Naked Evil Ape

Created out of an obsession for designer/art toys and collectables, Hong Kong based company Toy2r continues to break down the boundaries between product design, art and graphics. Mastermind Raymond Choy founded the company in 1995 where he took his dream of a once owned toy store known as ‘Toy R’ (short for Toy Raymond), which held countless quantitiesof limited edition toy collectables, and turned it into a internationally recognized company amongst the first to explore the potential of the designer/art toy movement. Ultimately, instilling contemporary art into the vinyl toy market we all know and love today. Toy2r is a multi-faceted company whose logo was taken from our most loved and cherished mascot, the ‘Toyer.’ In 2001 Raymond released the skull-headed figure alongside what was to become the most ubiquitous toy canvas in the world, the Qee keychain figure (Please see About Qee for further information). We take great pride in our determination at Toy2r to not only innovate but inspire artists’, designers’ and the world’s generation of youth alike. Our main objective is to provide limited/collectable designer/art toys at an affordable price, based on the coolest designs for the current international market. Toy2r has received numerous internationally renowned awards for our outstanding achievements; Qee Bear is a designer toy created by Toy2R, a Hong Kong-based company founded by Raymond Choy. It is part of the Qee (pronounced “key”) series, a line of customizable, anthropomorphic figures that became a major influence in the global designer toy movement. Qee Bears have a rounded head, stubby limbs, and a signature “Q” shaped keychain attachment, allowing them to be used as collectibles or keychains. Like BE@RBRICK, Qee Bears come in DIY (Do-It-Yourself) blank versions, allowing artists and collectors to customize their own designs. Available in multiple sizes, typically 2.5-inch mini Qees, 8-inch medium Qees, and larger collector editions. Toy2R has worked with international designers, brands, and pop culture franchises, including collaborations with Tokidoki, Michael Lau, Adidas, and even Star Wars. Qee Bears were one of the earliest urban vinyl collectibles to gain international recognition in the early 2000s, helping establish the designer toy movement alongside figures like Dunny (Kidrobot) and BE@RBRICK (Medicom Toy). Though they’ve been somewhat overshadowed by newer toy trends, Qee remains an iconic piece of designer toy history. Evil was born in 1991, when one of MCA’s favorite entertainers, Pee Wee Herman (Mr. Paul Reubens), was arrested in an adult movie theater. Agitated by the absurd way in which Reubens was demonized by the media, MCA manipulated his mug shot, added devil horns to his head, and sarcastically wrote the word “Evil” beneath it. He printed up T-shirts and stickers with this image and began distributing them in and around Boston: Since then, Evil Design has spread throughout the world. If you picked up Kid 606’s critically acclaimed CD The Action Packed Mentalist Brings You the Fucking Jams, or own a T-shirt from Weezer’s Pinkerton world tour, or from Mission of Burma’s initial string of “Inexplicable” reunion shows, then you’ve seen his work. MCA has also made a name for himself in the gallery world over the past few years. Aside from his highly successful collaboration show “Destroy You, NYC – MCA + MAGMO” at Orchard Street Gallery in Manhattan, he also recently had a solo show (“Simian Nation”) in Boston at The Lab as well as taken part in a three man show (with Abe Lincoln Jr. & Ethos) at the Rotofugi Gallery in Chicago to name just