Bye-bye Bratz?

U.S. District Judge Stephen Larson today ordered the recall of all Bratz dolls and products from retailer shelves and warehouses as part of the long-running copyright infringement battle between Mattel Inc., maker of Barbie, and MGA Entertainment Inc., whose edgy Bratz line has been grabbing a bigger and bigger piece of the doll market.

Don't burst into tears yet, all you Bratz lovers out there. Larson has stayed the order until a hearing in February.

A federal jury in Larson's Riverside courtroom decided in July that the Bratz characters were created by a designer who was working for Mattel under an exclusivity agreement. The jury also found that MGA aided in the contract breach and awarded Mattel $100 million for copyright infringement and breach of contract.

MGA, which employs more than 1,500 people, has said that losing the Bratz dolls would be "lethal" for the Van Nuys company.

-- Nancy Rivera Brooks

Photo: Bratz dolls. Credit: MGA Entertainment

LA Kids Consignment sale this weekend in Van Nuys

Is your youngster growing too quickly through boxes upon boxes of shoes? Maybe it’s time to buy in bulk in multiple sizes — at just $3 a pair.

Penny-pinching parents can release the stranglehold on their wallets this weekend when LA Kids Consignment holds a one-time liquidation sale of new children’s toys and clothing at heavy discounts. The sale will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at City-Art, 7733 Hayvenhurst Ave., Van Nuys.

Founder Kristin Nelson runs two other LA Kids Consignment sales each year — one in the fall, another in the spring. This weekend's sale is a separate event, involving new merchandise instead of gently used items.

The event, featuring more than 20,000 items from a variety of manufacturers, will include puzzles and play sets, room decor, framed artwork and arts and crafts merchandise. There will be more than 6,000 doll items, at 50% off retail prices.

Clothing for girls 12 months old to early teens includes pieces from Gymboree, Juicy Couture, Flowers by Zoe, Cach Cach, Lipstik, Madonna’s English Roses and hand-made dresses and bibs, many for $5 (down from more than $50 at retail prices).

Stock up on cups, plates and ice packs from Munchkin, and potty seats, hooded towels and feeding supplies from Juvenile Solutions.

Parents can find diaper bags from brands with appropriately adorable names such as Daddybag, Dadgear, Skip Hop, Bumblebag and Baby A Go Go.

Four years ago, Nelson started holding occasional sales in her driveway with close friends so she could supplement her income and stay at home with her son.

—Tiffany Hsu

Caption: Expectant mother Lauren Toubes of Studio City, carrying a portable swing, navigates her way through a crowded floor display at a LA Kids Consignment sale in March.

Credit: Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times

Mattel Lindsay Lohan doll sinking in clearance bins

At least in American dollhouses, it looks like Lindsay Lohan is a little short on fans this year.

Mattel's toy version of the starlet has been around for a while, but is now doomed to the clearance bin -- going for as much as 80% less than its original retail price.

BlackBook Magazine and Perez Hilton have an inkling that the many sordid dramas of the troubled singer/actress/tabloid fixture may be causing mothers to blacklist the doll. 

Mattel did not return calls for comment. "Her doll has been around for I think 4 years," was all Lohan's publicist would say.

At KB Toys, the My Scene Goes Hollywood doll (recommended for children ages 6 to 12) is selling for $4.99, down from $24.99. And as further incentive to buy, the store is offering free shipping on the item.

On Amazon, La Lohan is only netting $5.99, from an original price of $19.95.

The package includes a director's chair, a laptop, miniature popcorn and a magazine.

No word on how the signature Paris Hilton Hello Kitty doll, designed by Sanrio in 2006, is doing, since it sells only in Japan. But the Britney Spears "Live! In Concert!" doll by Play Along is still going strong for $39.99 on Amazon.

-- Tiffany Hsu

Photo: My Scene Goes Hollywood Lindsay Lohan doll. Credit: Amazon.com

American Girl fans: Free shipping ends today

Time is running out to save a little money on those wholesome and oh-so-pricey American Girl products.

The Mattel-owned doll maker is offering free shipping for online shoppers, but it ends today -- as in two days before Thanksgiving. So much for Black Friday and its cousin, Cyber Monday. And those of us on the West Coast who are shopping for an American Girl devotee -- I hope you're not reading this, Leah! -- get shorted by two hours because the promotion ends at 11:59 p.m. Central time.

There is no minimum purchase, but lots of other rules: The offer is good only once per shopper and to only one U.S. address. Charges apply on shipments to Canada, rush orders and large items. The free shipping can't be combined with other offers. And the offer doesn't apply to shipments sent from the American Girl Place stores, located in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Boston, Dallas and Minneapolis. To redeem the free-shipping offer, shoppers must enter the code GIFTSHIP when they check out.

The savings are worth exercising your holiday shopping fingers a bit early. The cost to ship a Samantha doll, book and accessories -- on backorder because the dark-haired Victorian-era doll is being spiked, or, as American Girl announced in October, being "placed in the American Girl Archives" -- is $15 to $20 for rush shipping on top of the $105 purchase price.

-- Nancy Rivera Brooks

Photo: American Girl dolls at the Los Angeles store in 2006. Credit: Karen Tapia-Andersen / Los Angeles Times

Another day, another Chapter 11

Lenox Group, the 119-old company whose china has long been on wedding registries and the dinner tables of U.S. presidents, said Monday that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, explaining it had been "significantly impacted by economic conditions and excessive debt levels."

Lenox said it would continue its normal operations and that it plans to pursue a sale of its business through the bankruptcy process.

In addition to its china business, Lenox comprises the Department 56, Dansk and Gorham brands. Lenox is known for its fine china, crystal, giftware, home décor and tabletop products. Dansk makes dinnerware and flatware. Gorham makes silver, fine china, crystal and tableware. And Department 56 is the purveyor of lighted Dickens Village buildings, Snowbabies and other home decorations.

The company sells its products through department stores like Macy's and through 30 corporate-owned stores in 14 states. Among them is the Department 56 store at Downtown Disney in Anaheim.

— Julie Makinen

Photo: Close-up of a character from Department 56's Dickens Village collection. Credit: Los Angeles Times

Crafty: The first rule of Felt Club...

“I think there has always been an appreciation for handmade goods,” says Jenny Ryan of the crafting website, SewDarnCute, “but nowadays it seems to be catching on more than ever because there are so many new ways to share that appreciation. A crafter can make something here in L.A. and within minutes can snap a photo, upload it to Flickr, write a blog post about it, and send that handmade awesomeness all across the world in no time flat. So now we're seeing global trends and the crafty community is more connected than ever.”

Ryan is also the event coordinator for Felt Club, the show that celebrates all things handmade and drew thousands of craft-lovers and shoppers over the weekend. Just shy of 9 a.m. on Sunday, people were already lined up on the sidewalk around the Shrine Auditorium Expo Center, ready to dash in for the 11 a.m. opening. (If you missed the show, and still have holiday shopping to do, fear not. Another crafting show is just around the corner: Unique Los Angeles, Dec. 13-14.)

How Crafty: Making gifts instead of just buying 'em

Far be it for me to refuse a Target gift card or a pound of coffee, but I always prefer getting a present that is handmade.

I’m not alone. Americans are waking up to the fact that "handmade" doesn’t mean what it used to. Back in the day it suggested crocheted toilet paper holders and carved wooden pen holders, but today that label refers to finely crafted jewelry and pottery, sophisticated letterpress stationery and chic clothing -- items that are well designed and beautifully crafted.

Handmade goods are the focus of two upcoming Los Angeles shows. First up is Felt Club, which bills itself as a juried indie craft fair featuring artists, crafters and designers who turn out hand-spun wool, one-of-a-kind collages and all manner of other works. Past shows have drawn hundreds of people.

This year’s holiday show is Sunday, Nov. 16, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Shrine Auditorium Expo Center downtown. It will feature an eclectic group of vendors such as Berkley Illustration, the Modern Pet and Tori Higa Stationery.