Alex

Ok yay! (Cause I have no idea how to make these lmao) I’d say start by looking at a bunch so you can figure out what designers and styles you like? Pop Mart is a good brand/website to start with because they have so many artists and afaict credit them properly: https://global.popmart.com/ Some of my favorite designers/series from Pop Mart are:

1. BUNNY!! I love Bunny, these are blind box series AND one off bigger pieces that are so cute and tend to be more affordable! Like this mermaid baby I’ve been eyeing: https://global.popmart.com/products/bunny-good-luck-koi-fish
2. Skullpanda (especially if you like street fashion! Altho it is rife with non-Black characters sporting dreads and the like, problematic.) - check out her “The Warmth” or “Ancient Castle” blind box series for less of that and more cute creepy shit💕

Another brand that’s been doing really cool shit with transparent plastic, inclusion, glitter and shape is 52 Toys and I’m obsessed with their sleepy series! They also do a lot of weird shit like “Modern Ancient Office Lady” which leans more into their Chinese culture, definitely check them out! Their website doesn’t showcase their art toys so much so I’d say just look for “52toys” on sites like Mindzai: https://www.mindzai.com/pages/search-results-page?q=52toys Or My Plastic Heart: https://www.myplasticheart.com/search-results-page?q=52toys Or Neko Stop: https://nekostop.com/search?q=52toys Etc!

Other designer/series I enjoy: Vegetable Fairies!! Either as blind boxes or the more spensy but super cute BIG CABBAGE DOG: https://www.kikagoods.com/products/animal-planet-napa-cabbage-dog-figure?variant=42662461538538 Sank’s collabs have been amazing, lately! Search for Sank on My Plastic Heart and you’ll get tons of cool shit, like: https://www.myplasticheart.com/good-night-series-endless-dreams-polar-star-by-sank-toys-x-weartdoing-pre-order-ships-feb-2023/

You might really like these gorgeous “perfume fairies” art toys I think: https://www.myplasticheart.com/perfume-fairies-purple-pre-order-ships-jun-2023/

I haven’t found a publication/website/blog that isn’t a shop and does reviews and collections I like yet, but if I find one I’ll send it your way!

Sorry this was a mess of links, but lemme know which of these you like or what style you’ll interested in and I’ll do my best to find other designers you’d like 💕 Thanks for letting me rant about cute toys!🥰