Changes at Tonner Doll Company

Today, the Tonner Doll Company sent out an e-mail blast with some surprising news about the future of many of their current doll lines. Also posted on their social media sites, Tonner Doll Company shared a short note from Robert Tonner reminiscing about his favorite moments during the past 25 years. It ended with an announcement that may shock some collectors. Below is an excerpt from the note.

Currently, I’m spending a great deal of time learning (and hopefully mastering) some very new computer sculpting programs that, combined with state-of-the-art production capabilities, provide an entirely new method of creating dolls. I call it the “New Art of Doll Making™” and I’m really excited about what we’ll be doing in 2017 and beyond. It’s also awakened a pioneering spirit in me again and I’ve decided it’s time to completely re-think what we offer to collectors. Therefore, although Tonner will continue to make all of our established licensed products such as DC, Gone with the Wind, Outlander, etc., all of our proprietary lines, as well as those of Effanbee and Wilde Imagination, are being discontinued.

A new company is being launched and it’s called Phyn & Aero. We will be introducing three new lines in 2017 in collaboration with innovative (and incredibly talented) new designers. I really feel it’s time to broaden our perspectives and see what some fascinating (and younger!) designers create for our collectors. I believe the collector market needs a major shake-up and I’m quite sure this will be it!

My impression, based on this note, is that Tonner Doll Company will be concentrating on the licensed doll releases, while this new company, Phyn & Aero (pronounced Finn and Arrow, I’m guessing) will concentrate more on unique proprietary dolls. Unfortunately, as you read in the note, it looks like all of Tonner’s current proprietary lines, like Deja Vu, Agatha Primrose, Dede Denton and all the Wilde Imagination lines will be disappearing.

Naturally, I dashed to the website to see if anything was on sale. Nothing yet, though I did notice they recently did a 24 hour flash sale event. Sadly, unless they get restocks of many of the their current proprietary lines, it looks like the majority of the inventory is already sold out. Either that, or much of what I saw at Toy Fair 2016 never actually hit the website. (Did they ever release articulated versions of the My Imagination 18″ line? This line, too, I’d imagine- pun intended- will be disappearing. Also, didn’t they merge with One World? Did that not work out? They don’t mention that aspect at all in the memo.) Seeing this change in direction, it’s also safe to assume the conventions are done and over with. I never made it to a Tonner convention, even though they were close to me. They were far too expensive for me to attend, seeing I’m not solely a Tonner doll collector.

So, that’s the scoop! I would highly recommend you take a look at the Tonner and Wilde Imagination sites. If you see something you like, you may want to purchase it now. Does this change in direction shock you? What do you think? What lines will you miss? Let me know in the comment area!