The Highland Midge (fridge) Magnet

An early sketch.
The tiny mighty midge.
The First generation.
First generation retail version.
Second generation after gen 1 sales plummeted (unexpectedly).
Second generation retail version.
A pot of midges – on standby.
Generation 3 – carrying the flag of a brand revival.
Generation 1 – ownership certificate.

For some years now (2016 – 2020) this “artistic stable” has been the home of a horse that has bolted to the hills a few times and not for want of checking the condition of the door ironmongery! I am now on the 3rd horse (2020). This iteration served up an improved portion of midges, new HD imagery of the fiend herself (she’s the one that bites!) set against a reassuring backdrop of blue sky and tartan….

There were very few outlets (just one) at which to acquire this unique object for the domestic fridge. Because of this alongside a limited market (seasonal) and tragically poor sales; each release has but a few copies in circulation in the world today so who knows what their collectable values might be?

On the bolting horse theme I can hear that old saying “you might be flogging a dead horse” there…? I’d have to agree to disagree. It’s an innate optimism and entrepreneurial confidence in the thing that I cannot shake off!

Of course I accept uniqueness alone cannot guarantee impressive sales of the Highland Midge (fridge) Magnet. There needs to be an alignment of a few other very dynamic factors across any financial year. Achieving just one sale is such a fickle thing.

The annual midge scourge needs to appear from the 31st May. Anecdotally, from tales of those bitten last year some were indeed truly unlucky (skeletonised) but overall I was troubled that it was perhaps a less “full on” year for the midge. Maybe there were just fewer folk eaten alive within the catchment area of The Highland Midge Magnet’s’ retail and spiritual home and therefore fewer souls still were herded to the retail outlet for solace, tea and lotion.
Finding the person that warms to a fridge magnet with dead midges on it.
Ensuring the weather is just right, damp, humid, a fine misty drizzle (aka mizzle), perhaps a touch of dreich, no breeze, minimal sun. An easier ask up here as that describes most summers.

Iteration 4 (when it arrives) will no longer be a magnet nor will it need a fridge door. It will become a card. How that affects the brand and its marque I have yet to fathom but to the drawing board it goes in 2024! It will be recyclable (card), wont require the capture and euthanising of 100’s of midges and wont contain plastic for generations to come to cherish as it yellows. This much I know…