Posts
wCWk~%24(KGrHqV,!h8Ew5GsnS3dBMUy3MzVPg~~_3.jpg)
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
An Apologia for Countess Erzebet Bathory: Happy Halloween 2018!
An Apologia for Countess Erzebet Bathory: Happy Halloween 2018!: Some haunting bytes for this year: Secrets of the Dead talked of vampires and their history. They did not mention Erzebet, but did talk of...
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Top Toys for Xmas 2018 and an Article Link
Great News! FAO Schwarz will reopen after being gone three years; the date is November! There are rumors of Toys R Us and the lost Bon Ton Store, Bergners/ Younkers chain. Happy Days are Here again!
 |
| Yay! |
Walmart's list of top toys for 2018; see Holiday Shopping Trends: https://qconline.com/lifestyles/holiday-shopping-trends-include-toys-demos-pop-up-shops-scavenger/article_63d4dc32-7898-5a7d-ae93-2620a4c8af26.html
Target's top toys for 2018
Amazon's top toys for 2018
- LEGO Star Wars Solo: A Star Wars Story Kessel Run Millennium Falcon 75212 Building Kit
Find the full list of Top 100 Toys at Amazon.com.
Sunday, October 21, 2018
Farewell Yesterday's Children; Another Doll Museum Says Good-bye
This weekend, Theriault’s will be
hosting two amazing auctions. Sunday is
a very unusual and complete collection of Barbies and friends. Saturday involves the sale of the contents of
Yesterday’s Child Doll Museum ,
formerly Vicksburg , MS
During the late 80s, when I was
just out of school, my family and I took a terrific trip down South, which
included Vicksburg
We also saw Yesterday’s Child, just
my mom and dad and me. I’m the only one
left. I think it was the last of our
great road trips, though we took a lot of smaller ones in later years. It was charming, and a very pleasant
day. I still regret we didn’t buy a
small composition doll wearing a white faux fur coat, hat, and muff in the gift
shop They did not have much for sale,
but the museum was a feast for the eyes.
My dad, ever loyal to me exclaimed
as we walked in, “she has more than this!” That was Dad; he also built doll
houses, hauled us all over to buy dolls while he sat in the car, he brought
dolls for me from all over the world, carved little dolls from sticks, carried
two very large Italian dolls for me when we were coming back from a trip to
Europe. He often drove back out of his
way so I could get a doll I forgot to buy, and he learned what a Jumeau
was. My mom was my partner in crime when
it came to finding dolls; she also dressed them repaired them. After a while,
it wasn’t “Ellen’s” doll collection; it was “our” doll collection.
I hate to see any doll museum
close, especially when I am busy creating mine, but this one’s closing is
particularly painful for me. The silver
lining is that the dolls will go to good homes, to people who will care for
them and carry on the museum’s legacy. For
me, doll collecting has become a lonely hobby, full of lovely memories.
Monday, October 15, 2018
Doll Museum: New dolls for Fun and Review
Doll Museum: New dolls for Fun and Review: Madame Tarnowska, custom Made by Abernathy's Madame Alexander, Puddin From a Local Collection From a Local Collection ...
Friday, October 12, 2018
Monday, October 1, 2018
A Review of Toonstyle; Calling all Kids, Collectors, and Parents! It's safe to Holiday Shop for Ideas Here!
Licensed characters and pop culture characters are
entrenched in our culture. Children,
adults, and collectors all want to wear clothes featuring their favorite
character, sip out of mugs and glasses with their image, and even wear jewelry
inspired by them.
Some artists have turned their passion for pop cultural
icons into fine art; among them are Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, David Levinthal, Jarvis Rockwell, and Roy
Lichtenstein.
Maybe you are like us, collectors who are looking for
unusual objects to add to their acquisitions.
More importantly, you might be a parent looking for that perfect set of
sheets for your toddler’s first bed, a pair of Dora the Explorer slippers, a
Frozen dress for Halloween night, all these are important, and all these are
potentially available on https//toonstyle
The site itself is attractive, bright, and
well-organized. The blog, in particular,
is divided into categories; each category is a link. This makes it very easy to search. So, if you are looking for a product review
click on that category. It saves a lot
of search time.
The page with franchises is comprised of lots of rectangles
with the names of characters or shows. Click
on one, and you go to a page of great graphics of products related to that theme.
E.g., click on “Walking Dead” and you
find a variety of terrific licensed merchandise.
What’s really great is that, not only does Toonstyle tell
you where you can find each item; click on the site or store name and you are
taken right to the site where you can buy it. Prices are included as part of the information,
too.
Imagine a buy mom or dad with only a few minutes to fid a
birthday gift or holiday shop; a couple sips of coffee and a click or tow, and
you have that much wanted Spirited Away Crocheted Necklace (Etsy) or that
terrific Golden Girls coloring book.
The recommended way to search is to type what your want in
the standard search box. This works. I
didn’t see Corpse Bride, Prince of Egypt, Napoleon Dynamite, Fantastic Beasts
or Lion King, in franchises, but when I entered them into the search box, I
found mugs, clothing, toys, figures, etc., for all ages. These are fairly
popular characters. Once I realized you
had to read horizontally, and that you alphabetize under “the” with regard to
titles, I was able to navigate it. I
love the variety; I only wonder if some would find so many franchises
overwhelming, but I think they are just great.
 |
| Black Panther Tee, via Toonstyle |
I like how the site gives an overview on the franchise and
its characters. What confused me is that even if couldn’t see something in the
franchises site, I could find it in the search box. E.g., I found lots of Barbie and Monster High
and Strawberry Shortcake items, but they weren’t in the franchises. In “how it
works” I’d mention a little more about the role the Franchise links play. Explain how to use them; never be afraid to
state the obvious. Many people will want to search and surf, but they aren’t
all tekno or social media savvy.
Overall, it’s a good, user friendly
site. But, I’d add some social media accounts.
I have had great success with this for Ruby Lane ,
and got results when I worked for About.com and Antique Doll Collector
Magazine. For example, I’d start some Pinterest boards. These graphics under each franchise for the
various items lend themselves very well to be saved on Pinterest board. You would get a lot of traffic there.
Pinterest and Facebook are the two biggest social media sites for marketing. I’m
also finding Instagram as a very useful place to get followers; you can also
share to Facebook and Twitter at the same time. Also, graphics are so great,
crisp and beautiful; I would try Flickr as well.
My last comment is that the
background to the site is usually stark white; I’d use a soft grey, or off
white, maybe light beige. Think of doing
a PowerPoint presentation; you want the background to be pleasing, and bright
white is a little off putting and hard on the eyes. Most links on the site worked, but “contact us”
worked better at the bottom of the page than the icon on the top. Also, try using something besides Outlook;
many programs just don’t have it. Try
something where you can be contacted directly from Toonstyle’s website, and
give a snail mail address and phone number to back it up.
It’s tons of fun to surf this
site; also, you can take a wonderful tour down memory lane and find great
collectibles, whether you are 2 or 92!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
