The artists of Wazee Union and Walnut Workshop auction off hipster Toys for Tots

We can all get behind Toys for Tots, the perennial U.S. Marines-sponsored holiday toy drive that provides gifts for kids who might not otherwise have anything under the tree to unwrap. But artists and hipsters like to do things in their own arty-hipsterish way. Going to Walmart to buy the...

By Susan Froyd

December 9, 2011

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We can all get behind Toys for Tots, the perennial U.S. Marines-sponsored holiday toy drive that provides gifts for kids who might not otherwise have anything under the tree to unwrap. But artists and hipsters like to do things in their own arty-hipsterish way. Going to Walmart to buy the required new, unwrapped toy just isn't on the agenda for folks who live and work in warehouses by the railroad tracks. Perhaps that's why Space Creators and the arts communities at their Wazee Union and Walnut Workshop studio enclaves decided to help in a different way.

In conjunction with the monthly Second Saturday open house event in RiNo on December 10, they'll be mounting a Toys for Tots Silent Auction of a different kind, featuring blank Kidrobot vinyl collectible toys decorated by local artists. The beauty of it is that every piece that's sold will equal two gifts for giving: the artsy-hipsterish one you bid on, and the one for needy kids. Proceeds go directly to Toys for Tots, which can then use the cash to buy directly from its own wish list.

Bidding at three auction tables opens at 7 p.m. Saturday at Wazee Union; different time limits apply to each table. To help you make up your mind, a preview of some of our favorites follows.

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Susan Froyd started writing for Westword as the "Thrills" editor in 1992 and never quite left the fold. These days she still freelances for the paper in addition to walking her dogs, enjoying cheap ethnic food and reading voraciously. Sometimes she writes poetry.

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