BRING IT ON: Okay. To be honest, I started thinking about this topic a while back when I decided to divorce myself from the need to cover stories, reviews or otherwise regarding conventional corporate toys. Then I decided to do a wee bit of research acknowledging true phobias. After all I still don't understand people's fear of clowns, but my experience is different than yours. Teganophobia is the fear of toys. Did you know that? Of course not. I say likely less than .00005% of people would realize such things. The word "Tegan" is Welsh for toy. Somehow this seems slightly muddled up between toys, but to a greater extent fun in general. Taking it slightly further, these types of fears can be further broken down into tiny pieces like Legos, however Lateriphobia (Latin for "brick") also exists. And even though the retro adage "they are not dolls, they are action figures" makes its point ever so subtly, Pediophobia (fear of dolls) exists. And even though we take our fun really seriously at Go Figure News, I'm not kidding.
And while psychological terms are in place for a reason, this goes off-topic. You see, creating a community for those of us who love and collect toys, made by independent makers and artists, can be an extremely hard sell for the maker, the buyer....and even the writer/publisher for that matter. At times one likely wonders of it's redeeming values into the sphere of the typical releases being churned out regularly. That said I believe there is a delicate balance (and a counterbalance) between what is perceived as "popular" and the hi concept output of most designer toys. In an era where the hand has become increasingly absent, those who've embraced the creative spirit of low culture, urban art, and other forms are fewer. That, my dear people, is why we celebrate, fearlessly, the makers (and those them love 'em) of such things.
HAVE NO FEAR: All that said, are you the type of collector or artist who has shown a designer art toy to someone who's only response was perhaps to cock their head like a confused beagle? Or maybe it's an original character you have created (or enjoy), far from the typical familiar spirit of a licensed franchise. Perhaps it's a misunderstanding of the act (the art) of collecting in general that divides people, or maybe its the lack of understanding of all of us "big kids". Maybe when it comes down to it there are people in the vast and generic population of their who could use a bit more knowledge and tlc when it comes to certain "types" of toys. Personally I've experienced numerous double takes by people who just can't seem to wrap their head around an original concept. This might be a close friend, family member, or casual guest. This is where knowledge and art can inspire, clash or otherwise meet in the middle. See, it's not really all that scary after all. :)
Keep Toys Weird (and Wonderful).