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Qees

Urban art toys

Customer rating:
4.38 from
26 ratings

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Keys. We all use them, and we will continue to need them for the foreseeable future, (at least until biometric recognition systems become the norm and we can get into our house or car by having our retinas scanned or pressing our hand to a sensor plate. Won't that be lovely?) Until then, though, we must resign ourselves to lugging around big lumps of jangly metal on our keychain.

However, clever folks have realised that along with boring old keys we can adorn and personalise our keyrings with a wide range of useful, idiosyncratic and downright funky additions which give us a little spark of pleasure every time we unlock a door. With this in mind, may we proudly present Qees.

Qees (rhymes with 'keys'- clever, eh?) are 2 & 1/2-inch tall collectable keychain figures. Most of us have collected something at some point in our lives, whether it was stamps, football stickers, Beanie babies or those Wade's Whimsies that grandmothers are so fond of. You may not have noticed, but recently vinyl figures for grown-ups (known as 'Urban Toys' or 'Art Toys') have become extremely fashionable and desirable collector's items among the cognoscenti. The craze started in 1997 when one Michael Lau turned up at the Hong Kong toy fair with an armful of GI Joes he had customised into hip-hop street fashions and things exploded from there.

Initially most popular in Hong Kong and Japan, the craze soon spread to hip young urbanites in Europe and the USA who appreciate the high production values, attention to detail and funky designs of these Urban Toys - leading designers such as Lau, Pete Fowler and Tristan Eaton are now celebrities in their own right. Many of these figures are extremely collectible (early Michael Lau figures have reached $10,000 on eBay!) and Qees are no exception. Many of the rarer examples have already appreciated considerably in value and there is a very healthy market of avid collectors out there.

Each series is produced in strictly limited editions - and once they are sold out they are gone forever. Qees usually come in three basic forms designed by Steven Lee: BearBearQ (a bear with round ears), KitCatQ (a cat with pointy ears) and DoGgyQ (a dog with floppy ears), . BUT, and here is the clever bit, these basic forms are decorated with cutting edge designs from some of the most respected names in the world of graphic design, illustration and art - folks such as Alice Chan, Dalek, Tim Tsui, Kerb, Xiao Ming Lam and Playskewl with whom you are perhaps already familiar. Even if you have never heard of any of them, all you need to know is that Qees look very cool indeed.

Qees

Gold ToyerQ

New Gold & Silver Metallic Qees:
Pull out the polishing cloths... The latest Qees have just arrived. These very limited edition metallic coated Qees, available in gold or silver, are a must have addition to any Qee collection, or a perfect way to join the craze by picking up a shining example of designer toy goodness.

If you would like to learn more about "art toys", check out the article "The New Cubicle Commandos" at Wired.com.

more infoMore Info

Metallic Quees:
  • Qees are metallic coated plastic.
  • Qees are delivered with key chain!

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Rating:
Views: 824

"Staying Alive- Qee" is a tiny video of Qee showing his best dancing moves on the dance floor.
Pavel Szylobryt, Blackburn, UK - 17th Oct 2006

Video URL: http://www.firebox.com/video/379




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Press Reviews...

press review If you've been anywhere near a Mac in the creative industries, chances are you’ve seen a Qee Keychain on top of it. At 6cm tall and costing less than a fiver, they've charmed London's design-savvy early adopters and made it okay to splash out on figurines…Should anyone accuse you of wasting money on post-modern porcelain, point out that collectibles appreciate in value: Michael Lau’s original Gardeneragala figures are rarer than wooden iPods and fetch between $4,000 and $10,000 on ebay
Time Out - May '04

Visitor Reviews...

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visitor avatar Yay, I got the Munkey King, the one I wanted the most. Awesome! I ordered it on Sunday night and it came today. Really fast =).
Johnny, Nottingham - 30th May 2007
visitor avatar I've got a few now. They're well boss. But, I seem to have the 'man with many weapons'. Does anyone want to trade?
Zoe, Plymouth - 30th May 2007
visitor avatar Bought Gold Toyer yesterday & arrived here today, fab things they are! He is soooo cute! Thanks firebox.com!
JJ Dyer, England - 4th April 2007
visitor avatar These are so cool! I've got a decent collection now, and my friends are joining me. Thanks for the free sweets (and razor) Firebox!
Jamie Collins, Surrey, UK - 5th March 2007
visitor avatar I bought a triple pack as a gift for my birthday and they are so... do you know what I'm gonna say? CUTE! I got Acid, Veve, (Black) & Key. Ace! I love them! I'm hooked! Oh, I almost forgot! I ordered a Gold Kitty today too Thanks fire Dudes, you're the best!
JJ Dyer, England,, Plymouth - 20th February 2007
visitor avatar I bought the Silver Dog & Gold Toyer, & my buddy Callum, he got the Silver Bear & Gold Cat! Great stuff! My dog keeps biting them! Silly dog! Me and Callum always make mini movies & put them online! Great STUFF!
John Dyer, Plymouth - 16th February 2007
visitor avatar Excellent, with 2 mystery figures as well. . Alas ,no ACID Bear, IF ANYONE HAS ONE please e-mail me. . As if. . These Qees were ordered at 3pm and delivered at 9 am next day wowwwwwww.
Paul Hudson, County Durham - 21st January 2007
visitor avatar I was skimming the Firebox 2007 leaflet book type thingy, when I came across Qees. As soon as I had the chance to I went straight onto Firebox and ordered a gold metalic toyer. He's just arrived today and I love him!!! I think Qees are a top notch toy with many extras and series!
The Red Reviewer, England - 19th January 2007
visitor avatar I think these litte fellas are amazing! I ordered a mystery pack of 3 and got 2 of the 4 I wanted and then I ordered another 1 and got another 1 of the 4 I wanted! yay!! I want more! :D.
Raymondo, Reading - 16th September 2006
visitor avatar I received the mystery 3 pack and unfortunately one of them was broken. I let firebox know and they have sent me a replacement free of charge. Excellent service and these little fellas are great!
Ross McNeil, Winchester, UK - 11th September 2006
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