Taking their name from the "bobbing" motion their heads make when lightly tapped, bobbleheads have been nodding their way in and out of popular culture for decades.
It was in the late 1950s and 60s that bobbleheads started to gain enormous popularity, due in large to the advent of celebrity merchandising and also their use as a giveaway at professional sports games.
These early bobbleheads were typically made from paper-mache and generic in nature usually of a cherub-faced boy wearing the uniform of a particular club.
By the mid-1970s, the bobblehead craze was fading, and it was to take almost two decades, a switch to Polyresin material and cheaper manufacturing processes, before the bobblehead were to once again return to prominence.
In 1999, the stadium giveaway burst onto the scene when the San Francisco Giants baseball team, distributed 35,000 Willie Mays bobbleheads at a home game to celebrate the team's last season at Candlestick Park. The rest they say is history!
Today's version of bobbleheads are totally different to those of old. The use of Polyresin has made them more durable and easier to mold, allowing for much finer detailing, including hair style, tattoos and even earrings.
Why are they so popular?
Its a combination of kitsch and nostalgia, cute faces, whimsical bodies and lifelike features which all go to make the bobblehead so irresistible and drumming up an array of feelings and emotions.
STAGE 1 - PREPARATION OF LIKENESS SKETCHES
The first step is to gather up as much information about the subject as possible and then convert these into mechanical drawings.
Photographs/images, specfic details such as skin tone, hair style, eye color, distinctive features such as tattoos etc. are all used to build up a clear image of how your bobblehead will eventually look like.
STAGE 2 - MAKING THE PROTOTYPE
After the sketches are completed they are then converted into a 3D clay model, which is used to give a general idea of the shape, size and proportions the bobble will eventually look like.
After many hours of tweaking to get the features perfect, the model is then approved by the customer and then painted it in the colors of its final presentation
A final approval of the painted bobble and the prototype stage is complete.
STAGE 3 – PRODUCTION
During each stage of the production process each bobblehead is individually inspected by our quality control staff. After drying and a final check-over the bobbleheads are ready to be packed.
STAGE 4 - PACK and SHIP
Each bobbleheads is placed into specially moulded styrofoam inserts, then carefully packed into their individual boxes and put into a master carton.
They are now ready to be shipped off to their new homes.
Packaging options:
Standard White box with
foam insert or Upgrade Window Box
