Toy Art Gallery Opens Retail Showroom on Melrose

This seems like it could be good news. In a year that’s seen a number of toy art retail storefronts close their doors (see Giant Robot SF, Neon Monster, etc.), LA’s Toy Art Gallery is opening a new space. It’s not just some empty lot either, it looks to be a prime spot on one of the most well-known streets in Los Angeles: Melrose.

Although Toy Art Gallery founder, Gino Joukar (above), always welcomes people into his office-slash-collecting-paradise adjoining the gallery, the current TAG space is off-the-beaten path of LA’s foot traffic. (Is “LA foot traffic” an oxy-moron?)

These photos of Gino and his office are from some time I spent there earlier this year. It really is an outstanding collection. People tend to get hung up on the vast outpouring of money and relatively short timespan it took to mobilize this menagerie. Those are valid speculations, but I think what’s more important is that someone DID put together a collection spanning the diversity of all that which is “designer vinyl”, with an emphasis on the “art” of toys.

Above and below, you can see TAG’s “kaiju island”. The space features multiple connected rooms filled with vinyl toys and original paintings. I could spend the day there and not see everything (or get the least bit stir-crazy).

Now that TAG will have the space on Melrose, there is potential to inspire others and attract new fans to the toy art medium. TAG’s retail showroom is located at 7571 Melrose Ave. It will be open for business (with several exclusives pictured below) on September 16th at 7PM. Emilio Garcia‘s Brain Drain group custom show christens the new location.