400% Tristan Eaton x DesignerCon 2021 Bearbrick

Born in Los Angeles in 1978, Tristan began pursuing street art as a teenager, painting everything from walls to billboards in the urban landscape wherever he lived, including London, Detroit and Brooklyn. After growing up on comic books, graffiti and skateboard culture, Tristan designed his first toy for Fisher Price at 18 years old and began working as an artist full-time. He has since become a driving force in the world of ‘Art Toys’, designing the Dunny and Munny figures for Kidrobot. Shortly after studying at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, Tristan founded Thunderdog Studios, of which he was the President and Creative Director for 10 years. Thunderdog Studios regularly designs and consults for clients such as Nike, Disney and Barack Obama on projects that span the globe across all mediums. In 2012, Tristan moved back to his childhood home of Los Angeles to pursue his paintings and large scale mural projects full-time. Tristan’s work can be seen in galleries around the world and in the permanent collection of the New York Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). Bearbrick (rendered Be@rbrick) is a collectible toy designed and produced by the Japanese company MediCom Toy Incorporated. The name is derived from the fact that the figure is a cartoon-style representation of a bear and that it is a variation of MediCom's Kubrick design. The at sign in the place of the letter a is a visual device that is a part of the Bearbrick brand, and as such, a trademark of MediCom Toy. The first figure was released 27 May 2001 as a free gift to visitors of the World Character Convention 12 in Tokyo. Since then Bearbricks have been released in several different sizes using a variety of materials, including wood, felt, and glow-in-the-dark plastic. The standard size is seven centimeters high, and these figures are referred to as 100% Bearbricks. Other Bearbricks are named for their size relative to the standard: 50% are four centimeters high, 70% are five centimeters high, 400% are 28 centimeters high, and 1000% are 70 centimeters high. A 200% size chogokin Bearbrick has also been produced standing 14 centimeters tall. A 150% size "Bearbrick Light" has also been produced in 2012, standing 10.5 centimeters tall with a key chain on its head. Medicom Toy is a Japanese brand specializing in the creation of collection toys and figurines since 1996. It has been founded by Tatsuhiko Akashi. It all started with the Kubrick, a so -called standard figurine at the Lego and Playmobil border, a figurine made up of 9 blocks (in Japanese 九 (Kyū) means 9). This new format quickly was very successful and the kubricks will quickly take many licenses from Star Wars to the Planet of the Apes. In parallel Medicom Toy Produced toys of collecting art, sold in limited quantities and very quickly develops many ranges with the RAH (Real Action Heroes), the Mafex (Magical Action Figures Ex), the VCD (Vinyl Collectible Dolls) or even UDF (Ultra Detail Figure). But the planetary success will come with the Be@rbrick, an adaptation of the kubrick in a small bear version with a small plump belly. These figurines in the form of printed bear with different drawings and patterns will make the success of Medicom Toy putting the BE@RBRICK At the Pantheon of designer toy. Many artists and Brands have collaborated on this line of products, in particular Nike, Keith Haring or Kaws, but we also find characters from Movie theater from universes such