HI all, The following letter is one I just got from HELENA HAMILTON herself, and I have to say its NOT SO NICE!! ON a personal note I do NOT approve the way she trashed my FAVORITE doll dealer Suzanne, BUt I did say that when I heard from her I would post the response, another personal note, I DO NOT agree with her!!! I want that note to be PERFECTLY CLEAR!! SO BE WARNED the following letter is NOT nice!!! TTYS KEVIN ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
E-mail message
From: HamiltonToys@aol.com Date: Wed, Aug 28, 2002, 9:14am (CDT+1) To: doll4man@webtv.net Subject: Re: CANDI at INtegrity Toys, Dear Mr. Kilmer, Ms. Angele Seiley usually answers the e-mails. But she brought yours to my attention. I would like to answer it personally. First of all, I would like to thank you for your e-mail. Maybe some doll groups and chat room collectors are growing up. Yes, there is trouble between camps. But I am happy to say that yesterday's negotiations went well between Percy and I. If our positive negotiations continue, and we reach an amicable end, we will issue a joint statement. What are the main problems? First the new Alissa (Giselle) head mold. It's a direct copy of the Hispanic mold. It is confusing the market place and we want it removed. Second and mostly, The troublesome Mr. Jason Woo. He continues to bad mouth me, and my company. We have had enough. And we want it to stop. He continues to force people to take side. I feel a collector should be able to buy what they want without all the controversy. He also forgets Integrity is a licensee of Hamilton Toy. As the chef designer of the Integrity Candi® line, he keeps skipping the approval process. His ego tells him he is above the approval process. But he forgets this is MY PRODUCT. And it must continue to reflect my vision. From now on no Integrity Candi® doll will be produced without my approval. Percy has no problem with this, It's Jason. As a chef designer he should know the approval process is a big part of the licensing game. I think the factory is doing a great job, but his obsession with blond flocking and black lips, is taking it's toll on me. Some collectors are calling "Manhattan Mood" the funeral doll collection. Candi has always been associated with "color." With Jason Integrity Candi® has become void of it. He simple doesn't want to take direction. As a licensee he has to. It's simply professionalism. And his lack of it. Instead he tells people how much he hates me, and convince dealers, by endearing himself to them, to choose camps. If he can't comply it will be over. Percy thinks this behavior is wrong and is doing everything he can to get a handle on the problem. Also, Mrs. Susanne Walshire conspires with Jason. Susanne is no longer a Hamilton Candi® dealer. She stiffed my company for 5,000 dollars. We trusted her and brought in her "Bettie Page" order. After we brought it in she canceled the order, because Paul David got his first. Paul air shipped his order in, Susanne didn't want to do that. So she took it out on us. Then turned around and bought 1,000 dollars worth of "Betties" from him. After her huge campaign to get us to "Get rid of Paul." We are sick of her, she constantly keeps mess going, and want nothing to do with her. A lot of people are angry about Hamilton's reinstatement of Paul. I acted exactly as Mattel, He paid his bill, he apologized, and he was reinstated. This is business not a sorority. He really is trying to make a positive change in his relation with our company. We admire him for his efforts. Mikelman has done a beautiful job on the new Candi® paints. We sell to him that is all. As do a lot of Integrity Candi® dealers. The new Hamilton Candi® dolls and products on his website are due out this year, and early next year. Paul's Vintage Candi Fashion order just docked, and we are shipping him tomorrow. The Shoe collection. The first of the "Private Label" line comes out in September. The Fall collection will come out this fall and winter. 6 new Bettie styles will also come out this fall and winter. Exclusively at "Lads & Lassies." I hope this e-mail helped you separate fact and fiction. If you have any more questions, please feel free to e-mail me any time. There is a large world of collectors out there. A lot of them stay away from the messy chat world. Many are very private about their collections and avoid the chaos. We try to follow the same course. Percy and I have had our differences, but deep down we are friends. And we are truly trying to work things out. Thank you again for asking me personally. All The Best, Helena Hamilton CEO Hamilton Toy Co.