A couple shots from the lab. This is a glimpse of how MAQETs are made…

We dwell on the modern side of things here at MAQET. Deep in our lab, it’s easy to get swept away in all the killer tech we play with. But, when we stumbled upon Play Stuff, the blog for the National Museum of Play, we got nostalgic reading about the classic toys that came before us.

To date, there are 44 toys that have been inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. Barbie. Atari. Easy Bake Ovens. Etch A Sketch. LEGO. They’re all in there. It’s kind of trippy to look back and see how far toys have come.

See any on the list that bring back memories? Put down that Slinky and tell us which ones you liked.

Image © Strong National Museum of Play

Everyone at MAQET wishes you an amazing 2010.

We’ve got a very good feeling about the year ahead. We’re planning to release more customization tools and new characters. We’ll also be attending some fun events where you’ll be able meet us and see what our mini-figures look like in person. Keep stopping by our blog to stay in the loop or become our fan on Facebook to get all the news.

What kind of characters do you want us to add next year?  Robots? Cupcakes? Aliens? Monkeys? Alien robots with pet monkeys who eat cupcakes? Leave a comment below. We’d like to know what you want to make.

Ringo from our Enchanted Forest Collection

Have you ever noticed the word “beta” on our website? We placed it there to let everyone know that MAQET is very new. Beta means that we’re in the early stages of developing our technology.

Creating a website that lets anyone design affordable, custom toys is kind of revolutionary. It’s exciting and educational for everyone working on MAQET. There may be a few bugs along the way or things you’d like us to add, so please talk to us. We welcome your feedback and ideas.

Do you have new characters in mind? Could something work better on the site? Gushing to pay us a compliment? Post your suggestions right here in the comments below. Our team will review them as they come in and address them as we plan our next steps.

P.S. You can always email us too.

It’s raining. It’s pouring. Lets keep things from getting boring. If you’re stuck indoors because of bad weather, we think that’s a great time to make a MAQET.

To inspire you, here’s a special promo code for $5 off your next purchase: RAINYDAY

Order that cat girl you’ve been working on or add another ninja to your tiny MAQET dojo. The promo code RAINYDAY is good through December 31, 2009. Just enter it at checkout to get $5 off any order. (It even works if you’re buying MAQET gift cards.) Stay warm and have fun!

Know what we post on Twitter? Special promo codes, new character news, and stuff like this:

We’re there to have fun and follow people who like the same things we do. If you’re into making MAQETs, vinyl toys, collectibles, art, 3D design, cute stuff, killer stuff, or drawing characters, check us out.

Heads up: Our free shipping promo code THANKS09 is good through December 14, 2009. That’s only a few days away. Now is an awesome time to make your first MAQET and have it shipped for free.

Doesn't this customization of Petpal look sassy!

Go ahead and play with your food!

MAQET has a new Enchanted Forest collection straight out of the produce aisle. You’ll find four different types of characters resembling some of our favorite fruit. Ringo looks like a pear, but there’s also an apple, a lemon/lime, and another character who looks like a slice of something juicy. Is he a watermelon? A funky, hat-wearing orange? Guess it depends on how you design him and what colors you select.

What’s your favorite fruit and would it make a cool MAQET? Tell us in the comments below.

If you’re playing with the MAQET MAKER and want to show off your latest character, you can post it to Facebook. Click on the Share link and look for the Facebook symbol.

When you post it to your wall, here’s an example of what it will look like. (Wondering who that is? That’s our founder, Keith.) We also just launched a brand new Facebook fan page. Stop by and say hi!

Have you heard? Are you going? If you’re lucky enough to be in NYC near MoMA, check out the new Tim Burton exhibit and let us know what you think. It’s running now through April 26, 2010. We’re utterly captivated by his whole beauty of monsters thing and we really want to see it. It’s the perfect nightmare before Christmas.

We found this image over at Inside/Out. It’s the entrance to the exhibit. OMG. How badly do you want to walk through those sharp, jagged teeth!