Mel Birnkrant's
All Original Written and Photographic content is Copyright MEL BIRNKRANT
Believe it or not, Harry liked it, and vowed to produce it. With that in mind, I actually sculpted the little men, Men in the Moon! Miraculously a few of them remain. Here they are, much larger than life size:







I don’t know what strange impulse compelled me to create these offbeat images. I drew and colored them, as well, in a fit of misplaced inspiration, all in a single afternoon. I guess, I simply liked the name. Obviously, it was derived from the expression, “Zip your lip!” And the name “Zip Lips” explicitly explained exactly what the product ought to be. Much the same thing took place when I spontaneously came up with an item called Monster Trucks. This was another product that occurred to me, when its common figurative name was simply taken literally.
As soon as the words “Zip Lips” escaped mine, the image of what they should look like materialized, instantaneously, in my mind. Thus, all I had to do was record the vision. Of course, the effort was nothing but a total waste of time. My partners, KISCOM had no clue, what to do with these, or who to show them to. Neither did I. Zip Lips did not appear to be a line that would interest any manufacturer in the toy industry. And, judging from the pristine condition the presentation boards were in when they were returned to me, I could pretty much deduce that they never shown to anybody. Therefore, these drawings remain bright, clean, and still unseen, until today.
Oh, My God! I can’t believe what I just found. I must have really gotten off on this concept! Searching under the floor, just now, I discovered a large box, marked "boards." And, among the ancient memories it hid, were several projects that I forgot I ever did. Mixed in with these discoveries, were more drawings of Zip Lips, more, and more, and more! I really must have loved these things! I’ll add them, here, if the length of this web page permits.
Phew! That’s it, the final one! I only vaguely recall doing these. I was obviously having fun, and did not want to stop. I guess, I was excited to be exploring a look that, at the time, seemed fresh and new. I’d never seen anything quite like them before ... or since. Have you?