Bangkok, Thailand: There are toy shows and then there are TOY SHOWS! These folks do a bang-up job with promo and advertising and my contact over there shared some extremely exciting images of the exposition in progress. This is a class act. I had to share these because if you are planning to travel for future cons, really consider this one as they seemingly have a huge array of designer toys, and so many from the top crafts-folk in the industry. Ron English and James Groman is there, as is 1000toys, Pookie, Wetworks, Secret Base, Mighty Jaxx, JPX, fools paradise and coarse (with a wonderful looking exhibition). I spotted, or actually looked right through a Sea Blue Bac Bac (just gorgeous by Toy Zero Plus) and so much more - and much of it inspired by its homeland which gets my attention. Oh and there's a wild zombie Winnie the Pooh send-off by an unknown artist (anyone?) at the very end of this that I absolutely need. The Thailand Toy Expo (May 4-7) is dynamic and housed throughout a big luxury mall-style setting (yes, I saw people with shopping carts!). The way they are displaying some of the work with dramatic lighting in glass cases really heightens the experience of the artistry behind the figures on display. I really appreciate when toymakers stick to their roots and offer works that are contemporary with a sense of tradition. You can check out lots of videos and other footage online, but I particularly enjoyed snippets of an hour-long plus video that shows that massive-ness of it on via Ookbee Comics/Facebook. This is a picture show where I attempted to weed through the best I could find! Enjoy.
