Empire Blow Mold Snowman (2024)

FAQs

Is Empire blow molds still in business? ›

Due to dramatically decreasing sales in the 90s, Empire downsized in 2001 and no longer began producing blow molds.

In a letter Faster Forms stated they destroyed most of the Union molds due to the boom in the inflatable market and low demand for blow mold characters. In 2012 Union CADO started up manufacturing some characters under their own name.

The seasonal outdoor decor, known as blow molds, have become increasingly valuable as the companies that made them went out of business and as collectors remember them from their childhood. The price, Barrows said, often depends on the decoration's size, condition and age.

Believe it or not, blow molds are making a comeback. We've rounded up the best Christmas blow molds, including everything from toy soldiers and festive gift boxes to an adorable golden retriever donning a Santa hat. Retailers like Walmart, Lowe's and Ace Hardware still make the decorations today.

Dating to the 1960's there was a strong U.S. and Canadian manufacturing base producing these beloved products, but all of them have closed. At present, Cado Products and Christmas Lights Creations are the only U.S. companies currently manufacturing Christmas, Halloween and Valentine's Day blow molds.

If kept in good condition, a vintage blow mold can become increasingly valuable depending on its size and age. As the companies that made Christmas blow molds went out of business, the vintage holiday décor suddenly became more valuable as collector items. Their nostalgic value remains immeasurable.

Vannucci says you can easily clean a dirty blow mold by using baby wipes, paper towels, or a soft cloth. "You want to be gentle when you're cleaning the painted areas because the paint is water based, so rubbing too hard might remove it," he says. "Never use chemical-based cleaners because that will damage the paint."

Why are they called blow molds? Vintage blow molds are handcrafted decorations that are created out of melted plastic. The mold is filled with liquid plastic, then air pressure is applied to shape the plastic into predetermined design patterns.

Be sure to turn your blow mold over to look for any markings. Many times these markings will be embossed, and if they are there, they can be usually seen easily. In addition, sometimes there will be a date listed as well, and that is an instant way to determine if your blow mold is old. This is the front of a new one.

The life of a mold depends on the age of the mold and the numbers of products it has produced. According to Richard Bell, our Tooling Manager, “A well-maintained blow mold should last 15 – 20 years before the materials begin to fail beyond repair.”

Why do they call them blow molds? ›

These vintage hollow plastic lawn ornaments are called blow molds because of the method used to make them. Melted plastic is blown into a mold.

Blow molding is inexpensive and enables manufacturers to produce their products in large quantities quickly. Forecasters expect the global blow-molded plastics market to reach 103.4 billion by 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.5 percent.

Blow molding is the forming of a hollow object by inflating or blowing a thermoplastic molten tube called a “parison” in the shape of a mold cavity. The process consists of extruding or “dropping” a parison on which female mold halves are closed.

Many American companies created blow-mold ornaments from the 1950s through the early 1990s. Blow-mold yard decorations are still available, but few blow-mold companies are still operating in the U.S. at this time. Some have been made in the 2000s in China.

General Foam Plastics was a blow mold manufacturing company that ran from 1957 to 2017. GFP, often shortened to just General Foam, went on to acquire several defunct blow mold companies throughout its run, most notably Beco Products, Empire Plastics and Poloron Products.

Union Products (1946-2006, reestablished in 2010) was an american company that created blow mold products for the lawn. Union is one of the most popular blow mold companies of all time, and over 1000 products have been released by them until their close in 2006.