Specs:

• 36, 1.75″ (4.5 cm) square Alphabet Blocks (20 for the house, 16 for the studio)
• House 8.75″ x 3.5″ x 3.5″ (22 cm x 8.9 cm x 8.9 cm)
• Studio 7″ x 3.5″ x 3.5″ (17.8 cm x 8.9 cm x 8.9 cm)
• Made in the USA with replenishable Michigan-grown, kiln-dried basswood
• Printed with non-toxic, lead-free, child-safe inks

Kay Bojesen Wooden Monkey

Kay Bojesen (1886–1958) was originally a silversmith. In the 1930s, he began expanding his craftsmanship using other materials. He realized that wood had a great potential for industrial treatment and styling which led him to create his toy soldiers and wooden animals. Through his wooden toys, he became known as one of the great pioneers of Danish art manufacture.

Kay Bojesen’s wooden monkey is made in Denmark from teak and limba wood. Teak is from sustainable plantations in East Africa and limba wood is from Congo. It has movable head and limbs and is about 12” tall with arms extended. As Rosendahl claims, it is very well made with superior craftsmanship. I was very happy with the quality of the monkey until one day… I was dusting off the monkey and the leg just fell off!

Oh, my leg!!!

I discovered that the leg was attached with a rubber band and tiny nail. I could not repair it myself, so I sent an email to the Rosendahl customer service inquiring about repairing the monkey. I was pretty upset about the fact it broke so easily and so soon. Here is what the customer service rep said: “I assume it is the rubber band that have broke. The rubber band is a natural material and can be affected by different things in the environment like light, temperature or moist. Sometimes it breaks after a short while, sometimes it can hold for 30-40 years. We do have a spare part kit, that I am glad to send to you, so your monkey can be fixed.”

A rubber band holds the limbs...

I received the repair kit within a few weeks. It included: an instruction manual, a piece of string, two rubber bands and four nails (they call them “seals”). The instruction looked easy enough, but the rubber band was so small that it didn’t look like it would stretch enough.

Kay Bojesen Monkey Repair Kit

Here is how to repair the monkey:

1. Remove remaining limb, rubber band and seals (tiny nails hold the rubber band).

All removed!

2. Attach a piece of string to each end of the rubber band.

String attached!

3. Use the string to guide the rubber band through the leg, body and leg.

PULL!!!

4. You can use a hook to help you, as shown on the drawing (below) – that’s what the instruction said, but since I didn’t have a hook handy, I recruited a help. You have to pull REALLY hard from the both ends. If I had a hook on a wall to do this, the force would probably yank the hook out of the wall!

PULL HARD!

5. Insert the seals (nails) taking care not to damage the rubber band – you have to do this while you are pulling the string. I had to use a nail punch to push the seals all the way in.

Almost done!

6. Cut the pieces of string off.

All done!

My monkey is as good as new and I am really happy

Eames Be@rbricks

Be@abrick (Bearbrick) is a bear-shaped collectible figure created by a Japanese company called MediCom Toy Inc. It is a variation of Kubrick figures, also by created the same company. The figure was first introduced in 2001 as a freebie to visitors of the World Character Convention 12. Since then, Medicom Toy has released numerous Be@rbrick in different designs, sizes and materials. As far as mid century modern designs in Be@rbricks go, Medicom Toy has released Eames and Alexander Girard designs so far.

Alexander Girard, International Love Heart 1000%

The figure is basically a plastic bear with a big head, pot belly and short legs – I don’t know how else to describe it. Each figure consists of nine parts: head, torso, arms, hands, hips and legs. Each part is movable, so you can shape it however you want (to a certain point, of course). The standard size is seven centimeters high, which referred to as “100%.” Some other available sizes are: 50% (four centimeters high), 70% (five centimeters high), 400% (28 centimeters high) and 1000% (70 centimeters high).

Be@rbricks are most often released in “series.” Each series features 18 figures in 10 different themes. Each theme has names and the percentage of getting a certain theme varies: Basic, Cute, Jellybean, Pattern, Flag, Horror, SF, Animal, Artist and Secret Artist. They are sold individually packed in small boxes. The box does not indicate which figure is included, so you do not know what is inside until you open the box. The frequency of the figures vary theme to theme, “Basic” being the most frequent (14.58%)and “Secret” being the least frequent (1.04%). Each box costs 380 yen that is about a little less than 4 US dollars. Medicom Toy also releases Be@rbrick figures outside of the “series” by collaborating with various companies and artists around the world.

Alexander Girard, Love Heart Be@rbricks 100% and 400%

Below is a list of Be@rbrick figures that are related to mid century modern: