Becker “had a nice little run of success in comic book shops and gift and specialty shops and wanted to do something different, so I bought it off him,” said Mariotti, who ran and built nightclubs before buying Funko. “He was just a guy who liked to talk toys, and I’m the same way.” Funko
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LYNNWOOD — Sean Wilkinson has gone from designing bobbleheads in a basement nearly 15 years ago to being the creative director of a fast-growing toy empire. Wilkinson never believed his job working for a company called Funko would last. When he started, Wilkinson helped design a bobblehead for Big Boy, the national burger restaurant chain,
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The company is on pace to sell $20 million worth of merchandise this year, more than double what they sold in 2010. “I’ve always loved toys,” said Brian Mariotti, the company’s president. “To be in this business you have to have a passion for collecting. Your enthusiasm will come through and you can usually achieve
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EVERETT — A troubled Lake Stevens police officer who is working under a “last-chance” employment agreement has credibility issues serious enough that Snohomish County prosecutors were compelled to disclose details to the lawyer defending a man accused in the fatal shooting of a Seattle teen. Meanwhile, Lake Stevens police are conducting a fresh internal investigation
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They offer much more stylized features. More than 200 types of the figures have been released. “If you know any toy collectors, they know what a POP! is,” Illingworth said. Ron Cohen, who lives on Long Island in New York, runs a Funko collector’s website at www.justanotherfunkoobserver.com. He’s gone to San Diego’s Comic Con for
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It’s been a rough year for the Lake Stevens Police Department. The police chief left under a cloud in November, followed by a string of high-profile complaints about officer misconduct. The June 1 shooting of Molly Conley, 15, was a shock only lessened by a quick arrest. Now there are indications that the department’s problems
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After the hearing, Stemler continued to decline to discuss the allegations or to even publicly identify the officer. Mestel said prosecutors had given him formal notice regarding concerns about Wellington. The officer’s problems on the force were uncovered and reported by The Herald after his behavior during a June 2011 arrest led to a $100,000
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