tokyo toy report

as my apartment and office in nyc is full of stuff, every trip to tokyo i make an internal promise not to buy anymore toys. well...i bought just a few last week and i have a justification for each of them. here is a short summary:

1. rilakkuma hang toy: rilakkuma [a contraction of relax+kuma (kuma=bear)] is the latest hit character from san-x, the studio that brought the world my all-time fave, afro-ken. justification: design reference for the nookanooka™ project AND too cute not to spend ¥300 on it.

2. genevieve gauckler bearbrick 400% + 100% set: i love genevieve's work and medicom toy products. justification: found it on-sale for ¥1000 per set, so i bought 2!

3. anna sui bearbrick with mini strap: another in the series of fashion label bearbricks. justification: found it on sale for ¥315! so i bought 4 sets – makes good souvenirs.

4. CP coupling figure vol2: have no idea where this is from, but the box was so small and only ¥200. justification: curiosity. amazing detail in this tiny tiny figure.

5. tsuburaya soko gacha-box toy: original ultraman based toy. these are made by bandai so i knew the quality would be superb. i was lucky to get the totasu-go car. justification: affordable quality. great small display piece for my office desk.

6. ishimori pro X pansonworks collab figures: the cuteness of panson's robin meets the serious crime fighting world of kanmen rider. justification: an excellent example of how interesting a collaboration can go. very cute.

7. petite "minna de gohan" [let's eat together] series: the detail in these doll-house food/meal miniatures is amazing. justification: to study what can be done in terms of detail with a mold and deco for plastic goods.

8. 220 works chara-keshi [character eraser]: these are pencil eraser versions of a famous japanese comic series. justification: materials research.

9. ultraman X touma figure: friend and urban vinyl giant touma re-works classic ultraman characters – the result is amazing for a ¥500 figure. justification: it's good to support the work of your friends AND also an interesting study in collaborative process.

overall...a lot of fun and great design inspiration for me and the whole nooka studio.

nooka including noo spring colors are now available at fine stores and here. join "nooka" and "love nooka" on facebook. nooka_ on twitter.