MY LITTLE PONY Fair announces Liz Knight as Guest of Honor!

"We are excited to announce our 2014 MY LITTLE PONY Fair Guest of Honor and 2014 MY LITTLE PONY Fair Hall of Fame inductee, Liz Knight!



Liz Knight joined Hasbro in 1981, just as Bonnie Zacherle was working on a smaller version of My Pretty Pony which became, My Little Pony. Ms. Knight designed several beloved MY LITTLE PONY characters including: Seashell, Bubbles, Bow Tie, Applejack, Sunbeam, Medley, Twilight, Glory, Firefly, Moondancer, Parasol, Starshine, Windy, Sunlight, SkyDancer, and Moonstone. She also designed the Show Stable and Waterfall playsets. In addition, Ms. Knight was responsible for the design of the SeaPonies: Seawinkle, Sealight, and Wavedancer!

Ms. Knight left Hasbro in 1987 and started her own design business, working as an inventor and designer doing mostly infant product and toys. During this time she also taught Industrial Design at Rhode Island School of Design.

In 2003, she returned to Hasbro for 3 months to help on Secret Central and as Director on My Little Pony. Soon after, she was hired fulltime as Director on Playskool and stayed there for several years. In 2005, Ms. Knight became VP of Girls’ Toys and managed the team working on My Little Pony, Littlest Pet Shop, Easy Bake, Strawberry Shortcake, FurReal, CareBears, and Baby Alive.

During this time, she worked closely with Lauren Faust as she wrote the new entertainment “Friendship is Magic”. The design team, led by Ms. Knight, created product inspired by Lauren Faust’s stories and reset My Little Pony for growth. In March of last year, 2013, Ms. Knight left Hasbro and is currently teaching at Rhode Island School of Design.

We are excited to have Ms. Knight join us at the 2014 MY LITTLE PONY Fair. We are currently working on her programming for the event which will include presentations and autograph opportunities and will be announce details soon."

MY LITTLE PONY Fair 2014 Tickets On Sale February 3rd!

From the MY LITTLE PONY Fair Facebook page:

"We will be opening up our ticket sales at 9:00 am EST on Monday February 3rd for MLPF 2014. We will be posting the link to the ticketing page on Friday. While tickets will not be able to be purchased until Monday, we want you to be able to figure out which ticket package you are wanting to purchase over the weekend before the "rush" on Monday morning. Pricing will be very similar to our 2013 pricing so you can plan accordingly. In addition to our Fair ticketing options, we will also be opening up sales for our Friday night Celebration dinner."

Can't wait to see everyone in Nashville, TN!

Applejack is One Popular Pony (and Photo)

I'm (obviously) a HUGE fan of all things My Little Pony and articles, photos, and other random Pony related news appear on my new feed daily. When an artist's project from Purple Clover showed up on my feed this evening, I was delighted to see the that My Little Pony was included. The project is entitled: Toy Story: The Later Years and shows depictions of how the artist imagines classic toys would appear if they aged, along with a short description of their current state. The creator of the project included not just any pony, but one of my favorites, Applejack. While viewing the artist's My Little Pony creation, I noticed that there was something familiar about the edited image. The base picture with which the Pony entry was created, was done using my photograph of Applejack that appears in both The My Little Pony G1 Collector's Inventory book as well as in an online article on About.com on my collection that includes photographs of some of my collection items.

Here is my original photograph:

 Here is the altered artist's photo using my photo as a base:

I'll admit that I find the artist's project to be a fun interpretation and an entertaining read, but I was surprised that no credit was given to the original photo image. I assume that since the Pony photo was used without credit that there is a possibility that the other images are also used without permission or credit given.  I'm flattered that someone liked my photo enough to copy it and use it, but at the same time I'm a little surprised that it wasn't credited or linked back or something...

What would your response be if you were in my shoes? Would you contact the artist or website?

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Yesterday, as I was moving Pony stuff around in the basement (as part of The Great Ponyroom Overhaul of 2013) I came across my collection of My Little Pony ornaments. I hadn't planned on putting them out this year, but we ended up with an extra 4ft. tree in our living room that needed some love so I brought them upstairs to the delight of my son. He helped me decorate the tree and had a great time. Seeing them all in one place made me realize that I really need to add some more G4 Pony ornaments to my collection. The tree is pretty predominately G3.

In addition to decorating, my family has been going through our holiday movie collection with wild abandon. In the last week, if the television is on, you can pretty much guarantee that it is showing something Christmas related.  I'm pretty sure that these two will make it into the rotation soon!


                                              

My Newest MY LITTLE PONY project: MY LITTLE PONY COLLECTOR Magazine!

 I've been working on this project for a few months off and on. Trying to figure out exactly what I wanted to include was the hardest part, but I feel like it is well on its way to shaping into something worthwhile. Glossi was a great platform to use since this is an experiment of sorts and I have little (other than time) invested in it. This is my first foray into a collector magazine and if you have feedback, I'd love to hear it. I plan on expanding the magazine in the future to include some past generation content, as well as possibly bringing a few other people on board to edit and write content. Plus, I've since learned that it will streamline things if I build the magazine outside of Glossi and simply import the pages and interactive page elements. As it stands, I have a bunch of raw images that can be linked by other users which isn't ideal. I wanted to keep it simple at first since I was on a bit of a learning curve.  MY LITTLE PONY COLLECTOR Magazine seemed like the perfect compliment to my other MLP related endeavors (The MY LITTLE PONY Fair and the Collector's Inventory books.) I have some other fun stuff up my sleeves as well, but they aren't quite ready to reveal. So take a moment, if you will, to read, enjoy, and share the first MY LITTLE PONY COLLECTOR Magazine.

Click to view MY LITTLE PONY COLLECTOR on GLOSSI.COM

The MY LITTLE PONY Mystery Minis Have Arrived!

I placed an order through VNC Toys for the new MY LITTLE PONY Mystery Minis produced and licensed by Funko. I ordered a full case of 12, because each case has all 12 individually boxed ponies. I wanted to be sure to get the whole set.

 

The display box for the smaller individual boxes is really cute. Although, I think it is a little strange that they put Twilight Sparkle on the box artwork when she isn't one of the Mystery Minis. The other side of the display box (and the smaller individual boxes) shows Pinkie Pie.

As you can see, Funko is pretty serious about keeping the Pony inside a mystery! The outside of each box is wrapped in plastic. The small boxes are also sealed shut and to top it off, the pony inside is concealed in a black plastic bag. It is kind of like the MLP version of Fort Knox. Also, unlike the blind bag ponies, there are no codes on the boxes to determine which pony is inside before opening.

There are 12 different ponies in the set and they are pictured on the side of the small box. No names are included, but as all of these ponies have been released previously in some form or other, their names are not a mystery (at least not to collectors.)

Personally, I love the size of the Mystery Minis (they stand a little over 2 and a half inches tall.) When I fist saw the box art for this set, I wasn't wild about the Ponies' bodies being black. However, now that I have them in my hands, I am a fan. They remind me of little chalkboards.

 In addition to the ten "chalkboard" ponies, there are two special "Glow in the Dark" ponies thrown into the mix.

The most exciting feature of the ponies in this set... They have cutie marks on BOTH sides of their bodies! I really hope that the MY LITTLE PONY Mystery Mini Ponies are a huge hit for Funko. I'd LOVE to see another set released (including Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, and Applejack) as well as some Mystery Minis with the ponies' regular body colors.

Hope you all are enjoying the holiday season!

I am Thankful

While I reflect on all I am thankful for in the spirit of the season, I can't help but include My Little Pony in that list. What an amazing impact these little plastic ponies have had on my life! Throughout the years, they have morphed into more than just childhood playthings. I spent countless hours as a child dreaming up magical adventures and far away places for my ponies to travel and experience. They were my pastime but have since evolved into a passion. 

When I go to the store (and undoubtedly check the toy aisle) and see a little girl fawning over the My Little Ponies lining the shelves it gives me warm fuzzies. I love that a new generation of little girls are embracing the magic of Pony and are creating adventures of their own full of magic and wonder. Then, I smile to myself because there is the tiniest of possibilities that this little girl could grow up and continue to collect and embrace My Little Pony and it could literally change her life, as it did for me.

I've had so many amazing real life adventures and experiences and met so many interesting and colorful people due entirely to Ponies. I've had the opportunity to work doing what I love surrounded by people who feel as passionately as I do about little ponies with brushable manes. For that and for all of you that continue to support me as I plan, write, or create my next Pony project I am thankful.

Have a lovely Thanksgiving!

Summer