In light of the start of the school year, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum has released a limited edition bobblehead: a replica of Gonzaga University’s iconic bulldog statue.
“When we saw the statue, we immediately asked them about doing a bobble head of it,” said Phil Sklar, co-founder and CEO of the company.
The bulldog statue, donated in 2007 by the class of 2006, guards the student entrance to the McCarthey Athletic Center, or “the Kennel.” The 5-foot statue was created by local artist Vincent de Felice, who collaborated with the Bobblehead Hall of Fame to replicate the bulldog.
“This one was sort of unique because we worked directly with the sculptor, in addition to the university,” Sklar said. “He gave us pictures of the process from when he created the actual giant bulldog, and that really helped get all the details right. It was really great to get his feedback, and his stamp of approval, because it’s something that was a labor of love for him.”
The approximately 6-inch bulldog bobblehead stands on a base that reads “GONZAGA BULLDOGS” on the front and “THIS IS OUR HOUSE” on the back. The bobbleheads are available for $30 at store.bobbleheadhall.com/products/gonzagastatue, but they aren’t expected to ship until November. They also will be available at Gonzaga’s campus bookstore.
Earlier this year, the company released a few other Zag bobbleheads, including Spike the Bulldog and three of the school’s vintage designs.
“They’ve been real popular so far. We knew the Gonzaga fanbase was, you know, a great fanbase, and the alumni and the students go crazy,” Sklar said.
Sklar predicts this bobblehead will be the most popular out of all the bobbleheads the company has made for Gonzaga.
“I think statues, especially when it’s of the mascot, in this case the bulldog, it’s something that fans and alumni really relate to and enjoy, and something that you can proudly display on your desk or in your office or mantel, or wherever you might have some other bobbleheads, and it’s a great way to show off your school spirit and your favorite school,” he said.
There aren’t enough bulldog bobbleheads for everyone, though.
“Each one on the bottom is individually serial numbered, so everybody gets a unique number, and they’re numbered only out of 2023 for the year of the release,” Sklar said.
Once those 2,023 bobbleheads are gone, they’re gone.
“Typically, that’s it. I mean, we could always look into doing, like, a different version or a new edition or doing something unique, but we would never do the same bobblehead again,” Sklar said.
While demand for Gonzaga bobbleheads is concentrated mostly in the Pacific Northwest, Sklar said they get orders for Gonzaga products throughout the country.
“For a relatively smaller school, we do see more orders probably for Gonzaga bobbleheads across the country than a lot of the other schools that we do bobbleheads of, and now we’re doing bobbleheads for over a hundred different schools,” he said.
“Gonzaga is definitely well-represented now when it comes to bobbleheads,” Sklar said.
All of Gonzaga’s bobbleheads are on display at the bobblehead museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiYWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnNwb2tlc21hbi5jb20vc3Rvcmllcy8yMDIzL2F1Zy8zMS9nb256YWdhcy1idWxsZG9nLXN0YXR1ZS1vbi1ndWFyZC1vdXRzaWRlLXRoZS1rZW5uZS_SAQA?oc=5
2023-09-01 03:48:13Z
CBMiYWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnNwb2tlc21hbi5jb20vc3Rvcmllcy8yMDIzL2F1Zy8zMS9nb256YWdhcy1idWxsZG9nLXN0YXR1ZS1vbi1ndWFyZC1vdXRzaWRlLXRoZS1rZW5uZS_SAQA
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Gonzaga's bulldog statue, on guard outside The Kennel, is available in the form of a bobblehead - The Spokesman Review"
Post a Comment