CONTACT: Elaine
Kollias,
Folkmanis,
Inc.
800.654-8922
elaine
@
folkmanis.com
FOR
IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
A Flurry of
Fun, Furry
Creatures
Emerges from the
Fantasy Forest
In Time for
Holiday Giving
Folkmanis® King
of "Handle with
Fun" Toys
(EMERYVILLE, CA,
October 1,
2002) Folkmanis
Puppets, the
world’s leading
specialty puppet
maker, has
combined the
fantastic
creatures of
children's books
and movies with
its 25-year
tradition of
realism to
create a
forest-full of
merry holiday
critters with
innovations seen
nowhere else.
Folkmanis' more
than 200
varieties of
puppets prompt
people around
the world to
Handle With Fun!
and inevitably
earn scores of
awards for the
family-run
puppet
manufacturer.
So far this
year, Folkmanis
has won
Oppenheim Gold
Seal Awards for
its Griffin and
Fairy Finger
Puppets, a
Parent’s Choice
Silver Award for
the Fairy Finger
Puppets and the
NAPPA Children's
Resources
Gold Award for
the Puppet
Theater, Fairy
Finger Puppets,
and Royalty
Puppets (King,
Queen, Prince,
Princess).
Folkmanis’
Puppet
Theater—perfect
for making
fantasies come
to life—also has
been selected by
Dr. Toy as one
of the “10 best
creative
products for
2002” and “100
best children’s
products.”
“Our adorable
creatures are
irresistible.
Once you pick
one up and begin
animating it,
you’re hooked,”
says co-founder
Judy Folkmanis.
She's especially
delighted by
recent awards
for standouts
from the holiday
line. "Children
are so engaged
by fantasy right
now. Our
griffins and
dragons and
other mythical
creatures fit
right in with
their rich
imaginations."
Griffin
--mythical
GRIFFIN a
creature half
lion and half
eagle, measures
20-inches long.
Created from
deep golden
plush, the body
of the beast
emulates a
lion’s fur,
while the wings,
chest, and head
are sculpted to
look like
feathers. Add
gold claws,
moveable beak
and tongue, and
this king of the
skies and earth
becomes a puppet
that will bring
forth hours of
creative
imagination and
endless amounts
of play value.
Suggested retail
is $50.
Fairy Finger
Puppets
-- Every
enchanted forest
must have its
share of
fairies.
Folkmanis’
collection of
six-inch finger
puppet FAIRIES
—Flower Fairy,
Sugar Plum
Fairy, Snow
Fairy, Rose
Fairy and Tooth
Fairy --
are the cream of
the imaginative
crop. Their
gossamer wings
sparkle with
gold or silver
accents.
The pale-skinned
FLOWER Fairy
wears a yellow
skirt and gold
bodice with
rosette-decorated
ribbons around
her ankles and
waist. She has
long, yellow
yarn hair.
SUGAR PLUM wears
a lovely
lavender-tinted
skirt with a
silver bodice
and ribbons on
her ankles and
in her short,
curly dark
hair. Her skin
fabric is
bronze. The
SNOW beauty is
dressed in a
white skirt and
blue bodice.
She has long,
brown yarn hair,
a warm
skin-tone, and
metallic ribbon
accents. ROSE
Fairy shimmers
like morning dew
in her pale pink
skirt, silver
bodice and pink
wings. She has
long, auburn
yarn hair, a
warm skin tone
and tiny rosette
accents. The
TOOTH Fairy is
dressed in white
with violet
accents and has
long dark
chenille yarn
hair, pale skin,
violet eyes, and
a special pocket
in her
skirt—just the
right size for a
freshly lost
tooth! Fairies
are $10 each.
Gnome
– What's a
fantasy forest
without a
GNOME? See
those clumps of
leaves,
berries, twigs,
moss and tufts
of milkweed
seeds? Look
again, these wee
folk are masters
of disguise A
vest of
forest-green
striped
lichen-like
velvet accents a
soft chenille
shirt in a
mustard-brown
color and tops
his wine-colored
velveteen
pants. His
long, white
beard nearly
touches
pointy-toed
boots of dark
brown vinyl that
are weighted so
they swing to
and fro.
The Gnome’s
"three-fingered"
design means a
child can
animate his head
and both arms.
Plus, pellets in
his bottom,
along with the
way his legs are
sewn on to the
front of his
torso, allow him
to double as a
shelf-sitter. A
loop in the back
of his head
makes him
levitate "as if
by magic" to
decorate holiday
homes. At eight
inches tall in
his hat, the wee
Gnome's
suggested retail
price is $8.00.
Three Headed
Dragon
– Little boys go
especially wild
for the
colorful,
fantastically
ferocious
dragons
Folkmanis has
produced in the
last few
seasons. But
the company's
2002 season
entry provides a
triple-treat.
Folkmanis'
newest mythical
creature is a
10-inch tall
Three Headed
Dragon
made from a
remarkable
turquoise blue
"scaly" velour
fabric. A
“five-fingered”
design allows
each head and
both arms to
move
independently.
With three
forked tongues,
wings and frills
down his spiny
back, this is a
dragon that's
hard to miss!
Suggested retail
is $20.00.
Porcupine
– Where
fantasy's
concerned, what
"real" forest
creature most
appears
fictional? Why,
a Porcupine,
surely.
Unique plush
gives this
realistic
porcupine puppet
the appearance
of having
quills, but
never fear!
This is fantasy
and she'd never
part with a
single one.
She crawls on
all fours, and
the child's hand
enters from her
underbelly to
work her front
legs and head.
Short brown
plush on her
face and paws
give her
definition,
while her body
and tail are
medium length,
dark brown plush
interspersed
with extra long,
blond plush
"quills". This
soft plush is
pettable, yet
one flick
upwards will
"respike" the
quills, so she
stays true to
porcupine form.
She has
vinyl
claws, suede
cloth ears and
pink nostrils.
Thirteen inches
long from nose
to tail tip;
the porcupine
carries a
suggested retail
price of $13.00.
Folkmanis®
Puppets are
recommended for
ages 3 and up
and are
available at
specialty toy
and gift stores,
and thousands of
independent toy
and gift stores
and specialty
retailers
nationwide and
in over 15
countries around
the world.
Folkmanis Baby
puppets are
appropriate for
all ages, birth
and up. You can
also find
Folkmanis®
Puppets online
at Amazon.com.
For more
information call
Folkmanis at
800.654-8922 or
go to
www.folkmanis.com.
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