// Carytown Visit//

The visit to carytown was actually really insightful. I used to just look at shops as shops, but as we walked down the streets each shop does indeed tell a story. The stories not only come from the merchandise, but most interestingly, the people that run the shops. The stores automatically channel the behaviors, personalities and visions of the unique individuals that contribute their time and efforts into running those stores, therefore each store develops their own identity, per say.

At the end of our walk, we were all at Weezies, I spoke to two locals that each worked in different stores in carytown and both of them gave me some great insight into stores that i could walk into and just start asking questions, regardless of the subject matter. the one lady named a plethora of people that she knew, including a tattoo artist that i had the pleasure of meeting and having a great conversation with her. the trip to carytown was a great inspiration and opened my eyes to viewing this part of the city as something deeper rather than a cute area with interesting stores.

// space study//

1. playground

2. greenery (toys in trees)

3. kitchen

// Heidi Kenney Final Timeline//

Artist: Heidi Kenney
Show title: “YUMMY in my Tummy”

Show caption: “Heidi Kenney’s journey of her YUMMY products”
Opening image:

Intro: YUMMY is a food plushie collection that Heidi Kenney started for Kidrobot in 2009. Her collection of plushies ranges from “main entrée” items to mainly focusing on breakfast and dessert plush toys. All of her plushies start out as mere sketches and then transformed into cute and cuddly toys for people of all ages (mostly). When asked why Kenney chose food as the main subject matter for these appealing little toys, she replied, “I want people to appreciate the simplest pleasures in life, such as food! Let them sleep with food, play with food and personify food into their own friends.”

Part One: YUMMY Breakfast – May 2009
Opening image:

Intro: Heidi Kenney’s “Breakfast” collection was the first collection of “YUMMY” products to launch. Her Breakfast collection ranges from the healthier parts of breakfast, such as fruits, to the more savory breakfast items, such as pancakes and cinnamon buns. Each product has similar aspects to it which is what ties them all together as a collection, the infamous “googly eyes” is something that all her products all have in common (I am Plastic 295). Each product has its own sweet personality, making them irresistible. Her reasoning as to why “YUMMY Breakfast” was the first products to launch is because breakfast is the first meal of the day (My Paper Crane).

Image 2:

Image 2 Caption:

The YUMMY Breakfast line launched in May 2009 and was readily available at retailers such as Kidrobot, Urban Outfitters and Nike.

“The main theme for the breakfast line was simple – sweet things. Whether they be fruits or donuts, I made sure to tap into areas of breakfast foods that everyone was sure to enjoy, even the health freaks!” –Heidi Kenney

Image 3:

Image 3 caption: “What we loved about Heidi’s new collection was the versatility and variety of products she came up with. Who wouldn’t want little key chains with food on them? Her cute and quirky style was translated magnificently through her items such as plushies, key chains and stickers.” – Paul Budnitz “I am Plastic”

Image 4:

Image 4 captions:

“Although her toys emerged on the pop culture scene with a kind of D.I.Y. underground cred, most are intricately and professionally produced.”
-Paul Budnitz (I am Plastic 15)

“I never thought of the idea of sleeping with food, but Heidi Kenney’s YUMMY Breakfast items are so adorable I’m now sleeping with pancakes!”
Ramona Fitz – (VenusZine)

Image 5:

Image 5 caption: “I make so many things simply because I just love creating. I’m constantly using my hands and my ideas are consistently flowing.”
-Heidi Kenney 2010 (I love Kawaii 34)

 Intro to Part 2: “After the YUMMY Breakfast collection launched, the feedback was so immense and positive that I just knew I had to team up once again with Kidrobot and do a whole another collection, still revolving on the fun and sweet theme, but perhaps something a little more…delectable!” – Heidi Kenney

Part 2 Opening Image:

Part 2 Intro: In April 2010, Kidrobot once again teamed up with YUMMY queen Heidi Kenney to whip up a batch of plush desserts that are sure to satisfy any sweet tooth. Plushies ranged from 13-inch ice-cream sandwiches to a smorgasbord of soft frosted cupcakes (with different icing, of course). These delightful delicacies showcased innocent eyes and embroidered sugary details such as sprinkles and chocolate chips. Ranging from 4.5 inches to 15 inches, these delightful desserts are here to cuddle up with you and keep you in your happy place. (Kidrobot Artist’s Page)

Image 1:

Image 1 caption: “My goal for the ‘YUMMY Desserts’ was really straight forward, no holding back. I wanted to use every delicious dessert out there! I wanted my plushies and key chains to scream out suger, sprinkles and sweet teeth (not tooth!) In a lot of ways the dessert collection is a little closer to my heart simply because of my love for sweets.” –Heidi Kenney

Image 2:

Image 2 caption:

“I want my items to have some type of ‘D.I.Y.’ aspect, that’s why the devil is in the details with my plushies. The small details such as the sprinkles on the cupcakes is what I feel makes these plushies a little more special!”

“YUMMY Queen Heidi Kenney’s new plush desserts are an intelligent yet creative way of crafting toys that appeal to a plethora of audiences.”-Kidrobot

Image 3:

Image 3 caption: “Her donut plushies were definitely some of the most popular items purchased amoungst audiences worldwide. Their cute, cuddly nature appealed to not only little children but also teenage adults, making them age friendly all whilst staying delectably sweet!” – VenusZine Magazine
“She is an amazing lady doing amazing things. There are so many products to choose from and so cute! How much more perfect can a donut plushie be?”
-Emilie Zanger

Image 4

Image 4 caption: “What draws a person to an object is not always an idea — it might just be an intense love for the material reality of the object itself.”

-Paul Budnitz (I am Plastic, too 213)

 Conclusion: Heidi Kenney’s great eye for detail and immense passion for simply creating things is what makes her and her products such a success. Her appeal to a variety of audiences makes her products demandable and something that every kid (or adult) can relate to and snuggle up with. The YUMMY collection is a staple in Kidrobot stores and other retailers worldwide.

Conclusion image:

// Heidi Kenney Quotes//

“YUMMY Queen Heidi Kenney whips up a new batch of plush desserts that are sure to satisfy any sweet tooth. Her intelligent yet creative way of crafting appeals to a plethora of audiences.”
-Kidrobot

“Her various one-eyed, purple, red, green forms, often taking multitude of shapes are among the most successful of new wave of vinyl.”
-Paul Budnitz

“She is an amazing lady doing amazing things. There are so many products to choose from and so cute!”
-Emilie Zanger

“Her cute and quirky style makes her plushies irresistible!”
-VenusZine

“Although her toys emerged on the pop culture scene with a kind of D.I.Y. underground cred, most are intricately and professionally produced.”
-Paul Budnitz

“Small toy companies get excited when dealing with a new product, such as food plushies. Heidi Kenney is Queen of Yummy!”
-Peter Vithorn

“I make so many things simply because I just love creating. I’m constantly using my hands and my ideas are consistently flowing.”
-Heidi Kenney

“Since my items always have some type of "D.I.Y.” aspect, my website is built the same exact way, piecing things together, often looking like a collage; much like my YUMMY products.“
-Heidi Kenney

"Celebrating life in the simplest form, food, is what I wanted and my audience to gain from this YUMMY collection. Enjoy the simplest pleasures! Sleep with them too.”
-Heidi Kenney

// Designer #3 - Heidi Kenney (Toy Designer)//

“Heidi Kenney is a self-taught artist who creates plush and 3D soft sculptures, happy (& sometimes very sad) plush veggies, donuts, toilet paper rolls, and other everyday food & household items. Born in Washington DC, Heidi currently lives in Pennsylvania. She started her company and website, My Paper Crane, in 2001 so she would have a place to blog and showcase the plush toys she was making. She has worked closely with Kidrobot to create keychains, pillows, and clothing based on her food designs. Yummy Donuts and Yummy Breakfast.

Her work has been featured in the New York Times, The Boston Globe, and Print magazine. She has participated in group exhibitions across the globe including Tokyo, Australia, and The United Kingdom. She recently had her third solo show “Seedlings, Sprouts, & Spores” in Chicago IL.“

Established design period: I’m going to be focusing on her collection of plushies that she did called the "YUMMY” series for Kidrobot in 2009. The “YUMMY” series was a multitude of well, “yummy” foods that were all composed into plushies, key chains and other uses.

Q: How do you find time to make all this stuff?
Heidi: Like anything else you might love, I make time for My Paper Crane (her website) and all my plushies because I love creating things. I think it also helps that I do not watch television either (unless you count Netflix!)

Heidi Kenney’s YUMMY Plush Product Review

“Break out your stretchy-pants and make room for dessert!  Kidrobot teams up with YUMMY queen Heidi Kenney to whip up a batch of plush desserts that are sure to satisfy any sweet tooth. Debuting a super cozy 13-inch ice cream sandwich and a smorgasbord of soft frosted cupcakes, these delightful delicacies feature watchful eyes and embroidered sugary details. Ranging in size from 4.5 to 15-inches, these YUMMY treats will release March 3 for $15.95 and up in Kidrobot stores, kidrobot.com and specialty retailers.”

// Designer #2 - Ying Gao (Fashion Designer)//

“Montreal-based fashion designer and professor at UQAM, recipient of the Phyllis-Lambert Design Montréal Grant, Ying Gao questions our assumptions about clothing by combining urban design, architecture and multimedia. She explores the construction of the garment, taking her inspiration from the transformations of the social and urban environment. She is the only fashion designer included by the British magazine Wallpaper in its Canadian Top 40. Recognized worldwide, her designs are frequently shown in museums and galleries. Design is the medium, situated in the technological rather than in the textile realm. Sensory technologies allow garments to become more playful and interactive. Ying Gao explores both the status of the individual, whose physical contours are transformed by external interferences, and the garment’s function as a fragile protective space. Her work testifies to the profound mutation of the world in which we live and carries with it a radical critical dimension that transcends technological experimentation.”

Ying Gao’s fashion works don’t only look beautiful, but the fact that they serve a purpose is what really captures my attention. Movement may be a key element in her work, translated through her use of delicate fabrics and textiles, often being showcased in the dark, the translations that each work creates is breathtaking.

All of these items are from her “walking city” pneumatic fashion collection.

Three different garments come to life based on specific triggers such as movement, wind and touch. Each one moves in it own way, expanding, contracting and
articulating in a way not normally seen in clothing.

“This project proposed an in-depth study on the garment’s adjustable structure and the integration of pneumatic and interactive technologies into the garment. it formed a creative framework in which media devices became components of garments intended for the performing arts, from which the technology would be transferable to the ready-to-wear industry.” - Ying Gao for designboom

Designboom’s Closer Review on Walking City Collection

// Designer #1 - Marshall Strabala (Architect)//

“Marshall Strabala gives new meaning to ‘super-tall’” - Christine Hall - Houston Business Journal.

Marshall Strabala: best known for being a member of a team that designed the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, in Dubai.

Marshall Strabala leads 2DEFINE Architecture, a global architectural firm with offices in Shanghai, Seoul and Chicago. A multinational venture, 2DEFINE is led by American, Chinese and Korean partners and serves clients in Asia and North America.

Marshall Strabalais well-known for designing award-winning office buildings, performing arts venues, and convention and exhibition spaces worldwide. This includes the design of three of the world’s 10 tallest buildings: the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Nanjing Greenland Financial Center in Nanjing, China; and Shanghai Tower, China’s tallest building to be completed in 2014 in Shanghai. Strabala is a member of the American Institute of Architects, is LEED AP accredited, and a graduate of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. His more than 50 works worldwide have been honored with 10 awards and honors, including American Institute of Architects’ Honor Awards (2), ASHRAE Excellence in Engineering Awards (2), and the Chicago Architecture Club’s Burnham Prize.

The body of work that I’ll be focusing on is the work that he did in the years 2009-2011. I’m interested in his works because of the contraversy that surrounds him, plenty of people almost despise him because they believe that the work he does is just “too over-the-top” and that there really isn’t any need for these mammoth-like structures. I believe that the works he creates are architectural masterpieces, and I admire the fact that once he has a clear vision, he sticks to it to create what he has always anticipated.

Hong Kong Convention Center 2010

Nanjing Greenland Financial Center 2011

Houston Ballet Center 2011

Hess Tower 2011

Burj Khalifa 2011

Shanghai Tower - Under Construction - 2014

Informational Links:
Q&A with Marshall Strabala

Shanghai Tower Concept Video