Older News Items July - December 1998

What's New! #3
(Older News Items July - December 1998)

Please Note: Some of the links may be out of date since these news items are now outdated. I'm keeping them here for new collectors.

12/22/98

GCC early releases: Skating Party and Nestled In for the Holidays are disappearing fast. In fact, every place I've called is sold out. Fortunately, mine came in yesterday! Get them if you can!

12/13/98

Spring celebration: We (me, Paula, and a friend) took a trip last night to Spring, Texas, to visit Old Town Spring. They had all the Christmas lights up, of course, and it was so much fun to walk around the old-style gift shops and stores. If you happen to be in the area, be sure to stop by some Saturday night. We got to visit our friends at Collecto-Mania too. I just wanted to let everyone know that they have A Collection of Friends (purchase with purchase), Paint-by-Paws (hard to find, at least for me), Teeny Tiny Tails, the new Easter and Valentine pieces, Hang In There, the Card Holder, Take Me Home, and a few of the On to Plan B prints. The older pieces are sold for secondary prices, but they're very reasonable. Karen also has a "13th Is Lucky" deal where if you buy 12 pieces, the 13th is free. (Completely unsolicited advertisement for one of the nicest dealers I know--and almost local for me too!)

12/11/98

Virginia signing: Becky sent me some info and photos from the signing at the Barn last week. Lucky collectors there had both Life Is a Bed of Roses and Riding on the Wings of Friendship to choose from.

11/25/98

Greenbook: OK, guys, I'm now starting to take orders for the new Greenbook price guide! I'm not sure how much it's going to cost. But we've got some good exclusive stuff coming your way. You're going to love it! If you'd like to e-mail me with your name so that I can contact you when the book comes out, please do so. It helps me out if you order directly from me. We're looking at perhaps a January publication date, but Greenbook (and me) are more concerned about getting an interesting, accurate price guide out. More details as I get them!

11/19/98

Price guide: Michael Brennan is coming out with a new edition of his price guide. The values in his last guide were very accurate (at least I thought so!). Click here to see a photo of the cover and ordering information.

11/18/98

Displays: Suzanne sent me some great photos. Check out the display page--and Mackenzie Claus big as life (or maybe bigger). If anyone else wants to send photos or descriptions of their displays, I'd be happy to post them!

11/17/98

Signing: Mary passed on this piece of information. She heard from a very reliable source that Dean will be in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on December 4, 1998, at the Barn Christmas Shop from 1 to 4 p.m. It is located on Virginia Beach Blvd. She doesn't know which piece will be featured. More details as she gets them. Dean just does not stop! :-)

11/11/98

Stats: Tricycle Built from Treats is Fitz and Floyd's best-selling ornament right now.

11/10/98

Club newsletter: The Holiday 1998 issue of The Squashville Gazette has arrived! Or at least mine has. It includes the redemption certificate for the club exclusive A Warm and Cozy Holiday and a cute picture of it. I'll be scanning this in soon to replace the one on this web site that's a little fuzzy (but appreciated nonetheless!). They also say that if you've lost your certificate for the members only pieces, you can call the club at (800) 486-1065 to get authorized to get the piece. They also say that the club will be sending renewal notices out in January 1999.

Other features: The newsletter also has pictures of the new Easter pieces and the new Valentine pieces. Dean asks members to send him letters, photos, and postcards via the club; their address is The Leaf & Acorn Club, P.O. Box 78218, St. Louis, MO 63178-8218. Fitz and Floyd has also verified the list of retirements for 1998. If you haven't joined the club yet, you need to! The newsletter is really cute--a must for collectors!

11/5/98

Associate site: My web site is now the official Bears N Buddies Associate Site. This is a new thing Janet is doing. She chooses one web site for each line that she considers to be the best. I'm very honored and glad that Janet and I can work together to bring you information on Charming Tails.

10/13/98

I'm a Winner: The new versions with I'm a Winner on the bottom are now out. I guess now would be a good time to get the ones with mess-up Jackpot on the bottom.

10/10/98

Greenbook: Just a bit of news--I'm going to be helping Greenbook with their price guide as Charming Tails historian. I'm so excited! And you'll probably be able to order the books from me. I'll let you know.

Cookbook: Kim (Taz) is going to be doing a Charming Tails cookbook online! I think this is a great idea. Stay tuned for more info as soon as she gets things worked out.

10/7/98

Contest: The deadline to turn in your entries for the new club button is quickly approaching. Please get entries to me by Sunday, October 11. Go to the club page for more details.

Chat: Kim conducted a poll, and the chat time has been changed from Monday, 1
p.m. Eastern, to Sunday, 7 p.m. Eastern. Kim has instructions on how to get into the chat. Join us!

10/3/98

Teeny Tiny Tails: As you probably know, the Teeny Tiny Tails have arrived in stores. Daffodil Twirl seems to be the favorite of the bunch. Dean finds this funny because the ride he liked least was the teacups. If you notice, Chauncey has his hand to his mouth, and Chauncey is the character Dean tends to identify with. I know the feeling! Another interesting tidbit is that Sandy got hers signed, and Dean wrote "First one signed" on it with his signature on one of the stepping stones. Darn, I just missed it! I think I was second. I bought the only one the store had left. I think most stores are only getting about two of each piece. Sandy had great luck that day--she also won a wreath as a door prize.

Radish-ing Beauty Salon: Gerald let me know that the Radish-ing Beauty Salon was never supposed to be sold--someone made a mistake. Also, only about 25 of the existing 35 were actually sold. The remaining ones will not be sold. Someone asked Dean if he had all the pieces, and he said yes, other than the Radish-ing Beauty Salon. Gerald promised to give him one (how nice of him). Those of you who have the piece are very lucky. As these pieces make their way into the hands of collectors, they will be harder and harder to get. Gerald said that it hasn't been ruled out that they may someday do houses again and maybe release this piece or one like it.

Moving: Dean will be moving to a new house very soon, about a mile and a half away. He said his office just wasn't big enough. He has all his Charming Tails pieces in there, so I can see why! Those of you who saw pictures of his house in the past issue of Collectors Mart Magazine know how beautiful his old house is. Dean admitted that he is "fastidious" and can't draw unless his desk is neat.

9/20/98

Stack-O-Sweeties: Here's why Stack-O-Sweeties hasn't shown up in our Colorful Images catalog! Kay and Jeffery e-mailed me to let me know they had received Linda Anderson catalogs, in which this piece does appear. Has anyone received a Colorful Images catalog that has the piece in it at all? According to Mike Brennan, the piece is an exclusive of Concepts Direct, who puts out three catalogs (all located in Longmont, Colorado):

Colorful Images (800) 458-7999
Linda Anderson (800) 437-1500; fax: (303) 682-7139
Linda Anderson's Collectibles (800) 272-9236

There are supposed to be 5,000 of this piece made. More exclusives are supposed to be released.

They also sell other Charming Tails that aren't exclusives: Boo, How Many Candles, Team Igloo, Stack-O-Lanterns, Hear, Speak and See No Evil, Dashing through the Snow, Bundle of Joy, Pinecone Predicament, and Pumpkin's First Pumpkin.

Webring: While the Charming Tails webring is somewhat up and running, the circle isn't complete yet, meaning you can't surf the ring just yet. Also, not a lot of web sites have signed up yet. I attribute this mostly to the fact that most stores have a company do their web sites and to the fact that I haven't had time to contact many yet. Do I have any volunteers to help recruit web sites?

9/19/98

Greenbook: Greenbook's price guide is not yet out, I find. Thanks, Mike! I called, and they said it had been pushed back till October or November, or maybe even later. Check out their web site for a little information on it. It sells for $14.95. The e-mail address is GRNBKSALES@AOL.COM.

8/30/98

Woodland Winds: I have added prices to the list of Woodland Winds pieces. There's also a link on that page to some photos on the Radko site. If you're looking for these, Holiday House has a good selection of them in. They offer free shipping on any order over $50 (which is easy to do with these pieces). Their toll-free order number is (888) 551-1225.

8/24/98

Event piece: Collecto-Mania is only getting 24 pieces of Riding on the Wings of Friendship, not the 72 they had thought. There are only 312 allotted to the whole state of Texas! Karen said she can put names on the waiting list, but it doesn't look like they'll have enough to go around. I suggest you check with your local stores and see if they know who will be getting the piece. Collecto-Mania will also be getting in the Teeny Tiny Tails if you need them.

Woodland Winds: Scooter found a web site that has photos of all the Woodland Winds pieces! I've also listed the pieces on the giftware page. These pieces are unofficially Dean's, and I don't know if he did all of them (someone might think to ask him at a signing). A while back QVC had Christopher Radko on, and he is supposed to be back in late September with mostly retired pieces and then again in October. Radko said he is also hoping to have the book ready that tells the Woodland Winds story. If you choose to get into these, be aware that they are very expensive (but pretty!).

8/23/98

Guest book: Dean signed my guest book!!! Check it out.

8/12/98

Signing: I've added my account from the Texas signing and Scooter's account from the Kansas signing here. My computer's been freaking out on me, so it took a while. Hopefully we'll be getting pictures soon!

Signing photos: Karla sent me some photos from the signing at Bronner's.

Cardinal on icicle: I asked Dean at the signing about some pieces, and he said the Silvestri giftware piece Cardinal Icicle (66213) was not his. Cathy said this info originally came from a rep.

8/9/98

Radish-ing Beauty Salon: Dean said at the signing yesterday that the Radish-ing Beauty Salon was indeed a prototype for a building that didn't get made. There are supposed to only have been 35 made.

Rosie Wells' price guide: Cathy Hauk says that the new spiral bound copies will be in the mail to her Monday. She will be mailing those that were ordered as soon as they come in. If you need to buy one, just e-mail Cathy.

8/6/98

Squashville Gazette: The new issue is here! It includes info on the Teeny Tiny Tails, the club exclusives, the new pieces not in the catalog, Life Is a Bed of Roses, and a schedule of signing events (three of which have already passed). It looks like there won't be any prizes for naming the snail (Sidney). I think everyone just assumed there would be a winner. As for the club exclusives, they don't announce the new piece, but we already know what it is--Warm and Cozy Holiday.

The Getaway Car and Together Forever cake topper: The Gazette also says that these two pieces only have the sticker, not the bottom stamp, because there wasn't room. There are no plans to change this.

8/3/98

GCC card: Scooter came across a real find! Her local GCC dealer gave her a card with an original Dean Griff signature. After making some calls, she found out that it was sent out to all GCC dealers. The card also says "A Forest Ridge Studios Design/Exclusivily (sic) by Dean Griff." If you're lucky enough to get one of these, they should be limited to about 600 since that's how many GCC stores there are, roughly. If anyone has any more information on this, please let me know. She sent me a copy of it.

Charming Tails database: If you haven't tried out a copy of the database from MSdataBase Solutions, Inc., yet, you might give it a try. I got in a copy, and it's great for keeping track of your collection.

7/19/98

Signing event pics: Vickie was kind enough to send me some photos from the signing event she attended recently. Thanks!

7/17/98

Charming Tails database: MSdataBase Solutions, Inc., is producing a Charming Tails database based on Rosie Wells's price guide. There will be updates since the published guide too, including the Teeny Tiny Tails. Their web site has an example of what an entry looks like. Now you can keep track of your collection and see photos and descriptions of each piece. This looks really great, especially if you're an organization freak like me! In addition, they are going to offer Squashville Social Club members a $5 discount. The club will also be awarding copies as prizes for the club contests from time to time.

7/12/98

Rosie Wells price guide: Cathy Hauk reports the guide is not bound correctly and the front pages are coming out. The printer has decided to rerun the printing and spiral bind them. If you have already purchased your guide from Cathy, she will replaced it as soon as possible. If you purchased your guide elsewhere, you can call Rosie's at 1-800-445-8745 and they will send you a new one.

7/7/98

Collector's Mart Magazine: As you probably know by now, the August 1998 issue (page 36) has a good article about Dean and Charming Tails. It's not like other little fluff articles I've read. This one even has pictures of his house, which is huge and gorgeous!

Throws, toys, etc.: The article also lets the cat out of the bag! According to Dean himself, near the end of this year Fitz and Floyd are licensing Charming Tails for other things, such as possibly woven throws, plush toys, greeting cards, and story books. Start saving now!

7/1/98

Club stuff: The next issue of the Squashville Gazette should be out in the next month. Charter memberships are good until December 1998. We will receive notices to renew. Thanks, Cathy!

Radko ornaments by Dean: Dean did a sterling ornament last year and the Woodland Winds and Holiday Hares this year.

Greenbook guide: Soon we will have a fourth Charming Tails price guide! This one is done by Greenbook. Check out their web site for information on it. It's supposed to be ready in August and should sell for $14.95. The e-mail address is GRNBKSALES@AOL.COM. Thanks for the info, Carol!

Rosemont: Don't miss all the great info we got from Rosemont. Also, I've posted the pictures of pieces Cathy sent me. So check them out!

Congratulations: Congratulations to Dean Griff for winning Artist of the Year and NALED's Rising Star Award. It's nice to see someone else recognizing the brilliance we've seen all along.

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Revised: 02/20/06.