Vintage Toys From Found And Chosen

Artist Jane Housham collects vintage and retro toys to photograph in color-coded and themed imagery that absolutely delights me...because these are all the things I grew up with. I was born in 1964 so the graphic imagery from the 40s-50s was still lingering for children's toys. These are the toys that I got in those hard plastic spheres that came out of bubblegum machines (thanks mom and Dad for always giving me a nickel or dime when I breathlessly begged for a little treasure I spied inside the machine), or in Cracker Jack boxes (my mom loved the little Scotty dogs), or that I played with at friends' houses (I love the miniature groceries!). Special notice goes to the little television sets that actually housed a reel of photos from vacation destinations. Thanks Jane, for collecting and displaying these wonderful memories...

She collects and displays these treasures on her Instagram page called Found and Chosen:
https://www.instagram.com/foundandchosen

She is also a talented artist. Check out her work at her site:
https://www.janehousham.co.uk/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Thom Browne

One of the many changes the pandemic has brought to the world is the upheaval in the fashion world (I know, I know, compared to the death and destruction it has wrought, it seems trivial, but it effects thousands of jobs and livelihoods as well.). After two years of digital shows and video lookbooks, many houses realized they no longer need to adhere to a fashion "schedule," or show during a prescribed fashion "week." And many designers also realized that instead of driving themselves to the brink by having to create sometimes up to eight or more collections per year (along with accessories and beauty products), they would do only one or two big shows a year...on their own schedule, whenever the hell they feel like it. Better for mental health and better in terms of sustainability (something many designers and houses are now very aware of).

So a few days ago, untethered from any schedule, Thom Browne showed his Fall-Winter '22-'23 collection for men and women in New York. And what a wild show it was. Thom Browne's shows are always a performance art adventure, and this was no exception. Presented as a TED(dy) Talk, a model came out in a hybrid Thom Browne-suit/Teddy Bear costume (the furry paw-gloves and platform boots are adorable) and held forth to an audience of Thom Browne Teddy Bears in the center of the space while models presented the looks. It became quickly clear that the theme of the show was toys and Teddy Bears which was reinforced later in the show.

Each outfit came in a pair: the first half of the show featured a "normal," realistic version of a Thom Browne creation, and once all those looks had cycled through, the second half featured a wild, deconstructed, blown-up, hallucinatory version of its partner. Where models in the first half wore traditional skirts and trousers and jackets in Thom Browne wool with details of repp tie striping (a staple of a traditional men's wardrobe, and we have seen that Browne loves nothing more than to play with and distort tradition while using the traditional tailoring vernacular) along with some pretty fabulous wedge platforms (for women and men!), the second half looks were toy versions (a tennis sweater from the first part became an enormous tennis ball in the second!), some looking like stuffed animals and carrying bags made from toys, with the same platform shoes but this time made out of children's alphabet blocks that spelled out THOM BROWNE. Amazing.

This doppelgänger idea reminds me of Browne's spooky 1920's Fall-Winter '16-'17double-look show here, as well as his Fall-Winter '17-'18 show of triple looks, here, shows whose themes were just as incredibly compelling and creative.

Take a look at the video and listen to the hilarious, Disney-park-like, "march of the toys" soundtrack. And watch through parts one and two to see each look together in the finale...they make perfect, beautiful sense when seen together! (Bonus points if you can spot David Harbor in the front row next to Maisie Williams!)

https://www.thombrowne.com/

Gifts For The Hard-To-Buy-For

Having trouble thinking of what to get that someone in your life who has everything?

I bet they don't have a set of Yoga Joes, based on the popular Army-green children's plastic toy. The maker describes them:

If you took military grade tranquility and shot it through a prism, this is what you’d get. A multi-color spectrum of Yoga Joes figures, ranging from red, tantric tangerine, tan, green, blue, purple midnight, and pink.

The Rainbow Joes have 7 color variations. They consists of the 9 yoga warriors from Series 1, with the end pieces (Warrior 1 and Warrior 2) in the same color, and the remaining 7 figures ordered spectrally across. The Rainbow Joes, like their monochromatic brethren, come comfortably housed in clear plastic mini-yoga studio with a bamboo floor. Color combinations vary.

The set of 9 is $25.00 USD. Available from Yoga Joes:
https://www.yogajoes.com/products/rainbowjoes

If someone you know loves stargazing, you can get them their very own planetarium. This book entitled THIS BOOK IS A PLANETARIUM by Kelli Anderson is a pop-up featuring six gadgets. The planetarium is just one which only needs a concentrated light source (like the flashlight on a smart phone, shown) to function.

Order form Kelli Anderson's website:
http://kellianderson.com/books/planetarium.html

I am sure no one you know has a Beach Cocoon. But I bet they need one. This inflatable indoor/outdoor chair comfortably adapts around your body and is blown up in 5 minutes using an electric air blower (included).

Available through the Designboom Shop for $1,130.
https://www.designboom.com/shop/design/beach-cocoon-pascalina-design-studio-08-17-2017/

Hikers can store power and charge their devices while running up that hill with Numi, a water repellent backpack featuring a 7 watt solar panel connected to a power bank which powers two USB ports on each side of the backpack.

Also from Designboom Shop for $295.
https://www.designboom.com/shop/design/numi-smart-travel-backpack-studio-dos-santos-05-10-2018/

BEAUTY: Sculpture--Nathaniel Lewis

Completely apropos of  yesterday's post of the social commentary-activist work of soft sculptor Natalie Baxter (here), here is the chilling, activist work of Nathaniel Lewis. He makes children's toys into things that should not be, all rendered in bright, harmless colors.

This statement entitled Automatic Fun is quite powerful.

His CCTV set is painful, bringing to mind the children in 1984 who snitch on their parents.

And finally, the way his Playland Security reduces a real life horrific situation into something children "play" at is even more horrifying.

http://www.nathaniellewis.org/

BEAUTY: Sculpture--Jason Freeny

Jason Freeny's whimsical, astonishing, funny-creepy anatomical cut-away figures of popular cartoon characters and toys are supremely imaginative!

How he hasn't been sued by Sanrio, Mattel, Lego, Pillsbury, and especially Disney is beyond me...

http://www.moistproduction.com/Menu/index.html