Medicom Toy and the Bearbrick Series
Medicom Toy is a company japanese founded in 1996 by Tatsuhiko Akashi. It specializes in the manufacture of Toys licensed (Star Wars, Marvel, The Rolling Stones) and Toys in collaboration with foundations of artists such as Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat.
But back to the beginning...
... The same year of creation of Medicom Toy comes out a figurine : the Kubrick.
It is such a success that in 2001, the organizers of the World Character Tokyo Convention ask Tatsuhiko Akashi to produce them Toys. Faced with the increasingly high demand, the creator of the brand decides to create the Bearbrick : a unique and articulated figurine model which will serve as support for the different creations.
Made from ABS plastic, the Bearbrick has a unique form, only design changes depending on the projects, whether it be projects from artists, businesses or Brands.
There are different sizes of Bearbrick, represented by percentages. The Bearbrick basic measures 70mm, this is the 100%, but there are in other formats: 50% (keychain), 200% (145mm), 400% (280mm) and 1000% (700mm).
The Bearbrick Series
There is 2 series of Bearbrick per year : the summer collection and the winter collection.
All editions of Bearbrick are limited, it is rare that they be re-edited.
Each series includes 4 different types of designs : Basic, artist, secret and standard. In the standard, we find recurring themes such as the Jellybean, the Pattern, the Flag, the Horror, the SF, the Cute, the Animal and the Hero.
Each 100% series includes several figurines in different themes (but taken up in each series).
In addition to the "basics", which are uni-color figures on which one of the letters of Bearbrick (nine figures placed side by side form the brand), original models are created by contemporary artists and designers, who collaborate with Medicom Toy.
All series are sold in blind boxes (Blind box), so that the lucky buyers can only know what they are getting when they open the box. Each box contains a figurine, which makes it quite difficult to assemble a complete collection. This partly explains the fascination and success of the Bearbrick. The boxes are presented in a display containing 24 boxes.
The first series is released in August 2001 ...
... and the very first collaboration, with the record store HMV de Tokyo, was released a month later.
For Hype, it's Stussy which detonated the detonator in May 2002. Kaws, Futura and Nike follow in his footsteps... Romance with the Streetwear takes a date and the Bearbrick becomes the yardstick. Events, birthdays, outings... the Bearbrick is part of all the festivities.
The event "Love is big, Love is be@rbrick", will hoist up the Bearbrick.
House designers Chanel, Cartier, Hermes, Coach, Missoni, Moschino, Paul Smith, appropriate Bearbrick.
Historically influenced by Urban cultures, THE Bearbrick has become one of the most representative icon of Streetwear by collaborating with Brands such as Bape, Stussy, Nike, Staple ...
THE luxury is not to be outdone with Chanel, CDG, Sacai, Coach ... who are surrounded by artists like Kaws, Futura, Murakami etc.
This year, we had a Series 47 at the top with licenses and well-known artists such as hide, Ghost in the Shell, Wonka, Land, M3GAN, Ken the Survivor, Flash, Pollock-Krasner studio, Foot Patrol...
Introducing Bearbrick Series 47. Each box contains...
Pickup currently unavailable at Artoyz Shop - Paris
Bearbrick Series 47
Artoyz Shop - Paris
83 rue Saint Honoré
75001 Paris
France
Basic :
We need no introduction! This "basic" adorns the famous B, the first letter of Bearbrick. Its simplicity is its charm and it will be even better next to its 8 other similars!
Animal :
Psycho Teddy Bear designed by hide, musician Japanese, singer, composer and guitarist from the Visual Rock X Japan group.
SF:
Motoko Kusanagi, character from the Japanese animation series : Ghost in the Shell.
Cute:
Wonka, mysterious hero of Charlie and the chocolate factory!
Horror :
M3gan, a cyber doll whose artificial intelligence is scheduled to be the ideal babysitter.
Artist :
Kenshirô, manga and animates hero of Ken the survivor. It is the 64ᵉ heir to the technique of Hokuto Shinken, a kung-fu of assassins transmitted from generation to generation.
Pattern :
Discover here a starry sky, will it wake up your soul of astronaut?
Jellybean :
here is the Perfect Bearbrick for the greediest of us, with this mountain of small exotic candies, straight from Nagasaki!
Hero :
Flash, a scientist capable of moving to a supersonic speed, with his armor of the last movie (2023).
Artist :
Coming straight from Pollock-Krasner House and studio, former house of Jackson Pollock and his wife Lee Krasner.
Artist :
Foot Patrol, sports shoe store that has collaborated with Nike, Adidas, Vans ...
Flag :
Austria, a European country which has given birth to the most famous classical music composers, including Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Liszt, J. Strauss, Mahler and Bruckner.
Artist :
After collaborating with artists such as Pollock, Billington, Kaws, Murakami, it's Land's turn to bring its touch to the little bear.
Introducing Bearbrick Series 47. Each box contains...
Pickup currently unavailable at Artoyz Shop - Paris
Bearbrick Series 47
Artoyz Shop - Paris
83 rue Saint Honoré
75001 Paris
France
Find these 13 Bearbrick, in our shop and online site!
