ROSEMONT INTERNATIONAL COLLECTIBLE EXPOSITION 1999 EVENT

International Collectible Exposition
Rosemont, IL
June 26-27, 1999 (24-25 for dealers)

This event is huge. Krause Publications has a web page of information and schedules on the event.

A postcard was sent to Leaf & Acorn Club members announcing the giftware shown at the event.

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Scooter sent me some great pictures of the new giftware from Rosemont.
Check them out on the Home Accessories page.

Creative person that she is, Scooter designed two buttons that she handed out to her online friends at the event (and were they in demand!). Dean even signed them for her!

Scooter just keeps going and going! Here's what she sent:

Towards the end of all the Sunday signings, I went over to Dean, where Mike Brennan was talking to him. I asked Dean if he would sign several buttons, and Mike asked, "Gonna have him sign the rose, too?" Dean responded that he had already signed several. He took mine and signed it on the leaf.

Here are some of the club membership pins and where Dean has autographed them. How tiny can this man sign?

Scooter sent me some more photos:

Carol and Dean

Sharon and Dean

Three online friends and their hero.
This picture was taken for all their online friends
Left to right: Sharon, Rona, Dean, and Carol.
"Okay, Rona, whose smile is bigger in this one????"

"As nice as Dean is to adults, he seems to be even nicer with kids.
In the closing moments of the Rosemont event, Dean was caught signing
the new member's kit for "almost 9" Kaitlyn of Buffalo Grove, IL.
Those who observed the pair weren't sure who had the bigger smile--
Dean or Kaitlyn!"

Dean signing away, as usual

"On the way into the hall Saturday morning, I was harrassed by a large bug of some kind.
Since it was right next to me, I couldn't see what it was exactly. My friend Maus Nut
had a fit laughing, and I'm sure I was 10 shades of red. She later told me my harrasser
was the Humbug. It turns out that the Leaf and Acorn Club's own Rachel Perchal is
married to Tobin Fraley, the artist who designs Humbugs. Because I had on my large
leaf (Joanne's) and lots of Charming Tails buttons to identify myself as a fan, Rachel
had purposely picked on me because 'Charming Tails collectors are always so nice.' I didn't learn that Rachel was the Humbug until late that evening at the social in Cat's room,
and Rachel filled me in the next morning when we happened to meet at breakfast.
P.S. The Humbugs are cute, and 'certain' artists have talked about collaborating on
a piece some day in the future."

Displays

Rona sent me a report from the event:

Part I

It is Saturday night, 10 p.m., and here I sit, reporting to you! First off, apologies to all of you who were waiting online. There were all kinds of problems, from computer to Internet. As I write this, I'm back in our room, on a non-AOL server, and I can't log on to ICQ. This definitely did not go as planned! So on to the news you are all waiting for.

A World of Good Wishes is sold out! There were 19,500 pieces produced, and the sell-out time was a record. Originally, it was supposed to be limited to 5,000, but that amount was sold out in two days! Go, Dean, go!

Next, some interesting info on the new home accessories. We got some inside scoop on the production process on these pieces.

The Love Bunny musical will play "I Wanna Be Loved by You." It was produced according to Dean's artwork, but when the piece came back for approval, the base seemed to be not quite right. There wasn't enough "style." So a follow-up sketch was sent, adding more flowers and creatures to the base. The final prototype arrived on Thursday, so we got to see the actual piece, but there weren't any pictures available for the workshop.

The Autumn Harvest musical will play "Getting to Know You." The original artwork showed Maxine sitting and looking up, and Mackenzie floating down on the piece using a leaf for a parachute. It looked great! Unfortunately, word came back from the sculptor that there was no way to support Mackenzie up in the air, no matter how cute it looked! So another follow-up sketch was sent, and the piece was changed a bit. The floating mouse was removed, and an adorable little bird was added sitting on the piece with a leaf lying on its back. Again, it looked very cute, but in the finished piece the leaf looked wrong and it was removed for the final piece. And again, the base wasn't quite right so it was made more elaborate.

The Tunnel of Love musical will play "Let Me Call You Sweetheart." It is on the same scale as the other Teeny Tiny Tails musicals and fits in closely with the Fair theme. The little boat Mackenzie and Maxine are riding in is a walnut with little added touches to make it look like a duck boat. They seem to have had a bit of a disagreement and go into the tunnel with their little arms folded and not too happy with each other. They come out the other side sitting cheek to cheek. Dean did say that a collector pointed out that they then went into the tunnel cheek to cheek and came out the other side not too happy with each other. Dean thought this added a whole new level of humor to the piece and made it a bit more like real life!

On to the candleholders. The first piece of Mackenzie with the red rose wasn't quite right, so it too was redone. Look for the original design in some of the advertising that has been put out, and compare it to the pictures of the final piece shown at Rosemont and you'll see some differences. The Mackenzie candleholder has a red rose, and the Maxine has more of a yellowish rose. I was told that Dean said there was a reason why these colors were chosen. Another question to ask tomorrow!

Now the Rose Votive: here is a quote from Gerald Massey: "Some things are just right the first time!"

The other votive has Mackenzie sitting on a gourd warming his hands at the candle in the middle of a pumpkin. Another piece that was right the first time!

The picture frames are (as you probably know) a brand new item for Charming Tails. There is a Thinking of You frame with posies on it. The Heart frame has leaves similar to Cattail Catapult. And the Autumn Harvest frame reminds me of the older Autumn Harvest pieces. I'm fuzzy on details; it's been a busy day, you'll have to wait for pictures.

Now for some NEW news. There will be some new pieces coming out. They will be called May All Your Dreams Come True. It looks very similar to Reach for the Stars, but there will be several stars hanging from the top of the moon. There will be a baby mouse curled up in the bottom sleeping, and there will be ribbons at the top and worked into the base in--you guessed it--your choice of pink or blue! The drawing on this piece is dated 1999, so it is a very new one. But instead of the usual two years from drawing to store shelves, this will be available somewhere around December/January. It will be available in a music box, a night light, and a little baby's first tooth box. There is also serious talk about bedding and other nursery-type stuff.

Next, Dean and Gerald have asked for our input about lapel pins. Would we like to have them available as a retail item or kept exclusively as a club member piece? If it is available for retail purchase, the club kits will still have lapel pins that are exclusive and not available anywhere else. If you have an opinion on this, write up a postcard or note with your comments on it and mail it to the Leaf and Acorn Club address.

Now a quick rundown of ideas that were tossed out and have been under consideration for possible Charming Tails items in the future: stuffed plush critters (possible for next year), more baby series items, stationery, a "Family Ties" series (Mother's Day, Father's Day, brothers, sisters, etc), Fourth of July pieces (a parade idea was mentioned), story books, birthday series (with ages or months). Now please keep in mind that these are just ideas. And any of these would be added a little at a time. Dean is hoping we will help keep this line going for a long time; he enjoys creating them so much.

The Fitz and Floyd web site is still under construction. Things weren't falling into place, so look for it this summer. But don't look for it for at least a month, minimum. In an effort to get news out to members better and more timely, the web site will be updated regularly, and the Leaf and Acorn Club newsletter will be more timely in their information, with some new features.

Watch for the owl from the Ghost Stories piece to show up soon, along with some of the critters we have seen a little of. They will be popping up here and there. Dean sees Squashville as a little community with all types of critters living together happily.

There is some talk of trying something a little different in the future for signings. There are so many collectors spread all over that it has been suggested that there could be an "On the Road with Dean" event where he would travel for a month straight doing events. There would be weekday events also to help get to more stores and more collectors.

I missed most of Rachel and Dean in Cat's room. I'm excited about Rachel becoming more involved in things.

That's all for me for now. I'm sure I'll have a few more bits and pieces for you tomorrow!

Part II

Here are more goodies I learned on Sunday:

The Peace On Earth millennium ornament is limited to only 5,000 pieces. If you want one, you better get on a waiting list now! In the May All Your Dreams Come True baby line, there will also be a picture frame and (drumroll please) a waterglobe! Some of the pieces will be available in a neutral aqua in addition to the blue and pink on the ribbons.

There are no current plans for Charming Tails on QVC. There have been talks between Fitz and Floyd and QVC, but nothing is in the works at this time.

There is significance to the colors chosen for the candleholders. The original idea was to have both Mackenzie and Maxine holding red roses. The pieces looked too similar that way, so some changes were made. Maxine is balancing her red rose on her head. She is holding a red rose signifying "love."

Mackenzie is holding his yellow flower behind his back, and it comes up and over his head. The rose is not a bright yellow (like Binkey in a Lily), but it has a deeper touch of color to it. It's not peach or orange, just a deeper yellow. Dean said he thinks the color should be called "happy yellow." He chose yellow too for Mackenzie because a yellow rose signifies "friendship" and "happiness," and Mackenzie is everyone's friend and wants everyone to be happy!

Dean also gave us some insight on how he works on his projects. He sits down to draw and will do 10 to 20 drawings in a sitting. He sometimes finds he's been at it for 10 hours and it only feels like a couple, and he feels very lucky to have that kind of work. Sometimes he has a name picked out and draws a piece to match, and other times as he is drawing, a name pops up that fits. One idea usually leads into several others, and off he goes! Then he goes back and adds color. Once he has a "stockpile" of drawings, he sorts and categorizes them and off they go to Fitz and Floyd. Once there, they decide what they want to go into production, and then off they go to the sculptor overseas. If you look back at the report I wrote for the Flamingo Fling, there is the scoop on what happens once the artwork goes to the sculptor.

I think that covers it all, or at least all that I can remember. I can tell you that I will be going back again next year (try to stop me). I can also tell you that my favorite part of the entire weekend was meeting all the online friends that were there, and from there getting to know more collectors and hearing their stories and sending them to find the great gang we have here. To be able to finally talk to Carol and Sharon and Beve and Fred and Paula and Beth and and and.... There were so many, I had so much fun, and I can't wait to see them again. I heard lots of things about Tita, but I never did get to meet her. It seemed every time I arrived somewhere, she had just left. Hmmm...maybe someone warned her about me? And for the rest of you that I met, I didn't forget you; you are just temporarily lost in all the things I saw and learned and heard over the weekend. As soon as I send this, I'm sure I'll think of 50 other things I wanted to add. If you can plan for Rosemont next year, please do. If you can make it to the signing in Woodbury, Minnesota, in September, I will see you there!

Here are some pictures Scooter sent.

Maxine and Mackenzie with Scooter

Dean

Rona reports that she asked Dean and Gerald about the gift boxes. They were not happy with the look of the prototypes, so they are reworking them, and the release has been pushed back.

The Tunnel of Love musical plays "Let Me Call You Sweetheart." Autumn Harvest plays "Getting to Know You." Love Bunny plays "I Wanna Be Loved by You."

The Autumn Harvest musical has Mackenzie, very similar to Caps Off to You, looking up at a bird on a mushroom or something. The bird looks like a little wren.

Swap and Sell: Reports are that the Swap and Sell wasn't as good this year as it was last year. The prices were high, too.

Baby set: A new theme will be "May All Your Dreams Come True" and will include an infant set with a night light, a baby-tooth box, a music box, etc. They will be in pinks and blues. The mouse included in the theme will be one of the baby mice. There might even be a contest to name the character. They like to introduce new characters from time to time to keep things interesting. Incidentally, the owl will be reappearing.

Teeny Tiny Tails: The Teeny Tiny Tails are being phased out, and it doesn't look like there will be any more. The Tunnel of Love musical has the mice about the same size as the Teeny Tiny Tails, so this scale at least probably won't go away.

Other items: They are planning Mackenzie and Maxine plush stuffed animals, perhaps within the year. They're still thinking of cards and stationery.

Web site: The Charming Tails web site still isn't finished. They're hoping to have it ready by the end of the summer.

New pieces: They're planning pieces for Independence Day in the future. They will not be releasing as many pieces next year, and they're going to be be cutting back on the exclusives.

New home accessories: It looks like there will also be some lidded boxes as part of the new pieces coming out:

Lidded boxes (3)

• "Rowboat Box" makes a perfect keepsake and will be treasured forever.
• "Ring Box" is the perfect place for her to store her jewels and momentos from you.
• "Reach for the Stars" will delight dreamers everywhere, especially when they discover the surprise inside, a "Lucky Star"!

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Copyright 2005, Oak Leaf Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. This web site is unofficial and does not intend to infringe on the rights of Fitz and Floyd or Dean Griff, makers of Charming Tails.

Revised: 02/20/06.