tikistitch

One o' the hip things about Dizzney is that they occasionally offer up for auction those pieces most beloved of anal-retentive collector types, that is, prototypes.

OK, so, y'all remember this Stitchie snowglobe, which we prattled on about a couple days ago.

This here is a sales sample.

See? It's even got the taggie!

So, what's a sales sammple? From Dizzney's auction yadda yadda yadda....

"This whiteware sample was presented during the preproduction process so the item's basic design could be approved before the addition of color to later-reviewed samples."

What we've learned from hanging around Mr. Tikistitch for so many years: creating a toy, especially at a large company, is a pretty involved, bureaucratic process.

So, at every step of the process, you make a sample, and shop it around to get buyoff.

This item looks like it was pretty far along in the creation process.

It looks like it may have been produced in a factory in China, and then sent back to the US for approval.

What's kinda fun about such items is comparing them to the finished product, since there are often changes.

For example, the finished snow globe lights up, and this model actually lights up if you stick in batteries, although the pumpkin's face doesn't illuminate.

Here's the coolest bit: can you spot the difference?

Notice the music box handle on the left? It doesn't work, unfortunately, but it looks like the music box was eliminated on the finished product. Why? Maybe cost. It probably would've played "Aloha Oe," since that's what ever other Stitch snowglobe in the universe also plays, which may have seemed a bit odd for a Halloween-themed item.