Beer, Brats, and….Bobbleheads?

Milwaukee is known for its beer, brats and sports, and soon the city will also be recognized as the bobblehead capital of the world.

The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum is proud to call Milwaukee home and co-founders Phil Sklar and Brad Novak can’t wait to see the impact it has on the city.

“We are very excited to bring such a unique attraction to the great city of Milwaukee,” Sklar said. “The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum will be a fun venue for collectors, fans and visitors to experience all things bobble-related.

“Milwaukee is such a unique city with a long sports history, making it a perfect location for collectors and fans around the world to gather for the ultimate bobblehead experience.”

Sklar, 32, and Novak, 31, are University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee alumni and quit their jobs – Sklar was in corporate finance, Novak was in sales – to start the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame after growing up in Rockford, Ill.

They have lived in Milwaukee for the past 12 years, and with Wisconsinites having a true craze for bobbleheads, they decided to locate the Hall of Fame and Museum Sklar said.

“People go crazy here in Wisconsin for bobbleheads,” Sklar said. “People in Milwaukee and in Wisconsin go crazy over bobbleheads, and you don’t see that everywhere. The teams really embrace bobbleheads here. We thought it would be a great place to put it. “

The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, which will display the world’s largest collection of bobbleheads and bobblehead-related exhibits along with being the premiere source of bobblehead-related news and information, was announced to the general public last November.

The initial idea for the Hall of Fame and Museum started after the two University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee alumni produced a custom bobblehead of Milwaukee Panther superfan Michael Poll.

After producing the custom bobblehead of Poll, they realized that there was a need in the market for a company that could produce small quantities of custom bobbleheads Sklar said.

“We saw that there is a big market for bobbleheads,” Sklar said. “All the other companies that are in the market are focused on the team markets, so we thought we’d focus on everything else because there is a big opportunity there. So far it has been exciting to see the traction.”

The collection originally began when Novak was working at a minor league baseball stadium about 12 years ago.

“I never really owned bobbleheads before that,” Novak said. “One of the first summers I was working for the minor league baseball team a couple of their promotional giveaways was bobbleheads. Since I worked for the team, I wasn’t going through the gate like a fan, but I had talked to my boss and asked if could get one. Throughout the summers I worked for them I just kept collecting them.

“When we moved to Milwaukee we would go to the different sporting events and kept going to bobbleheads. That is how the collection grew, and it has continued to grow from there.”

Over the last year they have continued to grow their collection of bobbleheads, while creating custom bobbleheads to increase capital.

These custom bobbleheads range from mascots to athletes to human-interest individuals for different organizations, companies and sports teams, including the Milwaukee Bucks.

“In the past year we have created about 50,000 bobbleheads for about 50 different organizations and teams across the country,” Sklar said. “We’ve worked with the Bucks to create bobbleheads that will hopefully be given out later this year during the season in some form.”

During this time, Sklar and Novak have been searching downtown Milwaukee for a permanent location for the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum. Their goal is to open it by fall 2016.

They have evaluated numerous options, including partnering with the Bucks.

“We’ve been talking to the Bucks and that has been one option that has been in the back of our heads,” Sklar said.

Sklar added that they have talked to the Bucks about potentially partnering with them in the Bucks’ entertainment district when the new arena is built. However, since that would at least be five years away, they plan on at least first finding a permanent space in downtown Milwaukee for the time being.

In addition to the Hall of Fame and Museum space, the original plans include ample room for special events such as birthday parties, autograph signings, weddings and meetings and a store featuring bobbleheads and Hall of Fame and Museum merchandise. Plans also include the Bobblehead Bar and Grill featuring a bobblehead-themed, locally sourced menu.

“Brad and I have been collecting bobbleheads for over a decade,” Sklar said. “We look forward to sharing the world’s largest bobblehead collection as well as dozens of bobblehead-related exhibits with everyone.”

Sklar and Novak have accumulated over 5,000 bobbleheads of different athletes, coaches, mascots, public figures and human-interest characters. The collection is still growing as they hope to have around 10,000 bobbleheads by the time they open the Hall of Fame and Museum.

Out of the thousands of bobbleheads, Sklar and Novak both agreed that it is too challenging to pick one favorite out of all of them.

People will have a chance to get a sneak peak at the Hall of Fame and Museum prior to it actually opening, when they have a preview exhibit at RedLine Milwaukee from January through April.

“We will have several thousand bobbleheads on display,” Sklar said. “We will have a lot of exhibits such as the history of bobbleheads, the story behind individual bobbleheads, how bobbleheads are made and bunch of other exhibits. People will be able to see a sneak preview of what the full scale Hall of Fame and Museum will look like.”

Once the actual Hall of Fame and Museum is constructed, Sklar and Novak are confident this will become a tourist destination for people in Wisconsin and across the country.

“It will be a cool attraction for locals and visitors to visit,” Novak said. “People are always looking for things to do in the Milwaukee area, specifically downtown. There are many museums in Milwaukee and this will just give people another one to see.”