Photo by Nicole Roegner

Jason Kiningham’s new store, Red Hot Robot, pays tribute to Japanese comic book designers who turn traditional toys into works of art.

Is this stuff Japanese?” That’s the question Jason Kiningham, owner of designer toy store Red Hot Robot, finds himself answering more than any other. Many people don’t know what to make of Kiningham’s inventory, which ranges from tchotchke to chichi.
That is, with the exception of the devoted Designer Toy/Urban Vinyl community, which has made RHR its go-to destination for limited edition, artist-designed toys.

The Designer Toy/Urban Vinyl movement began a decade ago in Japan and Hong Kong, where renegade comic book designers began modifying traditional toys with melted and mutilated parts. Those toys took off at comic book conferences, and they were soon made in limited factory runs.

Many of the toys Kiningham selects celebrate that outsider spirit. Fat Caps, for example, are small, vinyl figures with spray-paint heads and rattle-can sound effects, designed by graffiti artists from around the world.

And, like many of the toys sold here, Fat Caps are “blindbox” toys, which means you don’t know which figure you’re getting until you breathlessly peel open the box. “I love it when people open them right here,” he says.

Kiningham is a graphic designer and lifelong collector of records, CDs and posters. He stumbled upon blindbox toys years ago while working at Urban Outfitters, which sold Dunnies – bright, bulb-headed dolls in endless variations. He says he was immediately drawn to the strong graphic aesthetic. He began giving the dolls as gifts but eventually started keeping them for himself. Soon, he was researching the movement itself. “The more I learned, the more I fell in love with it,” he says.

Finally, in June, he realized his dream and opened RHR. His location at Camelback Road and Central Avenue attracts foot traffic from neighboring shops Stinkweeds and Frances. He says his clientele is split between walk-ins and shoppers who know what they want. Although some Phoenix galleries and shops carry a handful of designer toys (see sidebar), Kiningham says there isn’t another store like this in Phoenix.

The toys are artfully displayed in RHR’s gallery-inspired space, leading one to wonder if it’s the toy or  designer on display.
So, are these toys for kids?

“I’ll leave that up to my customers to decide,” Kiningham says, “but I think of it as a place for people about 15 and up.”

Certainly the irony of a plastic Mao Tse-tung bust ($300) would be lost on someone much younger, but there’s also a lot of bright, plastic, sweet-vinyl-smelling stuff at eye-level that any 6-year-old worth his salt would pitch a fit for.

OPTIONS
Other shops and galleries that sell designer toys

Wet Paint Artist Supply
This artist-supply store, catering to the urban outsider/artist set with a predilection for spray paint (read: graffiti artist), stocks a variety of urban toys, including Fat Caps. 806 S. Ash Ave., Tempe, 480-967-2002 or wetpaintaz.com.

McFarlane at Westgate
The second Valley location of comic book magnate Todd McFarlane stocks a limited supply of blindbox toys among the inventory of McFarlane figurines. Westgate Center, 9410 N. Hanna Drive, Glendale, 623-670-5601.

Wind-up Gallery
This gallery has a store in the back that sells art prints, designer toys and T-shirts. You’ll find Dunnies, Munnies, Uglydolls and more. 126 W. Main St., Mesa, 480-610-0003.

Urban Outfitters
This hip store, targeted mostly to the college crowd, stocks a limited selection of blindbox toys, including Dunny dolls. 545 S. Mill Ave., Tempe, 480-966-7250; 7135 E. Camelback Road, Suite 150, Scottsdale, 480-292-9485.