TOKIDOKI AND MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PROPERTIES ANNOUNCE CO-BRANDED COLLECTION

LAUNCH MARKS THE FIRST EVER COLLECTION FEATURING TOKIDOKI CHARACTERS AND A PROFESSIONAL SPORTS LEAGUE’S LOGOS

Co-Branded Headwear, Apparel, Plush Toys, Tech Accessories, Stationery, Drinkware, Bags and Novelty Trinkets to Hit Stores this Spring

Los Angeles, Calif. –April 1, 2014 – tokidoki, the pop culture brand meaning “sometimes” in Japanese, proudly announces that it has teamed up  with Major League Baseball Properties (MLBP) to have select licensees introduce a collection of innovative, fashion forward products for sports fans.  This marks the first ever professional sports licensing collection for tokidoki.   The program will launch at the start of the 2014 MLB season with the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants and will incorporate the Seattle Mariners, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, and Philadelphia Phillies throughout this season.  Additionally, more teams will be introduced within the 2015 season.     

The new line will include tokidoki artwork created exclusively for the collaboration and will be featured on a wide range of products including headwear, apparel, bags, drinkware, plush, tech accessories, stationery and assorted novelties.  This wide-ranging line of merchandise and accessories will feature baseball themed tokidoki characters combined with MLB team logos and colors.

To produce the line, MLB and tokidoki worked with key MLB licensees including Bleacher Creatures, Boelter, Concept One Accessories, Coveroo, National Design, New Era, and Pro Specialties Group.

Creative Director, Simone Legno says, “As an Italian living in the United States, it has always been an ambition to collaborate with ‘America’s favorite pastime’ – baseball.  To have our favorite tokidoki characters come to life on MLB products is a dream come true.”
“We are thrilled to combine the excitement of baseball with the imaginative designs of tokidoki, to mark their first ever professional sports themed line of products,” said Howard Smith, Senior Vice President, Licensing, Major League Baseball Properties.  “tokidoki’s style and artistic flair is unique and unparalleled, and by bringing together top MLB licensees across various merchandise and accessory categories, we are able to launch a true collaboration to bring very special offerings to our fans.  Simply, there is nothing else out there in the market quite like this right now.”
 
The collection will launch with a limited product assortment in Spring 2014 to coincide with the start of the 2014 MLB season, and a full rollout will follow later this year. The collection is being rolled out throughout the season on mlb.com and tokidoki.it.  Additional updates for individual product categories and updated store information will continue to be available. 

There’s a war of the gargantuas going on in comic shops and specialty stores! Diamond Select Toys has shipped two of their biggest items of the year in the same week, and the news was so colossal we had to give everyone the big news. Read up on both items below, then find your nearest comic shop at comicshoplocator.com!

Ghostbusters 24″ Stay Puft Marshmallow Man Vinyl Bank
What did you do, Ray?! Well, we’ll tell you what we did – we took our already-popular 12-inch vinyl bank of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man and made it even bigger! At two feet tall, this hard vinyl bank of the classic Ghostbusters character will hold a fortune in nickels, and tower over your other Ghostbusters toys! Bank has coin slot its back, plus access door for coin removal. Comes packaged in a clear polybag. Sculpted by Bill Mancuso! (Item code #NOV131816, SRP: $124.99)

Godzilla Classic 1989 Vinyl Figural Bank
This vinyl bank of the city-destroying and alien-fighting lizard called Godzilla is based on his appearance in the 1989 movie “Godzilla vs. Biollante”! Cast in sturdy vinyl, the bank features a coin slot hidden between the fins on his back, as well as an access door hidden inside his removable tail! Stands 12 inches tall and measures 18 inchesto the tip of his tail! Sculpted by Gentle Giant Studios! (Item #JAN141921, SRP: $34.99)

Order today from your favorite online retailer, or pick one up at your local comic shop!