Guinness 2010 Launches

We have two Guinness figurines already modelled and had been intending to produce one this year and one next year.

However there is now a possibility that our License with Guinness will not be renewed after the end of this year.

This is because we cannot guarantee them sufficient royalties to meet their new guidlines for Licensees. This means that we will have to do both Guinness pieces this year but thought this preferable to not doing one of them at all.

The superb harpist will be available from April and the Topiary Sealion from July.

Connoisseur Range

With our Advertising Icon figures about exhausted - pretty much any that we have not done are because our License requests have been declined - we have decided to produce a range of lesser known - but really great - advertising images in a new 'Connoisseur Range' which will be produced by Royal Doulton in significantly smaller limited edition runs.

These figurines will tend to be more detailed in nature and, with the edition size so small, I am afraid likely to be a bit more expensive - but, then, obviously the quid pro quo for that will be that there are a lot fewer of them in circulation.

The first one of these will be taken from the Unilever archives and is the gorgeous Lifebuoy Soap image shown above. This will be available from October.

We plan to do two further Connoisseur Figurines in 2011 - a super Bovril image and an attractive Colman's Starch figurine - but that will probably be all the advertising pieces that we do in 2011.