Blossoming Koi

Toy Tokyo is a renowned specialty toy store located in New York City’s East Village at 91 Second Avenue, between East 5th and East 6th Streets. Established in 2000 by owner Israel “Lev” Levarek, the store has become a haven for collectors and enthusiasts, offering a diverse selection of toys and collectibles.   The store specializes in a wide range of items, including vintage and contemporary toys, action figures, designer art toys, and pop culture memorabilia. Much of its inventory is imported from Japan and Hong Kong, featuring products related to anime, superheroes, and iconic franchises. Notably, Toy Tokyo offers exclusive items from brands such as KAWS, Funko, Ron English, and Medicom Toy. Born and raised in Queens, NYC, AW177 is a Chinese-American self-taught artist/designer with a bright and vivid style influenced by Chinese culture, Asian motifs, graffiti and technical illustration. He takes these concepts and mixes them together to create a colorful and festive, yet powerful and emotional feel to his work, whether in printed or graphical form to customized vinyl art toys. The artist name AW177 is an amalgamation of initials of his real name along w/ numerals that hold a special meaning to him. The same can be said with his artwork – an amalgamation of different mediums, subjects and ideas that work together to form pieces of unique art that have special and powerful meanings.