When FLOPPETS first hit my radar earlier this year, I’ll be honest – I wasn’t that interested. I’d only seen them online, but sometimes it takes first-hand experience to win someone over, and in this case, that’s exactly what happened. I’d been expecting a package from a PR firm I deal with here at Rock Father HQ, and when it arrived, in the bottom of the box happened to be a handful of Floppets, probably tossed-in with hopes of catching my eye. They did – but they caught my daughter’s eye first.
These highly-detailed little characters are certainly collectible, and you can literally take them with you anywhere. Attached to a piece of velcro-esque material, Floppets can be worn as a ring, strapped to a backpack, shoe laces, even worn in your hair. They’re accessories made for boys and girls alike, with hundreds of characters available.
Beyond the physical Floppets, there’s an entire online world of “Floptopia,” a far away island said to be the home of the Floppets. There’s various factions such as Petlets and Munchkin Monsters, along with many others inhabiting a transmedia world that is bound to expand. While the Flopedia is a source for knowledge for all-things Floppets, I’ve personally seen some new Floppets that aren’t even shown online, such as the Flopjox (very similar to the 80s MADBALL line of sports-inspired characters) and a new collection of Holiday characters – all of which were on display and for sale at the recent Chicago Toy & Game Fair (#ChiTaG), which I attended this past weekend at Navy Pier. My little one has been wearing Floppets as rings since they first arrived here, and it was by sheer coincidence that Zydeco Studios, the makers of Floppets, happened to be based in the Chicago Suburbs, and had a display at #ChiTaG.
While at #ChiTaG, I met Ilyse Brainin, the creator of the Floppets line, who along with her staff, did a fantastic job of working the crowd and introducing their line to the masses. Special for the event were 5,000 limited-edition Chicago Toy & Game Fair Floppets that were issued free to visitors. The well-thought design incorporates the logo of the event with iconic images from the Chicago skyline, all while representing the 10th Anniversary of #ChiTaG.
My Mom accompanied me to the event, and she was hooked as well. She ended up purchasing an assortment of the new Holiday Floppets for a few kids in the family.
Priced at just $1.99 MSRP, Floppets are a great stocking stuffer. For retail locations or to buy online, check out http://www.floppets.com/where-to-buy
Could Floppets be on the verge of a mainstream breakthrough for 2013? Licensing may be the key, as STAR TREK Floppets are already being sold on Roddenberry.com, and a line based on the popular Felicia Day-starring webseries, THE GUILD, has already been issued.
