by Deborah Rieselman

If wee dwarves and a Hobbit have been found lurking around your house or hiding in the backseat of your car, you may need to thank DAAP grad Daniel Meyer ('04) for his success as director of marketing and design at Bridge Direct. In the fall of 2012, the Florida-based toy company landed the worldwide toy and game licensing rights for the Warner Bros.' film "The Hobbit."

Before joining Bridge Direct in 2009 when the company was founded, Meyer had worked for Fisher-Price, then as brand manager for Jakks Pacific, a major toy and leisure-product company in Florida, where he designed action figures and play sets related to the movie "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian." At that time, he placed a likeness of his own face on the Telmarine soldier action figure (one of the bad guys, shown bottom right).

When Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy opened in December 2012, Bridge Direct's toy series included action figures, 6-inch collector figures and toy weapons. The company had released a coveted Invisible Bilbo Baggins at the 2012 San Diego Comic Con in July.

Thanks for images:

• Angry Koala Gear
• Sideshow Collectibles
• Heirs of Durin
• Fwoosh
• Preternia
  

LINKS

• See other alumni toy-makers.
• Read UC Magazine article about 2013 line of Hobbit toys.
• See Bridge Direct website.

One from Meyer's collection ...