What's New! #6
(Older
News Items September - December 1999)
Please Note: Some of the links may be out of date since these news items are now outdated.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.
12/28/99
Baby giftware: Mike Brennan send me some information on the new baby giftware line. Check the page for pictures--adorable! No word on when they will be released.
12/23/99
Merry Christmas!: It's almost that time. May all your Charming Tails wishes come true. :-)
Easter and Valentine pieces: Tatonka reports that the new Easter and Valentine pieces for 2000 have arrived and are being shipped. Check the Handy List of 2000 Pieces for photos of these pieces.
12/17/99
Leaf and Acorn Club Christmas card: Fitz and Floyd sent out a Christmas card to Leaf and Acorn Club members. The inside says "Merry Kiss-mas. Best Wishes for a Charming New Millennium! Dean Griff & Your Friends at Fitz and Floyd Collectibles."
QVC appearance: Linda reports that Dean is supposed to be on QVC January 11 at 11:00 p.m. ET.
12/15/99
Dean's Christmas Card: Dean has been spreading his Christmas magic again! Rona and Joanne sent me a picture of the 1999 Christmas card.
12/12/99
Leaf and Acorn Club: The latest newsletter is being mailed, and most of you have gotten it by now. It has photos of the new pieces for the club kit and photos of the Easter and Valentine pieces. Check the Handy List of 2000 Pieces for scans of these.
Club exclusive: The display piece for A Snowy Trio has been arriving in stores. This is the next club exclusive for the Leaf and Acorn Club. Redemption certificates are included with the newsletter, and you have until February 28, 2000, to order.
GCC exclusive: Cathy let me use her picture of I Picked You to Love on the Handy List of 2000 Pieces. This is the next GCC exclusive for release around May.
12/9/99
Canadian Leaf and Acorn Club: Julie let me know that they have received the items that were originally missing in the Canadian club kit (the canvas tote bag, the thank-you card, and the Reach for the Stars pin). They also received the order form for A Snowy Trio in early September. They have until the end of the year to order it.
12/8/99
New signing: Collecto-Mania will be having a signing August 12, 2000. Yay, finally one close to me!
12/4/99
New club exclusive: Here are more photos of A Snowy Trio. This is the next club exclusive for the Leaf and Acorn Club. We should be getting our redemption certificates soon. They will be due by February 28, 2000.
Photos of club kit for next year: Sparkling Rose has posted photos of the next pieces for the club kit in 2000. You Hold the Key to My Heart is the membership piece (Mackenzie with a key and a heart-shaped lock), and there is a similar membership pin of a mouse hanging from a gold key.
GCC exclusive: Cathy reports that the next GCC exclusive will be called I Picked You to Love and will be released May 6, 2000.
12/3/99
Signing events: Check the signing schedule for a list of some new signings for 2000. Also, Dean is confirmed for the Epcot signing this weekend.
New exclusive: Dean has confirmed that Carlton Cards is having an exclusive for Mother's Day. The piece is called Moms Give the Best Hugs. We assume the piece should be at Carlton stores a few weeks before Mother's Day. Other stores will be having exclusives in 2000, but we're not sure who yet.
12/2/99
New club exclusive: Sparkling Rose sent out this photo of A Snowy Trio, the next exclusive for the Leaf and Acorn Club. Stores are just getting the piece in for display, and our redemption certificates should be coming in soon. The deadline to order it will be February 2000. The cost will be around $21, maybe. :-)
11/25/99
Charming Tails display item: It looks like Fitz and Floyd has slipped a display item into shipments. A dealer reports that she received this item for free, so it's probably only for dealers. It is made of thick cardboard and consists of the green CT logo diamond and a very large mouse sitting with arms stretched out. You can hang it from the ceiling like a mobile or stand it up (we think). The item number is 99/1011, and it has a white platic hanger with white string wrapped around the hanger. The dimensions are: CT logo 11" x 11" from corner to corner; mouse 8-1/2" x 8-1/2". We'll have a photo of it posted ASAP.
11/19/99
Open house: The open house is this weekend featuring On the First Day of Christmas. Check stores near you to see if they will be getting this piece. Tatonka Collectibles at www.calpha.com/~charming will be having a sale Friday through Monday: 50% off Teeny Tiny Tails, 40% off the wedding set, 35% off the Charming Tails gift line, 35% off all remaining Charming Tails in stock (does not include retired, secondary market, open house, or World of Good Wishes). Also, they will be donating 10% of every sale to Feed the Children & Friends for Life. The donations will be made in the name of Charming Tails collectors. No free shipping with this offer.
11/10/99
Concepts Direct exclusive: The first year 2000 Charming Tails exclusive will be a Concepts Direct piece. It's called A Budding Romance and features Mackenzie and Maxine. The piece will be offered the same way as Maxine's Snowcap and will not be available until early to mid-January. More details as we get them!
11/2/99
Bottom stamp: From the responses I've received (thanks for the help!), it looks like most pieces of A World of Good Wishes have the limited numbers written in gold ink rather than black. It doesn't seem to have anything to do with the number range because the gold ones have been found with various numbers.
10/30/99
Bottom stamp: Whoops, Penny clarified what she meant. She has A World of Good Wishes with the limited numbers written in gold ink instead of black. Does anyone else have a gold one?
10/27/99
Bottom stamp: Penny reports that she has A World of Good Wishes pieces with a gold bottom stamp and with a black bottom stamp. So far I've only seen the gold ones. Can anyone figure out if the numbers of the pieces have anything to do with which color bottom stamp they have?
Open house: Charlise asked me to post some information. The Squashville Gang is sponsoring an open house at Rene's Hallmark on November 20 and 21. The store is located in the Parkway Plaza Shopping Center at the corner of Peter's Creek Parkway and Silas Creek Parkway in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. For more details, phone (336) 724-7176.
10/26/99
Millennium ornament: Peace on Earth has been arriving in stores and will be limited to 5,000 pieces. This looks like a hard one to get but well worth the trouble.
10/23/99
Dean doing better: Dean wanted me to let you know that he is feeling much better. Our well wishes must be working. :-)
Recent releases: Susan let me know that Carol's Gifts in Artesia, California, has received A World of Good Wishes and the early releases of Oh Mackenzie Tree... and Dive into the Holidays. Their number is (800) 339-2520.
Recent releases: Dean has an explanation for us about the miscolored mouse on the Everybody Sing throw. The first prototype that was shown at the Flamingo Fling was colored wrong. It had Mackenzie gray and the chickadee brown. Fitz and Floyd contacted Manuel Weavers, the company making the throws, about the error. However, when the throws were actually shipped, the error was still not corrected. They forgot to make the change, and by that time it was too late. Thus we have a gray Mackenzie instead of a brown one. Many thanks to Dean for this explanation.
Online auction: On November 13, www.mouses.com will be having a live auction between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. All items will start at $5 except buildings, which will start at $15. A complete listing of items and the way the auction will run will be posted on www.mouses.com one week prior to the auction.
10/17/99
Textiles: Tracey let me know that the Everybody Sing textiles have Mackenzie grey instead of brown. We had reported earlier that the mouse was supposed to be changed to brown, but evidently this didn't happen.
10/16/99
New pieces: Tatonka has posted pictures of the new Easter and Valentine pieces.
Easter:
Valentine's Day:
Pieces available: Donna let me know that Monique's Antiques at (609) 753-8906 has gotten in the Halloween and Christmas pieces, A World of Good Wishes, and the Home Accessory pieces. They will be getting the millennium ornament too.
10/12/99
Maxine's Snowcap: The postcards for Maxine's Snowcap have arrived! The phone number to call for the Linda Anderson catalog is (800) 272-9236, and the order number is 15-4823. The piece is $17.95 plus shipping. It's limited to 3,500 pieces. They take American Express, Discover, Visa, and MasterCard. Virginia and Rona sent me scans of the card, and Lauri and Becky sent me info. Thanks, guys!
Open house piece: La Donna let me know that the Farmer's Co-op in Broken Arrow will be getting On the First Day of Christmas.
10/9/99
NALED pieces: Kay let me know that Eloise's in Houston has all of the current NALED pieces in stock and a few retireds. They will also be getting the open house piece. The phone numbers are Mason Road location (281) 578-6655 and Richmond Road location (713) 783-3611.
Millennium piece: It seems that the globe on A World of Good Wishes comes in different colors. So far, we've spotted a grayish color, a medium blue, and a darker blue. Also, be careful when you take the piece out of the wrapper. The wings tends to catch on the plastic, and scissors for the wrapper might be a good idea.
Giftware: Tatonka has gotten all the new Home Accessories in. So has Fairhope Pharmacy's Christmas 'round the Corner (800) 848-3247.
Open house piece: Fairhope Pharmacy's Christmas 'round the Corner will be getting On the First Day of Christmas.
10/8/99
Store exclusive: Christmas Tree Trio has arrived! It will begin shipping out very soon and looks just like the prototype we have pictures of. Order from Gifts and Accents at (800) 822-8856. They will also carry On the First Day of Christmas. The store will honor prepaid orders as long as their supply lasts. They are not requiring customers to buy an extra piece because most of us online people have already ordered/purchased Christmas Tree Trio. Thanks to Scooter for the information.
Open house piece: G&L Christmas and Gift Barn will be having On the First Day of Christmas for their open house event.
Card from Dean: Joanne received this card from Dean as a thank-you after the Crystal Palace signing. Thanks for sharing it with us!
10/7/99
Concepts Direct exclusive: Here's the latest word on Maxine's Snowcap, the next special edition from Concepts Direct. The release has been pushed back a little, but the piece should be for sale the middle or end of this month. The piece is not yet in their computers, so if you call about it, the operators will say it doesn't exist. As soon as the postcards go out, we'll post the ordering information here. No photo of the piece will be released until we see the postcards. Keep a watch for it!
Millennium piece: Dreams and Rainbows has received an extra box of A World of Good Wishes, so if you still need the piece, contact them.
10/5/99
Retirements: Karen from Collecto-Mania sent me the list of retirements she received:
10/3/99
NALED pieces: Scooter sent me some pictures! Here they are: Follow the Star, Oh Mackenzie Tree..., and Dive into the Holidays. Also, the two early releases have a missprint in their numbers, with the first number repeated: "887/213" and "887/208." This may be to distinguish them from the regular release.
Special event piece: Here's the photo of On the First Day of Christmas from the latest Squashville Gazette.
Store exclusive: The special edition from Simply Christmas has arrived! Scooter sent me some photos of Snowshoe Sweetie.
Millennium piece: Kristy's still has some A World of Good Wishes available for purchase.
10/2/99
NALED pieces: Jessica let me know that the NALED special edition Follow the Star and the two NALED early releases Oh Mackenzie Tree--Oh Mackenzie Tree and Dive into the Holidays have arrived in stores (actually I'm a little behind in the e-mail--this was last Monday!). If you've ordered yours, be on the look-out for it, or start hitting the NALED stores. Also, expect some photos posted later today or tomorrow of these pieces.
Home accessories: The new giftware pieces have arrived! Sparkling Rose let me know that they received the following pieces in:
Millennium figurine: A World of Good Wishes has arrived in stores. Several stores will be having the piece. Bonnie from Piroska's Gift Shop wrote me that they had received a supply. Their toll-free number is (877) 224-2179, and the piece sells for $23.99 plus shipping. Also, Stiers has received about 48 pieces, which are available through online ordering at their web site.
Disney signing: So far the Disney signing with Dean is still scheduled. Let's hope he gets well in time. I'm sure he knows we're all sending him some good wishes. :-)
10/1/99
Greenbook: Greenbook has announced that they are holding off on publishing their price guide until 2000. I still have all the e-mails people have sent to reserve the book. As soon as it's expected, I will let you know. In the mean time, Mike Brennan's guide is the only one that came out in 1999. Go to the price guides page for more information.
9/29/99
New pieces: Rona reports that she just got the new CIB Collectibles Report. Here is what is going on for Charming Tails:
Winter Whirlwind: Dave has announced that the pieces have arrived! He's going to begin shipping the pieces out, but as you can imagine, it's going to take a while to get that done. In the mean time, while you wait, he's put some pictures up on his web site: http://users.downcity.net/dlreid/www.html.
October signings: The Christmas Dove sent out an e-mail saying that their October 17 signing has been canceled. I am assuming that the one on October 16 at Westin's Limited Editions has been canceled as well. That just leaves the Disney signing in December for those who want to see him this year. Let's hope he's better by then. Get better, Dean! :-)
9/27/99
Millennium piece: Karen from Collecto-Mania reports that A World of Good Wishes is hand numbered in an edition of 19,500. The piece also has a gold pumpkin bottom stamp.
9/26/99
Millennium piece: Collecto-Mania has received their shipment of A World of Good Wishes. If you want this piece, call them soon!
9/25/99
Stack-O-Sweeties: John wrote me that the Linda Anderson catalog still has Stack-O-Sweeties listed. That means it's still available in case you missed getting this special edition.
9/24/99
Newsletter: Sparkling Rose reports that they've received their issue of the Squashville Gazette! Be on the look-out for yours.
Special event piece: The newsletter has a photo of the special event piece, On the First Day of Christmas. Sparkling Rose has it posted on their Charming Tails page.
9/23/99
Store exclusives: If you haven't yet reserved your store exclusives, do so now! The next issue of the Squashville Gazette, due any day, will have a notice about these pieces, so expect them to be snatched up immediately.
Winter Whirlwind--@$20; G&L Christmas & Gift Barn at (888) 737-5600 (photo on their web site).
Snowshoe Sweetie--$17.95; Simply Christmas at (800) 835-8990 (photo on their web site).
Christmas Tree Trio--$22; Gifts & Accents at (800) 822-8856 (photo here).
Robert's October 2 signing: Robert's Christmas Wonderland has confirmed that the signing scheduled for October 2 has been canceled due to Dean's illness. I know some of you were wondering about that one. They said that Fitz and Floyd has promised a special event in 2000 instead.
New card: Mike sent me a scan of a new thank-you card he got from Dean.
9/17/99
Home Accessories: Tatonka reports that they will be receiving the new gift line September 24. Shipping is free with orders of $75 and no sales tax if you live outside Texas. I have pictures on the Home Accessories page.
Price guides: Rona let me know that Checkerbee has delayed the release of their price guide. It's now going to be a 2000 edition.
9/16/99
Store exclusive: Simply Christmas has sent out an e-mail that Snowshoe Sweetie, their store exclusive, is now scheduled to ship at the end of September. The piece is $17.95; contact Simply Christmas at (800) 835-8990 to order (photo on their web site).
9/9/99
Prototypes and samples: Dean offered an explanation of the difference between prototypes and samples. The prototypes are generally one of a kind, with never any more than six released. The showroom samples are made up before the main production run so that Fitz and Floyd can show the store buyers what the piece will look like and book orders from these "samples." There can be as many as 36 or more showroom samples made.
9/8/99
Signings: Some sad news that I know you'll all understand. Dean has had to cancel his September signings because he's come down with hepatitis A and mono, which prevents him from traveling for the next 4-6 weeks. Dean says, "Please let everyone know I'm feeling much better each day and not to worry." I'm sure he knows we wish him well in his recovery, even though you guys will miss him. Be sure to leave him a message on the bulletin boards in case he gets a chance to read them. :-)
9/2/99
Millennium ornament: The Bronze Lady has a picture of the millennium ornament posted. Check out their Charming Tails page. Thanks to Twink for the info!
Acorn Society: Whoops, didn't mean to confuse anyone. The Acorn Society was the name of the first club begun in 1996. It was the forerunner of the current Leaf and Acorn Club. For more information check the Leaf and Acorn Club page.
9/1/99
Acorn Society: We're still tracking down information on the club kit for the Acorn Society. Debbie reports getting a magnet in her kit as well. It is Mackenzie hanging onto a four-leaf clover, and it's made like the figural pins we received with the Leaf and Acorn Club kits. It's slightly larger at 2-1/2 inches tall. They ran out of kits at Rosemont, so hers was shipped after the show. Does anyone else have this magnet? It's shown here with the Leaf and Acorn Club pin for a size comparison.
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.
