In the world of miniature clowns, Kent Wright is a giant.
Even Willy Loman could have sold a product like this.
They are clowns, papier-mache clowns, hand painted with colors that don't fade and smiles that don't break. They are light, almost totally child-proof, and priced as low as $3.50.
Mr. Wright, who calls himself America's largest miniature clown wholesaler, has been selling these clowns in America's malls for 10 years. He will be selling them in The Mall in Columbia through tomorrow.
Black clowns, white clowns, baseball and football player clowns, silly clowns and sad clowns, sitting and standing and laying down clowns. Hundreds of them are packed into his custom-built booth.
In the middle of all of them is Mr. Wright, barely noticeable in his white shirt among the hand-painted statues.
He is a 45-year-old Illinois native with a slight build, a thin goatee HTC and a tendency to listen more than he talks. He said that the East Coast -- Maryland in particular -- is gentler than he imagined and that, when he isn't selling clowns in malls, he's selling them to gift shop retailers across the country.
"There is a real positive karma, a positive energy associated with these clowns," Mr. Wright said.
"Even the stuffy business types at the [retail gift] trade shows, who usually are looking for a quick buck, say they love these clowns."
Seven-year-old Anna Prokop, who was looking for a "cute" clown to hang in her room yesterday, likes them too.
Slowly circling the booth with her father, Anna stopped in front of a sleepy-eyed clown with a purple accordion and big blue shoes.
"It's very colorful and pretty," she said, and declared it her favorite clown.
She would soon change her mind.
Anna says she wants to be an artist when she grows up, drawing and designing cartoons.
Mr. Wright, the self proclaimed P. T. Barnum of the miniature clown industry, is always listening.
"You want to be an artist? I've got just the clown for you," he said.
His hands drop below the counter and reappear holding a female clown with a palette and paint brush.
Anna is impressed.
"I've never seen an artist clown before," Anna said.
Mr. Wright has seen, and built, all kinds. He works with a small group of artists in Mexico to build and design each of the clowns by hand.
"The basic process is hundreds of years old," Mr. Wright said.
The procedure, which takes seven days to complete, is a variation of a papier-mache process patented in 1772 by Henry Clay of Birmingham, England. Papier-mache, a French word meaning "chewed paper," was produced in Europe in the early 18th century, but the material had been used in Asia hundreds of years before.
The artists build two-piece molds from sketches on paper, layer them with paper strips soaked in adhesive and allow them to dry for a day.
The two pieces are sewn together, dipped in sealant, and then hand-painted and shined with three coats of polyurethane.
What begins as pulp and polyurethane ends up as a pint-sized profit. But, like any good salesman, Mr. Wright can certainly put a spin on that as well.
"Business is good, and I get great satisfaction from happy customers. Every year I get to make people a little happier than they were before."