Barry Kern had a million problems. Well, 1.6 million to be exact.
Customs officials in Anchorage, Alaska were holding hostage 1.6 million of
Kern's sculpted hand-painted M&M's. It seemed customs wouldn't allow
the "food" to enter the country from China, where they were manufactured.
Kern soon proved that his $100,000 display of faux candy wouldn't melt
in the mouth or in the hands, and the shipment arrived just in time for
the October grand opening of M&M's World on the Las Vegas Strip.
It was just one of the little headaches that come with the job of
expanding his father's Carnival float-making business in New Orleans into
an international decorations company.
"Mardi Gras in New Orleans is still our most important business, " said
Kern, president of Kern Sculpture Co. "But we're doing more and more
things all over the world every day."
At the M&M's World opening in Las Vegas, Kern's giant M&M's
characters stole the show. Three 20-foot-tall M&M's, one red, one
green, and one yellow, surrounding a 40-foot-tall yellow bag of peanut
M&M's, hang on the façade of the newest addition to one of the
nation's most happening boulevards.
It just goes to show how a little Mardi Gras magic can go a long way.
Barry Kern, 36, is the son of Blaine Kern, Mr. Mardi Gras himself. At
the same time M&M's were first being sold in candy stores, Blaine Kern
was forming Blaine Kern Artist in 1947, creating and building Carnival
parade floats for New Orleans Krewes. Another son, Brian, runs Mardi Gras
World in Algiers. Walt Disney tried to employ Blaine Kern early on, but
Kern's refusal didn't sour their relationship. It was Barry Kern, who set
up shop in 1983 with the Kern Sculpture Co., who would come to oversee the
production of many props and 3-D sculptures found today in Disney theme
parks around the world. With production facilities in New Orleans,
Orlando, Fla., Valencia, Spain and now Las Vegas, Barry Kern got to
explore the world of larger-than-life fantasy sculpture independent of
Carnival.
"After our company worked oversees for Disney World Paris," said Turan
Tekin, Kern Sculptures's senior project manager, "we brought back the
concept to the U.S. and now create 3-D props and figures for high-ended
themed entertainment complexes like the Disney amusement parks, different
them stores, and casinos everywhere."
"In more casinos than not, there is a little touch of Kern," Barry Kern
said. "Casinos obviously have the budget to create themed environments.
Most of them are like Disneyland with slot machines."
A WHOLE NEW DIMENSION Kern's fist project on the Las Vegas Strip was at
the Luxor Hotel and Casino in 1992. Teaming up with Casino Signs, l now
called the Mikohn Gaming Corp., Kern found a lucrative distributor and
advertiser in Mikohn, which provides interior and exterior sign as well as
surveillance and security services to the gaming industry. "Las Vegas is
the leader in 3-D signage," Linday Kring, a Mikohn sales representative.
"And Barry is the foremost expert in fiberglass 3-D signage, so it's the
perfect marriage between companies. Kern lends a whole new dimensions to
out services."
After Luxor came a colossal job for the Harley-Davidson Café farther
north on the Las Vegas Strip. Kern Sculpture built a 30-foot replica of a
1977 Heritage Softail Motorcycle and mounted it on top of the restaurant.
The Biker haven, serving "Hi-Octane" fajitas and "Winding Road" pastas,
opened Sept. 23, just before the first M&M's World debuted at the
Showcase Mall on October 16.
Ethel M Cocolates manager Eileen Madden said Kern Sculpture was paid
more that a million dollars for the interior and exterior creations for
M&M's World. Kern contracted with a China company to make the 1.6
million inedible candies. "If you don't invest, you won't be seen," Madden
said. "Look what you're competing with here on the Strip."
Nestled among The All-Star Café, GameWorks and The World of Coca-Cola,
M&M's World biggest neighbors are The MGM Grand Hotel and Casino at
the corner and New York, New York Hotel and Casino, across the street.
This year, 32 million people are expected to visit Las Vegas. "The big fat
M&M's were the first thing I noticed when I was driving down this part
of the Strip," said Cara Hughes, 24, from Tulsa, Okla.
"The big M&M's make me hungry" said Christopher Sterling, 11, a Las
Vegas native. "I heard they have 24 different kinds of M&M's. We're
going to buy them all."
CARVIVAL THEIR CALLING CARD Even though the primary market for Blaine
Kern Artists and Brian Kern's Mardi Gras World is in New Orleans, The Kern
Companies, as the group of family businesses is known, earn about half
their total revenue out outside the Crescent City. Tekin said about 20
percent of their $15 million annual revenue comes from Las Vegas. "Mardi
Gras has opened up all these doors to us all around the world," Barry Kern
said. "It's our calling card. It's allowed our company to keep getting
better people, allowing us to build better facilities, and therefore
making Mardi Gras Better at home."
The Kern Companies' 120 employees make floats for theme parades
worldwide. From Disney World to Universal Studios to theme parks in Europe
and Japan, the Kerns bring their Mardi Gras magic to venues willing to pay
to capture the aura of the "greatest free show on earth." Kern's creations
cost anywhere from $500 to half a million dollars each.
But for now, Barry Kern has his eye on Vegas. "I look a the M&M's
World and the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle, both on the Las Vegas Strip," he
said, "and I feel it's the pinnacle of what we've done. We have a real
opportunity here in Las Vegas if we properly market our sculpture
business. And the quality of our work just keeps getting better and
better."
VIVA
Las Vegas
