Kathie Olivas Toys

...I completely agree with you about this toy. Do you own any of her two SCAVENGERS series toys? (Those toys are what got me into ART TOYS like Dunnys, etc...) I have Winston (2 of 'em of course cuz blind boxed) from the 1st series...and Masao (black figure w/skull face) and another, can't recall the name. They go for $12 each...and I think they are worth it-the box alone is gorgeous!

Never got Hazel...really wanted her but that's what sucks about blind boxed stuff. (Oh and Kathie made a Dunny recently...can you guess who got one? Probably not many peeps. It was one of the CHASES-ugh again!)

I don't know what's with these artists & toys being jacked up so high lately. I was looking forward to Camille's until I read about what is going on with hers on GF. I don't know why they don't want to make things accessible to their fans. It's quite sucky. :{

There are a couple issues at work here that drive the pricing of these sorts of toys-as-art ventures: The artist's recognition, the recognition of the toy design house, the cost of materials, the cost of the molding/casting process, the limited availability of the product, the packaging, the marketing, overseas shipping and manufacturing, etc. But most of all, everyone wants a cut. And when you start dividing up the price to secure your monies after development, the price can start to climb.

I have a friend that just released a vinyl toy, and is preparing to release the next in her series: http://www.patchtogether.com/?Product&pId=102. It takes 50 to start the process and the reserve is $52. I know she's hit at least 50 previously, so $52 must be an attractive price given the state of the economy and the drying up of expendable income for many casual collectors.

As an indie producer of limited edition collectibles, price is a terrible issue for me. Buying casting materials in low quantities to produce small runs of 10-30 pieces is expensive. I'd love to put my work into the hands of as many people as I could reach, but I just don't have the development system in place. I have to balance larger-scale work with small pieces to cover multiple price points.

Looking at the decision MINDstyle and Kathie have made, it's clear that they're targeting a particular audience. It's not so much about making a product available to every fan as much as it is holding it up high and seeing who's willing to climb up to take it. And you'll either pay up to join that exclusive group or find yourself shut out.

Eve: I don't have any of her toys. So far, I haven't seen them being sold in Ontario (or Canada, for that matter); not even in the big vinyl toy art shops in the city. And with my pockets being emptier than usual this last year, I can't justify spending a little bit more to buy it from the States.

I like the idea of the blind pick, but the execution isn't as fun. The store downtown has a system in place where customers can trade their doubles (it's hit and miss, but sometimes you luck out!). Usually, if I REALLY like enough figures of a collection, I'll just order the whole set instead of leaving it up to chance.

KU: Yetch and I are avid vinyl/lowbrow art toy collectors. We have a pretty big collection, but it's been built up over the years. In between purchases, we watch the market for new and exciting pieces, especially from favourite artists.

I'm used to seeing prices for items like these vary from artist to artist, and collection to collection, but never ever such a jump between prices for the same type/size of toy in one collection with the same run tally by a single artist. Using your metaphor, I'm not ready to scratch or claw my way up for the chance to be a sucker. If they had made all of these toys $99, I wouldn't have bought it but at least I could respect their pricing. But I find this huge discretion between two exact items - save the character - arbitrary and insulting.

It's like some of these new artists coming into the lowbrow toy scene have lost the plot.

I'd love to get into resin figures, but there's no way I could afford it. I can't even imagine the cost for you to replicate your larger items!

Wow, they are not being sold in Canada? That is really odd. Yeah, I would love to get the whole collection too...but for the price, IDK. I wouldn't even want to know what the WHOLE collection goes for...cuz of the blind box thing.

Is shipping from the US to Canada pretty pricey then?

Well, I want to try to get atleast ONE character from each series-if she keeps it up but hearing about this kinda scares me. Again, hers were worth the $$$ (McPherson toys, not worth it honestly, for me)...

Something to think about...And like I said I have a duplicate of Winston so if you ever want to 'break the bank' for her toys one day, know that I don't need a dup of him. And he's really cute...and I'd like him to go to someone who appreciates him (and his maker). Just a lil' FYI...I know cuz $$$ is beyond tight here too!

Take care~

Eve: Turns out Magic Pony http://www.magic-pony.com (the main source for these types of items in the city) is FINALLY carrying her toys (though they seem to only be offering series 2...I either missed series 1 or they didn't offer it). So that's good to know whenever I have some extra cash.

The costs add up when ordering across the border. Something that costs $20 turns to $23 when converted. Anything over $20 from businesses is subject to duty charges. If they send it through anything other than USPS, I get hit with a brokerage fee ($10 min, often sickeningly more), plus shipping (and depending on the store, there's a lot of gouging going on for that cost). So an item that I could buy in my own city for $23 TOTAL suddenly costs $40+. This isn't the rule, but it's a very common occurrence.

Adds up really quick.

Thanks for letting my know about Winston.

No problem! Glad to hear the good news. :)

The reason why they are different prices is the Hazel is 9 inches and the Cosmic Pennie is only 3 inches

Somehow I missed it. I was going back and forth between the two articles and every time I didn't see WHAT the difference was!

Did MINDstyle change the first paragraph of the article? It now highlights the size different both in measurement and general description. I'm a kooky gal, but I can't imagine I would have missed all that info. MINDstyle is trying to make me think I'm crazy. But it won't work, see?

DO NOT SUPPORT THIS "ARTIST" (kathie olivas)DO NOT BUY HER TOYS!

she is only after your money and has no concern for her fans!
Dont even get me started on the stupid colorways!
She is one of the few artists out there who dont show enough effort for her fans. Honestly, what kind of artist draws on a primed canvas with a sharpie? that's kathie olivas for you!
How many hazels colorways does she have out? 4 now? She's ridiculous! Dont even say its because of mindstyle! Bullsh!t!!!
there are other artists who work with mindstyle who dont produce the same damn thing over and over again with a different color. Of course her loyal fans are blind and dumb enough to buy the same thing but its "special" because its green, blue or grey or black. please give us a break kathie! She's a hypocrite! she told someone recently that one of the reasons why she agreed to do the sale is because she has a sick parent. Fine whatever....then she goes on saying if she wanted to make money she wouldnt be relying on toys! Yet, she occupied herself with these colorways and sharpie drawn toys and sells it!...if you dont know what im talking about check out her website. So is it me or did she just contradict herself?

I dont believe mindstyle has the sole responsibility for production of her designs and they get to do whatever they want with it because that's copyright infringement. Of course, kathie has a say so on this.

thats why huck gee and a bunch of artists out there will always be a better artist than this b!tch because she is only looking to sell things...this isnt about her art anymore its about money!

if you say, well do you expect artists to eat ramen forever? no, d!psh!t. Im saying she should show her fans more respect. They are willing to buy her stuff just come up with a new design not hazel 24/7. sheesh! dont say well production process cost alot! if you do, then obviously you're not paying attention. Because like I said earlier there are other artists who work with mindstyle who doesnt sell the same colorway and her fans will buy her sh!t anyway. She is just taking advantage of them. Just because she has a sick parent she is making her fans pick up the bill by making half ass "art toys"

if money was a concern...well HELLO!!!! you're an artist. dont expect to get rich by being an artist because it just doesn't happen and she knew what she was getting into. or else she wouldve been something else.

I use to like her but now im selling all of her toys. not worth my money.