In October 1987 a young and upcoming designer called Andrew Bill joined Phil Holland at new design company Holland Studio Craft. At first Holland studios were producing small resin animal figures, while Andrew Bill concentrated on a new range called “After the Party Mice”.
Both parties were keen to design a produce a fantasy range, with JRR Tolkiens Lord of the Rings being the most popular choice.
Since no one had made any resin figurines from the book, this seemed a sensible choice, however the American Film Company, which owned the rights to the book made it clear they wanted sole control over the look of the models, plus it would be to costly to obtain any legality over the rights, hence the idea was quickly dropped.
Later in a meeting with Doug Mitchell, (a US distributor and president of Munro Collectables), it was decided the only way forward would be to create their own fantasy story. With that Andrew Bill set about writing his first book, “The Wrath of the Ice Sorcerer”, which should have been around 26,000 words, but actually ended up being closer to 47, 000. Enchantica was born!
The book was a huge success, and a best seller. Quickly the designers set about bringing the characters of the book to life. Extra staff was drafted in, including sculptor Ken Fallon, and head Designer John Woodward.
The range was a massive success, so successful that in 1990 the Enchantica Collectors Club was launched. This allowed collectors of the range to share in a common and growing interest.
1991 saw a remarkable event, the launch of one of the largest, most expensive and most magnificent pieces ever released. Flight of Danger stood a massive 22 feet high with a wingspan of around 2 feet. This was the first model of this size to be released in any fantasy range. This year also saw the release of the second book “The Well of Hope”, establishing Enchantica as a leading force in the fantasy figurine market.
In 1993 Rob Simpson joined the ranks at Enchantica, forming an integral part of the design and sculpting team.
In 1995 the Dragon Gorge range was launched. This was a sub-division of Enchantica, and its launch was marked by the release of another massive piece, Avenger. This was Andrew Bills follow-up to his Flight to Danger piece, and again this was another truly magnificent piece.
In 1996, things took a turn for the worse. Although the orders will still coming in strong, no one was paying, leaving Holland Studios in financial difficulty. Although a painful decision it was decided that Holland Studios would sell the Enchantica Range. Royal Doulton were the first to show an interest, and eventually the whole range was sold to them. It formed the basis for their resin department. Later in 1996 the first Extravaganza was held at Trentham
Gardens at Stoke on Trent. The event was a success, and showed Royal Doulton was committed to pushing the range as far as they could. Later, still in 1996, the third book “The Glory of the Golden Dragon” was released.
On the 25th April 1997, John Woodward departed company with Enchantica, deciding to seek new challenges. He was replaced as head designer by Rob Simpson, who established himself as a very competent and enlightened designer.
1998 saw the 10th anniversary of Enchantica, which was marked by the release of the anniversary piece “The adventure begins” and the fourth and final novel, “The Freezing Fire”. 1998 was also the year, when the entire operation was moved from the King Street factory in Fenton, to multiple sites in Stoke on Trent. It was this segregation of the business, which saw the first spell of things to come.
Later in 1998 Andrew Bill released the 1998 Extravaganza piece “The Jewel Thief”, followed in early 1999 with the 1999 Extravaganza piece “Wings of War”. Both were stunning pieces, and showed more creativity from Andrew Bill than ever before. These were also amongst the first models which were produced in the Far East. Gradually more production moved to the Far East, creating redundancies back in the UK. The perception by many collectors was a reduction in detail and quality, which slowly resulted in a decline of interest.
November 1999 saw the first of one of the many bigger casualties, with Phil Holland, the founder of Holland Studios, deciding to part ways with Royal Doulton. This was followed with Andrew Bill, who for all sense and purposes was the creator of Enchantica. His departure in May 2000 signalled a massive downhill trend for the Enchantica range. The end of 2000 saw many lines retired, along with many of the other fantasy ranges, which had been created along the way, such as Fables. This saw many experienced sculptors being made redundant. This was followed by the massive downscaling of the official website and the eventual closure of the club in 2001. Rob Simpson, along with the few remaining Enchantica employees fought bravely to rescue the range, but all had to accept the eventual outcome, when the range was cancelled in 2003.
Since there were no potential buyers at this time, all outstanding stocks, old and new were stored away. This is where they would stay until in 2005, a new and upcoming gift wholesales, Xystos bought the whole lot.
The range was re-launched at the Harrogate trade fair in July 2005, with 8 new, never seen before pieces. Xystos had managed to entice back John Woodward, and Rob Simpson, who are now designing new models.
The revival of Enchantica has begun, with interest growing. New models are planned for release this year, with the Club being re-launched due to popular demand.
The revival is complete with the launch of this new website, we hope you enjoy it!