Toys In Toronto, Part Two: Mixing Art And Play At Magic Pony

In part two of CityNews.ca‘s four-part series on Toronto toys, we stop by Magic Pony on Queen St. West.

Are they toys or art? The unusual creations on display at Magic Pony on Queen St. West are a bit of both.

“It’s like an art gallery with a really rad gift shop,” enthuses co-founder Steve Cober, who started Magic Pony in 2002 with Kristin Weckworth after a trip to Asia inspired them to start their own business importing and selling designer toys.

What began as a small selection of products sold mainly to collectors evolved into an online store, and three years ago the pair opened their current retail space and gallery on Queen west of Bathurst. Now the focus isn’t just on selling toys but featuring original artwork.

“We wanted people to have the experience of walking through and experiencing the artwork in the gallery as part of their journey into the shop,” Weckworth explains. “Most galleries you go into are intimidating and not welcoming to the public necessarily. We thought it would be a good idea to create an environment where the art was more accessible to everyone.”

Magic Pony’s shelves are filled with designer vinyl toys, miniatures, plush, stationery, and apparel, all of which sit alongside more traditional artwork. All of the products are limited edition, and many are connected to artists who have been exhibited in the back gallery.

“Most of the artists we work with have one foot in fine art and one foot in commercial,” Cober says. “As part of their body of work they make books, toys, original prints. The whole body of work is quite wide. There’s a real opportunity to showcase not only really innovative products but the original artwork behind the products.”

Cober and Weckworth both display a sense of humour and whimsy, and that’s evident in the products they showcase in their store. And though the toys are rarities they want their customers to feel comfortable when they’re shopping.

“It’s nice to be a collector and have stuff behind glass that no one can touch but it’s also a little more fun to have your toys be accessible,” Weckworth explains.

Cober adds, “Part of having an original piece of art is telling the story of how it came into your life and your relationship with a picture or a sculpture and the way you got to know the artist. A toy is the same thing because it’s another vessel of an idea that someone else made. To keep it in the package, it does its job if you’re trying to have it as an investment. But (to) show it and tell the story of it, take it out of the package and play with it.”

Among the local and international creators featured at Magic Pony: Kozyndan, Gary Taxali, Team Macho, C’est Moi Ce Soir, Sonja Ahlers, Derrick Hodgson, Space 1026, Dalek, Nathan Jurevicius, Moira Hahn and Gary Baseman. The nature of the store, and the fact that the toys are available in limited numbers, means the store is always changing.

It’s attracted a number of high-profile customers over the years, from Jude Law and Natalie Portman to Patricia Arquette and Elisha Cuthbert.

Particularly fitting though was the appearance by Blur and Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn, who in an indirect way inspired the store’s moniker. Cober was listening to a Gorillaz tune and mistook the lyric “magic for me” for “magic pony.” The words also brought to mind an artistic take on a unicorn, a “rare beast, hard to find.” It seemed to fit the nature of the store perfectly, and when Albarn came in for an interview several years ago “it was a nice completion on the name” Weckworth muses.

“He was really interested in one of the local artists we were showing,” Cober says. “He bought about 10 original pieces. It was really exciting. He could’ve looked around the store and not found anything but he liked it.”

Magic Pony is currently featuring an exhibition by Toronto-based painter and illustrator Stephen Appleby-Barr. Click here for more information.

Toys In Toronto, Part One: Monster Factory’s Unique Creatures