New Bü DIY Toys from Canada’s Crywolf
Stephanie Drabik & Rose Chang of Canadian clothing and accessory shop, Crywolf, contacted me to share news of their upcoming vinyl toy, Bü. Crywolf is known in Toronto as a place to get the best of the “cute and weird”. Stephanie and Rose operate the shop with “DIY-positive” attitudes, and they design all of their products themselves.
Creating a vinyl toy was a natural next step, and the duo chose a group of artists to customize Bü for a launch party event. Check out the roster here, and you’ll note it’s not the usual suspects of toy customization. (Nice to see WeKillYou! and Jes Fortner on there though.) Of course, I had to ask about the name Bü and that exciting umlaut:
We realized that even though our shape is very loose and open, it does have a ghost feel to it, but we didn’t want to straight out call it Boo (to avoid associations with Nintendo’s Boo), so we called it Bü which is a little more ambiguous and quirky (like us) and added the umlaut for pronunciation as well as it just looking cool. Maybe Bü IS nordic, he hasn’t told us yet…
Bü will be released in three colors that are not exactly Crayola-speak, so you will need your Martha Stewart dictionary to translate: ocean, sky and cloud. The figure is approximately 3.5 inches wide and 4 inches tall. But who IS Bü?
The idea behind Bü is that it comes as a blank object, but invites the participant to create, modify, and design it however they may choose. Bü can be painted on, drawn on, or modded however the owner decides or it can simply be left blank and become a friendly collectable addition to ones shelf, workspace, room – or anywhere!
Join Crywolf on Saturday June 11th, 2011 at the second floor gallery of the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto for an exclusive one night only product release and art showcase. There will be raffle prizes sponsored by local brands and companies, a “Bümbastic People’s Choice” contest, gift bags for the first 50 guests who make a purchase and no cover charge. Guests will be able to purchase their very own Bü at the event for $10 (or event special of 3 for $24). Immediately after the launch Bü will be available through Crywolf’s online shop, and later this year at various local retail locations.
Afterward: Inside Jeremy’s Head
Voice 1: Dude, WTF? I thought you were kind of against the tidal surplus of DIY toys?
Voice 2: It’s true. I pretty much feel like there are enough DIY toys out there, and if the existing options don’t meet customizers’ needs, they should grab some clay and make their own.
Voice 1: So what gives then?
Voice 2: I don’t know. I found something charming about the backstory of Bü, and in particular, the people who created it. I hope they have a great launch party and success with their new toy.
Voice 1: Are you on happy pills?
Voice 2: …
