a be@rbrick's flight of fancy

The Avian Flight Be@rbrick (right), released at the 2005 Taipei Toy Festival, features a whimsical pattern of birds with eyes like saucers. Designer Nathan Jurevicius, a graduate from University of South Australia, already had a background in editorial illustration before he collaborated with the Hong Kong-
based toy company, Flying Cat, in 2002.

Of all the toys he conceptualized, he is most famous for Scarygirl (left), the cute but slightly odd little girl (in a pirate's costume) who was abandoned late one night and was later found and brought up by a giant, intelligent octopus named Blister.

Scarygirl's mysterious past is the basis for the adventure that ensues. The two travel to a large and dangerous city in search for answers, guided by a mystic rabbit called Bunniguru.

I'd guess that Jurevicius had an overactive imagination as a kid. And even at 33, when asked in an interview how he displayed his toy collection, he answered, "I like to position them in odd ways - some holding other toys, some balancing on top of each other." A man child!

Truth is, I could probably say the same for all the thirtysomething toy collectors I know! :-)

(Scarygirl pic from www.scarygirl.com)