IS THIS THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT?: Vinyl lovers of all shapes and sizes know what I am talking about, whether it's the long and slow death of the LP (aka the music industry) or the on again/off again downturn in of designer toys sales (urban vinyl, etc). And just when GOFN has pledged all of its digital ink exclusively to such. Is this an unspoken revolt against collecting in general or our pocketbooks thread-baring? Should we be very afraid, or should we casually watch and wait to see what happens in the aftermath of these times? Are toys, in general, becoming past tense for adults? We don't think so either! Remember when Toy Art Gallery closed their Melrose storefront last Fall...or the same fate for Suburban Vinyl (NJ) or when right here in Dallas, where the only real purveyor of cool vinyl figures, Atama, sadly shuttered its doors in April. Is this a warning call to other like businesses?
THE GROOVE OR THE GRAVE: After recently reading this piece about the hard times for the Chicago-based toystore Rotofugi it sparked this story - and reminded me so much of hearing about the recent/upcoming closures of some of my favorite music-buying spots. It reminded me of the passion and pride behind making these storefronts a reality. How could this happen to a staple in the collecting community? Perhaps we could learn a lot from the 'other' vinyl industry. We've seen lots of sad news about some favorite haunts of yesteryear like in NY (Other Music, Rebel Rebel and Vinyl Factory as well as in San Francisco (Aquarius Records), and in Chicago (Shake, Rattle & Read). You don;t have to be a rocket scientist to realize these are all small businesses, and they are all experiencing this problem in 2016. The latter mentioned had a closure event where they even gave away everything in the store! Perhaps when we look towards Election 2016 we should keep this in mind - who would best aid our country in rebuilding the crumbling infrastructure of places like this, typically mom n' pop shops?! Keep in mind, people, that these situations often involve both lifetime committment and savings to run these altars of collectorship. Record Store Day, for all its valiant prowess, couldn't sustain the cost of overhead for many of these institutions. So what happened along the way?
ANALOGUE ANALOGIES: Digital technology is primarily to blame. New generations are growing up with their first pre-tween smartphone and their off....losing parts of their senses in the process. CDs replaced LPs and MP3s replaced CDs and now everything is floating upward to the cloud. On one side, we can look at it all through a convex looking glass as a less materialistic time in our her/history, while at second glance we are giving up the analogue, the real thing, the tangible -- and replacing it with an app, a bot or some random code. Of course there are the purists among us who will continue to lay vinyl down to spin riffs, both new and old, with that romantic hiss that only comes from a 33 1/3rd. But what will replace, if at all, designer vinyl toys?
THIS DUNNY'S GONE TO HEAVEN: Maybe you might be asking yourself, why aren't people rising up in anger to see these good people closing their shops? You may remember a few years ago Kidrobot, the designer toy giant, closed its LA shop in Melrose back in 2014, but hearing this type of news stings every time. Fiscal reality his the bigger companies too. Did you know that the respected toymaker NECA who owns the Texas-based chain Hastings is being forced to close the bankrupt chain? It's true. So we clearly see a pattern here. As collectors we hold a certain hope that these guys and gals that vend wild, wacky and wonderful artful stuff to adorn our special shelves and make us smile will last forever. Alas, the truth of the matter, even the smartest, most clever and curatorially righteous among us have fallen to the power and weakness of our ever-changing economy. I would be the first to say support local, help them out through buying something for yourself once in a while, or through giving gifts to your friends, turning someone on unsuspectingly to a Kozik or a bootleg custom -- instead of another boring bouquet or Starbucks giftcard. Shop wisely.
EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN: Whether its raising retail rental space, a glut or lack of available goods, shipping protests or weather conditions -- if you want to see small business live and thrive, keep places like Tenacious Toys (NY), 3D Retro (CA), Martian Toys (NY), Munky King (CA), My Plastic Heart (NY) in mind before the simple eBay or Amazon clicks it takes to snatch your next resin beauty or vinyl masterpiece. These guys not only vend shiny new creations, some of them help produce them behind the scenes, enabling artists see their visions become three-dimensional. Keep in mind that even Amazon (and eBay to an extent) have their hands in brick and mortar. Do you want your next figure by Scott Tolleson, Jason Freeny, Amanda Visell or Luke Chueh to be simply referred to as a catalogue number, or would you rather shop direct through a dedicated seller with the expertise, who has basically curated a wonderful selection for their faithful followers? Sure we'd like to see more toys made in our own respectful countries with greener practices, and sure we all know mass marketing is what it is - that is what this designer toy movement and community is all about. Has it gone through a full gestation yet or is the next generation as interested in defending dust from their prized possessions? Think of your own personal carbon footprint when supporting your favorite local comics and collectibles shop.
UN CON-VENTIONAL: Some positive perspective can be seen in the growing minions who attend fledgling convention events like DCon and ToyCon UK. These amazing gigs bring together the geekiest of the geek, followers of artists and fringe rabble rousers who don't always buy via franchise or advertising - these cons bring out the best of the best of creative people developing wild creations that are fun, cute, wry and downright avant-garde. People like Jon-Paul Kaiser, Patrick Wong, Josh Mayhem, Killer Bootlegs, Horrible Adorables, Mighty Jaxx, Suckadelic, RYCA, Special Ed Toys, Skelevex and too many like-minds to mention in one sentence. Some say that adult collectors are basically kids that never grew up. Some say that certain adults want to create toy figures that you would otherwise never see in a Toys R' Us or that would not be tied to a Summer blockbuster. These disappearing crossing guards of pop culture as we know it are harbingers of quirky taste - and we need to appreciate the wares they offer while it lasts, even while a more humongous industry churns out what we lovingly have referred to, on a number of occasions, as 'plastic trash'. These are the toy rebels - those that dare go to the nth degree to entertain and abuse our funny bones!
SUPPORT THOSE WHO SUPPORT YOUR COLLECTING NEEDS! ;) This delicately brings up the other side of the argument which is, that besides for being frugal with lesser disposable income, people are losing the sense of "real" culture to the attitude of stay-at-home, binge-watching and buying by auction and Amazon. Sure these practices are often no-risk, return if you don't like it deals, but where has the fun gone - for rummaging through a shop through spectacular, unique wonders. Collectors curate their own collections, defining their sense of taste with a small library of collectibles, knick knacks, bric-a-brac. And then there's dust.....
SPECULATIVELY SPEAKING: Maybe this uphill battle towards ultimate ownership is one becoming too easy through the internet. It's now much too easy to own a semblance of something rather than the real mccoy. Maybe less production is better for the environment? Maybe having your most sought after grail exclusive is too far out of reach? Maybe things will turn around soon? Maybe baby, maybe just maybe.
One thing is absolute. The music continues to spin 'round....and "makes the people come together!"
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