Del Castillo is the co-owner of Lulubell Toy Bodega, a designer toy store at 128 W. Main St. in downtown Mesa. The shop opened in October after moving from Tucson. It specializes in limited-run T-shirts, books and collectible vinyl toys -- usually Japanese figures not widely available in the U.S.
The addition of Lulubell continues the trend of designer, special-interest, often fringe, stores rotating into downtown Mesa. But it may face an uphill battle.
Both Evermore Nevermore, a pop-culture art shop, and the Royale, an offbeat avant-garde movie theater, closed in December, citing low sales, the down economy and the lack of nightlife in the area.
Now stores such as Lulubell and Monsterland, a Halloween attraction planning to open a year-round nightclub this spring, are inheriting their off-beat, artistic legacy.
David Short, the executive director of the Downtown Mesa Association, said the organization is "thrilled" to have Lulubell, adding that the store fits in perfectly with the area's vibe.
"It's that creative, unique type of store you don't have in every downtown," Short said.
Short said the store is a well-established business with a solid online presence that will become a destination for people all over the Valley. On the store's opening night, he stopped by and found a line of people from Las Vegas, he said.
Del Castillo said the appeal of Japanese toys is the artistry that goes into making them. Unlike Western vinyl toys, which are factory-produced with molds and will have a run of up to 1,000, the Japanese toys are crafted entirely by artists, and a popular run might produce only 100 collectibles, she said.
"It's literally a handmade process from start to finish." Del Castillo said.
And although toys may be the store's focus, Del Castillo said the art spirals outward to other media. Lulubell sells books on European graffiti and tattoo artists. It works with 50 local artists to sell their work, such as limited T-shirt runs. Every Second Friday the store hosts a gallery for a select local artist. Del Castillo said the goal is to provide products that make art more accessible.
"People like art, but they can't spend $5,000 on a painting," she said. "But they can buy a book or a T-shirt."
The art is what drew Mike Marinello, a collector of Japanese kaiju -- literally "strange beast" or "monster" -- toys. He first went to Lulubell in Tucson to find more, and recently has started purchasing "blank style," or unpainted toys he can customize.
"I consider them an art," Marinello said about the toys he has painted.
Although he occasionally runs into people who share his interests, Marinello said the designer toy scene isn't that large in Arizona and Lulubell might help change that. They are known nationwide and even globally through their website, and the new location could help bring in a younger generation to designer toys, he said.
Luke Rook started Lulubell seven years ago, after discovering the designer toy market overseas. Rook named the shop after a childhood nickname given to him by his father, which the company's website says "sounds like a toy store."
Rook now lives in Japan and designs toys. Del Castillo was originally brought in part time to help with the website, but soon found it becoming a full-time job. Eventually a flagging economy and the difficulty of having a niche product in a small market such as Tuscon persuaded the owners to relocate to the Valley.
Lulubell came to Mesa, over options in Phoenix or Gilbert, because it was looking for a tight-knit, small-business community with a district for small, independent stores, Del Castillo said.
"Mesa, out of everywhere, had the potential to have that," she said.
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