October 3, 2026 Benjamin Kline

NYCC 2026: Open to Interpretation Custom Show

ABOUT THE SHOW

As we were discussing NYCC 2026, Alex Rivera (PlayfulGorilla) suggested an open-call custom show to wrap in the work of lesser-known artists. The toy art community is full of emerging artists who rarely get the invite to big shows in big places, and that is an issue for all of us. So much untapped talent!

I thought this was an amazing idea - it brought me back to my very first custom show that I put on with NEMO - The Rollie Show! That one used Avon roll-on deodorant bottles as platforms - they costed $1 each at the time, and NEMO was captivated by the bottle's shape. (LOL quick search - they STILL have the same shape!)

We put the call out, and lots of artists joined up! Even the Sucklord! o_O 8====D That was 2009 and the experience running that show kicked off tons of relationships and the ethos under which I operated Tenacious Toys for a long time: give a shot to every artist who wants a shot. End of story.

So this show is very much a full circle moment for me, although this time I get to do it a little bigger, in front of a quarter million attendees at the Javits, rather than the few dozen people who managed to locate All da Right in Queens!

So we orchestrated the call out to artists through the Tenacious Instagram (seen above). Everything happened within 24 hours after that post: 30+ artists secured their spots in the show, and in the big Tenacious glass case at Booth 1771. The best possible spot for an emerging artist at NYCC!

While we have worked with a few of these artists before, the vast majority are totally new names for us!

ARTIST ROSTER

The artist roster for Open to Interpretation is as follows:

@_art_by_zoe - Artbyzoe
@sparkled_by_squirelly - Sparkled by Squirrelly
@ocean_muerto - Ocean Muerto
@412vinyl - 412Vinyl
@rhododoodle - Rhododoodle
@dizzycult.art - Dizzy Cult
@maxskullclown - Max Skull Clown
@gluten0freenft - Gluten Free
@goblinfruitstudio - Goblin Fruit Studio
@jay__diggz - Jay Diggz
@jae_martin - Jae Martin (he is in the Tenacious Collective booth at NYCC!)
@sketchystudiosnyc - Sketch (our buddy from Whatnot)
@microbarbi - Micro Barbi
@grimlytoys - Grimly Toys (another artist friend from Whatnot)
@glass.ink - Glass Ink (long time Tenacious "Artist in Residence")
@stacykakes - Stacy Kakes
@droldn - DROLDN (he was in The Rollie Show in 2009!)
@todd.perkins22 - El Tejon
@seanoin1978 - SeanO
@artfullyyoursnancy - ArtfullyYoursNancy
@artlifewithjoy - Art Life with Joy
@lecona_arts - Lecona Arts
@venettabutcher - Venetta
@bleedingedges - Bleeding Edges
@theartistdreamt - Dreamt
@jujuowls - JujuOwls
@grnlnchtkt- Green Lunch Ticket
@grnlnchtkt - Ruby
@ratinahole - ratinahole
@ahzzzz - ahzzzz
@g.emcustomvinyl - Graeme Macleod
@lilartbodega - Lil Art Bodega
@nemoink - NEMO (The Rollie Show creator & the original Tenacious "Artist in Residence")

The talent in this show is immense, with a wide variety of artistic styles at work on Tenacious Danger Dogs, Spanky Stokes Strolls, Mr Mars Krush the Kans, Krankys and Keepers, Shnails, Brolics, MAD Citizens and many other platforms. Many glow, some sparkle, one of them is double-cast resin, one is 15 inches tall.

"What thrills me the most is how excited these artists are as a group," said Benny Kline. "There's been a really vibrant group chat going with all 30 artists, sharing their work, trials and tribulations, decision points while customizing their pieces for the show, and asking for and receiving advice and tips."

Artist ahzzzz (Aziz) shared: "I'm really happy with this piece. I learned so much about myself in the process."

Make sure to stop by Booth 1771 - the Tenacious Collective - to get a look at this exciting custom toy show. If you can't get to NYCC, keep an eye on the Tenacious IG where video coverage will be posted daily during the show. All customs in this show will be for sale, cash and carry. Interested buyers are welcome to DM @tenacioustoys to make the purchase online, if the piece is still available. Any unsold pieces will go up on tenacioustoys.com after NYCC and CollectedCon.

SHOW FLYERS - COMPLETED CUSTOM TOYS

Flyers featuring completed pieces in this show will be posted below as they are created. Click any image to view more pics and videos of each custom and follow the artist on IG: