*OPENING TONIGHT* - For the Love of Vinyl - custom show at Dragatomi, March 12th 2011

Dragatomi is excited to host the - For the Love of Vinyl - Custom Show, a collaborative group art toy show, curated by Denise Cortez aka Warm ‘n Fuzzy! This is celebration of doing what you love, the way you want to, and how ever you want to do it, in this case the artists and designers had the opportunity to create their very unique vision, by encouraging them to use the technique, medium and theme of their choosing applying all their creative talent on a blank Symbiote vinyl toy platform... and today we are going to feature 3 customs from 3 different artists! Hit the jump to see who these 3 artists are, and for more info on these artists plus the rest of the artist bios... visit the For the Love of Vinyl dedicated site!

First up is the always awesome brainstrikers ARTDENKA who seem to use punk rock to inspire them in all their pieces... you just gotta love that creepy skull, guts factor that they bring to the table with each and every custom they create.

ARTIST - brainstrikers ARTDENKA : SATOSHI
COUNTRY - Yokohama JAPAN
TITLE - 死狂六六六 (SHIGURUI 666)
MATERIALS USED/TECHNIQUE - some of devil's meet, blood, evil mind...!!!

DESCRIPTION/BACKSTORY-
He killed a large quantity of people till now.When the victims reached 666 people, a lot of vindictive ghosts stood out in his face... Even so, he still keep murdering again and again...

What was your inspiration for this custom toy? -
Just PUNKROCK

BIO -
brainstrikers ARTDENKA is the devil factory from HELL. We keep making the devils everyday & night. Of course our fuel is just PUNKROCK!!!!

Next up is the always lovely, super cutesy creations of Jamie Fales... and how could you not instantly fall in love with a her custom titled "The Accidental Seal Clubber". She went all out on this piece, with the fabric, club, seal, and amazing paint job!

ARTIST - Jamie Fales (Noosed Kitty)
COUNTRY - United States
TITLE - "The Accidental Seal Clubber"
MATERIALS USED/TECHNIQUE - acrylic, epoxie sculpt, vinyl, fabric

DESCRIPTION/BACKSTORY-
I knew I wanted to make an Eskimo figure and wanted to incorporate an animal, which I do in much of my artwork. I wanted my Eskimo girl to be sad and in my usual style and then brainstormed what could've upset her... seal clubbing.

Which part of the customizing process did you enjoyed the most? -
I really enjoyed figuring out how to make the Eskimo costume. This is the second custom toy I've sewn a vinyl suit for and I'm really happy with the way it came out.

BIO -
Jamie Fales hails from New York. She grew up with a plethora of coloring books and a vivid imagination (plus, an insatiable hunger for cookies). Her mother insists Jamie was endlessly entertained as a youngster with a simple box of popsicle sticks, glue, and some glitter. She went on to study fine art in college and received her BFA in 2003. Her work has been featured in numerous publications and she has shown in solo and group exhibits across the United States. As an adult, Jamie loathes glitter, but remains an avid cookie lover.

Last but not least is the rad submission from Taiwan native OLLA BOKU, who took the love and inspiration for monsters to create this adorable candy eating creation. I really like when artists use fabric to not only make cloths, but accessories as well... great job :-)

ARTIST - OLLA BOKU
COUNTRY - Taiwan
TITLE - OB Monsterstaff
MATERIALS USED/TECHNIQUE - acrylic colors,fabric

What was your inspiration for this custom toy? -
I played a game on NDS these days. It inspired me draw a new design about" Monster Store".So I creative draw a new character who love eat candies and work arrange all different goods in store.

Which part of the customizing process did you enjoyed the most? -
I use to fabric and custom on toys. Sewing something with toy make some fun what I enjoyed the most.

BIO -
Tzu Hua Wu aka OLLA BOKU is a freelance illustrator/ designer. I got my name OLLA BOKU it happened spontaneity like idea pop up from my deeply soul. it combine with two languages Spanish and japanese.Olla=whirlpool(spanish),Boku=myself (japanese) appear my conflict mind. then make two style drawing on my artwork... That’s why you can see my creepy style and childish monster sometimes.