For more information, such as location and time, please visit http://www.suburbiafestival.com/.

TOYPUNKS VS. THE AURORA PICTURE SHOW!

Join us on August 16 and 17 for two special screenings of Toypunks Vol. 1 at our favorite microcinema, the Aurora Picture Show, in Houston, Texas. Director Chris Nelson will also present a video salon about his experience documenting and processing Japanese popular culture on the 17th at 1 p.m. Drop by and say hello.

We're excited and honored to be screening the film at Aurora; a huge thank-you goes out to Delicia Harvey and the microcinema staff for organizing the event.

The Vader Project in Japan: Secret Base

Here's a good look at Secret Base's custom helmet for The Vader Project art show scheduled to take place this weekend in Japan. SB's owner and star of Toypunks Vol. 1, Hiddy Kinoshita, sent the pic along this morning. The Vader Project is the brainchild of DKE Toys, who distributes the Toypunks film and is the raddest distro in the designer toy game. For more info on the show, hit http://thevaderproject.com/

TOYPUNKS IN THE NATION'S CAPITOL!

Toypunks Vol. 1 will screen on Sunday, July 13, at the District of Columbia Arts Center, 2438 18th St. NW Washington D.C. 20009. Starting at 5:30 PM, the film will play as part of the closing reception for DCAC's Kid Mutiny show. Thanks to curator Ellen Tani, participating artist Brandon Hill and Benn Ray of Atomic Books for hooking up this event. Here's a link to the Washington Post's write-up of the show: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/03/AR2008070303510.html?nav=hcmodule

East Coast Style!

Following some time last month spent in Texas with director/partner Chris Nelson and translator Carl Wormley, Toypunks' Justin Kovalsky has recently moved to his hometown of Batimore, Maryland, for keeps.

With this Texas stint and the move, work on Toypunks: Volume 2 is officially under way! We've some killer surprises in store for everyone.

Meanwhile, here's a shot of a gorgeous old church just down the street from our new east coast headquarters. The architecture is stunning in this neighborhood.

Already, some visitors have passed through our new spot. One of our oldest friends Scott Dunmyer and lady Amy Hall slid in from S.F. last weekend. We promptly hooked them up with some Toypunks gear and got this shot of Scott rocking a fresh tee designed by the truly amazing Caleb Kozlowski! Later that night, we got together with more friends to play music and wild out ...


This deck designed by Hori of Seven Stars Japan hangs in the new Toypunks space. Among a host of of insane accomplishments, Seven Stars designed Bounty Hunter's iconic logo. Seven Stars rules.






Julie G finds her timing, then rips the kit!

TOYPUNKS SUMMER T-SHIRT LINE AVAILABLE NOW @ TOYPUNKS.COM!

TOYPUNKS FEATURED IN CLUTTER MAGAZINE

Issue 12 of UK-based Clutter magazine features a full-page story on the Toypunks DVD series. Support this long-running designer toy publication and pick up a copy at your favorite newsstand. A special shout goes out to Neil O'Rourke, who penned the feature. Thank you, Neil!

TOYPUNKS FEATURED IN MILK MAGAZINE

Toypunks Volume 1 is featured in the current issue of Hong Kong's Milk Magazine.

Thanks to the staff at Milk and our friend Hasheeme at Kix-Files.com who helped hook this coverage up. Support Toypunks by picking up the DVD at the Kix Files webstore now!
http://www.kix-files.com/shop/toypunks-dvd/

SECRET BASE MINI INTERVIEW! NEW SHOP TO OPEN IN HARAJUKU.

It's no secret that Secret Base is one of our favorite underground toy companies featured in the Toypunks Volume 1 DVD. Company owner, Hiddy Kinsohita, is a cool dude and we got some updates from him today about his new shop that will open soon in Harajuku. We thought we'd share that with everyone, though Hiddy's publically keeping the space a bit of a mystery. Still, we've a feeling the new store is going to blow minds. Here's Hiddy:

Toypunks: When will the new SB shop open?

Hiddy: I want the opening date to be a surprise, so it will happen without notice.

Where will it be located? I'm keeping this quiet as well. However, toy fans will be so happy with the new location. I also think tourists from abroad will be thrilled! The next spot will become a new tourist attraction for the toy world in Harajuku.

How will the new shop be different than your old locations? The image of my last store was more like a live rock club. The new store will be closer in atmosphere to a bar. I think it will not look like any toy shop you have seen before.

Will the products that you create have a different feeling than before? Yes, the new products we create will be very different than before. I have actually become weary of people who make similar toys to my own. It makes me feel a little ashamed as a Japanese. I want to progress my toys to the next level. I am sure that you will like what we are working on.

Will the Secret Base website be changing as well? No, I won't change the site because I think it's cool the way that it is.

Can you please share some of your plans for 2008 with us? I think we will release the jumbo Skull Bee at the end of March. I am also progressing on some projects with foreign artists. So please look forward to that, too!

*Lead photo from the collection of Carl Kent Smith*

KIX FILES OFFICIAL TOYPUNKS DEALER IN HK!

The Toypunks DVD is now available through kix-files.com! Kix Files is an authorized dealer of Toypunks in Hong Kong, and you can look forward to some really cool things from this established sneaker and fashion site this year. They're a rad group of people and we're stoked that they are one of our stockists!

TOYPUNKS TO SHOW @ NOISE POP MUSIC AND FILM FESTIVAL IN SAN FRANCISCO!

Toypunks has recently been accepted to the Noise Pop Music and Film Festival, an annual event that spans six days and multiple venues in San Francisco. The film will play on March 2nd at ATA, a fun venue supporting independent works and located in the Mission neighborhood. If you're in SF come kick back and enjoy the show. More details are here: http://www.noisepop.com/

TOYPUNKS RELEASE PARTY @ DOMY BOOKS!

On February 8th, we'll be celebrating the release of Toypunks on DVD with our great friends at Domy Books in Houston, Texas! A custom video projection piece featuring live mixing, a project photo installation, some killer Japanese toys, libations and surprises await attendees! Punk rock DJs will play the event and keep it hopping. Domy is a rad store and we're excited to be collaborating with them. Check back for more on this party and some exiciting Toypunks announcements soon! For now, check the evite http://www.domystore.com/invites/toypunks.html

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.