NYCC 2026: Open to Interpretation Custom Show at Tenacious Booth

Under the bright lights and amidst the biggest crowds on the East Coast, there are a few very limited and highly coveted square feet inside glass cases. NYCC is a huge show with a quarter million sets of eyeballs that can view an artist's work... if they can place it there.

Most never get the opportunity. 

That's why Alex Rivera (Playful Gorilla) suggested an open-call custom toy show to Tenacious CEO Benny Kline. They pounced quickly, orchestrating the call out to artists through the Tenacious Instagram. Everything happened within 24 hours after that post: 30+ artists secured their spots in the show, and in the big Tenacious glass case at Booth 1771. The best possible spot for an emerging artist at NYCC!

While Tenacious has worked with a few of these artists before, the vast majority were totally new names, even to someone as embedded in the toy art scene as Benny Kline. 

The artist roster for Open to Interpretation is as follows:

@_art_by_zoe - Artbyzoe

@sparkled_by_squirelly - Sparkled by Squirrelly

@ocean_muerto - Ocean Muerto

@412vinyl - 412Vinyl

@rhododoodle - Rhododoodle

@dizzycult.art - Dizzy Cult

@maxskullclown - Max Skull Clown

@gluten0freenft - Gluten Free

@goblinfruitstudio - Goblin Fruit Studio

@jay__diggz - Jay Diggz

@jae_martin - Jae Martin

@sketchystudiosnyc - Sketch

@microbarbi - Micro Barbi

@grimlytoys - Grimly Toys

@glass.ink - Glass Ink

@stacykakes - Stacy Kakes

@droldn - DROLDN

@todd.perkins22 - El Tejon

@seanoin1978 - SeanO

@artfullyyoursnancy - ArtfullyYoursNancy

@artlifewithjoy - Art Life with Joy

@lecona_arts - Lecona Arts

@venettabutcher - Venetta

@bleedingedges  - Bleeding Edges

@theartistdreamt - Dreamt

@jujuowls - JujuOwls

@grnlnchtkt- Green Lunch Ticket

@grnlnchtkt - Ruby

@ratinahole - ratinahole

@ahzzzz - ahzzzz

@g.emcustomvinyl - Graeme Macleod

@lilartbodega - Lil Art Bodega

@nemoink - NEMO

The talent in this show is immense, with a wide variety of artistic styles adorning Tenacious Dager Dogs, Spanky Stokes Strolls, Mr Mars Krush the Kans, Krankys, Shnails, Brolics, MAD Citizens and many other platforms. Many glow, some sparkle, one of them is double-cast resin, one is 15 inches tall. 

"What excited me the most is how excited these artists are," said Benny Kline. "There's been a really vibrant group chat with all 30 artists, sharing their excitement, trials and tribulations, decisions points while customizing their pieces for the show, and asking for and receiving advice and tips."

"I'm really happy with this piece. I learned so much about myself in the process" shared ahzzzz in the group chat. 

Make sure to stop by Booth 1771 - the Tenacious Collective - to get a look at this exciting custom toy show. If you can't get to NYCC, keep an eye on the Tenacious IG where video coverage will be posted daily during the show. All customs in this show will be for sale, cash and carry. Interested buyers are welcome to DM @tenacioustoys to make the purchase online, if the piece is still available. Any unsold pieces will go up on tenacioustoys.com after NYCC and CollectedCon.

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