Toy2R

Toy2R, an abbreviation of “Toy to Raymond,” is a Hong Kong designer-toy company founded by Raymond Choy M.H. in 1995. The business emerged from Choy’s decision to turn a personal interest in toys and design into a professional venture. Before establishing Toy2R, Choy spent about a decade working for an American footwear company, experience that gave him practical exposure to business and product development. He later pursued business education and studied design before opening a toy store in Hong Kong. The company became associated with the early development of the designer-toy and urban-vinyl movement. In the late 1990s, Choy recognized a growing interest in collectible vinyl figures that were intended to function as art objects and design pieces as much as conventional children’s toys. He invested his available funds in creating the Toyer, a simplified humanoid figure with a cartoon-like skull-shaped head. The figure became Toy2R’s first trademarked or otherwise strongly identifying design and helped establish the company’s position in the emerging collectible-toy market. Toy2R’s most important product development followed in 2001, when Choy designed the Qee Keychain Collection. Initially conceived as keychain-sized figures, Qee figures have a rounded, compact human-like body combined with different animal heads and extensive variations in color, decoration, and finish. The Qee platform became the company’s signature product, with more than 1,500 variations described in reference material. Its customizable, repeatable format made it suitable for limited editions, artist interpretations, corporate commissions, and collector-focused releases. A defining part of Toy2R’s business model has been collaboration. The company worked with artists and illustrators including Gary Baseman, Tim Biskup, Coop, Tara McPherson, David Horvath, and Frank Kozik. These partnerships connected Toy2R with the international art-toy community and allowed a common figure platform to carry different visual styles and creative identities. Toy2R also produced or was commissioned to create exclusive Qee figures for companies including Adidas, DKNY, Mitsubishi, Microsoft, Nokia, Sony, and Starbucks, demonstrating how designer toys could operate as both collectible art products and branded promotional objects. Toy2R’s significance lies primarily in its role in popularizing collectible vinyl figures during the formative period of the urban-vinyl scene. Rather than competing chiefly through mass-market play patterns, the company emphasized design authorship, limited or variant editions, artist participation, and the relationship between toys and contemporary visual culture. Publicly available reference material describes the company’s origins, products, and collaborations but does not establish its current ownership, website, financial position, executive structure, or operating status; those fields are therefore left unspecified.

Toy2R was established in Hong Kong in 1995 by Raymond Choy M.H. The company’s origin followed Choy’s earlier career with an American footwear company, where he worked for approximately ten years. Seeking to combine his interest in toys with a career in business and design, he completed business studies, studied design, and opened a toy store. The company’s direction changed as collectible vinyl figures began attracting attention in the late 1990s. Choy identified the emerging urban-vinyl movement, in which figures were treated as designed and collectible objects rather than simply as playthings. He committed his funds to developing the Toyer, a stylized humanoid figure with a simplified body and a cartoon skull-like head. The response to Toyer gave Toy2R a platform for a broader product strategy. In 2001, Choy created the Qee Keychain Collection. The Qee format used a rounded, squat body that could be paired with different animal heads and decorated through numerous paint schemes and graphic treatments. Although first conceived as keychains, Qee figures developed into full collectible products and became the central identity of Toy2R. Reference material attributes more than 1,500 variations to the Qee line, illustrating the platform’s adaptability and appeal to collectors. Toy2R expanded the Qee concept through collaborations with artists and illustrators from different countries and creative scenes. Named collaborators include Gary Baseman, Tim Biskup, Coop, Tara McPherson, David Horvath, and Frank Kozik. These collaborations helped connect the company to the broader designer-toy community, where the value of a figure often depended on the artist’s visual language, edition concept, and relationship with collectors. The company also created exclusive Qee figures for established businesses, including Adidas, DKNY, Mitsubishi, Microsoft, Nokia, Sony, and Starbucks. Such projects showed that the same collectible format could be adapted for brand identity, marketing, and corporate commissions while retaining its connection to art-toy culture. Available reference material presents Toy2R as an early participant in the designer-toy phenomenon, but it does not provide reliable current information about corporate ownership, ongoing commercial operations, leadership beyond the founder, financial performance, or a current official web presence. Toy2R’s present status should therefore be treated as unconfirmed.

1. 2001Qee Keychain Collection is introduced

   Toy2R launches the Qee format, which later becomes the company’s signature collectible platform.

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2. 1999The company enters designer vinyl

   Raymond Choy responds to the emerging urban-vinyl movement by developing the Toyer figure as an art-oriented collectible.

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3. 1995Toy2R is founded in Hong Kong

   Raymond Choy M.H. establishes Toy2R and opens a toy store as the foundation for the business.

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An early urban-vinyl and designer-toy brand focused on collectible figures, artistic customization, limited-edition culture, and collaborations with independent artists and large consumer brands.

• ToyerDesigner vinyl figure1999

  Toyer was Toy2R’s first major designer-vinyl figure. It uses a simplified humanoid form and a head resembling a cartoon skull. The figure was developed as an art-oriented collectible rather than a conventional mass-market toy, and its commercial response encouraged Toy2R to develop additional collectible formats.

• QeeCollectible vinyl figure2001

  Qee is Toy2R’s signature figure platform. Its characteristic body is rounded and squat, while the head can take the form of different animals. The platform supports extensive differences in paint, graphics, materials, and artist interpretation. More than 1,500 variations are described in reference material, making Qee the brand’s principal vehicle for collector editions, collaborations, and commissioned designs.

• Qee Keychain CollectionCollectible keychain2001

  The Qee Keychain Collection was the original Qee application, designed around small figures that could be used as keychains. Its compact format helped establish the Qee character system and provided a practical base for multiple animal-head designs, colorways, and artist-created editions.

• 2001Launch of the Qee platformProduct launch

  After the Toyer established a foundation in designer vinyl, Toy2R sought a more adaptable figure format.

  What changed. The company introduced the Qee Keychain Collection, using a compact body that could support different animal heads and decorative treatments.

  Aftermath. Qee became Toy2R’s signature product and was extended into a large number of artist, collector, and corporate editions.

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• 1999Toy2R shifts toward art-oriented vinyl collectiblesStrategy

  Raymond Choy observed growing interest in collectible vinyl figures associated with the urban-vinyl movement.

  What changed. He invested the company’s available funds in developing Toyer, a figure intended to be appreciated as art as well as a toy.

  Aftermath. The response to Toyer supported Toy2R’s subsequent development of the Qee platform and its collector-focused business.

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1. Toy2R