Monday, March 25, 2013
Hall of Fame
Periodically I enjoy visiting the Austrian Pez site to see the new things they've added. While visiting tonight I see they've added a "Hall of Fame" page showcasing Pez sets over the years. Below are the 11 sets they are featuring, which span 2005-2009. It's fun to see each set in their "native" environment with the unique background.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Pez Art Gallery
Lately I've really been enjoying viewing Pez inspired art on the web. I'm not talking about a quickie fantasy dispenser where someone replaces the original head with a toy part. Instead, people are creating oil paintings, mixed media, sculptures, digital illustrations, jewelry, custom paint jobs, etc.
Below are some of my recent favorites, which I've grouped by category. A couple of great sources I've found are etsy.com and images.google.com. Of course, the omni-present eBay is always an option too. Be sure to click on the images to enlarge them and enjoy the finer details. Clicking on the caption link will take you to the source where you can learn more and may even be able to purchase the piece.
The first piece, "Yoda's Soda", just cracks me up. The concept of Yoda sipping a soda is hilarious and the name is perfect (probably inspired the creation).
The next work, "Boba's Fetish", is a brilliant play on Boba Fett with him flanked by rows and rows of shoes.
The first work, "Three Penguins" reminds me of the classic black velvet sad clown paintings. The poor penguin is crying while the two in the back are conspiring?
The next piece, "Dad, is that you?" is composed well with the black and white dogs on each side just staring in confusion.
The third painting, "Chewbacca Still Life", is simple, but the idea of using the classic still life style commonly used for fruit and flower arrangements is intriguing.
From highbrow to the lowbrow. This digital illustration of Cheech and Chong is extremely well done, complete with POT instead of PEZ on the stems.
I never would of thought I'd see Mr. Ugly made into a necklace pendant, but it looks great! Btw, there are also Pez earrings available at Etsy to make yourself completely Pez-essorized.
The first work below obviously used the Psychedelic Eye as the starting point. A marbleized paint process was used to amazing effect. This piece sold, but there are similar ones available on eBay now.
The next piece, "Tiki", is a bit of a mystery. The head is definitely taken from Carl the robot in the Meet the Robinsons set. I've only found a photo of it on a blog with no source. Anyway, the matched painting of the head and stem to give it a carved wood look is beautiful. I wish Pez would release a Tiki set one day, but until then this will make me happy.
The first work, "The Eyes Have It" is sci-fi meets the Psychedelic Eye. I love it. Obviously, a lot of time and energy was spent on this and it shows.
The next piece is a Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) set. The intricate painting and jeweled eyes are just fantastic.
The third sculpture was created in sterling silver! Apparently, it sold for over $1300. Ed Haas III would no doubt be pleased to see his Pez Regular transformed into this masterpiece.
The last piece "Fallen Rappers" is an interesting art concept. Visit the link to the see the letters written to and received from the Pez company.
Below are some of my recent favorites, which I've grouped by category. A couple of great sources I've found are etsy.com and images.google.com. Of course, the omni-present eBay is always an option too. Be sure to click on the images to enlarge them and enjoy the finer details. Clicking on the caption link will take you to the source where you can learn more and may even be able to purchase the piece.
Mixed Media
The first piece, "Yoda's Soda", just cracks me up. The concept of Yoda sipping a soda is hilarious and the name is perfect (probably inspired the creation).
The next work, "Boba's Fetish", is a brilliant play on Boba Fett with him flanked by rows and rows of shoes.
 |
| Yoda's Soda |
 |
| Boba's Fetish |
Oil Paintings
The first work, "Three Penguins" reminds me of the classic black velvet sad clown paintings. The poor penguin is crying while the two in the back are conspiring?
The next piece, "Dad, is that you?" is composed well with the black and white dogs on each side just staring in confusion.
The third painting, "Chewbacca Still Life", is simple, but the idea of using the classic still life style commonly used for fruit and flower arrangements is intriguing.
 | ||||
| Three Penguins |
 |
| Dad, is that you? |
 |
| Chewbacca Still Life |
Digital Illustrations
From highbrow to the lowbrow. This digital illustration of Cheech and Chong is extremely well done, complete with POT instead of PEZ on the stems.
 |
| Cheech and Chong |
Jewelry
I never would of thought I'd see Mr. Ugly made into a necklace pendant, but it looks great! Btw, there are also Pez earrings available at Etsy to make yourself completely Pez-essorized.
 |
| Mr. Ugly Necklace |
Custom Paint Jobs
The first work below obviously used the Psychedelic Eye as the starting point. A marbleized paint process was used to amazing effect. This piece sold, but there are similar ones available on eBay now.
The next piece, "Tiki", is a bit of a mystery. The head is definitely taken from Carl the robot in the Meet the Robinsons set. I've only found a photo of it on a blog with no source. Anyway, the matched painting of the head and stem to give it a carved wood look is beautiful. I wish Pez would release a Tiki set one day, but until then this will make me happy.
 |
| Marble-eyezed |
 |
| Tiki |
Sculptures
The first work, "The Eyes Have It" is sci-fi meets the Psychedelic Eye. I love it. Obviously, a lot of time and energy was spent on this and it shows.
The next piece is a Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) set. The intricate painting and jeweled eyes are just fantastic.
The third sculpture was created in sterling silver! Apparently, it sold for over $1300. Ed Haas III would no doubt be pleased to see his Pez Regular transformed into this masterpiece.
The last piece "Fallen Rappers" is an interesting art concept. Visit the link to the see the letters written to and received from the Pez company.
"The Fallen Rapper Pez Prototypes are the deceased rappers Tupac Shakur, Eazy-E, and Biggie Smalls. This work addresses the consumer frenzy that surrounds America’s national obsession with violence and death. They were sent to Pez Candy Inc. president, Scott Mc Whinnie, with a crackpot letter proposing their production. I have an ongoing correspondence of letters with Pez Candy Inc."
 |
| The Eyes Have It |
 |
| Dia De Los Muertos |
 |
| Sterling Silver Chrome Heart |
 |
| Fallen Rappers |
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Ricky Gervais Pez (Update)
The Ricky Gervais Pez auction ended today along with the other Red Nose Day charity auctions for the One Direction, Jessie J, and Keith Lemon Pez dispensers.
The winning bid for the Ricky Gervais Pez didn't go to $2500 as I was guessing. In fact it ended at about half that at $1223 (£810) with 33 bids.
The One Direction set of five Pez dispensers went for $2793 (£1850) with 41 bids, so about $558 per group member.
The Jessie J Pez sold for $1149 (£761) with 32 bids.
The last auction for the Keith Lemon Pez ended at $974 (£645) with 28 bids.
Here's hoping one day there will be Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington Pez dispensers to join Ricky!
The winning bid for the Ricky Gervais Pez didn't go to $2500 as I was guessing. In fact it ended at about half that at $1223 (£810) with 33 bids.
The One Direction set of five Pez dispensers went for $2793 (£1850) with 41 bids, so about $558 per group member.
The Jessie J Pez sold for $1149 (£761) with 32 bids.
The last auction for the Keith Lemon Pez ended at $974 (£645) with 28 bids.
Here's hoping one day there will be Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington Pez dispensers to join Ricky!
Monday, March 11, 2013
The PEZ Bible has Arrived
Below is a link to the eBay auction where for only $20 (incl. shipping) you can buy the book with David Welch's autograph. Right now he still has 3 copies available.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PEZ-Book-classic-COLLECTING-PEZ-1995-David-Welch-300-pages-300-photos-/230929156338
The book was printed in 1994 and has the most comprehensive history on Pez I've ever seen! The book is nearly 3/4 inch thick, has 344 pages, and is the weight of a small phonebook.
A unique feature of this book is that a substantial portion of it, nearly 100 pages, is devoted to interviews with former Pez employees, brokers, ad agencies, vending machine company owner, freelance artist, etc.
Another interesting section (Appendix L) is near the end and has 37 pages of letters and history on the "Creation of the Rubber Heads". Very cool.
The book is also loaded with tons of photos of old advertisements, vending machines, and counter displays.
Given this book is nearly 20 years old, it's obviously out-of-date in terms of listing all the dispensers available. However, I highly recommend it for collectors really interested in learning about the rich history of Pez.
I started collecting Pez dispensers in 1991 and I can't believe I missed owning this book until now. I'm really looking forward to reading it front to back!
In case you do buy the book using the link above, you'll notice in the photo below that my book cover is slightly worn. The inside is fine. Here's the details on that from David Welch:
"These are distributor returns from bookstores so all have minor cover damage that range from creases, rubbing wear, edge wear, loss of gloss, etc that keep the book from looking brand new. No single copy has ALL of these defects and the interiors are UNAFFECTED so you will get a $39.95 book for almost HALF PRICE and....can you believe it?....I will actually sign the book!"
Monday, March 4, 2013
Ricky Gervais Pez
On Feb. 22 while checking out the Austrian Pez site, I noticed "Click Me" on the Red Nose Day graphic. So being curious I obliged, which then revealed the following text:
Right after that I visited the Red Nose Day site, which added:
Well today is March 4 and they weren't kidding! At the top of the Austrian Pez site there are four different eBay U.K. auctions going in parallel. Here's the press release.
Being a huge fan of Ricky Gervais (and his friends/partners Stephen Merchant, Karl Pilkington) I couldn't help, but visit the auction. Below are pictures of the limited edition (i.e. 1 of 1) Ricky Gervais Pez up for auction. Currently there have been 26 bids and the bid amount is £669.00, which equates to $1011.86 at the moment. Ouch! On the plus side, the Pez is autographed, there is free shipping, and all the money goes to the Comic Relief charity:
On the down side, who else thinks the Pez doesn't look all that much like Ricky Gervais?!
To be honest I'm not familiar with One Direction, Jessie J, and Keith Lemmon, since I pretty much live under a rock. Below are photos of them, though, in case you're a fan or something.
Current bids on these with links to WikiPedia for those clueless like me:
I'll try to post an update on how the bidding is going on the auctions in a few days. At the very least, I'll post the winning bid amounts on March 14. Anyone care to guess what the Ricky Gervais Pez will go for? My guess is $2500.
"Watch out, dear collectors! There is something big to come. Come back on 4 March"
Right after that I visited the Red Nose Day site, which added:
"We’ve also got some one-off top secret PEZ dispensers (and when we say top secret, we mean top secret because we can’t tell you who the famous tops are) that will be available to bid for - more details to be revealed soon. Now we are over over overexcited!"
Well today is March 4 and they weren't kidding! At the top of the Austrian Pez site there are four different eBay U.K. auctions going in parallel. Here's the press release.
Being a huge fan of Ricky Gervais (and his friends/partners Stephen Merchant, Karl Pilkington) I couldn't help, but visit the auction. Below are pictures of the limited edition (i.e. 1 of 1) Ricky Gervais Pez up for auction. Currently there have been 26 bids and the bid amount is £669.00, which equates to $1011.86 at the moment. Ouch! On the plus side, the Pez is autographed, there is free shipping, and all the money goes to the Comic Relief charity:
"Comic Relief spends all the money raised through Red Nose Day to help vulnerable, poor and disadvantaged people in the UK and Africa turn their lives around."
On the down side, who else thinks the Pez doesn't look all that much like Ricky Gervais?!
To be honest I'm not familiar with One Direction, Jessie J, and Keith Lemmon, since I pretty much live under a rock. Below are photos of them, though, in case you're a fan or something.
Current bids on these with links to WikiPedia for those clueless like me:
- One Direction -- £1,000.00 or $1512.50 with 19 bids
- Jessie J -- £620.00 or $937.75 with 28 bids
- Keith Lemon -- £645.00 or $975.56 with 28 bids
I'll try to post an update on how the bidding is going on the auctions in a few days. At the very least, I'll post the winning bid amounts on March 14. Anyone care to guess what the Ricky Gervais Pez will go for? My guess is $2500.
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