NEW YORK, NY, January 19, 2025 /24-7PressRelease/ — Israel “Lev” Levarek is a distinguished biographee of Marquis Who’s Who. He was recently spotlighted in New York City’s Times Square on a 22-story screen that is passed by an estimated 1.5 million people daily. As in all Marquis Who’s Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are chosen from among a pool of the most prominent professionals and are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Well-regarded for more than four decades of excellence in the retail toy industry, Mr. Levarek has distinguished himself as the owner and chief executive officer of Toy Tokyo – a toy emporium whose flagship location in Manhattan features a wide selection of toys, collectibles and art pieces, from high-profile brands like Medicom Toy, Bandai, MEZCO, Funko, and the National Entertainment Collectibles Association, as well as individual artists from Japan and the United States. Most prominent among the latter is the work of Brian Donnelly, a Brooklyn artist who is better known as KAWS.
In his capacity at Toy Tokyo, Mr. Levarek handles all administrative functions of the business, in addition to more niche tasks, such as tracking down items that are currently trending, and making deals for limited edition runs at his store. Apart from its storefront location, Toy Tokyo also features a robust online marketplace through its website. Likewise, they post several videos to their YouTube channel and host regular auctions via the Whatnot platform, through which they sell valuable collectors’ items.
Having traveled extensively throughout his youth, including all of Europe, India, Iran, Afghanistan, Israel, Thailand, and Japan, Mr. Levarek cultivated a love and passion for antique shows. Realizing that vintage toys were frequently missing from the various presentations he attended, he began to collect and sell vintage robot figurines. After starting his toy business in Chicago, initially titled It’s a Small World, in the early 1990s, the company made history as the first in its industry to put out a color catalog of their offerings. Notable for standing out in a field of black and white offerings, the catalog drew a wealth of attention and yielded sales valued at more than $85,000 on the first day.
Previously, Mr. Levarek was deeply involved in the retail sale of vintage clothing. As trends continually change, however, he has always sought to stand at the cutting edge of the latest HOT items. Never one to shy away from a challenge, he fondly recalls a time when he brought Turkish Star Wars figurines to America on behalf of a client. The figurines sold for $100 each at the time, and are now worth more than $50,000.
In accounting for his success, Mr. Levarek credits the simple fact that he enjoys his line of work. In offering his advice to those who might seek to follow his example, he would counsel the same: “One should always find happiness in whatever they do, for success will certainly follow.” Looking toward the future, Mr. Levarek hopes to open a museum for his collection of toy collectibles and art.
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