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 The undisputed king of those creations was the King himself, Elvis.
"We probably did 30-some designs of Elvis," Ukrainetz said. "It was the biggest seller of all time."
McCormick, his employer, sold 64,000 Elvis decanters. The decanters often had a markup $100 each, making them intensely profitable.
His favorite decanter was of Mr. Lucky, a colorful leprechaun, a creation inspired by a friend. The Hoffman distillery sold 32,000 of them.
A collection of the leprechauns rests in Ukrainetz's Great Falls home, as do at least a hundred other ceramic figures and dozens and dozens of paintings and other creations. More rest in boxes in his garage.
Many of the decanters graced the walls and nooks and crannies of the Lindbergh Lake Lodge, which Ukrainetz sold last year. He says he made a decent living selling decanters to avid collectors from all over the country.
"It was kind of like a museum," Ukrainetz said. "I had a lot of one of a kinds."
Now, as he guides a visitor around his home, the collection is the source of lots of reminiscing.
"Every one of those I look at, it's a story," he said.
Not that he is done with business deals. Muzzana says the initial orders for Monte are so strong, she would love to do another order before Christmas.
First Interstate Bank in Missoula bought 1,200 of them as promotional items. Zins says other buyers have bought up to 20 each.
"We started out with 2,400 but we increased it to 3,000," Ukrainetz said of the order. "Normally in Montana, 1,200 is enough. But Monte is hot."
The animated Grizzly was named the national mascot of the year last in a competition sponsored by a credit card company. He's appeared on ESPN commercials and regularly stars in mini-movies shown during Grizzly games.
Encouraged by Monte, Ukrainetz is teaming with Bill Ohrmann, a local artist and longtime friend, on another bobblehead.
"We are working on a Bobcat," he said referring to the mascot for Montana State University-Bozeman.
From greatfallstribune.com
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BOBBLEHEADS
HOMEPAGE
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