Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Summer Doldrums to Winter Excitement: Tails of Whimsy is Back in Action

The truth is, every business appears to follow a cyclical pattern. In licensing, January to May can be crazy, gearing up for presentations and pitches for KidScreen, Book Expo, Toy Fair and Licensing Expo. And then, people in the licensing business go dormant, almost a recovery period, until Brand Licensing Europe and MIP Jr. in Cannes crank into gear each fall.
 
Daryl attending Licensing Expo 2016
Of course, people do come in to work and new projects go into development. But, summer is a quietly creative period where follow-up from shows can result in licensing deals and properties optioned can begin to take shape.

Daryl and I are thrilled that we have such strong representation at these shows. Through our animation agent David Wollos, The Book Mytes is now in first and second rounds of reviews at an unusually high number of animation studios. It is very promising that so many producers have requested this pitch bible. However, this can result in very long waiting periods before an option deal can surface. 

But when they do, Wow!, its very exciting. And then work begins in earnest. This summer, smart producers like Chris Hamilton and Fred Schaefer at OddBot, the LA-based studio that optioned The Mighty Machines of Mackie McKeens,  got down to earnestly address the content and characters that Daryl created. A team of talent began to bring the characters to life. They added humor, history and backstory to Mackie, Mika and the Mini-Bots.


But the talented Samantha Berger, who wrote the fabulous childrens book Crankenstein, also added magic to the mini-pitch bible that is currently being presented to networks. Samantha has won both a NAPPA Gold Award and an E.B. White Read Aloud Award for Crankenstein. Her work thus far on Mackie McKeens is, in our humble opinion, nothing short of BRILLIANT!
 
Working with the talented author Samantha Berger
So, this is just a peek into the progress of Tails of Whimsy since summer. The rhythmic pace of fall shifting into winter has kicked into gear and so have we. 

Friday, June 17, 2016

Heading to Licensing Expo 2016!

Hello friends,

Licensing Expo 2016 is next week, June 21-23 in Las Vegas, and we’d love to see you there!

Tails of Whimsy is not exhibiting this year but Daryl is walking the show with an iPad full of our content, and he still has some appointment times available. If you’d like to meet, email daryl@tailsofwhimsy.com. He is bringing four properties this year and has meetings with publishers, studio execs, branding agents and potential licensees.

*The Mighty Machines of Mackie McKeens has been optioned for animation. The picture book with fanciful, fun, and vivid pictures plus rhyming text is available for publishing and to see at the show.
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*The Wundernauts will launch at the Radio Days booth E196. Be sure to stop by and get a Wundernauts tote bag. This new children's property is available for animation, publishing, and licensing.
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*The Book Mytes, in both picture book and pitch bible formats, is brand new and available for animation, publishing and licensing. Our agent, David Wollos of Think Tank Entertainment, will be with Daryl for these appointments.
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*Scooter News Network. Still in development, we have polished proof-of-concept to show on this live action news magazine show about animals and the environment for kids 4- 9 featuring our puppet Scooter D Pup.
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Dig into a sneak peek of "The Mighty Machines of Mackie McKeens"

Journey to whimsical places with "The Wundernauts"

Unlock adventure and a love of reading with "The Book Mytes"


We’ll also be available for conversations about branding Tails of Whimsy, our storybook studio and, of course, The Art of Daryl Slaton.

There’s plenty to look at and discuss. We hope to hear from you and to see you at the Show!

  
Cheers,
Daryl Slaton and Louise Glickman (Slaton)



Thursday, May 12, 2016

Tails of Whimsy Partners With OddBot to Produce “Mackie McKeens”

We have BIG news and we’ve been bursting to share it with YOU!

Los Angeles-based animation studio, OddBot, Inc. has optioned “The Mighty Machines of Mackie McKeens”  from Tails of Whimsy to develop the property as an animated television series. 


What exactly does “option” mean? OddBot is a well-known, Emmy nominated animation studio in Los Angeles that handles animation for companies like Disney, PBS Kids (Sprout), Warner Brothers, Amazon and even American Greetings. In this case, they loved our property, “The Mighty Machines of Mackie McKeens,” so much that they wanted to develop it themselves. 


So instead of the networks coming to OddBot with a project to animate, OddBot will create treatments based on Mackie and pitch it to the networks. Because of their close working relationships with these networks, they may even work directly in partnership with them to bring the series to fruition.


All of this takes time and patience, but with any luck, kids ages 2-6 will see “Mackie” on screen. We are working on getting picture books ready to submit to publishers, and toy manufacturers have already shown interest. So, if you just had a baby or a grandchild, it could be that at some point they will be watching “Mackie” on TV or their preferred digital device!


Follow us in this great adventure at:

Learn more about OddBot at:

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

We have a new name on Facebook: Hello from Tails of Whimsy!

We sure have been busy around here: Daryl is abuzz in the studio working on new projects; our new book The Book Mytes was recently shopped around at KidScreen in Miami; Louise just returned from traveling the globe (more on that this spring!); and we’ve expanded a bit on Facebook. We sure do love the thrill of a new year.

Our original Facebook page, Scooter and Boots, was all about animal rescue and the amazing community of people who help pets find their forever homes.

Our updated Facebook page, Tails of Whimsy, expands on where we started with Scooter and Boots.

Scooter the dog and Boots the cat—two of Daryl’s illustrated characters—will still be part of our Facebook world, and we’ll also be sharing more about Daryl’s illustrations, the power of reading, and our adventures in publishing, animation, and licensing. Cool stuff.


So what does this mean?

Well, if you already like us on Facebook, you might have noticed that we’ve updated our name and our look a bit. And if you haven’t liked us yet, come on over: we’d love to hear from you!


Essentially, if Scooter were explaining our updated Facebook name, he’d probably use this metaphor: our original page was like a bowl of delicious ice cream. Our updated page is like a bowl of delicious ice cream… with peanut butter and sprinkles and blueberries and whipped cream and a cherry on top.

We couldn’t agree more, Scooter.

Monday, February 1, 2016

Interview: Meet Licensing Exec David Wollos

We recently had a chance to send a couple of Q&As to our savvy licensing agent, David Wollos, and the following are some of his insights into the licensing world. David will be representing Tails of Whimsy’s The Book Mytes at KidScreen in Miami, Feb 8-11
Thanks for all you do, David!
David Wollos will be representing our new book, The Book Mytes, at KidScreen in Miami Feb 8-11.
Tails of Whimsy (TOW): What is licensing? 
David Wollos: According to the Licensing Industry Merchandisers Association (LIMA): Licensing is the process of leasing a legally trademarked or copyrighted entity known as an intellectual property for publishing, animation, and products. Tails of Whimsy is the licensor of all of Daryl’s storybooks and characters to major companies, studios, and manufacturers for commercialization and brand extension. (David is our agent for The Book Mytes and our consultant on other properties.)

TOW: Can you name a few properties and brands that you have helped build? What was your role? Which are you proudest of?
DW: I was involved with the initial TV and video distribution of such properties as Transformers, GI Joe and My Little Pony. My fondest memory has to do with Bucky O'Hare, where I was involved in key negotiations with the BBC. This resulted in BBC broadcasting, licensing, and home video distribution.

Licensing Expo 2013 is where we discovered the power of licensing.

TOW: How do you find the properties you represent?
DW: I regularly attend Kidscreen Summit, NY Toy Fair, Book Expo, Licensing Expo, and on occasion Mipcom in Cannes, France, all trade shows designed to bring deal-makers together with content providers. I met Tails of Whimsy at Licensing Expo 2013 and have served as agent and consultant on several of their properties.

To set up an appointment about The Book Mytes with David Wollos at KidScreen, contact him at david@thethinktankemporium.com or (516) 379-0795.
Catch a sneak peek of The Book Mytes, the whimsical, cuddly creatures who are literally “into books!” The playfulness of The Book Mytes instills in children ages 4-8 a curiosity about words and a love of books. We’re excited about where The Book Mytes are going: email us if you’d like to learn more.