Kim's Corner - Feb 25, 2002

Kim's Corner
Page 11 of 18

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A specially framed set of pins is offered - orders will be taken until March 31st - after which time the remaining pins in the edition of 3,600will be sold individually.
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It’s All in Support of the Product

Aside from the festive theme and the wonderful art and the cutting-edge printing technology - the 100 Mickeys Exhibition at the Disneyland Gallery is all about moving merchandise. Luckily for just about any collector out there, there’s plenty of merchandise to keep anyone happy. The premiere pieces in the product-line are - of course - the 100 Mickey prints themselves - but they aren’t the only place to put your cash - the support image collage and logo merchandise are also very well done. From the low-end individual note cards at $3.00 each to the framed Limited Edition pin set at $850 - there’s something to tempt any collector. All we need is a logo button or stand-along logo pin and we’d be there. As I understand a phase 2 merchandise line will also be released.

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Dave Avanzino's multi-dimensional collage of the exhibit's images - $1,200 - LE 10 pieces - as of this posting more than half of the edition has been sold.
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It was a risk, bringing a single artist, contemporary fine art show to the Disneyland Gallery. It was a risk to integrate the - expensive and cutting-edge - Print on Demand technology into the DLR product-line. It was a risk too pin so much on an often-fickle fan base. It was a scary gamble for the merchandise division. I was able to talk to Tony Garrison, the Director of Specialized Businesses at the DLR, for a bit during the event that opened the exhibit, the Eric Robison "One Hundred Mickeys" lithograph signing event at the Gallery on the February 23rd. - the 27" x 40" lithograph features a collage of the images of the exhibit. It was limited to an edition size of 500 and sold for $125.00. The fan support was great and a line was running four or five switchbacks on the gallery patio. It was cool to see.

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Some of the 100 Mickeys logo merchandise offered.
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I’ve known Tony for a little more than a year now, as a member of the 2002 Disneyland Creative Advisory Council I had a front-row seat and was able to watch he and his team work. I also got to know the other members of DLR special business initiatives, merchandise and store operations teams and learned the restraints under which they do one of the toughest jobs in the Resort - keeping the buyers, the sellers and the licensees happy - all the while juggling special events and the vagaries of the Disneyana marketplace. It’s not a job for the feint of heart. So when he told me that, "It was very scary, we’ve never done anything this contemporary." I understood that there was a certain amount of risk involved in the project. But, as we stood in the Gallery verandah in the late afternoon, with the cash registers still ringing behind us, I thought that he had to be pleased.

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The 100 Mickeys mug - $10.00 - SKU: 400-005-570-094.
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