瞎逛潮流玩具展 (四) / Exploring Taipei International Toy Show (Part 4)
我在某間展間，發現好多好可愛的迷你公仔，仔細一瞧，一些我熟悉的迪士尼角色，變成尺寸大幅縮小為高度僅約 2.5 公分，大頭小身體的公仔，雖然體積變成迷你，不過角色細節依然十分精緻，令人愛不釋手，除了迪士尼角色之外，還有漫威英雄、哈利波特、星際大戰等知名作品的熟悉人物角色，這些迷你公仔一字排開，不但不佔空間，還發揮數大就是美的震撼感，實際上，BITTY POP 這個品牌的公仔玩具是我第一次見到，不過，給我很深刻的印象，我幾乎是一見到就愛上它了。
因為太喜歡這些迷你公仔，回家後我上網查了一下，才發現推出這系列公仔的 Funko Pop! ，是美國知名潮流玩具品牌，以Q版大頭大眼設計聞名於玩具收藏世界，擁有眾多國際電影、動漫、遊戲與運動員的官方授權，依據不同的角色特色設計獨特的 POP!公仔，擁有立體圓圓大眼的Q版設計，正是 Funko 公仔的設計特色，我還真是孤陋寡聞了。
朋友的店也有過來參展，但是朋友沒在現場，朋友是做藝術圖像與 IP 授權代理，代理亞洲與國際藝術家及 IP 授權，品牌授權、角色授權、圖像授權等，並做些跨界合作，事業做的是風生水起，不過，她私地下抱怨，近年來在 IP 授權代理這領域的競爭越來越激烈，同質性商品太多，藝術家太有個性、很難配合，她已經做到有瓶頸了，我偷偷觀察她的攤位，還是有人潮，她所代理的商品可能沒像前幾年那麼火熱，但是應該還過得去啦。
At one of the exhibition booths, I came across a whole bunch of adorable mini figures. When I took a closer look, I realized they were some of my favorite Disney characters, shrunk down to only about 2.5 cm tall. Even though they were tiny, with oversized heads and little bodies, the details were still incredibly well done. I just couldn't stop looking at them. Besides Disney characters, there were also familiar faces from Marvel, Harry Potter, and Star Wars. Seeing all these mini figures lined up together was really impressive. They barely took up any space, but there was definitely a "more is better" kind of charm. It was actually my first time seeing BITTY POP! figures in person, and they made such a strong impression on me that I pretty much fell in love with them at first sight.
Because I liked them so much, I looked them up online after I got home. That's when I learned that the BITTY POP! series is made by Funko Pop!, a famous American collectible toy brand. Funko is well known for its cute chibi-style figures with oversized heads and big round eyes. The company has official licenses for countless movies, anime, video games, TV shows, and even sports stars, creating unique POP! figures based on each character's personality and appearance. Those iconic round eyes and stylized proportions are exactly what make Funko figures so recognizable. I have to admit, I was pretty late to discovering them!
A friend of mine also had a booth at the exhibition, although she wasn't there that day. She runs a business specializing in artwork and IP licensing, representing both Asian and international artists. Her company handles brand licensing, character licensing, artwork licensing, and various cross-industry collaborations. Business has been going quite well overall, but she once told me privately that the IP licensing industry has become much more competitive in recent years. There are too many similar products on the market, and many artists have strong personalities, which can make collaborations challenging. She feels like she's hit a bit of a bottleneck. Still, when I quietly checked out her booth, there was a steady stream of visitors. Her products may not be as hot as they were a few years ago, but I'd say her business is still doing just fine.