Why doesn't STAR TREK merchandise ever seem to have anything "upscale"? Meaning not kitsch, like a Captain Kirk cookie jar. Something along the lines of Picard's fish tank, in his Ready Room, for example. Or even furniture. Merchandise that's from STAR TREK, but doesn't scream STAR TREK. You'd basically have to tell someone, or they would never know it was based off of a Television show.
How about a line of those nifty wall-mounted lights that seemed to be everywhere. The only thing that would give them away as being from Star Trek would be the graphics on them.
"I ... see your point." But does everything have to be so tacky? So cheezy? So vulgar and tasteless? Everything from SHIRTLESS KIRK calogne to a pizza cutter in the shape of the ENTERPRISE. Just slapping STAR TREK on an incense holder ... to get the word out? Outside of the toys and action figures, alot of these other products don't seem to represent the quality of the franchise, itself, at all.
Can't you just do that with your regular furniture? "Yeah, I got this at the "It's A Wrap" auction, it's the couch from season four, episode six, the one from that alien's office. You saw it in two different scenes."
I suppose the closest we could get to what 2TakesFrakes is hinting at here would be if someone made a replica of the 3D chess set from The Original Series, which I could easily imagine sitting on a table in someone's den, without any vistor being aware that it was from Star Trek specifically. I suspect it'd have a stylistic simplicity of it's very own that would allow it to stand alone as a decorative piece. I do know the Franklin Mint did sell one made out of silver and gold (and a pretty penny it cost too!), but whether that added Bling nudges it into tacky territory is another question.
https://store.qmxonline.com/TOS-Art-Print-Series-_c_44.html http://www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-Tri-Dimensional-Chess-Franklin/dp/B0018S4WM0 Not tacky, not "cheezy", not vulgar, not tasteless. There's quality material out there. Look for it.
I immediately had to think about this website with some cool ideas: http://davesgeekyideas.com/tag/star-trek/ Other than that I think household items used as props in Star Trek could qualify as upscale merchandise. Such as the Porsche Jazz lamp used in ST VI for the Starfleet HQ conference (and in TNG) or that German thermos flask Quark used to fill up drinks at his bar in DS9. Bob
I agree. I get the feeling that the OP is just trying to stir things up a bit and cause a little bit of a fracas. I happen to like my Spock cookie jar, thank you very much.
There are indeed resources particularly on forums like this that have a vast amount of information regarding set pieces used on Trek. From glassware to tables and chairs. The stuff is out there and as stated here in this thread you just have to look for it.
I used to have a LCARS sheet, the kind they backlit for the set, large enough to have been on one of the back stations on the E-D. I think it was from when they built the ST experience in Vegas. A guy out there sent it to me when I built him a bunch of models. Then life happened, & it got cleaned out with a bunch of stuff in a storage unit when I couldn't pay the bill.
These are only some examples of what I am referring to by "Upscale" items, as opposed to the cheap, knick knack items I've mentioned. The tea set, which Picard used is/was sold commercially. The fish tank in Picard's ready room is also commecially available and costs roughly a thousand dollars, I believe. The "meditation crystal" is just a prop, as far as I know, but would be very nice to own. None of these have STAR TREK all over them. They are useful and/or functional and could serve a purpose other than just collecting dust. But I will look further, that presents no problem. I just had not seen this mentioned here, before.
Why would a company pay the thousands of dollars it costs to get the Star Trek licensing to slap a logo on the box of a product they already produce. In the early 2000's I was talking to a few Star Trek licensees and for them to use the Star Trek brand it cost tens of thousands of dollars (I want to say the number was $38K, but varies depending on the type of license). You would have to sell a whole lot units to make up a cost like that, and you'd risk alienating your existing customers who don't want a Star Trek branded product in their home.
Not everyone considers such things tacky, cheesy, vulgar or tasteless. I think most regard them as just fun novelties and really aren't interested in anything you would define as "upscale." Sure, there are those that do want something more high-end, but I think quite a few would rather have a six-foot long 100% accurate model of the Enterprise, complete with lights than some nondescript tea set or anything that really doesn't resonate Star Trek very well. Actually, they do. Star Trek is mass entertainment. It's a major fixture in pop/geek culture and most of its merchandise reflects that.
When I was a kid we had a dinette set and the four chairs more or less resembled the TOS chairs. They were all black, but the shape was very similar; my brothers and I called them the 'Star Trek chairs'. So there's that...
That's sounds cool. Although I'm wondering what sort of market there would be for upscale merchandise I think I'd like a set of 'Star Trek chairs'. They had a thread about some cutlery they used in one of the TOS episodes and I thought at the time wouldn't it be 'cool' to have that in my house. At times I go past the Games Shop and see some of the few Star Trek items that is sold in my neck of the woods which are bobble heads. I have hesitated in buying one because I think where will I put them, are they too tacky? I can get away with the ships and figures and tricorders because I can say they are the children's and I keep them in my room.
I would be very interested in a quality, working version of this clock: http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Saltah'na_clock Although, I'm sure it would be way too expensive for me. I'd still be interested.