When Patrick Lam rented a storefront in Chinatown six years ago, he didn’t plan on selling anything. He wanted to make a feature film in the dark recesses of the vacant store, but to keep up appearances he put some vinyl toys in the windows.

The vinyl toy movement began in Asia about a decade ago, when artist Michael Lau converted GI Joes into custom creations. He would make a new vinyl head for the figure, add clothing and then sell the toys as art. This influenced other artists who began exploring the terrain. The figures became less and less human. Today, they are an odd combination of action figures and artsy monsters. Examples include Uglydoll, which could be described as a hybrid human-bat character.

It takes a special kind of taste to appreciate “urban vinyl,” which is the name the quirky genre has taken on.

“Not everybody understands the art-toy or urban vinyl movement,” said Matthew Connelly, an urban vinyl artist.

Lam’s film was never completed, but the toys proved a big success. Today, his Munky King custom toy store has two locations and 10 employees.

“I said, ‘L.A. doesn’t have a designer vinyl shop, so let’s put one up as a front while we make the film in the back,’ ” Lam recalled. “But artists kept coming in and bringing us their work. And customers came in because it was the only place you could see the toys except online.”

Lam has managed to find a place in this niche with an innovative design process. Munky King signs licensing agreements with popular artists to make toys based on their paintings; then the company sells both the toys and the art to collectors.

For consumers, these creations function more like a sculpture than a toy. “It exists somewhere between art and toy a crossover,” said Lam. “They’re articulated, so you can play with it, but people usually don’t because down the line these pieces can be worth a lot of money.”

Connelly, who co-curates the traveling exhibit “SubCultures: Art of the Action Figure,” said some designs push the envelope so far, a few of these so-called “toys” have notes on the package that they’re not appropriate for children.

The typical buyers are what toy consultant Robert Gottlieb calls “hipster parents” who refuse to grow up. “This market exists but manufacturers have failed to create sufficient merchandise,” he said.

Most of the urban vinyl at Munky King costs between $60 and $80, with the top-end items at $120. Usually the company makes only 2,500 copies of a toy, including color variations and special editions.

Besides Munky King’s two retail locations the original in Chinatown and another on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood the company does healthy business on the Internet and at Comic-Con International, the annual pop art convention in San Diego.

But the core audience remains a small cadre of fans who regularly come into the store. It’s an only-in-L.A. story.

“If you go to San Francisco or New York, you wouldn’t find this tight community of artists and collectors,” Lam said. “Here you go to shows and the work sells out.”

About twice a month, whenever a new toy design hits the shelves, Munky King throws a party and invites customers who have developed brand loyalty over the years. Other players, such as the Kidrobot stores, have moved into the field, but demand has expanded enough so the competition hasn’t hurt Lam’s business yet.

But as the urban vinyl trend catches on, continued innovation becomes crucial.

“There are a lot of vinyl boutiques cropping up, so after a while everybody will be selling the same things,” Lam said. “It’s important to hunt for those rare items that make your products different. We do that by making toys you can only get at Munky King.”

The store now has a roster of artists that include Amanda Visell, Thomas Han, Kii Arens and Luke Chueh. These artists also work as gallery painters, fashion designers or sculptors. Their reputations in the art world add cachet to their urban vinyl.

“Look at the trends in clothing and shoes,” Lam said. “That market has grown by leaps and bounds because people are putting art on shoes and T-shirts, making them sought-after items. Vinyl toys are a natural extension of that. And it’s affordable. People can’t own an original painting, but for $60 to $80, they can own a piece of art.”

Toy temple

Urban vinyl started in Hong Kong during the 1990s, when artists started modifying GI Joes so that they looked like their friends and customers. The next step was to design original toys instead of tweaking a mass-made product. An attraction for the artists was the low cost of manufacturing.

Today, urban vinyl has become a bigger industry in the U.S. than in Asia, according to Lam. However, the Munky King name keeps the company close to its roots. Lam goes so far as to call his locations “toy temples,” not stores.

In Chinese folklore, the Monkey King fought against the kingdom of heaven rather than live by its rules. He embodies the creative, independent spirit of those who wreak havoc on the status quo.

“That’s what these toys express,” said Lam. “They’re not made by some large corporation, and some are very subversive.”

But that rebelliousness also presents challenges.

“A lot of he artists aren’t familiar with the translation of their creations to a manufactured product,” Connelly said. “From the molding process to the manufacturing in China to the logistics of importing there are a lot business perils there.”

Lam acknowledges that the most fulfilling part of his job comes from teaming with artists “to figure out how to make a toy out of other work.”

In the future, he has ambitions to move into fashion and back to his original dream of making films. His stores have already started into fashion, reproducing licensed artwork on T-shirts.

But he also notes the success of the animated series and toy line “Dragonball Z,” based on the Monkey King legend. To capitalize on the appeal of the Munky King aesthetic, Lam hopes to create animated versions of licensed characters.

Munky King

Founded: 2003

Core Business: Custom toy manufacturing and retailing

Employees in 2008: 10

Employees in 2007: 5

Goal: To move into fashion and animation

Driving Force: Consumer preference for unique yet affordable art