Whoops, we made a typo in our email to all y’alls. Hopefully you didn’t call all of your friends and tell them to shop today, because the sale doesn’t start until Friday. Friday, November 16th at 10 am PST. Hopefully you weren’t too confused.
We believe that to be true: if you buy UNKL for your friends and family, they’ll love you. Well, maybe they won’t — but I can tell you that we sure as hell will.
And because we have so much love to give, we’re throwing a big fat sale starting on Friday, Nov. 16 at 10 am PST. You’ll see a little bit of every part of the UNKL family on sale — well, except me, Derek and Jason. You can’t afford these bods. I know, I’m sorry.
So give the gift of UNKL this holiday season. Why not?
Our very own Derek Welch just got back from three and a half days of NASCAR at Texas Motor Speedway. He’s showing some signs of life now that he’s had a couple of days of rest. Bet you guys didn’t know we were NASCAR junkies, did you? Anyway, here are some of pics from the big race on Sunday. Enjoy!
Da pits.
VRROOOOM.
You might call him Derek, but we call him Lil Smokey.
Loyal NASCAR fans.
That’s Gordo, son.
Throwin’ out NASCAR signs, yo.
We like making friends. Here at UNKL HQ, we enjoy meeting people that would be great to partner with because we respect their work or what they are contributing creatively, musically or intellectually to the world. Most times, partnerships are clear; other times, they are a big longshot.
Like in the case of Mike Patton. We’ve been fans of Patton’s bands, record label and ability to look good in a hairnet for years now. So, on a whim, we sent him a package of our toy and a note gently suggesting that we work together. Little did we think that he’d actually jump at the chance to make toys.
Not only did he and co-owner of Ipecac Recordings, Greg Werckman, jump at the chance to make toys, but they wanted to make one for every month in 2008.
So here they are: the Ipecac + UNKL Series. Twelve months of UNKL-designed releases that nod to Ipecac Recordings catalog of stellar bands. We’ll kick the series off in January 2008 with our Ipecac-branded UniPo, followed in February by the release of the Tomahawk UniPo, a mini-Patton with a real hairnet. You can get a first look at those above, and we’ll update here with more figures as they come in.
Here’s how the rest of the year breaks down:
March: Isis
April: The Melvins
May: Northern State
June: Goon Moon
July: QUI
August: Desert Sessions
September: Fantomas
October: Unsane
November: Dalek
December: Peeping Tom
We’ll have a limited number of each available every month right here on our site.
Suddenly, UniPo is rocking a lot harder than it used to. And that’s the way we like it.
What’s this you say? Why, it’s UniPoker. This little ditty is available this holiday season right here on our site. For 30 bones (that’s $30, dude), you get this custom UniPoker tin, a deck of cards designed by UNKL and two of four royal UniPos. The four figures (King, Queen, Jack, Joker) will be packed into the tins randomly, so you’ll have to choose your UniPoker set carefully, or trade figures with your friends.
Watch for these little guys on our site in late November.
Shot by electrons, to be more specific.
After the massive recall of many mainstream toys manufactured in China due to lead content, we figured we’d better be safe and test our little vinyl buddies as well. Our friend Chris at the University of Oregon hooked us up with the CAMCOR Electron Microscopy Facility there at the University, and told us that would be the best way for us to check for any lead content in the paint used on our toys.
After amputating a few TinPo and UniPo limbs, a couple of hours of shooting electrons through them and testing how well we’ve retained the Table of Periodic Elements, we’re happy to say our toys are lead free. Pb-free.
Yay for us.
Check it out: we just added a few of the radical Skull gasmask shirts that we had at San Diego Comic-Con this year to our webstore! The white print is the guy’s shirt, and the blue one is for the lady-folk. There are only a few, so if you want one, you best be quick.
Also, back by popular demand (or a few email requests), our UNKL sweatshirts and beanies are up in the store. Holla!
It’s just so hard not to tease you a little more.
Keep your eyes peeled: TinPo gets their on-screen debut on Saturday, September 15 during CBS Saturday Morning Cartoons. Wake up early, park your little ones in front of the tube and wait for TinPo. They’re lookin’ better than ever. At least in 30 second intervals…
Meet the Skull series. Go ahead, say hi.
We decided to make more of our little friend from the fourth series of UniPo after so many people told us how much they loved the first little guy. Voila. Here they are.
The pink version will be limited to 200 pieces and will only be available through our website. The metallic silver fella will be limited to 500 pieces, and you’ll find him at various retailers and also on our site.
Take him home in late October. Boo.