Marla A. Baker writes:

"Today I was in my local Hallmark retail store where I have formed a good relationship with the manager. She showed me a NEW brochure she received from her Hallmark rep for puzzles. I copied down the contact info and called the company to confirm...

ALLIED PRODUCTS
1400 Kansas Avenue
KC, MO 64127

1-800-497-8697

The above company has purchased the licensing rights to Springbok puzzles from Hallmark. They have also purchased the die cut machines, etc., have done a test run, and will be producing Springbok puzzles the same way Hallmark has all these years!!!

Some of the puzzles in the brochure are ones that were in stores last year (i.e. the American Flag 1500, Blue World 2000, etc.), and there are also some NEW, DIFFERENT puzzles pictured that will be available from Hallmark stores beginning in mid- to late-October. The front of the brochure says "SPRINGBOK IS" and the back cover says "BACK!" in big bold letter. The Springbok 'bulls-eye' target logo is still being used also. One of the new puzzles that was featured in the brochure was one featuring the African
springbok animal, in honor of Springbok's roots. The brochure also mentioned something about a special 40-year anniversary celebration of Springbok puzzles next year (2003). Some of the old puzzles are "outgoing", meaning that once they are gone from Hallmark's inventory, they will be no more. An example of an "outgoing" puzzle is any Thomas Kinkade Springbok puzzle from recent years. Allied Products is having trouble getting a licensing agreement with Kinkade, so those will not be available in new designs, at least for the time being.

The woman I spoke with at Allied said that they will be, or have already, contacted all Hallmark Gold Crown store locations to let them know about this new development, which was finalized only about 3 weeks ago.

If YOUR local Hallmark store is not aware of this, PLEASE tell them so they can continue to stock new Springbok puzzles. Have them contact Allied Products at the above contact information. And, if you like, feel free to them also - it's toll-free - to let them know your thoughts about their recent acquisition and to confirm this information if you wish. I'm sure they'd be happy to hear from more Springbok collectors.

I was so excited to hear about this - and the woman on the phone even knew about my petition at PetitionOnline.com ! In researching Springbok before finalizing the deal, they came across it on the Web. :)

So - I wanted to update you all, and THANK YOU again for your cooperation in signing my online petition! Whoo-hoo!

- Marla A. Baker