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Sunday, June 13, 1999
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Out of this world
Area 51 cards lure customers with
ingratiating aliens
By Greg Cheeseman
Review-Journal
The mention of Nevada's Area 51 invokes images of sinister military conspiracies and mysterious, probing aliens, but Robert and Margaret Kolar prefer to look at the lighter side of the classified patch of desert.
The U.S. government refuses to acknowledge the existence of the flight testing facility in central Nevada, but conspiracy theorists claim it plays a key role in keeping otherworldly encounters secret.
So a husband-and-wife graphic design team has created a line of greeting cards that features humorous images of aliens and their spaceships. One card shows a grinning extraterrestrial mowing crop circles in a corn field. Another promotes the fictional Area 51 Hotel-Casino -- Motto: "Play the loosest slots in the universe."
Of all the possible subjects for greeting cards, Area 51 was a natural, according to Margaret Kolar.
"Living in Southern Nevada, we're always hearing the stories coming from Area 51. That sort of caught our interest."
Robert Kolar, who does the artwork, said he was inspired by an investigative television news report on Area 51, a nickname for the Air Force facility the government declines to say exists at Groom Lake.
Subsequent public discussion seemed to be centered on the possibility of an alien invasion or a massive government cover-up, but he saw other possibilities.
"I like to put things in tongue in cheek. I like to make people laugh."
The Kolars gained some inspiration for the cards during the 105-mile drive north to Rachel, not far from Area 51. They were traveling on what has been designated by tourism officials as the Extraterrestrial Highway when they got the idea for a card with a bright yellow road sign marking a UFO crossing.
The couple's Boulder City-based Kolar Design Studio was busy doing work for Las Vegas casinos and other clients when it launched its line of Area 51 cards last year. Several hotels had commissioned the studio to create unique cards for their properties, and the Kolars decided to create their own line.
"We just thought the timing was right and it was sort of a fun thing," said Margaret Kolar.
The Kolars displayed their $2.50 apiece cards last month at the National Stationery Show in New York. Their cards were honored as one of the best new products among 1,400 exhibitors.
She said the timing was right for alien-themed cards because of the popularity of the "Star Trek" and "Star Wars" movies and the "X-Files" television show. People were more apt to imagine aliens involved in wacky hi-jinks than gruesome medical experimentation.
"The whole subject is kind of intriguing but also fun. It was time to have some fun with it."
The cards can be found in a variety of stores in the United States and the Kolars have received reports of their popularity in places as far away as Great Britain and Sweden.
Robert Kolar attributes the success of the cards to the mind set of customers.
"The thing people like about the aliens and Area 51 is they are able to use their imagination."
Lynn Stanford, manager of the Bonanza World's Largest Gift Shop on the Strip, said the store's Area 51 cards are second in popularity only to Las Vegas-themed cards.
"Anything that pertains to Area 51 or little green guys is popular," she said.
Stanford said customer interest in Area 51 remains strong.
"A lot of them are a little surprised to see (Area 51 novelties) then they laugh hysterically when they see it. Some of them don't realize how close it is to Las Vegas and want to be told how to get *there."
Kolar Design Studio has expanded its business by launching a Web site (www.popart.com) and offering e-mail versions of its cards.
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Printable version of this story
Inside AREA 51
>
Graphic artists Robert and Margaret Kolar have fashioned a line of greeting cards poking fun at Area 51, a patch of desert conspiracy theorists claim is home to a top-secret military base. Theorists believe the base, which the government denies exists, plays a key role in keeping otherworldly encounters secret. Therefore, the Kolars' cards feature humorous images of alien spaceships, above, and Las Vegas' official outer space icon, Alien Elvis.
Photo Courtesy Kolar Design Studio.
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