Custom Apparel Webstores Market to Brony Demographic

With so many new adult My Little Pony fans, including those who are part of the "Brony" phenomenon, there has been an increase in demand for T-shirts and apparel that sport pony images. In the past, collectors were lucky to see a handful of licensed clothing items at shops like Hot Topic, but now with custom to print online webstores like We Love Fine and Zazzle the designs and possibilities are endless. Both of these sites offer a plethora of pony designs and can slap them on shirts, bags, art prints and other things you didn't know you needed until you saw it decked out with Pinkie Pie or Rainbow Dash.

On We Love Fine, artists (professional and amateur) can submit designs for approval into the My Little Pony category. If the design is approved, the artist receives 20% of sales on items using their design for non licensed characters and 10% of the sale using licensed characters (aka MLP). Not a bad return for a graphic artist who has an idea for a My Little Pony shirt that may be popular with the "Brony" crowd. Especially considering that the artist has no overhead costs and doesn't have to deal with the hassle of contacting the property owner (in this case, Hasbro) for licensing rights to sell their design.

While this is great for those clamoring for merchandise displaying their favorite My Little Pony characters intertwined with witty remarks and memes, It leaves some of the non-Brony My Little Pony collectors feeling like the brand it morphing into something more adult themed than they would like. Images of happy ponies frolicking appear side by side with Game of Thrones parodies and robo ponies.

As an adult I can see the humor in these designs, yet something doesn't feel right about taking a My Little Pony character and dressing them up as Uma Thurman in Kill Bill while wielding a sword or placing them in other un-ponylike surroundings like this Hunger Games parody shirt.

I wonder if My Little Pony has become too accessible to customization and influence by Bronies.  Will we continue to see an increase in products and marketing geared to an older male demographic? What happens if the Bronies loose interest and trot into the sunset chasing the next popular fad?

Hasbro Offers Designers' Seminar at the Fair!

The Designers at Hasbro are offering a seminar for MLP Fair Attendees!

Hasbro Designers’ Seminar

Time: Saturday 10-11

Limit 50 people

Description: "This will be a seminar walking through the process of how we developed the latest MLP look both from a 3D toy perspective and an entertainment perspective."

The Fair staff is working out the details on how to handle sign-ups for this event as it is bound to be popular! We will most likely be doing a lottery system.

Stay tuned to find out how you can have a chance to attend!

"My Little Obsession" Documentary Film trailer is online!

Premiering July 8th as part of the My Little Pony Fair Convention festivities, My Little Obsession is a feature length documentary centered around My Little Pony and the people who collect them. Check out the film trailer. I had the honor to be interviewed for Julie's film and am so excited to see the finished product!



The film's director, Julie (also known as MustBeJewel), wrote the following to describe her film:

"In 1980, the My Little Pony line of toy figures and merchandise was created by a New England woman named Bonnie Zacharie. Little did she know that with her simple idea, she would create a legacy that would last well into the twenty-first century.
The funny thing about My Little Pony collectors is that they cannot easily be picked out of a crowd. They are students, lawyers, nurses, taxidermists, Broadway actors, teachers, and florists. Most of them conduct their lives just like anyone else, with the same mundane day-to-day obligations that everyone has to face. Yet these same people have hundreds or even thousands of these small plastic ponies displayed or stored in their homes, with values that would blow your mind.
We will meet people who have enormous collections, some with whole rooms of their houses devoted to displaying their collections. Some were parents or children in the 80's, and some are children growing up with the newest generation of My Little Pony. And on this eccentric and upbeat journey, we will celebrate a nearly 3-year legacy, and find out just what it means to be a My Little Pony collector."

Reviewing Billy The Unicorn

I was contacted earlier this week by San Francisco book publisher, Immedium, to review Billie The Unicorn by author Brianne Drouhard. The illustrations are wonderful (which is no shock since Brianne has worked as an animator on several cartoon network shows). The unicorns in the story have a slight resemblance to the My Little Pony characters in the new Friendship is Magic animated series. The central character,Billie, even wears a straw hat similar to Applejack. Brianne Drouhard spins a heartfelt tale of adventure, magic and whimsy that leaves you wanting more. Her beautiful illustrations transport you into a world you’ll want to visit again and again.

Billie The Unicorn will be available in hardback April 2011! For additional details about this charming book, visit http://www.immedium.com/products/billieunicorn.html

I also took a look at the author's website and she has a bunch of her drawings and concepts posted. I'm finding myself wondering what this talented author and illustrator will be working on next!

Upcoming Collector Events

If you are wanting to attend a My Little Pony Collector event and can't quite swing the My Little Pony Fair in Vegas this year, east coasters do have a few options that are closer to home.

The Maryland Pony Meet will take place on May 16th in Baltimore, MD. This event is hosted by MustBeJewel and has attendees from as far away as Michigan and New York. Guests buy, sell, and trade MLPs as well as take part in a slew of organized games and contests. A live auctioneer is also present for the annual live auction. For more information, participants can visit the Maryland Pony Meet Page.

The Virginia Pony Meet will take place on August 22nd in Charlottesville, VA. This event is hosted by several Virginia collectors and headed up by SailorLibra. While this event is on a much smaller scale, it promises to be a great opportunity to meet fellow My Little Pony enthusiasts. This type of gathering is specially good for first time Pony Meet attendees. For more information, please contact SailorLibra through the MLPArena.

I'll be at the Maryland meet this year enjoying the festivities and signing copies of my books. I attended the event in both 2007 and 2008 and had a great time. Jewel is an amazing hostess and throws one heck of a pony meet! I'll also be attending the Virginia Pony Meet this year for the first time and will be doing a signing there as well.

Hasbro Q and A at the MLP Fair 2007

I was able to take this video at the MLP Fair in Memphis. I hope you enjoy the video. I ask if you want to share this video with others, please direct them to this blog. I don't mind if you download this video to your computer, but please do not post this video elsewhere on the web. I have a quite a bit more footage that I plan to put up in the future...

Hasbro's Michelle Paolino discusses "25 Ponies for 25 Years" MLP project and what's in store for the future of My Little Pony. Other topics addressed in this segment include Hasbro's committment to collectors, the boy pony debate, Retro pony sets and other ponies aimed specifically at collectors, and My Little Pony movies on the big screen.

I'm back and exhausted!

I finally returned home from my extended vacation and I am beyond tired! In addition to traveling to Memphis for the My Little Pony Fair, we also traveled to New York and Washington D.C. It was a great trip, but it will take a day or two to fully recover. On top of my exhaustion, I'm also dealing with the fact that my primary computer decided to crash the night before we left for Tennessee. This would be the computer that housed all my pony-related files. Luckily, I backed up all but the last 3 weeks worth, so I'm not starting over from scratch if we are unable to recover them. Still, it is a HUGE inconvenience.

A few highlights from the 2007 Memphis Pony Fair with hopes to add some photos as soon as this computer business gets sorted out:

Hasbro brought original backcard concept art and original line art to show and I had the opportunity to chat with the Hasbro girls about the MLP line. They were so sweet and informative!

I sold all copies of The My Little Pony G3 Collector's Inventory that I took with me to the event. I got to meet lots of terrific collectors as I signed their books. There were even a few international collectors who flew in for the event.

I managed to film Michelle Paolino's speech about the direction of the MLP line.

I was invited to play Pony Jeopardy and I won!

The plush ponies I made won ribbons in the art competitions including: First Place (Music Themed), People's Choice First (Music Themed), Second Place (Hasbro Art), People's Choice Second (Hasbro Art), and Honorable Mention (Hasbro Art).

There was lots of fun had on Bealle Street involving frozen drinks, Medley, and Photo Hunt pictures.