Icons with staying power

I have a confession to make. I have been in love the the Pillsbury Doughboy for as long as I can remember. He is one of my favorite little icons and whenever I see him, I want to pinch his cheek and poke his belly. What is it about this little guy?!

Now my 7 year old has the same infatuation but without any influence from me. Yesterday, he told me he wished he had a little dough boy. I, too, always wanted one (it's really a simple and sweet pleasure to experience the same memories with your kids).

Clearly, Pillsbury did a great job choosing this little guy for their brand.

The Michelin Man is almost as cute. I've always thought of him as the Pillsbury Doughboy's big brother. Although, I've never understood his connection to tires.Of course, what's a great icon without an alter ego. The Stay Puff Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters. Not so cute but just as memorable.

Here's some Doughboy fun:

Dancing Doughboy
http://www.pillsbury.com/AALL/default.aspx

TV add & blooper - Kisses
http://www.pillsbury.com/AALL/default.aspx?WT.mc_id=FRV&p=u5qoAbIh6eo=

Monday Morning Madness - To market, to market...

Happy Monday! Hope you had an enjoyable weekend. Ours was nice. I worked much of it, but did so with the flurry of family around me.

It's down to the wire for me as I'm nearing my December shows. I'm doing many things at once, including ongoing production of items. I have spent a lot of time with packaging and display lately. Some of you may have noticed that I've changed the look of my materials a bit. When I started à la mode, I hurriedly threw together my marketing so that I could bring business cards and such to my first event. Knowing that I'd be making & selling a variety of items, I came up with a universal name so as not to pigeon hole myself - à la mode (in the prevailing fashion). I designed my marketing materials very simply, again not knowing where I was going with my look. Since I did a lot of marketing in years past, I knew the importance of branding. So, with that in mind, I kept things the same for 3 years.

A few months back I was playing around with some photos and took pictures of a pile of my labels. Liking how they turned out, I decided to incorporate them into the overall look of my business. Last week, I got my new business cards and hang tags (actually business cards designed to be cut in half) from Vista Print. I was quite pleased with the way they turned out!

I have been quite pleased with Vista Print and you can't beat their prices. I know many people say otherwise, but I've not had any problems. You just have to resign yourself to ignore their gorilla advertising. Besides my business cards, I've had them print postcards, brochures, labels, and note cards.

So, what's on my "to do" list this week? Pretty much everything -- make more bags, jewelry, switch plates; print, package, and primp; design my booth, buy some lighting, and the list goes on. What are your goals this week?