Bobbleheads are collectable dolls with oversized head connected with springs or wire to the body. Whenever the head is tapped by someone, it bobbles, hence the name bobblehead. They are known by several other different names. They are nodders, bobbing heads, bobble head dolls, head-shaking doll, wobblers, nodding heads, bobble heads, and moving heads.
The 1842 Nikolai Gogol’s short story “The Overcoat” was were bobblehead doll was first mentioned. During the 18th century in Germany where the modern day bobblehead originated, the making of bobbleheads was done with the use of ceramic. There has been so much improvement lately in customizing of these items such that they tend to take a striking resemblance of the particular person they are portraying. Lots of bobble head dolls today come complete with hair styles, scars, headbands, and even tattoos that match those of their real life counterpart.
Giving someone a gift of a custom bobblehead can go a long way to put a smile on that persons face. It could be a friend, your colleague, your lover, or even your boss at the office. It’s just a special way of showing gratitude to that special someone in your life. Being such a very unique item, it can serve to celebrate any kind of special occasion such as birthday, wedding, anniversary etc. With quite easy steps to follow in placing your order, this unique and exceptional item can be easily purchased online. You can choose the body shape according to your wish and send pictures to be fitted on its face. Considering the durable materials used in manufacturing this item, it could last for a lifetime. Presently, there are many different companies who accept online orders for customizing your bobblehead. These websites make your custom bobblehead, and deliver them to your home. You can get these toys usually from $75 to $90.
During the production of process, prototyping is said to be the most complicated process for the bobble head manufacturer. Here, a prototype design is made and sent to you for your approval, and once it’s approved by you, the custom bobble headed dolls will be made as using the prototype. A deposit to cover the costs might be required from you. Be sure to ask what the deposit includes to make sure it covers the whole prototyping process to avoid extra charges. After that, your dolls will be made without the extra costs. Changing your mind during the production process, especially during and after prototyping could fetch you extra costs, so to be on a safer side it’s better to take an extra day to really decide or to approve each stage. This way, you can avoid regrets. One other way to avoid regrets and obtain high quality service is to listen to your manufacturer. Amongst all manufacturers you were told of and the one’s you found available online, you decided to choose them because you think they are more reliable and trustworthy. Also they have been in the business for a long time, so perhaps if any warning or advice should come from them, it’s only wise that you listen. Let them do what they do best, and at the same time helping you void extra costs. A reputable bobble head company won’t have any hidden charges. Only what you’re expected to pay for is for your item and the shipping cost. Although there likely some additional charges you can pay for, but these charges should be your decision. For example, you can pay for an additional design to make your doll more effective and attractive.
In the world today bobble heads can be customized in several ways to serve different and specific purposes. Not only can they serve for personal use or for great business promotion. They can be applied in several occasions. However, there are 3 places where the bobbleheads are used the most. These three places are:
- Bobbleheads for personal use
- Bobbleheads as wedding cake toppers
- Promotional bobbleheads
Bobbleheads for Personal Use
Despite being considered as one of the great gifting item of all time, you can decide to get one for your own personal use. These personal bobbleheads can be placed in personal rooms and on tables to reflect the personality of the owner. The personal bobbleheads have now become very popular, and this is due to the fact that they are made to exactly resemble any person’s face. Also, with so many people starting to buy bobbleheads for their personal use, it has caused the creation of a separate collection called “Personal Bobbleheads”.
Bobbleheads as Wedding Cake Toppers
Custom bobbleheads are widely used as wedding cake toppers all over the world today. And with the advancements in technology world presently, it has made it possible to create and customize a better doll that looks more real just from the pictures provided by the couples in such a surprising way that they match the physical appearance of the bride and the groom. With the different styles of bobblehead wedding cake toppers to choose from, one can decide to have one where the bridegroom is carrying the bride in his arms or one where the bride and groom are simply holding their hands.
Promotional Bobbleheads
Several marketers now make use of custom bobbleheads as an effective promotional item. Currently, due to the ability of bobbleheads to be created based on any desired theme, it has made them even more effective as promotion items. This strategy is considered one of the best. Many Hollywood movies are currently promoted using the bobbleheads gifting strategy since it is very cheap and easy to create bobbleheads of movie characters.
Apart from the three applications of this special item listed above, they can be as well be used as gifting ideas for occasions such as;
- Valentine’s day
- Birthdays
- Christmas
- Father’s day
Custom bobbleheads can serve as a great and less expensive gift idea for Christmas. Looking for unique gifts that’ll surely do wonders putting smile on a person’s face today? Bobble heads are the right choice to go for. With the huge advancement in the customization of the bobble heads, it makes them the perfect choice for people searching for unique gifts. All you need is the photograph of the person whom you are buying the gift. Presenting this gift will certainly go a long way to make them happy and even surprise them as they can see their exact face in a doll form. Buying and presenting such super real bobbleheads as a gift item is real fun for occasions or holiday seasons.
The advent of the custom bobbleheads has made the planning of unique gifting ideas much easier today. With the help of custom bobbleheads, you can now create fun customized gifts to be used for any occasion, unlike in the days of our fore fathers where the only occasion a bobblehead is used is in weddings where they are used as wedding cake topers. Today, bobble heads can be customized in many different ways as gifting items for almost any occasion.
Designing of bobble heads
According to present-day manufacturers, the production of bobble heads based on a real person starts by taking lots of photographs and images of the person from all angles. Most times they even get to watch a few videos of their soon to be bobble heads to get their distinctive movements.
A requirement is also a spec sheet for the bobble heads, which will include their actual body type, skin tone, height, facial expression, hair style, if they are left or right handed (in case they have to hold a pen, etc).
When all the necessary images are gotten and put together, they now begin sketching out the bobble heads in mechanical drawings. This is a long process, after which the sculpting now begins.
They are all molded and crafted using bare hands, so as to get a perfect touch of all important places that needs to be tweaked to get their features correctly at every stage during the production process. They check the body, the face, and outfit carefully for color and detail. Once they look satisfactory, production begins in earnest.
The entire process from start to finish varies from different manufacturers. Some get to deliver in 24 hours, some take days, weeks, and even months.
Personally I think without the existence or creation of bobbleheads, creating unique gifts would have been a difficult task to achieve. Thanks to the wise thought of a single man almost century ago and also to the advancements in the technology which has made the manufacturing of these bobbleheads look more real.