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| | | From: AlgorMortis (Original Message) | Sent: 11/14/2008 6:59 PM |
Does anyone remember any information about the piece called "Secrets of a Championship"? I remember hearing it was unauthorized so Harmony Kingdom didn't have there name on it, but I received one of the piece today and it says it's by "Bumbershoot Studios" there's a web address on the COA but it's a deadlink. The only Bumbershoot Stuidos I could find was a card maker or photography studio. There are secrets on it like HK and no SIAB markings... no artist signatures either. Robert |
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Robert... until someone else on the board with better info steps in... here is what my feeble memory recalls about this... I would suggest you contact someone at Victorian Village in Florida... I was told (whether this is 100% accurate or not is anyone's guess) that Victorian Village had the piece commissioned thru some 3rd party for an event that they held... it was not authorized by HK or HBC and there was some confusion and shouting between all the parties... I don't think the entire edition was even made becaus eof this... I will check to see if I can find any notes from that time period -- I hope someone on this board can recall the specifics and enlighten us :-) Mike |
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| | | From: Surreal | Sent: 11/15/2008 8:18 PM |
Marv Melton is the one who was selling them on eBay back around late 2003, early 2004 and he was the one who claimed in his eBay ads that they were some piece that was secretly made at the HK plant in the UK. I'm not saying anything one way or the other about that. The reason I remember is because I spent way too much buying one of the pieces from him.
The piece itself was created by an artist named Brian Baker. He got together with a couple and ran a company called Bumbershoot Studios in Tampa. Victorian Village was one of their dealers and apparently took some sort of an ownership stake in them towards the end. The web site went down in 2007 and is now owned by a different company,
If you are ever looking for an old web site and can't find it, there is a wonderful historical group that has been preserving Internet history since the very early days. They have quite a few cool sections on their web site, one of which is called "The Wayback Machine." You can enter a URL in the search box and it will return a number of web site snapshots for every year the site was alive.
To find this wonderful place, visit www.archive.org.
Beware though, you just may end up losing many hours on that web site.
Jeff |
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Wow thank you Jeff, I'm glad I only paid $9.99 for mine :-) I almost bought one a few years back from Victoria Village but kept putting it off. |
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hey jeff... you're a blast from the past yourself... where have you been...and what have you been up to??? great seeing you on the board, once again..a wealth of info! if you feel like it...here is my email addy xoxo linda |
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| | | From: Marv | Sent: 12/1/2008 6:20 AM |
Hi Jeff! Nice to see you posting again. I'm sure most us us paid too much for pieces during that time frame, considering what they are selling for now. I did buy a couple of extra pieces from Victorian Village which I sold, and kept one for myself. Victorian Village had them made, after Tampa Bay beat Oakland in the Super Bowl that year. I was told by the owners of Victorian Village that the pieces were sculpted by one of the Harmony Kingdom artists and were made at the Harmony Kingdom UK factory, Wimberley Mills. I have no reason to doubt them, since many non-HK pieces have been made there over the years. I'm certain that when I sold the pieces that I did not say they were Harmony Kingdom pieces, since I was well aware that Harmany Ball had no part in the production. I've tried to attach an article on the pieces, but not sure it will show up. Hope everyone had a Wonderful Thanksgiving!!! Marv |
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I think you're right Marv, that they where made at Wimberly Mills, they have the same finishing process and the bottoms of the pieces look like it. It's cool that it has secrets on it (thats one thing the Disney pieces SHOULD have had) but I coudn't find any artist mark or signature. |
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While I have no information on this piece, I can tell you that there was never any time that it was forbidden to have something cast at the factory that was not Harmony Kingdom. It has always been possible to book factory time if there was a break in HK production.
That practice continues to this day. |
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I've just had a chance to read the ad that Marv so kindly posted.
I can see where some might have taken it as a "secret" HK piece. No where does it say anything about Harmony Kingdom, however the writer of the ad did point the reader in that direction with the addition of the "previously released pieces from the creator.........$35 to $ 1,100.00" etc...
I have no idea if Brian Baker (who was, and is, not an HK artist) had any pieces that he originally sold for $35 or $50 which were selling for $1100 or $2200 at the time that this piece came out, but it is understandable that some would have taken the ad to be referring to one of the HK artists. (I have to believe that Mr. Baker was the carver because I've never known Jeff to be wrong when he states something as a fact regarding HK and the world around it.)
In other words, it's a piece of football memorabilia and as such, has nothing to do with HK beyond the fact that it was cast in England and sold by an HK dealer who sells many other lines as well.
However, it's a greyt looking piece and for anyone from Florida, it's a "super" piece to have!
From what I have been able to ascertain, while this piece was probably cast at the factory, it was very probably not carved by one of the HK artists. |
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