The Toy Equivalent of Threadless

Patchtogether.com offers contributors the opportunity to have their toy designs made and sold through the website. Members vote on submissions, and the highest scoring designs get picked for production.

If your design is chosen, you win $500 and 5% of sales - but Patch Together automatically get all rights to your work. If it isn't chosen, you get your design back after ninety days.

Hmmm. That still seems like the company stands to make a lot of money with very little output on their part... but I guess that's the point. They're basically panning for gold, and not really paying all that much for the work (when you consider what one really successful toy can bring in). Even the less successful entries probably aren't all that risky either, as they've already been proven to be popular to some degree.

Like Threadless, I think one would be better off saving up to produce a design independently. Sure, it might not work, but if it takes off, at least you own most of it!

That Was Quick Dept.

A T-shirt design available (ironically) at bustedtees.com. $14.99 + shipping pre-orders an in-joke that'll be dated by the time the shirt arrives!

Happy Beaver Now Available At 3dretro.com!

3dretro.com just added my Happy Beaver toy to their stock on Tuesday - check out all of their cool new February products!

Happy Beaver Now Available At Fugitive Toys!

Now there's five places you can buy a "Happy Beaver" toy:

* Right here at jeffpidgeon.com,
* Dr. Comics & Mr. Games (Oakland, CA),
* Comic Relief (Berkeley, CA and online at comicrelief.net),
* Super 7 (San Francisco, CA and online at super7store.com)
* ...and now... Fugitive Toys (fugitivetoys.com)!


I'm down to about 250 out of the run of five hundred. Order one today!

More Of My Stuff On eBay

I'm finally getting around to posting some of the stuff that I've been intending to sell for months! There's three auctions active right now, and I think all of them are pretty darn cool.

I'm selling the Bowen Captain America statue because there's a new one out that I like more. The pinstriped "Happy Beavers" were always intended as auction premiums, and the MTV Fauna figure (pictured) was part of a three-piece set - it's my least favorite of the three, and I'd always intended to sell it to help defer the high cost.

You've got ten days, so bid and bid high! Help support my collecting and toymaking habits!

UPDATE (12:16 AM): Wow! The Captain America statue got snapped up immediately. I guess I should've charged more...

UPDATE: (1/10): I've posted a new item since the Cap statue went so fast. A Roger Rabbit vinyl figure (we had two of them)! I know a lot of people hate this movie, but it's an amazing sculpt!

At Last! A New "Happy Beaver" For Sale!

It's not a new colorway, but a one-of-a-kind custom! My buddy Greg "Coop" Cooper did a beautiful pinstriping job on one of my "Happy Beaver" toys, and I'm offering it up for sale on eBay! I just started the auction, so you've got about ten days to bid. Good luck!

Another Great Week!

Emailing all the toy retailers last week bumped up my readership even more. I came pretty close to getting 2,000 page views on Wednesday! Thanks for visiting, everybody - I hope to have another Happy Beaver comic finished soon. I know it's been a little while!

Sales Are Increasing!

I've received some good orders in the last couple of days - one site ordered ten toys, and another ordered twenty! Plus, some long-hovering potential interest for ten more landed, too. I'm very excited! Lots of toys to ship out once the money arrives.

Seven sites have responded (there's still some orders that might happen there), so there's still a lot of emails left to respond. Keep your fingers crossed!

What's Going On Here?

I'll let you know soon. Keep checking back for further details!

Website OTD: lastexittonowhere.com

I thought I'd keep this site to myself (at least in terms of blogging about it), but there's an article in
The New York Times Magazine now, so that's not happening!

If you go there, you can buy awesome T-shirts that are cryptic references to businesses, locations, and events in various movies. For example, you can get a shirt that's designed to look like you've visited Devil's Tower, Wyoming (from Close Encounters of the Third Kind), or worked at the Tyrell Corporation (who makes the replicants in Blade Runner). They're super cool!

I've emailed the owner of the site and deluged him with dozens of ideas for other shirts - I'll try to post as many of my lists as I can remember here - feel free to send ideas to me, and I'll pass them along!

Here's some to get you started:

* Dr. T's Music School - from The 5,000 Fingers Of Dr. T
* (Jack) Burton Trucking/Pork Chop Express - from Big Trouble In
Little China
* (George) Kaplan's Crop Dusting - from North By Northwest
* Antonio Bay Centennial Celebration - from The Fog
* United Planets Cruiser C-57D - from Forbidden Planet
* Egg Foo Young Scenic Tours, Chinatown, San Francisco - from Big
Trouble In Little China
* Terran Federation Mobile Infantry - from Starship Troopers
* CIVIC-TV (UHF Channel 83, Cable 12) - from Videodrome
* Save The Clock Tower shirt - from Back To The Future
* (Biff) Tannen's Detailing - from Back To The Future
* "Enchantment Under The Sea" dance shirt - from Back To The Future
* Lester's Possum Park - from A Goofy Movie
* Lake Destiny, Idaho - from A Goofy Movie
* Gonzo The Great's Plumbing - from The Muppet Movie
* El Sleezo Cafe - The Muppet Movie
* Doc Hopper's French Fried Frog Legs - from The Muppet Movie
* UBS-TV - from Network
* Interzone, Inc. - from Naked Lunch
* Clamp Enterprises - from Gremlins 2: The New Batch
* Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems "Where The Future Begins Tomorrow" -
from Buckaroo Banzai
* Hong Kong Cavaliers shirt - from Buckaroo Banzai
* American Eagles shirt - from Roger Ramjet
* Team Banzai/Blue Blazer shirt - from Buckaroo Banzai
* Slugworth Confections - from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate
Factory
* ENCOM - from Tron
* Space Paranoids shirt - from Tron
* Central Services shirt - from Brazil
* Ministry Of Information - from Brazil
* Mr. Fusion - from Back To The Future
* Faber College ("Knowledge Is Good") - from Animal House
* Curl Up And Dye Hair Salon - from The Blues Brothers
* Delos - from Westworld
* The Hippo Club - from Grosse Pointe Blank
* Waterloo Waterpark - from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
* (Shop Smart! Shop) S-Mart - from Army of Darkness
* WKFL Rockin' Ricky Rialto (whips out the oldies) shirt - from Gremlins
* Transamerican Airlines - from Airplane
* Shields Pictures - from The Bad and the Beautiful
* Stay-Puft Marshmallows - from Ghostbusters
* Consumer Recreation Services - from The Game
* "I Was Buried And Left For Dead And All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt" shirt - from The Game
* McMahon & Tate Advertising- from Bewitched
* Space Cruiser Yamoto - crew shirt
* Dinky-Di dog food - from Mad Max
* Con-Almalgamate - from Outland
* Drax Corporation - from Moonraker
* World Wide Studios - from The Muppet Movie
* Flynn's Arcade - from Tron
* The Very Big Corporation of America - from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
* Duke & Duke Commodities - from Trading Places
* Genco Furi Olive Oil - from The Godfather
* Paper Street Soap Company - from Fight Club
* Montana Management - from Scarface
* Osato Chemicals - from You Only Live Twice
* Diva Droid International - from Red Dwarf
* Sirius Cybernetics Corporation - from The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
* Misfit Music - from Jem
* Al's Toy Barn - from Toy Story
* Eggman Movers - from Toy Story
* Dinoco Gas - From Toy Story
* Space Rangers shirt - from Toy Story
* Sid's skull shirt - from Toy Story
* The 'Woody's Roundup' Show (retro) - from Toy Story 2
* Woody's Roundup "Honorary Deputy" shirt - from Toy Story 2
* P.T. Flea's Bug Circus - from A Bug's Life
* (Visit) Ant Island tourist shirt - from A Bug's Life
* Japanese Toy Museum shirt - from Toy Story 2
* MI shirt - from Monsters, Inc.
* Scream promotional shirt - from Monsters, Inc.
* Laughter promotional shirt - from Monsters, Inc.
* Put That Thing Back Where It Came From, Or So Help Me musical shirt - from Monsters, Inc.
* Harryhausen's restaurant - from Monsters, Inc.
* (Visit) Monstropolis tourist shirt - from Monsters, Inc.
* Sydney Opera House tourist shirt - from Finding Nemo
* Dental business ad shirt - from Finding Nemo
* EAC/East Australian Current tourist shirt - from Finding Nemo
* Insuricare - from The Incredibles
* (Visit) Nomansian Island tourist shirt - from The Incredibles

UPDATE: More ideas!:

* Twin Pines/Lone Pines Mall - from Back To The Future
* Gower's Drugs - from It's A Wonderful Life
* Bailey Bros. Building & Loan - from It's A Wonderful Life
* Nick's Bar/Martini's Bar - from It's A Wonderful Life
* Ma Bailey's Boarding House - from It's A Wonderful Life
* (Visit Scenic) Potterville tourist shirt - from It's A Wonderful Life
* (Visit) Bailey Park tourist shirt - It's A Wonderful Life
* Bates Motel - from Psycho
* Y. Cornelius Mineral Recovery ("Silver, Gold Our Specialty") - from Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
* Misfit Dentistry - H. Elf, DDS - from Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
* Dasher's Flight Training ("World-Famous Reindeer Games") - from Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
* Quint's Charter Fishing - from Jaws
* U.S.S. Indianapolis crew shirt - from Jaws
* Orca crew shirt - from Jaws
* Peltzer Smokeless Ashtray ("Incredible Ideas For An Incredible World") - from Gremlins
* Medvale College - from The Strongest Man In The World; Now You See Him, Now You Don't, etc.
* Rust-eez Bumper Ointment - from Cars
* Vinyl Toupee - from Cars
* Team McQueen - from Cars
* (Visit Scenic) Radiator Springs - from Cars
* Leakless - from Cars
* Hostile Takeover Bank - from Cars
* Flo's V8 Cafe - from Cars
* Luigi's Casa Della Tires - from Cars
* Radiator Springs Curio Shop - from Cars
* Ramone's House Of Body Art - from Cars
* Nitroade - from Cars
* No Stall - from Cars
* Octane Gain - from Cars
* Dinoco 500/Piston Cup shirt - from Cars

The PEECOLator

eBoy and kidrobot have debuted a toy line called PEECOL, comprised of figures that feature interchangeable parts. They've also set up the PEECOLator, a web page where you can design your own! The options seem a little limited so far, but it's fun! Here's my first design.

Greetings From Hell

Swazzlers Sean and Patrick Johnson performed the characters (from pre-recorded voice tracks) for a series of JibJab Sendables - short clips that are clearly a cut above your average e-card! Check out all six and mail them to your friends! Where else can you watch a puppet Hitler (background) being tortured? Don't answer that.

Many Customers Are Buying One For Each Side Of The Bed

Check out this TV spot for "The Back-Up", a bed-side gunrack. Wow.

Thanks to Geekologie for the tip-off!

"They're Heee-rre..."

The "Happy Beaver" toy shipment arrived today - all four hundred of them. My office is filled with boxes! I'll set up the Canadian and UK mail-order buttons as soon as I can. As always, please let me know if you want to buy my beaver toy, and live outside of the five-digit-zip-code US, Canada or the UK.

Boxes Are Here! More Beaver Toys Soon!

My order of shipping boxes arrived yesterday, and the remaining four hundred "Happy Beaver" toys are scheduled to arrive sometime today! I should be able to start shipping domestic orders the weekend, and I'll set up PayPal buttons here on the blog for UK and Canadian orders very soon! So if you live in the US - order away!

Also, if you live in northern California, I'll be throwing a "toy premiere party" in conjunction with my generous friends at Super 7 very soon - keep checking back for updated event news!

The Chiodos Have Swag

...and they want you to buy it! Yes, the Chiodo Brothers, the brains behind Killer Klowns From Outer Space, now have their very own Zazzle store. Peruse the various and sundry mugs, mousepads, and T-shirts decorated with new artwork! Choose from the delightfully nasty Klowns, the diminutive alien Marteenie, or some beautifully rendered dinosaurs. Don't delay - shop today!

"Happy Beaver" Toy Mail Order Now Available, With Two Caveats!

The new PayPal button is working, but I don't have my shipping boxes (or the extra toys), so I can't send anything out yet. I'll work on international orders (especially the UK) while I'm waiting for them to arrive. Stay tuned! Feel free to pre-order, just be aware it'll be a while before I can ship them to you.

PS - If there's other folks outside of the US and the UK who want toys, please let me know, and I'll figure out the shipping rates!

Concerning Happy Beaver Pre-Orders

IMPORTANT NOTICE!!

Please note that the "Happy Beaver" Pre-Orders currently available are for PICK UP @ San Diego Comic-Con this week (from Wednesday Preview Night thru Sunday) ONLY!

We do not (at this time) have the ability to process a mail order through PayPal. We will! We promise! Just not at this time. There will be, after Comic-Con, a chance to order the little guy and have it sent to you...we just don't know how to do that yet :-)

We apologize for any confusion, but ask you to please... read the posts before you order (although we must confess, your eagerness to own the "Happy Beaver", makes us VERY happy, indeed!).

Happy Beaver Write-Up @ I Like Toys

My friend toysrevil posted a great promo piece/interview on his i like toys blog! You can't ask for better virtual ink than this - thanks, Andy!

Comic-Con Pre-Orders For Happy Beaver Now Available!

I've set up a simple shopping button so that you can set aside a Happy Beaver toy of your very own! There'll be just one hundred available at Comic-Con, so reserve yours now!

The figure costs $45.00 USD, and is packaged in a box decorated by yours truly. Yum!

You can pay me through PayPal, but you don't have to have an account there yourself. It's super easy! The buttons are at the bottom of my link list.

The only catch is:
Right now, I'm only taking orders for customers who'll be picking up their figure at the 'Con.

Rest assured, though, that mail orders will be available soon!

CartoonBrew Adopts The iTunes Model

Check out CartoonBrewFilms - there's just three shorts to buy right now, but hopefully there'll be lots more cool stuff where that came from. There's a Q&A feature too, so Jerry, Amid, or the filmmakers themselves can answer your questions. I'm especially curious about the Frank Tashlin stop-motion short - I didn't even know it existed!

What a great way to see short films without feeling like you're robbing the filmmakers!

Zune Animations

Check out these shorts at zune.net! My favorite is the rabbit one. And of course the giant robot clip is cool!

Octane3

Here's a nicely designed retail toy site that appears to be based in the UK (or at least somewhere that charges in pounds). It's well organized, too. There's a lot of the usual suspects here, but there's also a few that I've never seen before!