The Lollipop Guild didn't originate on a farm in Kansas, and a dark fury of tornadic activity didn't drop us near the Emerald City...but since our inception, we've been surrounded by Munchkins, and we know magic when we see it.

That magic traces all the way back to the mid-1990's when we became one of the country's early producers of Best Personalized Books. Expecting to "wow" our customers with the technical achievement of producing a hardback book with the child's name in the text of the story, we immediately saw that the technical production was only the Wizard making noise: the real magic came when each child opened the book and saw their name. Over and Over. It was the heel-clicking moment for the child, and it was for The Lollipop Guild.

For several years we focused on the Personalized Books, producing them first from our home base in Las Vegas, and then at festivals and holiday events across the country. The challenge, of course, was to find other products that could come close to the transporting effect of a personalized book. What do you pair with a book that imbues a child with the love of reading, and brings a grandparent to tears? A personalized mug?

We knew that technology would eventually catch up to the need, that the Wizard would reappear. We didn't have to wait long: by 2002, we were in contact with developers and programmers who were on the cutting edge of Personalized Music production, and we quickly adopted the technology. On-site production of music CDs soon led to a dramatic expansion of the personalized music we could produce--lullabies, Christian/Inspirational tracks, Mother Goose nursery rhymes, conversations and music with Mickey Mouse, the Disney Princesses, Elmo, all of them with the child's name.

The demand led us to open a permanent production facility and retail store in the idyllic mountain resort of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The gateway city to the nation's most-visited park, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg is the destination for nearly 12 million visitors per annum...In short order, we were awash in Munchkins!

From the beginning, we committed our store--and the website launched the same year--to one overarching principle: that these inspiring products would be delivered with joy. Quickly, yes. Efficiently, yes. Helpfully and economically, absolutely. But always with joy.

Perhaps because of this commitment, The Lollipop Guild was selected as the country's first on-site retail producer of the Dora the Explorer Personalized DVD. As with the music CDs, the selection of Personalized Cartoon DVDs expanded quickly, and soon The Lollipop Guild was putting children into full-length cartoons with Spiderman, Barney, Gregory the Gopher and many more.

After 14 years at our Gatlinburg location, The Lollipop Guild has transitioned again...pursuing a new rainbow, if you will. Closing the doors to our retail location has led the firm into a thorough commitment to E-commerce. We offer the same great Personalized Books, Music CDs and Cartoon DVDS; we provide the same rapid shipping, the same attention to detail. And knowing how those Munchkins will respond, we do it always with joy.