Sid Dickens Fall 2011 Preview Review

Well, it's everyone's favourite biannual event: the release of the next Sid Dickens collection!!!

I know this is a happy time of year, because my Sid Dickens Spring 2011 Preview Review is the most viewed post on Here's Jonny. So, I'll change things up a bit this time.

I'm going to live blog this release. That's right. Check back here daily for my thoughts on each day's announcements!


The first announcement was yesterday, July 4th. It was the biggest event to ever happen on July 4th, ever in the history of forever. Bigger than 1776 by a long shot ;)

What did we learn? Well, we know Sid Inc will be releasing a tile a day preview for the next nine days (weekdays?). That means something between 8 and 10 new tiles, and between 7 and 11 days of prolonged excitement. I know a lot of impatient people who don't like waiting, and want everything now, but I was always really good at Christmas Eve. I was excited, teetering on the edge, but I was in control of my self-restraint. Nine days of this is awesome. And releasing the tiles through the website/blog and Facebook/Twitter is a great way to build global excitement, although I can't say that I'm impressed that there is a forced conscription to the new Sid Dickens Website.

We also learned that the new collection is going to be called 'Reflection.' The possibilities here are endless.

Maybe Sid and his Band of Merry Minions will all do self-portraits. I mean I've always imagined Sid and the artisans as Willy Wonky and the Oompa Loopmas, with a river of plaster instead of chocolate, so getting a peek inside the top secret factory will be the golden ticket.

Or maybe Sid will release mirror images of tiles. Knowing our luck it will be the perfectly symmetric ones.

Or maybe he'll release a tile done in bisque that is so glossy we'll be able to see our own reflections.

You see what I mean? Endless possibilities, and every single one of them is truly awesome. And you know what that means? Well, prepare your underwhelmed faces for the bisque reflection. Let's set an over/under at 5 new grandma transfer tiles (flowers, birds, fruits, colorful patterns, etc.), 3 new dolphin bisques and 1 iron.

Update on July 6th -
Yesterday, Sid Inc released the first tile - T 262 En La Kesh

Click to Enlarge

I was not far off with my guess that he would make the bisque so shiny that it would reflect. I'm curious to see better pictures from the upcoming Atlanta Show, or to see this in person. It's definitely an unexpected twist, and quite possibly a good one. Sid has taken the monumental failure that is the bisque finish, and added an element of the silver, which was largely a success. The texture and depth of the tile is in line with the new flat and smooth tiles like Enigma, rather than the older and more chunky architectural blocks seen as recently as Imperial Column. It's not likely that I'll be rushing out to buy this, but I'm glad to see Sid try something newish by experimenting with the silver finish again.

Update on July 7th -
Yesterday, Sid Inc released the second tile T 263  Gate to Paradise

Click to Enlarge

This kind of looks like a cross of Aquamarine and Cerulean Sea with what looks to me like a Far East -inspired ribbon. If you aren't a fan of the blue tiles, this will come across as unwanted repetition. If you're a fan of the exquisiteness of the blues, then you'll be ecstatic ... or as over-the-moon as grandmothers get. The ribbon is a departure for Sid (grabbing inspiration from somewhere that isn't Europe, the Middle East and North Africa), but the blue is more of the same, as if he's afraid that if he tries something too new, his clientele will lynch him (again).

Update on July 8th -
Yesterday, Sid Inc released the third tile T 264 Opera 1827

Click to Enlarge

I've always been a fan of the script tiles, but this seems lacking. Perhaps the problem is that T 264 invites an obvious comparison to an older tile. The first Opera was my first ever tile (and it had absolutely nothing to do with the Opera, since it was the frontispiece to Blaise Pascal's Pensees). It had the visual interest across the top, and writing that was cut off symmetrically on both sides hinting at the infinite possibilities of what was lost as much as highlighting what was preserved. The shading made you feel like it was an old document, and the cracking reminded you that it was a tile. If you like philosophy or math, then you like Pascal and therefore the writing. Oh, and most importantly it had one of the most interesting side mouldings ever. I imagine side details are time consuming and unlikely to return anytime soon.
New Opera has no cracking, and the side detail is indeterminate, but there's more to its coming up short than that. New Opera is formulaic. Sid receives lots of feedback that people love iron, so he slaps one of his iron leaves on a tile. He also knows that people like tiles with writing and musical themes. It's like he's done a knockoff of himself, but you know it's Sid's work because the imitators have never figured out how to do the iron properly. They also never learned how to do the cracking, but Sid apparently doesn't do that anymore either. If you wanted Sid to return to his roots, you'll be elated by the formulaic familiarity of this tile. If you want Sid to inspire you, well, Opera redux might, but it probably won't.

Update on July 12th -
The Sid Dickens website has been down since sometime Friday July 8th in the afternoon/evening. A horrible time for site maintenance to go awry. I'm sure Sid Inc are unimpressed with their IT right about now, since this downtime means lost business. The fact that they haven't taken advantage of social media by posting an update to Facebook and Twitter is an unfortunate oversight likely resulting from a combination of regular business, the upcoming Atlanta tradeshow and the downed website. Of course some of you probably have your own (conspiracy) theories that you'd like to share anonymously in the comments below ;)
I saw the fourth tile before the website went down (meh), and someone has passed along a screenshot, but I'm going to wait for the website to come back online so that I can post the appropriate links to redirect everyone to the Sid Inc page so that they get their proper credit and traffic. Hopefully the wait for the fourth tile to reappear, and the remaining five tiles is not much longer. It's a good thing I'm really really good at the waiting game :S

Update on July 13th-
The Sid Dickens website is still down, but they have graciously uploaded pictures to Facebook for us to dissect. I'll come back to update the links and pictures once the Sid page is back up and running, but in the meantime, I'll try linking to the Facebook pictures.

T 265 Travellers

More of the blue. The Brit in me says, why would I get this when I could have a Wedgwood (now owned by KPS as part of the Wedgwood, Waterford and Royal Doulton amalgamation) or a Spode or an Ashworth? I mean, at least with a blue plate or serving dish I can have it be both pretty and functional. This doesn't make me want to buy the tile, it makes me want to get out the blue dishes I've inherited over the years. I've even got a nice plate rail on which to display them. If you aren't a good Brit or colonial, well, the real thing antiques are probably cheaper than tiles. Moving on.

T 266 Promise

Seriously?!? No really, he seriously hasn't got the sacred heart thing down yet? T 19 was a longtime classic. Everyone should own at least one. Victory and Amour were embarrassments (and proof that the nice silver finish can't save every design), but this is a whole new level of terrible. Everything about this block screams knockoff - the smooth finish, the attempt to cover up the lack of inspiration with gold and silver. It is all bad. It's so awful I'm beginning to question my love of the silver and gold finishes ...

T 267 Mystic Love

Ummm? I really like the stamp in the bottom right corner that Sid has been using for a year or two.... Has anyone tracked down the original art piece? I'm at a complete loss as to what exactly is going on in this transfer. There's a person with a wig kissing something/someone? I really really need help with this one, because I clearly don't get it, nor will I be getting it when it is for sale.

T 268 Equinox

If someone figures out why this is called 'equinox,' please let me know. Is it because half of the tile is black as night and the other half has the golden shimmer of day? (Update now that Sid has posted them to his blog - the answer is 'yes.') It's an interesting looking finish (more interesting than the original Naturlich), but I think I'm just assuming the picture is out of focus. I want to see better pictures, or the tile in person; if the actual tile is blurry, then it's a definite no-go. No way do I want a tile that hurts my eyes - I've got TV to do that for me!

Update on July 15th -
Yesterday, Sid Inc released the Limited Edition Holiday tile of this collection, T 269 Child of Light and they got all the tiles posted to the blog, so links and pictures have been inserted.

I still like the stamp, and the sky in the background is moodily awesome. The face and body of the child in the foreground are washed out, presumably as a way of contrast with the dark background to emphasize the angelic nature of the child. Unfortunately, it comes across as a bad photocopying job on the transfer. If you, like me, have never had any interest in the line of children as angels blocks from the Icons (and even older Woody Icons) through to Cherubim all the way up to Rascal, then this will come across as uninspired repetition intended to tug at the heart strings of Sid's core clientele (i.e. grandmothers). If you're a new grandmother, and you've never cared for these types of blocks before, you're in luck that he just released a brand new version for a limited time just for you. If you've always loved this style of block, it's doubtful reason will suddenly strike you and make you realize how Sid is capitalizing on your sentimentality - you can proudly display an entire wall of little angels, except when your little rascal grandsons come over and decide they want to smash things (which is always, it's in our nature!).

If today's release is a transfer, (anyone want odds on a flower?), then my guess of five grandma tiles (colorful tiles and transfers), three chunky blocks and one iron will be spot on. It really shouldn't surprise anyone how entirely predictable Sid is.

Update July 15th in the afternoon -
Shortly after my previous update this morning Sid Dickens Inc released the final tile for this collection. Unsurprisingly, it's the Fall Flower T 270 Hidden Truth

Okay people, I'm going to let you in on the hidden truth, so to speak. If we all stop buying the flower tiles, then Sid will stop making them, and I will stop complaining about them. It's not that I'm opposed to flowers, I just prefer them, y'know, alive or cut and formerly alive. If, tragically, you are allergic to flowers, you are allowed to buy this. If you have no lawn or balcony, you can buy one. Everyone else, please stop encouraging Sid. Go to your local garden shop and buy a rose bush, or hire a landscaper to do it for you. Take pictures of your flowers if you must, but please stop encouraging Sid to produce tiles with flowers. You can pretend you're being environmentally friendly by planting something that will convert a little bit of carbon dioxide into oxygen and take its place in the nitrogen cycle. Anything is better than giving Sid money to continue producing these things. Okay, anything is better than listening to me complain about them ... that alone should motivate you ;)

Final Reflections
Fall 2011, Reflection, is mostly disappointing. It's predictable. I anticipated the exact mix of tiles. We got another flower, more blue (which was new in 2007), another bleeding heart and there isn't a single crack anywhere. I'm assuming that factory floor efficiency cannot handle cracks, or any kind of detail, which is why this line, as with the last few lines, has started to more closely resemble the imitators rather than the originator (if Sid is, in fact, the originator of the memory block format). It's tragic that Sid has lowered the quality of his work to match the competitors, while at the same time revisiting the same patterns and colours that his loyal customers buy in Costco bulk.

On the upside, Sid tried some new things this time around. There's no bisque, which is excellent news. He revisited the silver/gold finish, although even this was mixed. I hope no one ever has to see Promise in person, but I want to see pictures from the tradeshow of Equinox and En La Kesh. Those, at least, give hope that Sid might apply that finish to something palatable in 2012 and beyond.

Otherwise it's more of the same. If you fell in love with a particular design in the past that Sid has recreated in this collection - the tile design, not the emotions that you felt - then you'll probably buy up whatever reminds you of the happier times when you were inspired by Sid's work. If this is the collection that drew you in, well, I guess there's no accounting for taste. If you're waiting around for Sid to inspire you again with an honest attempt at originality, well, my friend, I think we're in for a long haul.

One Final update, July 18th -
I've seen some pictures from the Atlanta show. The finish on En La Kesh and Equinox is as good, maybe even better, than expected. The design still lacks (is there anyone who doesn't see Pippi Longstocking with the candlestick in the En La Kesh Rorschach Test?), but at least the silver finish is nice. The finish on the bleeding heart is much nicer than one could imagine possible, considering it has no cracks. If, instead of the telltale heart Sid had done another Tree, I'd probably buy one. I can never have enough trees and chunky crests! In other words, the silver finish promises hope for the next collection, but it wasn't enough to save the design choices in Fall 2011.

So now it's your turn. Chime in below with your thoughts. Do you have a link to any of Sid's source material to share? How many of these blocks are you buying? Which is your favourite? If you had one design idea to pass along to Sid, what would it be?