Design-it-yourself
Longtime ReadyMade readers and tech fanatics may be already be familiar with the Mimobot—we featured one of the flashy little flash drives all the way back in Issue 20. Manufactured and sold by Mimoco, a Boston-based designer toy studio, the computer-friendly creatures are not only limited edition art toys, but functional objects as well: their bearlike bodies pull apart to reveal USB connectors, so you can plug them into your computer and use them for storing and transporting files, photos, and music.
But the real reason I’m writing this post is that Mimoco recently launched its first collection of Vimobots—larger, pure vinyl versions of its core Mimobots that don’t have flash drive capabilities. Unless you collect art toys (and I don’t), that might not matter to you. But I still think it’s worth it to mention the now-on-sale blank Vimobot—a “do-it-yourself vinyl art toy” that lets you put your own stamp on the cute little figure. What’s more, it only costs $10, which also buys you an entry into Mimoco’s Vimobot Design Contest. Entries are due by June 30, 2007, and the winning designs will be produced as Mimbot flash drives. Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto.
