Cuddly microbes and vinyl whimsy at Happy Panda Toys

Sam Morris

From stuffed syphilis to Nintendo cartridges with legs, Happy Panda is the place.

By Kristen Peterson (contact)

Monday, Oct. 31, 2011 | 12:46 p.m.

The newest business in the Arts District sells art, of course, but you can also purchase a set of Lightsaber chopsticks, Kidrobot toys, plush Giant Microbes (stuffed syphilis, anyone?) and a copy of the book “CBGB: Decades of Graffiti.”

In September, Rich and Ilanit Moskal opened Happy Panda Toys inside the Arts Factory, stocking the place with vinyl and plastic toys, books and art.

The Moskals, who are collectors, noticed an abundance of vinyl toys at stores in California and New York and wanted to see some of that here. But when they set out to open a shop in 2009, retail spaces were too pricey, so they launched an online store and catered to locals by hand, delivering products or offering discounted shipping.

When rental rates dropped, they took a space in the Arts Factory, conveniently next to comic book store HellPop! and just down the hall from Trifecta Gallery. Their store’s inventory spans from single-edition collectibles to blind boxes (including “South Park” and Alyenz) to Frank Kozik’s cigarette-puffing hams, flower pots and Red Army elephants.

“I love this stuff,” Rich Moskal says. “I’m 90 million times happier being in the store, meeting and talking with people, than being behind a computer and selling these online.”

The Moskals also started manufacturing toys, accepting designs from artists and sharing the profits. They produced Yosiell Lorenzo’s figure, Poison Sweet, last November. On deck is work by Owen DeWitt of Iowa and Las Vegas artist Shan Michael Evans, whose painted works are already part of the inventory at Happy Panda.