‘Satan Shoes’ Maker MSCHF Releases Collectible Figures Of Dead Gadgets
Image via MSCHF
Many hardware startups innovate and produce, but their products just don’t land, and the companies retreat back to square one. Some, however, don’t get to shy away silently.
To commemorate this, Brooklyn-based art collective MSCHF—yes, the one responsible for the ‘Satan Shoes’—has released a set of five vinyl figurines, a collection called the Dead Startup Toys. They’re priced at US$39.99 each, or US$159.99 for the full set.
The muses behind the collectibles are all commemorated on a website constructed with a tongue-in-cheek nod to Renaissance architecture. Each product is listed with its “lifespan,” the funding secured for the project, and its backstory. The lineup includes the Juicero, Jibo, One Laptop Per Child, Coolest Cooler, and Theranos minilab. Alas, all the products are entirely sold out on the site, including the set of five.
Each figure is well-designed, with great attention to detail. For example, the Juicero gets its own removable ‘fresh veg’ pouch, a notable element of the product. The pouch was the ultimate contributor to its downfall in 2016 when it was proven that you could juice the bags’ contents with your own two hands. Which are, well, free of charge.
“Behold these beautiful mutants,” the website declares cheekily. “Hoisted on petards of their own solid-aluminum-unibody construction. We salute these voyagers, flown too close to the blood-red suns of their own fever dreams, on wings made of oh-so-flammable dollar bills, whose inexplicably sincere hopes became our most surreal entertainment...”
Image via MSCHF
Image via MSCHF
Image via MSCHF
Image via MSCHF
Image via MSCHF
Got mine ✌️ pic.twitter.com/EFgYnSzHvI
— Chris Cantino (@chriscantino) July 12, 2021
I must be some kind of influencer now because I got this hilarity in the mail from @mschf: Dead Startup Toys
— Lenny Rachitsky (@lennysan) July 12, 2021
Great for those budding entrepreneur toddlers? 😬 pic.twitter.com/d4FXF62ZLE
valiant attempts to make ideas happen should be celebrated, and #MSCHF takes it to the next level with these mementos aka “dead startup toys”. on-the-nose branding there but hey. https://t.co/gpRvEZJkY0 pic.twitter.com/xBdZK6fRYH
— scott belsky (@scottbelsky) July 12, 2021
[via TechCrunch, images via MSCHF]
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