Dear Rancho,
First of all, I am, not sure if you're aware of that, but this whole
"industry" was probably inspired by the French film Amélie (wonderful
film!), where Amelie steals one of her father's garden gnomes and
sends him to travel around the world, sending his pictures back to the
father. Watch this film if you haven't, it will give you a good idea
on how these people got their inspiration.
Later, it was further popularised by the travel site travelocity,
which had an ad using the idea of wandering garden gnomes. Apparently,
though, the prank of travelling gnomes (or stealing someone's gnomes
and taking pictures of them out of their garden context) is old. See:
" David Emery, who covers urban legends for About.com, says that
gnome-napping is an international phenomenon with at least a 20-year
history.
"I don't know if it's possible to pinpoint the earliest instance of
gnome-napping, but the first reported case of a 'roaming gnome' took
place in the mid-1980s," says Mr. Emery. "It was documented by an
Australian folklorist named Bill Scott, who wrote of a gnome
disappearing from the front lawn of a Sydney family." Shortly
thereafter, the family received a postcard from the gnome saying he
was vacationing in Queensland. The gnome returned two weeks later,
coated with brown shoe polish - a souvenir suntan.
"As the '80s wore on, the prank grew popular not only in Australia but
in England and, to a lesser extent, America as well," says Emery. And
years before "Amelie," the long-running British soap opera "Coronation
Street" featured a similar plot in which a man stole his neighbor's
gnome and taunted him with ransom letters and photographs."
(SOURCE: Genevieve Rajewski, "Roaming gnomes in the news again", The
Christian Science Monitor, January 30, 2004
<http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0130/p14s01-lihc.html>).
The Traveling Gnome Prank
<http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/weblog/comments/3859/>
Deadly Underwater Gnome Garden Returns
<http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/weblog/comments/2475/>
Sites dedicated to travelling gnomes (some commercial):
GNomads
<http://www.gnomads.net> - they sell the gnomes, which you are
supposed to be sending around the world. They are shipped to a
destination, where they are photographed, and their adventures are
documented on the site. You can see prices for gnomads here:
<http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=gnomads&hl=en&btnG=Search+Froogle&lmode=unknown>
Gnomads - explanations on Amazon.com
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00066N6PO/103-8485869-4898248?v=glance>
Gnomar
<http://www.gnomar.com/> (sells gnomes at <http://garden-gnomes-need-homes.com/>).
Gnome on the Go
<http://www.gnomeonthego.com/> - They sell gnome magnets who do the
travelling. From their site (<http://www.gnomeonthego.com/what.aspx>):
"How do they travel?
GnomeOnTheGo gnomes can travel many different ways. Because they are
magnetized, they stick on cars, trucks, or any other metallic surface.
If you are planning to travel, take your gnome with you! Snap some
photos of your gnome on your trip, go to www.GnomeOnTheGo.com to enter
a gnome sighting. You can enter the current location of your gnome,
and post a photo of him on location.
Not taking a trip soon? No Problem. Let your gnome find his own way!
Give him to a friend to take along on a trip, or just walk outside and
stick him on a car with out of state plates. Your gnome has
instructions on the bottom telling anyone who finds him how to enter
his current location."
A gnome costs some $5.
Gnomes are not the only type of toy that has been travelling, and you
are correct to remember Teddy Bears. An innovative business from
Munich (Germany) offers tours for your teddy bear.
"For 149 euros (about $230 Cdn), teddies spend a week in a downtown
Munich apartment. Using the information on the bear's preference
sheet, Boehm and Verheugen guide teddies around Munich's top
attractions.
German language courses are provided, along with pub visits and, if
the season is right, a trip to the internationally renowned
Oktoberfest.
After a seven-day tour, the teddy returns with a photo album
chronicling its travels."
Leigh Clements, "Bearly able to travel", Calgary Sun, February 2,
2005, <http://www.calgarysun.com/perl-bin/niveau2.cgi?s=Lifestyles&p=92114.html&a=1>
Teddy in Munich
<http://www.teddy-in-munich.com/>
Teddy in Stockholm
<http://www.teddyinsthlm.se/en/urbaneteddy.html> - offers the same in
Sweden - but the other way round: you buy the bear, it gets the
photos, and then sent to the one who receives the gift. The prices,
suspiciously enough, are the same as Teddy in Munich.
Teddy in Frankfut
<http://www.teddy-tours-frankfurt.de/start.htm>
Your teddy can also visit Frankfurt am Main; prices are similar.
ImagiNations
<http://www.smarterkids.org/imaginations/index.asp>
This is a travelling teddy idea for classes, not for profit.
However, don't forget that here, too, the inspiration is much older,
coming from the story about the Paddington Bear
Paddington Bear - Official Site
<http://www.paddingtonbear.co.uk/>
These are commercial, or semi-commercial sites. However, most of the
sites with travelling toys are not commercial - they just ask people
to send them pictures of the travelling objects (not only toys but
also cheese - <http://www.cheeseontour.com/>, ), and people oblige.
Here are some similar projects:
Balloon Hat
<http://www.balloonhat.com/>
"In 1996, Addi Somekh and Charlie Eckert began traveling to different
places in the world to make balloon hats for people and take photos of
them. The goal was to show people all over the world laughing and
having fun, and to emphasize the fact that all human beings are born
with the ability to experience joy. In total, they visited 34
countries and have over 10,000 pictures. Inside this web site you will
find all sorts of photos and stories, as well as a way to purchase
their book, The Inflatable Crown, and see scenes from the upcoming
Balloon Hat documentary film." (sell book, promotes film).
TravelPig
<http://www.travelpig.co.uk/> - You track the travels of your
travelpig. However, you get the pig through exchange, not by buying it
(or so I understood).
Nodding.net
<http://www.nodding.net/> - nodding dogs (these annoying things)
around the globe. Someone has got to stop them!
Frankie
<http://www.smm.org/sln/monarchs/frankie/intro.html> - an educational
site of the Science Museum in Minnesota
So, to sum it up: this is not so much of an "industry" and most of the
offering is limited to gnomes and teddy bears, some in exchange
projects, some as innovative ideas of gift or toy shops.
I hope this answers your question. Please contact me if you need any
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travelling gnomes |
