Short Takes
Staff -- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 1/1/2001
Collectors in Toyland
Mary Meyer announced the limited edition schedule for its QuarterCuddlers beanbag bears. The 1999 issue bears-Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut-retired as of December 31, 2000. The 2000 QuarterCuddlers-Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, and Virginia-will be available until December 31, 2001. The 2001 QuarterCuddlers-New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Kentucky-will be available January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2002. The 8" bears each retail for $6.99. Mary Meyer, Townshend, VT. (800) 451-4387.
Joining the popular Dreamsicles Angel Hugs collection of 8" plush cherubs are three window-hugging new designs. Each wears a printed T-shirt reading "Angel on Board," "An Angel's Watching Over Me," and "Protected by An Angel." Also debuting are Angel Hugs key rings and clip-ons, as well as an assortment of six holiday designs. Cast Art Industries, Corona, CA. (800) 932-3020. #652
Collectors' Perks
Baby's First Tooth by Reva Schick is available exclusively to members of the 2001 Lee Middleton Our Doll Family Collectors' Club. The doll arrives with two outfits, a romper and a party dress. The doll is 19½" tall, weighs 3½ lbs., and retails for $198. Members can chose to receive the light-skinned/brown-haired/blue-eyed or the dark-skinned/ brown-haired/brown-eyed doll. Members will also receive a box of special items to match the doll, including a ribbon-embroidered bib, a silverplated Tooth Box, a silverplated Teething Ring, a Tooth Fairy Money coin and pouch, and Lee Middleton's exclusive Tooth Beary plush bear doll. This year's club members will receive A Buyer's Guide to Lee Middleton Dolls by Larry Koon, the quarterly newsletter Our Family Album, a personalized membership card, a custom-designed club pin, current company catalogs, and access to the exclusive club area on the company's Web site, www.leemiddleton.com. Membership is $40 for new members, and $35 for returning members. Lee Middleton Original Dolls Inc., Westerville, OH. (800) 238-2225.
The Loyal Order of Friends of Boyds (F.o.B.) collectors' club theme for 2001 and one is Life's A Circus. Members will receive Gadget, a 6" white plush clown bear; Gizmoe.Life's a Juggle, a 5" Bearstone; the Greatest F.o.B. on Earth 2001 Bearwear Pin featuring Gizmoe; a 7½"x6" window cling that reads "Honk if you Love Boyds"; and the Kit Box, which transforms into a Big Top to display these pieces. The $34.50 membership also includes members-only privileges on the company's Web site, www.boydsstuff.com, copies of the plush and resin catalogs, and a subscription to the quarterly newsletter, the F.o.B. Inquirer. For an additional $13, members can purchase the 1_" Gizmoe's Big Top with the Giggle McNibble members-only piece from the new Uncle Bean's Treasure Boxes Collection. Also available is Melvin Sortalion, a 12" musical plush redemption piece, $29.50; Gussie.Life is a Balancing Act, a 5" mixed media Bearstone redemption piece, $25; and Noah's Book Shelf, a members-only piece in the Boyds' Pageant Series, "Noah & Co.-Ark Builders, $13. The Boyds Collection Ltd., McSherrystown, PA. (717) 633-9898.
Enesco is offering Cherished Teddies collectors and retailers the chance to win a trip to Chicago to have dinner with Priscilla Hillman. On Saturday, January 20, collectors can buy the Diana-I Cherish Your Bear Hugs figurine for $15, with a qualifying $20 Cherished Teddies purchase, at participating retailers in the U.S. and Canada. Some 20,000 figurines will be available, ten of which will be the contest-winning Rare Bear, marked with a gold understamp instead of a brown one. Two additional winners will be announced on the Enesco Web site, www.enesco.com, on February 20. Collectors can enter this drawing with no purchase necessary by completing an entry form available at all participating retailers, who will collect these entries and mail them to Enesco. Retailers have the chance to win dinner with Hillman by hosting the Bear Hugs promotion. The two winning retailers will be notified by a surprise visit from Enesco representatives on January 20. Each participating retailer will also hold a raffle on January 20, benefiting the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Enesco is donating more than 800 lithographs, one to each retailer, to be used as the top raffle prize. The lithographs, produced and signed by Hillman, depict Love Surrounds Our Friendship, which was retired in 1997. Cherished Teddies gift certificates ranging from $5 to $25 will serve as the second through fourth place prizes.
Meanwhile, The Cherished Teddies Club is taking its soap opera A Bear's Life, which premiered in 2000, on location in Europe to solve mysteries in 2001. For $20, collectors can join the club and receive a club kit designed as a travel trunk. Included are: T. James Bear-International Bear of Mystery, the exclusive Membearship figurine; a sculpted "Crew" Membear lapel pin; and a set of exclusive TravelBear postcards. Membears also receive a Cherished Teddies catalog, a subscription to The Town Tattler quarterly club newsletter; and exclusive access to the club's Web site at www.enescoclubs.com., as well as the chance to buy three Membears Only figurines: Deena Wilde, $25; Giacomo "Jake" Bearcino, $15; and Maxine D'Face, $25. Who-done-it clues will be given in each issue of the newsletter and on the Web site. Membears who answer the Mystery Questions correctly will be entered to win one of 100 exclusive figurines, with an understamp containing the bear's real name. Collectors who join before March 31 will receive a special Mystery Bear mini-figurine for free. Enesco, Itasca, IL. (630) 875-5300.
Collectibles on the Web
The Walt Disney Internet Group, the online arm of the Walt Disney Co., recently launched Disney Auctions at www.ebay.disney.com, a new site created with partner EBay Inc. The site is the first to offer Disney collectibles directly from Disney on the Web. The Internet Group already operates a co-branded site with EBay where users can trade with one another.
GoCollect.com, Schaumburg, IL, recently launched an Affiliate Network. Web sites can now earn a 15 percent commission on each purchase from GoCollect.com's catalog of more than 20,000 gifts and collectibles made by a customer they refer. GoCollect.com also offers a $10 bonus for joining the Affiliate Network and $15 for referring five affiliates to the program, 25¢ for each GoCollect.com link featured on an affiliate's site, and 1¢ for each unique visitor sent to GoCollect.com through affiliate links, secure personalized account access with real-time statistics, and free consultations with affiliate specialists and support staff. Affiliates can track and manage their commissions and sales, track account balances in real-time, view special promotions and pick from thousands of HTML banners personalized for their sites. Upcoming additions will include tips and tools for creating a great Web site and maximizing commissions, new GoCollect.com banners and images, information on how to register a Web site with popular search engines, and multiple ways to track progress and commission with the exclusive 24-hour online reporting system. The 15 percent commission on all items sold through an affiliate's site is paid monthly or quarterly based on the amount due. For more information, call (212) 405-1050, or e-mail affiliatesupport@gocollect.com.
Industry News
Mia, New York, a manufacturer of mouth-blown, hand-painted glass ornaments, is being honored by an exclusive two-month-long exhibition of its work at the National Museum of Gdansk, Poland. The exhibition runs November 29, 2000-January 28, 2001. In addition to the Fine Art and Vatican Collections and a sampling of traditional Halloween and Christmas themes, as well as fairy tales and historical landmarks, the exhibit will chronicle the creation of the ornaments. Still life dioramas will depict the ornaments' creation from original concept and initial renderings to finished product;, and there will be a live demonstration of the final stage of painting. Visitors may order personalized ornaments.
