Secret Fresh: designer toy store for the young at heart

Secret Fresh is the newest toy store to open in town, just in time for Christmas gift-hunters. That this is not your everyday toy store is given away by the unusual name. Bath products come to mind, but the reason for the name is that above the brightly lit shop is an even brighter gallery - a secret gallery that you can get to through a nondescript door by the counter. For now, the secret gallery is empty, but the shop, which formally opened its doors on November 6, is filled with all sorts of goodies. The toys at Secret Fresh are not really toys, though, so if you intend to shop for kids here, you might be disappointed.

In fact, kids might also be disappointed should they receive something from Secret Fresh. The items here won't win them popularity points among their peers. If they went to school saying they got a Jackalope by Amanda Vissell or a Lard Lad by Matt Groening, it would have a dismally inferior effect compared to, say, a Buzz Lightyear action figure or a Spongebob stuffed toy. Secret Fresh, owned by Bigboy Cheng, is the new home for Fresh, his flagship designer toy store in Quezon City. An avid collector, Cheng explained with contagious enthusiasm that the new store has more stocks of new toys, with rare items like limited edition OriginaFake figures made by Kaws a.k.a New York-based artist and designer Brian Donnelly. Despite the fact that it sounded very alien to me, I found myself getting excited, as well. Admittedly, the toys cost more than those sold in the mall, but for collectors, it's a price they're more than willing to pay. At Secret Fresh, the lowest price is 150 pesos for a Kidrobot Things that Hurt Zipper Pulls and the most expensive is a sleek black robot that goes for 64,000 pesos. Cheng explains that the toys are all limited edition, with some having only 100 pieces worldwide. Cheng himself first fell in love with designer toys in Hong Kong. "Kakaiba e. 'Pag uwi ko sa Pilipinas hindi ko makalimutan e, so pagbalik ko ng Hong Kong binili ko na lahat," he told GMANews.TV. Fresh, Cheng's first store which he opened in 2007, soon grew to attract like-minded people. The growing market led him to open the second store Secret Fresh in Makati. Cheng sees the growth as a good thing. Apart from it being profitable, he is glad to be able to share his passion, and make it easier for collectors to gain access to the rare items. "'Yung mga nakukuha nila sa Japan, meron na rin tayo sa Pilipinas. Parang, gusto ko rin ma-appreciate ng mga tao dito 'yung designer toys," he said. On the other hand, designer toys have a pretty specific niche market, so Cheng isn't keen on opening more branches. He's happy with the two stores, both located away from malls, and he said it's going to stay that way for now. Secret Fresh is impossible to miss. From outside, you can see the toys through the floor-to-ceiling glass walls. A short and stout Ronald McDonald greets you at the door, which opens to neatly arranged shelves of designer toys from all over the world. The most normal-looking toy is the Love Bunny (1,600 pesos) by author and artist Jeremyville. A little girl runs around clutching the stuffed toy, and I fear for the other less huggable toys, lest they get knocked over. Apart from toys, Secret Fresh also sells other designer items like a green Krooked skateboard (18,480 pesos) by American professional skateboarder Mark Gonzales x Kaws. Manila Rocks caps (1,000 pesos) by internationally recognized graffiti artist Tilt are for sale as well, and there are only 50 pieces per design. Next to the caps, several gig posters by art director JP Cuison are on display. Cuison and his wife Erl are collectors themselves, and frequent visits to the store eventually led to a friendship with Cheng. Cuison's posters are being sold at Secret Fresh for 1,500 pesos each. Other local artists have also designed toys for the store. There's Jomike Tejido's Robotars, which, like many designer toys, come with a personality. "Robotars are robotic tarsiers that were built to destroy, but lived to love. The first robotar, RT, initially had weapons in its cranial storage pod, but chose to discard them. Instead, he used his head to germinate Sitsiryums and bring back life in Sitsiryum Island," the official site reads. The creativity behind designer toys gives them a somewhat mysterious appeal. After all, these aren't characters on television, and behind them are intriguing worlds with, pardon the pun, fresh stories. Robotars, for instance, come with an online game that can be played here. Cuison first discovered designer toys in magazines, and his fascination became an addiction when Fresh opened and they would go to the store on Sgt. Esguerra street almost every week. "Masarap siyang titigan. Nakaka-inspire habang tinititigan mo. Nag-grow sa'yo," he explains. He thinks buying designer toys is no different from buying paintings. "Art siya," said Cuison. Put in this perspective, it begins to make sense. After all, toys with names like Captain Blood, Scavenger Series, Fortune Pork, Gloomy Bear, and Smorkin' Labbit couldn't possibly be just toys. - GMANews.TV Secret Fresh is located at G/F RONAC Art Center, Ortigas Ave., Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila. It is open Mondays to Saturdays 3:00pm to 10:00pm, and on Sundays 1:00pm to 6:00pm.