Flores closeup...

So while Tai-yo was at my place,

He asked me what kind of photos he wanted me to capture.  I told him that I wanted the normal collection pics and he asked me if there were any figures that he wanted me to focus on.  I told him to get creative and snap pics of those figs which called to him, and that he did and was able to get some killer closeups.  And with me, I really like photos that have an off-focus in the background or foreground.  But ya, here's one of Tai-yo's pics.

Stunnah pics...

So today,
I had a couple of my friends, Mo-mona and Tai-yo come over and go crazy and snap away some stunnah pics of my crib, and a few mug shots of me.  (This is one of the few opportunities I've had to relive the moment of wanting to be a Calvin Klein model, hahahaha.)  And that they did, taking over 1000 photos, haha, friggen unreal.  So ya, photos are coming up super duper soon, I'm in the process of sorting, uploading, and so forth, but I'll be posting 'em soon.  Until then, here's a couple of photos I hope you all like, lol...

Nominated with the big boys...

So a few weeks back,

I got an email from a good buddy of mine asking if it would be cool for him to nominate me with the big boys in the Designer Toy Awards for "Best Collection."  In all honesty to the max, I was pretty stoked and super honored to be nominated with a crew of five other collectors from across the globe in this nomination category.  That's pretty unreal, and in all seriousness, I am really humbled by that. 

For me, I really enjoy collecting these figs because of the awesome "culture" that comes with it.  In the good ole electronic world I've met and chatted with fellow collectors and artists from across the globe, that's super unreal.  I also enjoy helping other people out who need help finding figs and with the startup of their collections, it's always interesting to me to see what artists collectors are into and seeing how they have their figs set up.

But ya, the Designer Toy Awards is sponsored by Clutter Magazine, Munky King and Pete Fowler, how cool is that to be nominated by an awards shin dig supported by some of the big boys in the urban vinyl world, I still can't believe it.  But ya, for all of you out there, get your voting on at http://www.designertoyawards.com/categories.

Kung Hue II...

Fellow collector and 808 artist Edge,

Asked if I could push some 411 for him for their upcoming show "Kung Hue II."  Being that I'm all about pushing our local talent, I told 'em "Ya man, for sure." and here you all go with some 411.

"Kung Hue II" will be taking place at Prototype (another bunch of my buddies and fellow arts advocates) Ala Moana on June 15, from 6:00-9:00pm. You know it's gonna be killer, complete with live painting from the very talented duo.  If possible, I'm gonna try and stop by myself and show some support.

For those of you unfamiliar with Dodge's work, he has a pretty sick and diverse style, where it seems as though he's tapped into the dream world to come up with his unreal work.

As for Edge, he too has a wicked style to his work, and more commonly he paints chics, usually with a cynical or underlying tone to his work. 

Much props again to Prototype for supporting our 808 talent, and again go down and check it out on the 15th of June and for you lategoers, I'm sure their pieces will be up for the remainder of the month, so again, checks it out.

Honozooloo's a comin...

As many of you all know,

I really like to push some of our local 808 artistic talent to the forefront, and Honozooloo is a comin with his solo show come June 15.  Honozooloo is known for his unreal photo eye, capturing a buncha moments in life, a majority of it which takes place here in the islands, from nature to events to people to people in nature at events...well, you know what I mean.  But ya, when I was getting into the urban scene, I saw a bunch of Honozooloo's photos in articles and at events, unreal stuff.  So yup, yup, if you got the June 15th date available, go n checks it out, here's some 411 for ya...

Opening Reception
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Hotel Renew
129 Paoakalani Ave.
5:30 – 9:00 PM
Featuring Happy Hour From 5:30 – 7:30
DJ Davey Shindig
After party at Lulu's in Waikiki. 

Limited-edition giclee prints will be available for sale

ITO collab exhibit...

So last night,

My buddy and I headed to the heart of Waikiki to check out "ITO: Interisland Travelwrights," a collab exhibit and pop-up store with some good friends of mine, Aunty Nalani, Kuha'o and Sig Zane, along with Interisland Terminal.  The pop-up store is currently being held until this Sunday at the Waikiki Parc Hotel.  I'm not one to really hang out in Waikiki, mainly because of the tourist scene, but this is one exhibit worthy of checking out.  I must say, the Waikiki Parc Hotel was a pretty good spot to have it at, being that it has a very contemporary feel to it.  For example, you gotta love this hotel's entrance...

Many of you may remember my blog entry about the Zane family and how I rock their New Era cap as my icon (http://haynmade.blogspot.com/search/label/Sig%20Zane), but ya, this is the same bunch of peopz.

 Photo above from Interisland Terminal

"ITO," as many of us locals know, is the abbreviation code for Hilo's airport, which is where they Zane family reside and have their store.  (www.sigzane.com)  For this particular exhibit and pop-up store, Sig, Aunty Nalani and Kuha'o wanted to capture "interisland living" where memories are embedded from within when one travels from one island to another.  As always, they have an uncanny artistic ability of bridging traditional cultural practices with present day contemporary (and in my eyes pushing to the borders of urban art) art and fashion.  If you're here in the 808 "ITO" is something you have to check out for sure, the exhibit and pop-up store is set up with goodies gallore, complete with aloha shirts and dresses, killer aloha print shorts, tshirts, surfboards, sculptures, prints, bags, and even kites (which I would never even dare to fly because these guys are high end quality, lol), just to name a few.

As for Interisland Terminal, they are an upcoming non-profit "for the arts" organization.  When my friend and I went to check it out, we had the pleasure of talking story with one of the organizations members and he shared the vision that he had for Interisland Terminal, he's a pretty cool cat may I add.  They are in the process of raising funds in hopes of opening an art cafe in town, where they have plans of having a  cafe and space where artists can exhibit their visual work through canvas, walls, video and music.  Proceeds from the "ITO" exhibit and pop-up store will be donated to Interisland Terminal  *Cough* *cough* I hear a collab event with 808orbit in the very near future with these guys.  I seriously can't wait to see what's down the road for Interisland Terminal, I guess we'll all have to wait and see. 

But ya, I ended up getting me an aloha shirt with the exact print from the photo below (provided by Interisland Terminal) along with an ITO tshirt.  In the photo is Sig himself, a stickler for detail.

But yup yup, again, you have to check it out, "ITO" at the Waikiki Parc Hotel until this Sunday, open daily from 11-7pm.

Class of 2011 rocks it...

The Class of 2011 rocks it,

And that's where I was, at a high school graduation for my friend's daughter.  I must say, it was a pretty nice graduation, complete with singing and what I would consider inspirational speeches from both students and staff alike.

Here in Hawai'i, graduations are HUGE.  It's part of the local culture here that family and friends all attend graduations to show support and completely deck out graduates with leis that pile up so high on their shoulders that their faces are barely recognizable, gotta love it. 

But yup, as I sat there during the ceremony, it was a trip, my mind traveled back in time with good memories.  My friend's daughter and I had some good convo's, about her crushes, video game discussions about Kingdom of Hearts, and who could forget about our trip to Disneyland (http://haynmade.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-10-20T00%3A47%3A00-10%3A00&max-results=7).  It's a trip to see her go into another phase of her life, up next, college for her, whew, I'm getting old, lol.