Local artist Mister Toledo creates a retro mascot for his Spark of Love t-shirt design

LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) — Artist Daniel Toledo, also known Mister Toledo hopes that you’ll love his retro design for this year’s Spark of Love T-shirt.

Mister Toledo is an L.A.-based artist who works at a shared studio space at Munzón Gallery in Long Beach. He told us, “I thought the Spark of Love campaign needed a little mascot.”

“What inspired me to join the campaign was that I really like what ABC7 and the firefighters are doing. The sales of the shirts go towards a good cause.”

ABC7 partnered with Smile South Central to identify muralists willing to donate their time and talent for our 31st annual Spark of Love Toy Drive.

“My design is inspired by the ads from the 1950s magazine The Saturday Evening Post. It’s illustrations are one of my biggest inspirations in art.”

“I was looking through their magazines and looking at all the cartoon characters and mascots. I just got out my iPad and started sketching.”

ABC7 will donate 100 percent of its proceeds from the sale of the Mister Toledo’s T-shirt to support Spark of Love.

“I thought about all the toys I had growing up and that’s what helped me get inspired and spark my imagination.”

“You create your own worlds with toys and I’m sure a lot of kids need that. I cherish all those memories and thankfully had friends and toys to share those experiences with.”

You can send children some holiday joy by purchasing the exclusive Mister Toledo-designed T-shirt here.

You can check out more of our wearable works of art from SoCal artists below, or here.