The Daily Times-News from Burlington, North Carolina • Page 20

SECTION, 14 PAGES WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 22, 1971 The Daily Times-News WOMEN'S NEWS FEATURES Two Brothers Put The Smile On Buttons For Latest Fad By NANCY B. CLARKE Women's News Service PHILADELPHIA If you want to make it big with fads, the thing to do is own a gift shop and watch what sells and what people, especially teenagers, ask for that you know no one is manufacturing. This gives you the jump on the competition. Future fad makers of America, pay attention.

This advice is from the Philadelphia brothers who made the "smile face" a national craze. "We're always kicking ideas around," said fad merchandiser manufacturer Bernard Spain, smiling across the room to his brother and partner, Murray. "We keep idea books, too, and write things down as soon as possible." At least once, in his pre- smile face days, Bernard remembered, he had an idea so hot that he couldn't lay it to rest temporarily in the idea book. It was way past midnight, but he picked up the phone and dialed his brother. Bernard lives in a twin house which also houses the brother's office.

Peace Sign "How about a leather die- cut peace sign key chain?" Bernard, 36, put to his 27- year old brother. Murray didn't the idea was bad at all. And the leather die-cut peace sign key chain did quite well. But it was. nothing the brothers admitted, compared to the smite face that plain little smile that is decorating buttons, cards, T-shirts, pins, earrings, candles, stationery, rugs, bean bags, pillow, bumper stickers, hassocks, mobiles, clocks.

Recently, a i i manufacturer came out with perhaps the ultimate, smile toilet seats in a selection of colors. The smile has gone high hat, too. Bergdorf Goodman is selling a $75 smile I lighter and a $60 gold smile necklace. Although other manufacturers have pounced on the smile, the Spain brothers are credited in the gift market with inspiring the craze. They showed prototypes of several anile items at a gift show in Atlantic City in early 1970.

And their company, called Traffic Stoppers, turns out the BEFORE AFTER. A MW MtiMf will look uffff no coats to njoy In MtMaetiM of SILLER'S Jewelry Corner Main Front St, Brothers Murray (lefU and Bernard Spain with original smile sketch. ''Friends they say. "tell us to smile all the way to the bank." (WNS photo by Frederick A. Meyer) largest line of items about 30.

No Royalties No, they don't receive royalties from other firms producing smile items. "We have a copyright on our smile when it is accompanied with the lines 'Have a Happy Day' or 'Have a Nice said Bernard. "If is copied we could sue. We could probably go to court to prevent other manufacturers from making an exact copy of the smile alone, which some have done. But we wouldn't take that step unless manufacturer was somehow degrading smile." facturers' smiles in their stores along with their own because "these just enhance our own They also say the smile face business is a happy business.

"We haven't run into any animosity from 1 Bernard said, "and that hasn't been true other things we've done." It started with buttons, in their two shopping center gift shops where the brothers, both accounting graduates of Temple University, do some of their best thinking. They were retailers before they began making fad merchandise. The Spains sell other manu- "We had been stocking smile buttons along with all kinds of other buttons for a long time," said Murray. "And the smile button had been a consistent seller." Hunch Call it an educated hunch, but they decided to try something different with trie button: have a smile face manufactured in a tiny sizebutton, sell it for 15 cents, and display all the tiny smiles in bowls in their stores. "We ordered a couple of thousand and sold them out in less than a week," Bernard said.

"People began to pester our salesgirls for more and we'd get phone calls asking about them a 15 cent item!" "We began to realize we had a going fad," said Murray. "But we didn't think we had the exact smile we wanted. The eyes were thin and the smile not bold enough." I So Bernard no artist sketched several and the one they chose was dashed off on the back of a "Snoopy Forever" poster. It's the smile shoppers see most frequently today, but not, however on the boys' smile buttons. "The buttons (which come in six different sizes) have been selling so fast (more than five million to date with the tiny 15 centers in the lead) that we haven't had time to change plates to the smile I sketched," said Bernard.

"We've started to make the new plates and they'll be filtering into production any time now. Seven Steps Producing one tiny button is no simple matter. "There are about seven different steps," said Bernard, "and two of these putting on the backing and fitting in the pin, have be done by hand. The women who work on the little buttons have to be shifted after a couple of hours to something else. It really gets to them." The smile face bonanza has involved more of Spain family than the two brothers.

Bernard's wife, Joan, works in the office. Their daughter, Debra, 8, once typed up a $2.000 order for G. C. Murphy Co. with two fingers, and Ber- Of course the longer the "We haven't made a mil- nard's mother in law, Mrs.

smile face sells more lion," said Bernard. "After all Al Feldman, pitches in to help money the Spain brothers will that's a lot of smiles. But file orders. make. we're doing very well." MOON'S Graham, N.C.

an unusual SALE one group of All-Weother COATS off regular price limited number of sizes illustration similar to stock Bank Cords Welcome MOON FASHION SHOP 130 N. Main Graham, N.C. Telephone 226-4418 CUT YOUR COST OF LATHERING HALE BUY ONE breakable tube "Ok GETACOUPON (BYMAI)GOOD FOR ANOTHER LARGESBE.FREE. IT chance to stock up on accompany all coupon requests.) We'll send you a Concentrate. Buy one Large Size Prell Concentrate, coupongood for one free Large Size Prell Concentrate, Cut ofcfthe wfclWfWUiel (on the front of the carton) If your favorite store doesn't have the containing the net wt.

and words the handy certificate, you may get one by writing to unbreakable tuber the following address: Mail it along with a completed certificate you'll Free Prell Concentrate, P.O. Box 5144B, find at your favorite store. (A certificate must Clinton, Iowa 52732. Offer expires March 31,1972..