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With a playful spirit and a dash of artistic flair, Ghost Fox Toy Store and Gallery makes its grand debut, marking a milestone in El Paso’s cultural landscape as the city’s inaugural destination for designer toys and captivating artwork.
In 2018, local couple and artistic collaborators Michelle Delgado and Gino Ybarra embarked on a creative journey together, giving birth to their artistic identity under the name Ghost Fox.
“We were driving down the freeway and we saw a fluffy white dog at Concordia Cemetery, and it looked like a fox,” Ybarra said. “Then we said it looks like a ghost fox and the name stuck with us and became our art name and the name of our store.”
Delgado and Ybarra are both artists at heart. Ybarra wanted to become a full-time professional artist at the age of 25 and is self-taught. Delgado has both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in history from UTEP, but she says art has always been her calling. She took art classes and when she met Ybarra, she decided to focus on her skills as an artist.
The store is in downtown El Paso and sells a wide variety of designer toys created by local, national, and international creators. Some of the toys were also created by the store owners. Their creations are a mix of the cute humorous art from Delgado and the scary horror art from Ybarra.
“In 2017 we moved downtown and that ingrained us into more of the arts,” Delgado said. “We made a lot of friends with local artists and made connections with the art and history museum. It inspired us to just stay here, build a community and add to the art downtown.”
“Rotty Rigo” is the name of the toy that put the couple on the map in the toy world. The toy is a sculpture of a rotten tooth with a crooked smile. It is one of the many designer toys customers can buy at the store.
The store also sells blind boxes, toy collectibles, large vinyl toys, resin and plush toys, El Paso themed stickers and posters, capsule toys, crafty toys, bags, pins, stationary, board games and 2-D and 3-D artwork. Prices depending on the item range from $5 to $600.
Ybarra and Delgado offer art and toy making classes at their store as well. Their most recent class taught visitors how to make their own mini golf course. Their goal is to teach people to make their own toys and learn how these designer toys are made.
“I don’t think there is any specific designer toy stores in El Paso as far as I know, but we do hope that more people will get into it and there is a bigger demand,” Delgado said. “Because I think it’s such a fun mix of commercial products and the art behind it.”
The grand opening of the store will be on May 3 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. The theme will be pinkapalooza. Different types of pink artwork will be showcased, and all are invited.
The toy store is located at 222 Texas Ave in suite E. To learn more information, visit their website at https://ghostfoxtoys.com/ and follow them on Instagram @ghostfoxstoreandgallery
Alyson Rodriguez is a contributor and may be reached at [email protected]; @alyson_rod1127 on X.
