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Just ten months after Antiquark's
initial order arrived to HBC, another chance meeting took place that would
irrevocably imprint Harmony Kingdom. While Noel Wiggins was attending
the Chicago Gift Show in January 1995, he met Paul Osnain, an expert in
the collectibles industry. Noel explained to Paul the difficulty HBC had
with copyrighting its jewellery products and retaining customer loyalty
due to competition from copycat companies. He then showed Paul HBC's new
product line, the Treasure Jests. Noel explained how popular the little
boxes were and how people were even beginning to collect them. Paul seized
the opportunity and gave Noel invaluable advice on how a proper collectible
company operates: a brand name is essential, the pieces should have colourful
names and be divided into distinct subsets, some pieces should be limited
edition while others should be retired, and a collector's club should
be formed.
When Noel returned from Chicago
he explained the blueprint to Lisa, who at first was sceptical as she
felt that a collectible shouldn't be "planned" but should naturally
evolve over many years. Noel convinced her that Treasure Jests were already
being collected and setting things up right from the start would benefit
potential collectors. So the two immediately put their heads together
to come up with the name "Harmony Kingdom." They then named
the sixty box figurines currently in the line, retired four of the boxes
("Let's Do Lunch," "Who'd A Thought," "Untouchable,"
and "Back Scratch"), divided the current selection into categories,
introduced the first limited edition piece ("Unbearables"),
created the first Harmony Kingdom catalogue, and retained a booth at the
International Collectibles Exposition in Long Beach, California, to be
held in April, 1995. Paul Osnain even flew to Columbus to assist them
at no charge. Harmony Kingdom is forever indebted to Paul for his invaluable
and selfless advice.
The first four retired box figurines
were selected due to the controversial subject matter ("Let's Do
Lunch") or the simplicity of design and lack of humour (the other
three selections). Including these four, there were forty-three pieces
in the "Small Treasure Jest Series," twelve pieces in the "Large
Treasure Jest Series," four pieces in the "Hi-Jinx Series,"
and the limited edition "Unbearables."
At the Long Beach International
Collectibles Exposition in April, collectors were won over by the humour,
ingenuity, and detailing of the box figurines, and were further enamoured
by their English origins. The fervour has continued ever since. Martin
marvels at the growth of Harmony Kingdom: "It seems extraordinary
to me that I can be a one-man business in my shed one day, and the next
day a creator of fine collectibles sold throughout the world."
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