Limited Edition: Art and Design of Gama-Go

"What happens when an art school dropout, traveling curmudgeon, and an amateur taxidermist take on the massive apparel industry juggernaut. If on the way to work they're kidnapped by a Yeti, you end up with a company like Gama-Go."

Since 2000, Gama-Go founders Tim Biskup, Chris Edmundson, and Greg Long have been taking boutiques by storm with their pop culture friendly, cartoony designs. It started with t-shirts and has since evolved to all types of male and female clothing and accessories along with toys, stationary, pillows, buttons and other "bric-a-brac". With the advent of designer toys and custom collectibles, at times it almost seems like there's a hipster mom-and-pop design shop in every factory renovated studio apartment in sight. But if you really want to understand what Gama-Go is all about and why they've succeeded, all you have to do is look at their designs.

For six years, the company has made a name for itself by retiring their artwork after short runs and keeping everything in limited editions. One-of-a-kind makes for hard-to-find and that drives the trendy urban masses away from thrift shops long enough to purchase a Deathbot jacket or Ninja Kitty coin purse. Now, I'm all for coin purses but in my daily life, I rarely find them useful. However, ever since I laid my eyes on a Gama-Go postcard set some time ago, I fell in love with their colorful, cute graphics.

I hunted down everything by artist Tim Biskup, including 100 Paintings and the first three volumes of his The Jackson 500 business card-sized paintings artbooks. But outside of ordering my own jacket or coin purse, Biskup's Gama-Go work was out of my reach. So lucky for me and all their fans, the company has recently released a 400-page monster collecting six years worth of designs appropriately titled Limited Edition: Art and Design of Gama-Go.Now, this isn't the type of book that can be reviewed. Sure, technically you can review an artbook. But in my humble opinion, you either like it or you don't. Gama-Go's modern, vector-loving designs share a love for bold, bright colors and charming, goofy characters that will appeal to some and drive others away. So if you're into Samurai Jack, Powerpuff Girls, Ugly Dolls, and Scott Morse, this book is right up your wheelwell.You can buy Limited Edition: Art and Design of Gama-Go from the Gama-Go website or at a discounted price from Amazon.

Bernie