Saturday 31 May 2008

All Hail Bounty Hunter! Welcome Skull King Kun.



We don't do collaborations very often. When we do we are either very well paid or we have very strong ties with our partners.

To celebrate 10 years of making toys (beginning with Silas back in 1998) we joined up with our good friends at Bounty Hunter from Tokyo. We've known Taka and Hikaru for many years now. They helped us make our first ever toy at Silas, the infamous Martin figure. Also Hikaru and I share a love of punk rock, especially the third wave of UK bands such as Discharge. He is a punk rock expert and well known in Japan for his uncompromising style. And he is the only man in Japan I have ever met who owns a Sunderland AFC football scarf!

James and I have always loved BxH's hardcore approach and the fact that they are the forefathers of the whole modern vinyl figure scene. So it is an honour to work with them on a project. Skull King Kun is a mutant amalgamation of each of our most recognised and iconic characters. Skull Kun and King Ken.

Bounty Hunter released their allocation of Skull King Kun earlier today and sold out immediately. Amos will release their limited allocation later in the summer. But first there will be a very limited amount on sale at San Diego Comic-Con in July. So be patient and stay off ebay!

More on this soon.

Friday 30 May 2008

Fresh from the Land of the Rising Sun. Part 1.

The Bird God of Music

There's a Bird God for everything. But this is the most important.



The Doors of Perception

Aldous Huxley was a disciple of the Bird God. Open those doors!

Fresh from the Land of the Rising Sun. Part 2.

Klassic Ken

Needs no explanation. Everyone else does it. Why not us!




Black Metal Ken

In his darker moods, when not wearing white gloves, yellow booties and red button pants, Ken likes to coat himself with corpse paint and indulge in the blackest rituals.




YOD Revolt

Not a tribute to the Clash. More a comment on consumer culture.



YOD Repent

Four fabulous YODs need no help!





You know the drill by now. Imported from our friends at One Gram in Japan. Not cheap but the best production quality around. Available from Saturday through the online store.

Wednesday 28 May 2008

Latest News

It's been a long time since I last posted on the Amos Blog, so I thought I ought to give a brief update as to the latest goings-on.

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who purchased artwork at the Selected Drawings Gallery sale. I'm incredibly flattered that all the artwork sold and I very much appreciate the support

I was also very gratified to see the hand-painted Bird Gods do so well, so thank you for that as well.

I think the next toy release is going to be the most exciting for quite a while. I've noted some speculation as to its precise nature, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to keep a lid on the bounty for a while yet.

At the moment I am starting to think about the next series of Amos tees. There are no specific designs as yet, but at present I am digging Meg and Mog, Sol Lewitt, Keep Britain Tidy, spoonbills and pigs. How these influences will manifest themselves I have to idea.

The injury that forced me to miss the London Marathon didn't clear up by itself and I ended up having an MRI scan. It turned out I had a stress fracture in my tibia. The cure is 4-6 weeks on crutches with no weight bearing, which is a bit of a bummer, to say the least. 

I've been given this boot to wear:



I'm finding it incredibly tedious and quite knackering. The last time I was on crutches I didn't have a 2 1/2 year old daughter to chase after.

I'm hoping to be able to start running again mid-June, fingers crossed.

Saturday 24 May 2008

Wonder Women of America Myspace



We are getting closer to our planned release for the Wonder Women of America book. We'll post more on this over the next couple of months but in the meantime we have set up a myspace page with a short slide show. There are other images from the book in the pics section too. Join us, be our friend and help spread the word!

www.myspace.com/wwoa

Wednesday 21 May 2008

Sunday 18 May 2008

Will Sweeney on dex...

I recently returned from another great All Tomorrows Parties festival at Camber Sands. We had an excellent weekend watching many great bands. My highlights this time included Harmonia, Wooden Shjips, Black Lips, A Place To Bury Strangers, Deer Hunter and Various Productions. There were so many other great sets too.

Green Fuzz creator, Will Sweeney, was timetabled to play a DJ set at the pub/bar at midday on the Sunday (just before the pub quiz). But when he got down there people were watching football on a big screen. He didn't have the heart to turn it off and play. So he came back to our chalet and instead gave us a virtual DJ set. Photographer Jason Evans was on hand to record the moment.

So for everyone that couldn't see his set that Sunday afternoon, here it is in two parts. You'll need Flash to watch them... Go selector!

Part 1

Part 2

Friday 16 May 2008

15 days to go and just one drawing left. Why this one?



I can only assume that everyone has missed this piece as it is now hidden amongst the "sold outs" in the Selected Drawings Gallery. This amazing A3 drawing has always been one of my favourites. It inspired a mural in a hip Soho clothing store, and also provided the inspiration for a very rare set of Silas branded Japan-only printed cushions that were designed for the Isetan department store in Tokyo. These soft furnishings were JJ's last collaboration with the original Silas team and depicted various animal characters including the squirrel with acorn. The drawing is a similar piece to the A4 drawings Animals 1 and 2 (which were snapped up super fast) but is more composed and on better quality, heavier A3 portrait size cartridge paper. It will look beautiful when well framed!!! I assumed this would be an early seller along with the Beach Boys pieces.

Why has nobody bought this? I am confused! Maybe it is fate telling me that it should be mine...

Wednesday 7 May 2008

He's back!!!

Well sort of!

King Ken mugs...



and golf style hand towels...



available at www.store.amostoys.com from this Saturday.

Sunday 4 May 2008

Selected Drawings Online Gallery Success!

Thanks to everyone who visited the Online Gallery over the last few days. The two Private views were very busy and a great success. Special thanks to all those who bought pieces. We were amazed by the response. As I write this there are just two drawings left for sale (one of which I am frankly shocked did not get snapped up immediately!)

Just because most of the work has sold does not mean that you should not visit. The work will remain up until May 31st. So if you have not yet seen the exhibition then click below for a direct link to the gallery:

Selected Drawings Gallery: www.amostoys.com/gallery