February 19, 2019
National Bobblehead Hall of Fame & Museum Officially Opens
Bobbleheads aren’t the biggest category in the promotional products industry, but they sure are among the most fun – at least in our humble opinion.
That’s why we’re excited that the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame & Museum has finally set up shop in its own permanent space.
Located in Milwaukee, the museum is home to more than 6,500 head-wagging bobbles that depict everything from athletes and team mascots, to politicians, celebrities, cartoon characters, animals and more. It just might be the largest collection of bobbleheads in the world, according to an Associated Press report.
The museum is the work of pals Brad Novak and Phil Sklar. About five years ago, the pair quit their corporate gigs and embarked on a journey to open the bobblehead museum. It took a little longer than expected, as they originally hoped to open a permanent space in 2016.
Still, it was in that year that Novak and Sklar held their first exhibition, at a Milwaukee art gallery, of what has now grown into a collection of thousands and thousands of pieces. As cool: The friends evolved their business model to include making bobbleheads. The Smithsonian reports that the first ever bobble the pair produced was a likeness of Demetrius Harris, a former University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee basketball player who now is a tight end in the National Football League with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Nod of approval: Go inside @BobbleheadHall of Fame and Museum near @MilwDowntown in @Walkers_Point #sports #bobbleheads @sbjsbd https://t.co/SfGcgLw1wA
— MKE Business Journal (@MKEBizJournal) February 9, 2019
Over the years, Counselor has had a hoot reporting on some of the cranium-jiggling bobbles Novak and Sklar have brought to market, including the Philadelphia Flyers’ mascot Gritty, controversial baseball great Pete Rose, “Thumbs Down Guy”, U.S. Gold Medal-winning Olympian Matt Hamilton and his epic mustache, a “BobbleDonald” and more. Among many others, the collection also includes the first football and baseball bobbleheads from the early 1960s, the AP reports.
What’s next for Novak and Sklar? Get into the Guinness Book of World Records, that’s what. The pair are working to have their collection certified as the world’s largest. Canadian Phil Darling holds the current bobblehead collection record, with nearly 2,400 as of a 2015 counting. While he has reportedly acquired an additional 500, that wouldn’t be enough to best the fellows from Milwaukee once a new count is taken.
Sklar and Novak don’t appear ready to slow down their bobblehead collecting and creation anytime soon. Indeed, their website currently features a bobblehead hybrid that blends two of April’s most anticipated entertainment offerings – the start of the Major League Baseball season and the release of the final season of the hit series Game of Thrones. Presale on MLB Game of Thrones bobbles is underway.
By the way, admission to the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame & Museum only costs $5. Seems worth it to us. Bobble on.