This is one of those “I don’t know the answer and I hope you do” type of questions…
Recently, I’d purchased an Imani & Menelik set from a fellow collector. They were made by a company called the Olmec Corporation. I jumped onto google and found… pretty much nothing about them.
Menelik & Imani - fortunately NOT in neon colours
Back of box showing dolls in glorious early 1990's fashionable day glow colours *shudders*
The blurb on the back of the packaging about the Olmec company reads…
The Olmec Story – Olmec Corporation is the result of one mother’s frustrating search for black action figures and heroes for her son to play with.
Recognizing the void, not only for her own son Menelik, but also for millions of other children of color, Yla Eason decided to leave her well-established position in the corporate world, and start one of the few minority-owned toy companies in the United States.
Olmec, named after an ancient Mexican civilization that sculpted African Traders, creates special dolls and figures with distinctive characterizations and features to which children can relate.
Among the many different dolls that Olmec offers are a series of baby dolls and toddlers, each dressed in its own special outfit and having its own special features; Imani, a beautiful black fashion doll with glamorous outfits; Imani African Fantasy, with special Kente cloth outfits and braided hair; Sun-Man, a black superhero who draws his power from his magical melanin skin; Consuelo, a beautiful Hispanic doll with great high-fashion outfits.
Look for these and other Olmec products in your neighborhood store for toys created by people who know and care.
…or maybe save the trip and stay home because this company… doesn’t quite exist anymore. Which is really confusing because companies don’t really die off nowadays, someone bigger usually just buys them out… hmmm? … am also a little bit miffed that no Asian characters weren’t included… oh no wait, I’m wrong! “The Olmec toy company, which specializes in multiethnic dolls, makes two Asian dolls, Mai and Kim, as well as Consuelo the Latin American Princess. All are sold in stores like Toys R Us.“* (please DO NOT go looking for these dolls on the primary market, this is a quote only and this information is NOT current… however, you can try your luck on eBay or other secondary market sources.)
I did find this bit in Sister Toldja’s blog post Little Addy Walker, Sitting On A Plantation…
Unfortunately, the company went under (and this book claims there was some crazy stuff going on between Olmec, the Clinton Administration and China)
um… huh? Is there someone out there who can further enlighten me on this matter? preferably in a non business/politico/conspiracy jargon infused way… And does anyone have an image of this elusive “Consuelo” … and “Kim” and “Mai” dolls?
ETA – Apparently according to this blog post by African Superpowers on MySpace (ID soulrbmusic) 19 Apr 2009…
In 1998, Yla Eason promptly fled Virginia and disappeared. Minority creditors filed in court against Eason and seized the remaining Olmec inventory, including Eason’s last toy creation – 1,600 Malcolm X dolls. As a result, Eason went into hiding after leaving $1.2 million in unpaid bills.
In 1999, all Olmec inventory and resources were sold, the facility in the Richmond “enterprise zone” was closed and creditors continued to pursue Ms. Eason. The closing sale included 20,000 minority ethnic board games and the 1,600 Malcolm X dolls.
As of this writing Olmec Toys is out of business.
Sun Man and Team**
Related Articles
- For Nonwhite Dolls, A Growing Family by Lena Williams @ The New York Times – 01 Nov 1990 (please note the date! this is an old article for information only!)
- Heritage and tradition are changing the face of today’s toys by Dawn Wilensky for Discount Store News (?) 06 Feb 1995
- * Push for Ethnically Diverse Dolls not just a Black and White Issue by Sallie Han for the New York Daily News 08 Aug 1996 (how depressing, not much has changed since then more than a whole decade later)
- ** image from “Sun-Man Home Page” (an unofficial fan page)
Hi Doc – The disappearance of Olmec and its founder, Yla Eason, from the toy industry remains a mystery. There are several articles on the Internet with varying accounts of scandalous information, but I cannot confirm their validity. I do know that Olmec, in fact, discontinued manufacturing “multiethnic” dolls (with a main focus on AA dolls) in the mid-1990s and that they began making toys and dolls in the late 1980s (I purchased the action-figure Sun Man for my son who must have been 5 or 6 at the time).
Why did they cease making toys and dolls? Your guess is as good as mine. Did money and politics play a role in the company’s downfall? Not sure, but your advice that these dolls can still be found on the secondary market is true. I own several that were deeply discounted at TRU in the mid-1990s. I purchased the company’s first fashion doll, Naomi, on the secondary market shortly after I began collecting in the early 1990s.
Naomi was made for one year only (1988). Rumored scandal did involve this doll whose name was changed from Naomi to Ellisse in 1989, reportedly because a particular fashion model (not Campbell) shared the same first name as the doll and did not want to be associated with it. Ellisse’s name was later changed to Imani. In 1992, Imani was given a facelift but her name remained the same.
Unfortunately, I do not own or have images of Olmec’s elusive Asian and Hispanic dolls, Consuelo, Kim, and Mai. Maybe they, too, will show up eventually on eBay.
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Therese Reply:
December 16th, 2009 at 11:44 am
I am surprised that there is minimal online presence of Olmec Toys. I thought there would be a cult following of some kind at least… like how old toys not in current (original) production like Blythe and Jem have fandoms online. Even Rosebud dolls pre-Mattel take over have online lists about them… the situation with Olmec Toys is quite odd.
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Vernon Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 9:00 pm
I don’t know what happened to the Olmec corporation leaders. But, I can tell you that somewhere in the late 90′s (?) I met one of the founders, a man, while riding Amtrak from NY to DC. We talked about my helping his firm with some marketing. And, we agreed to meet up at Union Station a few days later. But, I did not see him there.
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I tried to track down information on Olmec Toys a few years ago. I didn’t get very far. Apparently the company owed a lot of money, and one night the lady ran away and never showed up in public again. There were fraud and mob conspiracy theories.
Everything the company owned got sold off to pay the debts. I think another toy company bought the Imani head molds, but I can’t remember. I should have saved the webpages.
Here’s another link:
http://www.angelfire.com/bc3/blackdollzine/dollfocus3.html
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I wrote the information shared at the angelfire link shared by Spotty. All dolls in the article remain in my personal collection.
dbg
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Therese Reply:
December 16th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
you weren’t kidding when you wrote “However, finding an intact Sun Man super hero/action figure is probably no easy feat.“… there is a NIP Sun Man figurine currently on eBay id# 390131596458 with an asking price of USD $75
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Holy Cow! I remember Olmec! That’s going way back. My brother and I used to have the hero, I forget his name. Was it Sun Ra?
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Therese Reply:
December 16th, 2009 at 11:20 am
That would have been Sun Man – I’ve added a pic to this post
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I remember somehow Hasbro produced a Imani doll with the same face mold as a friend of Sindys.
Maybe Hasbro bought the rights?
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Therese Reply:
December 16th, 2009 at 11:22 am
I thought Imani looked familiar! I’m sure I have pics of the Sindy-fied Imani face somewhere….
ETA – HASBRO SINDYDOLLS 1995 Imani Reincarnated by Hasbro!
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Naomi is the only Olmec doll that I have.
I assumed that the company had folded, but the only article I recall reading about Olmec is the one by Debbie Garrett. If I find any print articles, etc., I will write again to let you know.
Good luck with your search!
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Therese Reply:
December 16th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Pictures!
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D7ana Reply:
December 17th, 2009 at 5:04 am
Sure
I’ll get back with photos of Naomi and her box either later today or tomorrow.
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Virginia Cobb Reply:
July 16th, 2011 at 7:37 am
I have aquired anOlmec doll #90003
Do you have any information on her
This is a good source of info for folks new in the hobby. Thanks for posting. I appreciate the effort in researching.
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Therese Reply:
December 16th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Oh no effort at all… I was just curious and just thought I’d share what I found
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With reference to Sun Man as well as Olmec’s Bronze Bombers (a knock-off of the smaller GI Joe action figures), my son’s figures fell apart within a few days of play. So, while Olmec created dolls for people of color, the quality was not the best. The company also received some of its funding from Hasbro, which is probably the reason Hasbro marketed dolls that shared molds formerly used by Olmec.
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D7ana Reply:
December 17th, 2009 at 5:02 am
The “quality” issue is why I didn’t focus on the Olmec dolls. I liked the one doll enough to buy her, but having that one Naomi, I had no interest in getting a full set of her.
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I’ve only seen Black or African American dolls by Olmec.
Shindana, another small toy company, produced other dolls that I recall seeing OR have. (I’m thinking about my 13″ Asian baby doll that my Mom got me for Christmas years ago. They also produced a Caucasian, and an Hispanic baby as well as the Black baby.)
In addition to Debbie’s book, you might find early information about Olmec in Ebony magazine, Essence magazine, and Playthings. Happy researching ;-D
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I’ve uploaded some Naomi photos to this Webshots folder, http://community.webshots.com/album/575948787OKScoG . if you need higher quality photos, let me know how you would like them sent.
Thanks for looking.
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Therese Reply:
December 17th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Thanks Dana!
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I have an Imani doll set that comes with wigs and I believe an extra outfit. She was actually kinda cool for the time. As a kid I had the Sun Man action figure but my mom was unable to find the other figure in that collection. Olmec was kinda like the pre-Integrity Toys of the 1980s..but Integrity managed to stay in business for much longer than Olmec did. I just wish another company would come out that’s REALLY devoted to developing dolls of color. Integrity was at one point…but now more than anything its about high priced collector dolls and dolls of color have taken a major back seat. They more so now subscribe to the “black dolls don’t sell as well” theory and don’t produce them as stand outs..but more like fill ins. Dynamite Girls would probably be the exception as they always have brown dolls in every collection. I miss the days of Janay
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Therese Reply:
December 24th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
It would be so interesting to see how the Olmec Corp. would fare in this world of instant news and opinions (internet).
I do love the face used on Dynamite Girls Eltin (white), Sooki (apparently Asian I am told) and Dayle (black). It’s the button noses *cute*
My small mind is amused because my favourite Integrity characters are Agnes, Giselle and Lukas… and you can’t get any more Teutonic and Nordic (whitest of whites – apparently) than these characters lol and I got them all on sale… my Adele cost me way too much to be a knock around play toy…
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Found a link with Imani photos by a collector named Michelle. See here …
http://www.amargosavalley.com/Personal/MRD/Africa6.html
She’s also got loads of other Black fashion dolls including Disco Wanda by Shindana and several Black Barbies.
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Therese Reply:
February 12th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Thanks for the interesting link Dana!
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You’re welcome! Glad to pass it on.
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There are 2 Olmec dolls on display in the TOYS! exhibit at Historic Richmond Town on Staten Island – an Imani and a Kim doll.
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I have a Martin Luther King Jr. “action figure” produced by Olmec. He is standing at a podium and the package includes a tape of his “I Have a Dream Speech.” I picked it up at ToysRUs in San Antonio, Texas in 1991 or so. It was the ONLY one. I have been looking for information about the toy, basically, since I purchased it.
It is very cool and has never been out of the box.
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M. Moore Reply:
October 17th, 2010 at 9:07 am
I too have the Martin Luther King jr. doll. He is also at a podium and the package includes the “I Have a Dream Speech”. It is dated 1994.
I also have a 1991 doll called Sandy, she’s about 91/2″ tall and both dolls were created by the Olmec Corporation.
I was wondering if either of these dolls are valued at more than what I paid for them because the company doesn’t exit anymore?
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I’ve got an Imani doll by Olmec but I’ve also got one of the Imani dolls brought out by Hasbro as part of the Sindy range – both dolls have waxed woollen brown dreadlocks.
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I have a doll that was given to my daughter 3years ago it has olmec 1989 on it I have to say the doll and quality is in good condition but the synthetic hair has some issues I combed it out the best I could. I was looking for a nice black doll for my daughter and this doll has beautiful facial features so I thought I would see if I could find the company that makes them. She has a lee middleton doll from last year. I noticed this year that Toys-r-Us and JcPenny does not carry the medium or dark skin middleton dolls this year. They both have only the light skin (caucation) dolls.I called JcPenny to ask if they had the dark or medium skin dolls and why they are not selling them this year of course the customer service lady had no answer. I told her that I ordered one last year and wanted to order one this year from a company I trusted. Not off ebay where I feel like I am really gambling instead of making a purchase. Well anyway I have ordered one from ebay I await with my nerves on the edge for the arival of my daughter biggest xmas gift. I can not find a dark skin nice doll in the local stores each store carry about two or three african american dolls a year.
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CHERYL CATCHINGS Reply:
October 12th, 2011 at 2:48 am
As an adult, I purchased two Olmec dolls back in the 80′s because they were so pretty and nicely dressed. They were small dolls and there was one for every day of the week, and that was the name for each doll. I have Tuesday and Wednesday and was unable to find dolls for the remaining days of the week. Thanks to all of you for the updates on the company. I will rap my dolls up and put them away. If any of you is able to locate a pretty, brown doll, please post the information. I surely would love to purchase some for my granddaughter.
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[...] All of this reminds me of going to the Black Business Expo that was held here in Oakland each year. Starting about twenty years ago, I went regularly just to see what new products and services my folks were offering in the entrepreneurial world. But one auspicious year when I went, I learned of a very interesting toy. As I was walking along perusing all of the products on display, there was one booth that was showcasing a black superhero action figure called Sun Man (melanated man) . The story of Sun Man came about because of a frustrated black mother who could find no black super hero action figures for her son. She created the Olmec Corporation and they got busy creating different lines of black dolls, including Sun Man and all of his friends and foes. I found an interesting blog about the issue of black dolls. [...]
This is a very interesting thread. I ended up here because I have in my possession one Malcolm X, Limited Edition figurine that apparently is from a series on “Our Powerful Past”, A “Black Leader Series No 2″. He Is standing at a podium with a microphone attached to it. His arms and head are said to be poseable, although I’ve never opened the package. On the rear of the package is a picture of the president of the company, Yia Eason with her son. There is also a pretty extensive chronology of Malcolm’s life, as well as a collectible card. I was trolling E-Bay, looking to see if there was another one posted there, and needless to say, there wasn’t. I’m trying to determine a value on something so rare. If anybody can help, I’d appreciate it dearly.
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Heather Perkins Reply:
August 26th, 2011 at 5:27 am
I have the same figure, and am interested in finding this information too.
It’s a very cool figure, I just don’t have room to collect or display action figures any more. And you never see them on eBay.
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i am interested in obtaining the male doll that olmec use to produce i used to sell them. now that i have a grandson and daughter. the male doll had a fade haircut and can be seen on SPIKE LEE’S do the right thing movie, sitting on the boy dresser in the movie. if any anyone know’s how to get one please let me know.
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I have a brochure of there products. They had inspired 18 years ago to start my AA children’s company. Now I’m closing. AA don’t purchase from AAB
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Hello everyone, I was wondering if someone knows where I may be able to find some pictures and information on Olmec Toys, “Consuelo the Latin American Princess”. I have been searching for this doll since I first heard about their being a hispanic doll on the market back in the late 90′s. I remember, when I heard about the Consuelo doll I called the then in business toy store “KB toys” to see if they had this doll in stock because all the other major toy stores I had called didn’t carry this line of dolls. The sales person said “YES, and they are on sale!” I couldn’t beleive it so my mom and I drove a very long way to get to this store just to be told that they had sold out and the dolls I ahd asked the sales person to hold for me were sold to some other customer that saw the dolls behind the counter and told the salesperson they were on hold for her which wasn’t true. Since then I’ve wished to have my hands on one, I’m in my 30′s now but I guess sometimes one looks to recapture part of one’s youth in many different ways. I collect celebritiy dolls along with a few dolls that are rare like Imani. I hope to one day find “Consuelo the Latin American Princess Doll”.
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[...] were just as curious as me, but could find little information outside what was often repeated. This blog post and thread from 2009 wondered what happened to the company. Author Debbie Garrett, a doll historian who has [...]
I found a 6″ Malcolm X action figure with podium and microphone accessory, made in 1994 by Olmec toys, at a yard sale in San Francisco in the mid to late 90s, and I still have it. It is a pretty life-like depiction of Malcolm X. Mint in near mint packaging. I imagine it is pretty rare.
I don’t collect figures any more, and am trying to find a good home for it. Would love to find a collector who could display and appreciate it, it’s just been sitting in storage here.
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