Mel Birnkrant's
Mel Birnkrant's
All Original Toy Concepts, Written and Photographic content is Copyright MEL BIRNKRANT
PART 3: WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN
One amazing aspect of inventing and designing toys is the fact that when a product line is progressing, one can, not only, foresee its future, but play an active role in forming it. That is what this page is all about. Convinced that COD would continue to succeed, Tyco invited me to appear in person, and offer suggestions as to how the line might grow. I had been down this road before, having made a similar presentation to the crew at Tyco, when they were working on Doggie Bag Doggies, and it went extremely well. Thus, they knew what to expect, and were prepared to be impressed. Several days later, my partners and I traveled to Tyco’s headquarters in Mount Laurel New Jersey, where I stood before a room full of Tyco dignitaries, gathered there by our friend, Richie, and, one by one, showed and explained the following drawings.
When the presentation was over, Richie jumped up and hugged me. He thanked me profusely, and exclaimed, “you have just designed year two! This makes our task so much easier, knowing what we are going to do next year." Alas, “next year” was not destined to take place. Richie, Tyco, and the CODs, would all be gone by then. And so, the drawings you are about to see are merely shadows of what might of been.
There are a lot of them. I’m not sure my web builder will allow me to cram them all on a single page. Therefore, I’ll keep my comments to a minimum. The notes on every drawing explain what each one is. Some of the first are missing, so I will have to begin mid-stream. As the ideas progress, they become increasingly complex, some bordering on the ridiculous. They culminate in an elaborate store display.
When the presentation was over, Richie jumped up and hugged me. He thanked me profusely, and exclaimed, “you have just designed year two! This makes our task so much easier, knowing what we are going to do next year." Alas, “next year” was not destined to take place. Richie, Tyco, and the CODs, would all be gone by then. And so, the drawings you are about to see are merely shadows of what might of been.
There are a lot of them. I’m not sure my web builder will allow me to cram them all on a single page. Therefore, I’ll keep my comments to a minimum. The notes on every drawing explain what each one is. Some of the first are missing, so I will have to begin mid-stream. As the ideas progress, they become increasingly complex, some bordering on the ridiculous. They culminate in an elaborate store display.
My partners, Andy, Adam, Noah, and I left Tyco, that day, glowing with excitement. The future looked bright and promising. The CODs were succeeding, beyond our wildest dreams.
