So, are you looking for something special to give a
beloved someone who also happens to be a Disney fan? How about something for
yourself?
Well, the Walt Disney Family Museum has several exclusive items sure to "charm" most
Disney fans or collectors. The Museum Store welcomes phone orders, which
can be made Wednesdays through Mondays between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Pacific by
calling (415) 345-6859.
(Weekdays before noon is
the best time to call). Items are shipped in USPS Priority Flat Rate boxes with
delivery confirmation. Most orders are processed within a day or two at a cost
of $6 to $16, according to assistant store manager Heather Miller.
One of the Store's more popular offerings is a starter charm bracelet at $9.95
with several exclusive individual charms priced at $6.95 and
$7.95. Charms of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto and
Goofy can be found along with Chip 'n' Dale from the shorts group. Charms of
Snow White, Grumpy, Jiminy Cricket, Bambi, Thumper, Alice, the Cheshire Cat and Tinker Bell represent some of the
animated features made during Walt Disney's lifetime.
There are also some icon charms, including a drawing of
Walt used as a Museum logo, a vintage Mickey Mouse design, the Sorcerer's hat,
a train, a castle and a special piece honoring the 75th anniversary of "Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs."
For Disney pin collectors, there are several styles and
characters represented in the Store's inventory. Prices range from 6.95 to
about $15. One of the nicest pins is an Art Deco-styled framed picture of a
young Walt and Lillian Disney. Another features an image of Mickey Mouse
outside the former military barracks building that now houses The Walt Disney
Family Museum. There's also a pin that pairs Walt Disney with his beloved
backyard train, the Lilly Belle.
Most are marked "Walt
Disney Family Museum" and easily exchanged with pin traders in Anaheim, Orlando and elsewhere. Many of the Museum's pins are
produced in fairly small numbers – 300 to 500 – even when they are not
marked or marketed as limited editions.
While jewelry – especially bracelets and charms –
is among the more popular categories of gifts for females, sometimes an
artist's work says a lot about children, parenthood and families. With her
designs for "it's a small world," various murals and her colorful Illustrations
for Golden Books, Mary Blair is certainly one such artist.
"Magic, Color, Flair: The World of Mary
Blair," a major retrospective of Blair's life and work featuring several
hundred artifacts, is the current special exhibition at the Walt
Disney Family Museum through Sept. 7. Some of its featured art has been
reproduced for Museum Store merchandise.
Images of Watermelon Boy and Lemonade Girl – original
Blair paintings owned by Disney Legend Alice Davis – and other non-Disney
creations by Blair – including some student work – are featured on postcards,
pins, magnets, coasters, note cards, ceramic tiles and prints. Many items are
priced less than $12, with some exceptions. Three fairly popular business card
cases, including one featuring Blair's Lady with a White Cat, are $16 each. A
couple of larger prints are $18 each and giclées (fine art prints on stretched canvas) run between $75 and
$149. The exhibition catalog, by animation historian John Canemaker, is
$40.
For those who who love Mother Earth, the Museum Store offers unique purses,
bags, backpacks, pouches and luggage tags made from recycled street banners
previously used to advertise the Walt Disney Family Museum at The Presidio of
San Francisco. Luggage tags are $10; pouches, $20; purses, $50; bags, $52 to
$65; and kid backpacks starting at $28 rising up to $80 for adult backpacks.
For people who like to display their affection for Disney in their fashion, the
Walt Disney Family Museum-branded shirts are $18 to $25; hoodies are $50. A
wide variety of sizes and styles are available for men, women and
children.
The Museum Store also has a good selection of books related to Walt Disney and
key studio personnel. Patrons can find more than a dozen titles from Didier
Ghez' "Walt's People" series, featuring transcripts of historic
interviews. In addition to "Magic, Color, Flair: The World of Mary Blair,"
there are catalogs from earlier special exhibits honoring the 75th anniversary
of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "Water to Paper, Paint to Sky: The Art
of Tyrus Wong"; a half-dozen offerings from the Walt Disney Animation Archives
Series; and great books by Disney historians Jeff Kurtti, Charles Solomon, J.B.
Kaufman, Jim Korkis, Sam Gennawey and others.
Occasionally, the Museum Store even gets in a few copies of a rare out-of-print
title like "Walt's Time – From Before to Beyond" by Richard and Robert Sherman.
The book, first published in 1998, is available at the Museum Store for $50,
far less than the current best secondary market price of $175 on Amazon.com.
Supplies are limited.
In addition to the Mary Blair special exhibition, the Museum's Theater Gallery
is offering "Leading Ladies and Femmes Fatales: The Art of Marc Davis."
This exhibit of some 70 pieces of Marc Davis' art is small, but
satisfying. It features the best of Davis' work as the designer and animator of Sleeping Beauty,
Tinker Bell, Maleficent and others as well as a few familiar feminine spirits
and pirates from his Imagineering days. The overall exhibit is meant to reflect
the Davises' friendship with Mary Blair and
features "Mary's Rose," a painting by Marc that hung above Mary's
bed when she stayed in their guest room.
The Walt Disney Family Museum is open Wednesdays through Mondays between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Pacific.
For additional information, including ticket prices, visit www.WaltDisney.org.