The end of 2010 brought us the most exciting order we have ever received: the opportunity to create a custom collection of jewellery and gift items for the Tim Burton exhibition at the shiny new TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto. Working with the awesome retail curator Shelley Town, we began the process of creating samples based on some of Burton's artwork in March. It was too fabulous to keep to ourselves, so we talked about the project, but were always a bit scared it might fall through. Then we heard that the samples were enthusiastically approved by the MoMA people (the exhibition was originally curated by MoMA), then the Burton people, then finally... "Mr. Burton saw the samples and loved them." SQUEAL! There were more mockups, and then some waiting, and more mockups and waiting. Then we got the order! Magnets, rings, fancy brooches, cufflinks, charm bracelets and bookmarks. And part of the deal was that Mr. Burton was to receive 25 of each piece. Pretty cool, right? We produced that order in 2 weeks, and delivered it the same day we set up our booth for One Of A Kind - whew!We heard great things about the exhibit from customers at OOAK, but knew we should wait to see it until the new year when we had time to enjoy it and when the crowds had thinned a bit.
So yesterday we delivered reorder #5 (!) and checked out the stunning Lightbox building. First stop was the TIFFshop of course, and a chat with manager Elsie. Everything looks great; our collection is prominently displayed, and there are lots of tempting film books and Tim Burton toys and merch. Elsie tells us that Burton's team wants more of the magnets to give to his agents. OK, great! 
Onto the exhibit. Of course no photos are allowed past the lobby. I desperately want to take a few, but respect the rules and try to cram my eyes and brain with all the amazing images from the artist's teen cartoons up to his latest Hollywood project. The exhibition is organized roughly in chronological order with Burton's film projects providing the framework. There's a lot of circling back to work on earlier ideas throughout the exhibit. Frankenweenie (1984), one of TB's earliest short films, is represented with original storyboard art and new maquettes created for the upcoming feature film. (I first saw Frankenweenie when writing a paper for my only, but beloved, film course in university; Tim Burton had only made 3 features by that time, but I proved he was very much an auteur and got an A!) Close to the entrance is also a fantastic glowing black-lit creature carousel sculpture that was newly created for the exhibition - based on a neon pastel-on-black paper drawing that dated from the mid-80's. What a dream to be able to revisit your early ideas with the resources to make them much bigger and tangible!
I love everything to do with Pee Wee's Big Adventure (TB's first feature film), Beetlejuice and the Nightmare Before Christmas, but Edward Scissorhands tops them all in my heart. Edward's incredible suit and one scissor-hand (designed by costume and prop superstars Colleen Atwood and Stan Winston respectively) are marvels. And seeing one of the inventor's earlier robots - with cookie-cutter feet - felt strangely like meeting one's pop idol. The exhibition is full of familiar images for anyone with even a passing familiarity with Burton's films, but the production notes, concept drawings , models and props add insight into the creative process. There are also hundreds of drawings, paintings, short films and sculptures that demonstrate the development of his singular vision and ever-present humour.
A highlight for me was a collection of dozens of images and a few models from a project called Trick Or Treat from 1980. The film is was imagined as never materialized, but the story of alienated suburban children discovering a wonderfully grotesque house of monsters - many made of candy! - contained themes that occur over and over in his film projects. Ange and I left the exhibition space feeling inspired, and I imagine many others who've seen it have a similar reaction. Get out the polymer clay! Let's make stuff! Luckily, we have another creative project on the go: making a giant birthday cake for the Gladstone Hotel's 5-year re-opening celebration. We'll resist the temptation to paint it with black and white stripes.
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