Your first trendy toy (Sofubi)! When did you start liking...

Art toys are also called fashion toys, designer toys, etc. They are designed and produced by some designers and artists. The size ranges from a few centimeters to dozens of centimeters. The material is mainly enamel that is easy to shape. Glue, and occasionally wooden materials, metal materials, and rubber and plastic materials. Generally, the commonly used material for mold toys is PVC, and the process is basically mass production of steel molds or 3D printing.

In fact, some trendy toys also have similar materials and craftsmanship. But the real Sofubi toys are very unique. Like the origin of the name "sofubi", their material is mainly "soft glue" (enamel, Soft Vinyl), and some are made in the form of fire in a enamel furnace, which is higher quality. And pure Sofubi toys are made with oil stoves.

On the other hand, the painting of mass-produced model toys is generally nicknamed "factory aunt painting", while many trendy sofubi are painted by designers and artists themselves, and their natural value and Scarcity is different.

Originated in Hong Kong and popular in Europe and America

The birthplace of art toys is Hong Kong. In 1999, the toy industries in Japan and the United States were in recession, and the Hong Kong toy industry ushered in an opportunity. At that time, Michael Lau, who was working in an advertising company, held a solo exhibition at the Hong Kong Art Center. He made a street-style character from the painting into a 6-inch vinyl toy, which caused a great response. In the same year, Hong Kong designer Eric So also released 24 fashionable Bruce Lee action figures. As if overnight, a carnival of vinyl dolls began all over the world. Westerners marvel at it as a "heterogeneous sculpture". This trend has developed into two types: one is European and American designer and artist toys; the other is Japan's trendy toys represented by Be@rbrick.

“Currently, the United States is the world’s number one market for art toys, followed by Europe and Asia.” Li Guoqing said. When many limited edition toys are released, it is not uncommon to see people queuing up overnight to buy them. A British official was found to be embezzled, but investigation revealed that his home was filled with dolls. It turned out that most of his money was used to buy art toys. In 2007, Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara launched a 30-centimeter-tall toy doll called "Sleepless night sleeping" based on one of his early illustrations. It was limited to 300 pieces and sold for $1,000. Six months later, the toy was sold at a Sotheby's auction in Paris for nearly $20,000. The prototype of the Miss Ko2 doll launched by Takashi Murakami was sold at Christie's auction house in New York for US$567,500, which is more expensive than the sculptures of some artists.

Art toys are also called fashion toys, designer toys, etc. They are designed and produced by some designers and artists. The size ranges from a few centimeters to dozens of centimeters. The material is mainly enamel that is easy to shape. Glue, and occasionally wood and metal materials. Art toys are not mass-produced and are usually issued in limited quantities, making their prices much higher than traditional toys. They can be called luxury goods among toys.

Different from traditional cartoon toys and puppet toys, art toys incorporate more elements of artistic creation. Artists can recreate the images in their works and turn them into 3D toys. In addition, artists and designers can also create freely on fixed toy models, so that toy shapes that originally have no stories, no expressions, and no themes can be given more new concepts and reflect their different styles and ideas.