"People are very drawn to all of the Disney licensed products, and there seems to be a voracious appetite for particular lines of Mickey Mouse and many of that kind of thing."
Some Lenox offerings that feature Mickey Mouse include the Mickey's Happy Birthday to You figurine, which can be personalized with a crystal birthstone; the Mickey's Magic Moment figurine, which captures the mouse in his "Fantasia" role; the Flying High With Mickey figurine that shows Mickey and Minnie on a romantic airplane journey and Christmas With Mickey figurine which displays the famous mouse dressed for the holiday holding a gift.
Another bestselling Disney subject is the famous literary bear Winnie the Pooh. The Pooh's Graduation Day figurine, displaying the bear in his cap and gown is especially popular, as well as Pooh's Shower of Flowers, which shows him resting in a comfortable umbrella-shaped boat.
Carder continues, "Warner Bros also has characters that have become great collectibles."
The beloved bird TWEETY remains the bestseller from this collection with hits like the Luck O' the Irish TWEETY figurine, which shows a St. Patrick's Day pot of gold with the leprechaun-dressed bird and Spooky TWEETY, which has the character fashioned as a vampire for Halloween.
Other popular pieces are those that feature animals. The Good Luck Birthstone Elephant, which is a whimsical pose of an elephant holding flowers, was introduced in 2003 and is still going strong, and The Woodland Jewels Turtle is a widespread favorite, featuring a hand painted face and 33 gem crystals that adorn its shell.
Some factors that determine the popularity are the time of year, the artists who design them and the uniqueness of the offerings. Around the holidays of course, there is an increase in the holiday figurines and in lines that show characters acting out holiday scenarios.
For Christmas, The bestselling Friendly Face-off Snowman Hockey figurines depict a pair of snowmen engaged in a snowy game. They would make an excellent addition to any display, as well as the popular Touchdown Snowman, which shows a cheery quarterback ready to make a play.
In the Easter offerings, the most popular items recently have been the Snowbunnies "Fresh From the Garden" figurine, which shows a snowbunny resting in a basket of flowers, and the Happy Easter Pooh figurine that shows a smiling Winnie the Pooh emerging from an Easter egg.
And there are always the wedding and baby favorites, like the Just Married Bride & Groom figurine, which shows a happy couple emerging as husband and wife, and the Snowbabies Love is a Baby Boy and Love is a Baby Girl figurines, both great gift ideas for new parents.
Carder concludes that the current trend lies mostly in the characters that are familiar to us from books, television and the movies. "That seems to be the area where the great strength is right now."
