That would be me, Dave Kuntzman, president of an insurance agency and Imaginatives.
I own an insurance agency that helps individuals and small companies. The best part of the job is not only meeting new business owners, but also hearing about how their company came to be. Since 1985, I have heard thousands of stories about successful businesses and their unique products and services. I thought I had heard it all.
Then along came Rick Johnson.
Our first meeting was over breakfast; I spent about five minutes on the benefits of life insurance, and about 55 minutes hearing about a Christmas Elf named Christopher Pop-In-Kins. I offered a few observations; and we parted with the plan to get together again. I was intrigued with Rick’s business, but I did not expect the reaction I got when I arrived back at my office. My assistant, Debbie Burge, greeted me with “you met with Christopher Pop-In-Kins!” She then told me all about her family traditions with the Christmas Elf with great enthusiasm.
After a few more enthusiastic responses from others around me, I started to think of ways to help Rick. One of the benefits of two decades of insurance work is getting to know the right people for any situation and need; and I enjoy making those connections. A few more breakfast meetings took place, a few suggestions were given, and some connections were made. And then something occurred that I was not expecting: Rick asked if I would like to become a partner?! I was hooked, and I agreed somewhat tentatively; after all, I did have an agency, and my time was limited.
Since then, Christopher has slowly taken over my agency and my time. Debbie has taken on the extra responsibility of being one of Christopher’s stars at the tradeshows. My office manager now also doubles as Christopher’s bookkeeper.
Rick’s office (AKA the international headquarters of Imaginatives, Ltd. home of Christopher Pop-In-Kins) is now within my agency’s offices. And, the tradeshow booth stands proudly in the back of our office, allowing Christopher to greet my insurance clients.
My clients have accepted my extracurricular activity; they had previously accepted my involvement in the arts and various boards in the community. And, I know this might be a surprise for you, but they would rather talk about Christopher than life insurance! Christopher has taken over most of my time; and I find myself reminding my clients (and myself) that I still do insurance. But, this morning, I am deep in the details of planning for our next tradeshows. And I am having the time of my life.
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Copyright 1985, 2002, 2007 and 2008. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written permission of Imaginatives, Ltd.
For shame! I just can’t believe that people who say they are so caring about familes and children and traditions would be so cut throat. It is obvious you are a cheap copy of The Elf on the Shelf. The least you could do was change the packaging! What an example to kids everywhere. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Get an original idea.
Comment by Phillip Dyer — June 27, 2008 @ 1:39 pm
Dear Phillip Dyer,
Thank you for taking the time to send us a comment. I hope you will also take a few minutes to read the following. Our book’s story is the same story as written by Flora Johnson in 1985. She typed the story, and created a hand-sewn doll, that she named Christopher Pop-In-Kins. Within her first year she sold the packaged book and doll in a local gift store. As that first Christmas approached, she made a batch of Christophers and had a kiosk in the local mall. And word of mouth spread from there. The original story that she wrote in 1985 is the same story today. Flora’s son, Rick Johnson, helped by her side, and was always encouraged by the kind letters that they received, describing the memories and traditions that Christopher Pop-In-Kins was creating among local families. In 2002, Rick set up a web site to offer the product, and within the first three years it was sold to individuals in 38 different states. In 2004, Rick took Christopher to Toy Fair in NYC, and to the Gift Mart in Chicago where he received an award. Rick started looking into mass production of the product; his mother and family had created thousands all by hand, and could not keep up with the demand. But that all changed in 2005 when Flora became ill and passed away. Rick was unsure of the future of “Christopher” but he knew he wanted to carry on his mother’s dream. By the end of 2005, Rick started assembling a team of creative individuals to take the story to the next level.
The book has changed from a small booklet to a hard-bound book; the rough drawings have evolved over the years and is now illustrated by an award winning artist, but the story has remained the same. The original cloth, hand-sewn doll has been replaced by a cloth and vinyl, pose-able doll, but it has the same characteristics as the doll Flora created: a big floppy hat, one large ear showing, the color and design of his clothes.
My understanding is that The Elf on the Shelf began its marketing in 2005. Twenty years before that date, Flora was creating and selling her original story and doll, describing Christopher’s “popping into” the children’s homes, playing a game of hide-and-seek, and reporting back to Santa on Christmas Eve. If you would like to see a copy of the story in the “booklet” form, please send me your address; I’d be more than happy to give you one.
If you are looking for more evidence of our timing, please use some of the “time-travel” web site searches to locate the old web sites from 2002-2005.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Dave Kuntzman, President
Comment by Dave Kuntzman — July 2, 2008 @ 8:18 am
[...] the past week or so, we received a comment questioning the origin of Christopher Pop-In-Kins. Some of Christopher’s many fans wanted to [...]
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