Pedro
“Toys are a perfect vehicle for the expression of ideas because of their place in the human development process, and their special place in our hearts.” – Ron English
Hi there!
I´ve been writing in TTC for a while now so I guess it’s time you guys get to know a little more about me;
I’m Pedro, I was born in Portugal in the golden year of 1985 so toys were always part of my life.
I grew up surrounded by Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, Transformers, G.I. Joes, Lego, Playmobil, Transformers and all sorts of late 80´s and 90’s toys.
As a 90’s kid I was heavily influenced by the skateboarding culture and have always been fascinated by the art on the boards, brand logos and all the good stuff. So urban art came pretty natural for me (and bruised knees as well).
The big change happened back in 2006 when I went to study abroad in Florence, Italy. On my daily walk to college I used to pass by this high end fashion clothing store with incredible high price tags. Among all those expensive pieces of clothing I could see a little pink spiky guy.
One day I walked in and took the little guy with me. I can’t remember the name of the store, but I will always remember “Cactus Friends : Sabochan” (Simone Legno, Tokidoki).
I then understood the value of Designer Toys, and I´m not talking about monetary value, but the conceptual value, the artistic approach of the object. The interpretation of the toy, a beloved childhood everyday object that consciously or unconsciously always spoke to us.
As a musician I always find myself reaching for designer toys for inspiration.
In fact, designer toys/art toys grew so much on me that a decided to open a toy store a year ago and work everyday to help the culture thrive in Portugal, as I firmly believe that designer toys are a vehicle to educate people, to encourage critical thinking and expanding views and opinions. Things that we need so bad in today´s society.
So writing for The Toy Chronicle was a huge step and a really rewarding moment for me.
I have several favorite artists, it´s impossible to name them all. Some are, Jon Paul Kiser, The Suck Lord, WuzOne, Paulkaiju, Ron English, Jason Freeny, Eun Byeol Choi (Lo-Fi), Kaws among many others.
I specially like production pieces by Coarse (my favorite to collect) and Mighty Jaxx, but I have as well several companies that I love.
Outside of the toys world I love urban wear, playing and collecting “The Legend of Zelda” and horror movies , specially the B movies, Universal monsters and Hammer!
Oh, did I tell you I have a weird fascination for Oujja Boards?
Hope to talk to you guys soon! Drop me a line at pedro@thetoychronicle.pt!
You can add me as well on Facebook.
I´ll see you all in The Toy Chronicle!
Pedro.
