About Us


Great American Eyewear is the newest division of The Great American Doll Company which designs, develops, manufactures and distributes the best-selling high-end dolls in history.

Visit: www.greatamericandolls.com for information regarding Great American Eyewear's parent company.

 

Our Management Team

The company’s esteemed management team’s talent and imagination are legendary – a virtual Who’s Who of the international toy industry. The team includes Co-Founders, Michael and Fredericka Lam, multiple award-winning Italian designer, Bruno Rossellini, as well as a distinguished management team who have steered the parent company for over thirty-five years.

MEET OUR TEAM

Renowned Award-winning Italian Artist and Sculptor, Bruno Rossellini

  • Bruno Rossellini signed an exclusive long-term contract with The Great American Doll Company in 1989. In the summer of 2018, Rossellini became Director of Creative Design for Great American Eyewear.
      Company Founders:  Michael and Fredericka Lam
      • Michael and Fredericka Lam, M.Ed are the Founders of The Great American Doll Company (GADCO); Great American Publications; International Collector Services (ICS); and Great American Eyewear (GAECO).
      • In 1985, Michael and Fredericka Lam created another brand new industry that did not exist before they created it -- this was the realistic artist-doll industry.
      • The Great American Doll Company's beautiful realistic dolls became the best-selling high-end dolls in history.
      • The company designs, manufacturers and distributes realistic hand-sculpted, artist dolls.
      • The Great American Doll Company's federally copyrighted artwork makes up the largest library of realistic doll head, arm and leg designs in the world.
      • The Lams were the first and only entrepreneurs to sign exclusive long-term contracts with international artists (sculptors). After a short time, the company's previously unknown artists became award-winning, internationally famous household names.
          • The Lam's established a high-end, state-of-the-art doll manufacturing plant -- a 16,000 square foot facility, in Anaheim, California. (Selling prices for dolls manufactured in The Great American Doll Company's American factory: $400 to $1600 USD.)
          • For decades, the Great American Doll Company completely sold-out every doll it produced. (Orders were repeatedly booked months in advance of production.)
          • For twenty-five years, from 1980 to 2005, the founders traveled the world -- 150,000+ miles each year -- training factory product development managers, factory production managers, and line staff responsible for GADCO's porcelain and vinyl doll productions.
          • These proprietorial GADCO training programs remain the industry's most technologically advanced high-end, middle-end and low-end doll development, production & quality assurance programs in the world. (GADCO's factories are located in the U.S., France, Japan, Mexico, Taiwan, South Korea, Germany, Italy Indonesia, Hong Kong and China.)
            • The Great American Doll Company's patented technologies, patented designs, federally registered trademarks and vast library of copyrighted doll art sculptures have revolutionized the way dolls and action figures are designed, developed, manufactured, and sold around the world.

            Background of Co-Founder, Michael R. Lam

            • Michael R. Lam is the Founder of International Marketing and Sales Company (IMSCO), the predecessor to GADCO.  Michael built IMSCO from the ground up after he created a brand new industry that did not exist before he created it.
            • Within one year of its founding, IMSCO became the world's largest designer, developer, manufacturer and distributor of superior quality doll components.
            • IMSCO began in Michael's garage with a small $5,000 loan from his father. In less than sixteen months, IMSCO's sales skyrocketed to over $9.2 million -- with 90% profit margins. (Neither Microsoft or Oracle accomplished this.)
            • While continuing to grow IMSCO, Michael and Fredericka Lam built The Great American Doll Company. Together, they created another brand new industry that did not exist before they created it.
            • The Great American Doll Company was the first company in the world to design, manufacture and distribute realistic artist-designed dolls.
              • In less than a year, GADCO's sales and profits far exceeded  IMSCO's spectacular growth.
              • In 1988, for the first time, "Martina" the Company's first realistic artist doll, designed by German artist Rotraut Schrott, was exhibited at the International Toy Fair in New York City. The company broke industry sales records at the show by securing $20 million dollars in initial "dealer test- orders" for the $295 doll. (The Great American Doll Company eliminated the need for any outside financing by financing the company solely through sales generated by their first division, the doll part's company, IMSCO.)

              Background: Co-Founder, Fredericka Lam

                • Fredericka D. Lam, M.Ed. is a licensed counselor specializing in children.
                • Lam earned a Master's Degree in Education with an emphasis in Counseling and Guidance summa cum laude, from California State University, Dominguez Hills. (She completed the two-year master's degree program in nine months.)
                • Member: Screen Actor's Guild (SAG).
                • Graduate of the highly selective and prestigious Coro Southern California Women in Leadership Program. Coro's nonpartisan mission is to strenthen the democratic process by preparing individuals for effective and ethical leadership.
                • Coro is focused on cultivating emergent leaders through intense hands-on, collaborative, cross-sectional leadership training programs.

                         Notable Coro Alumni:

                • Hon. United States Senator Dianne Feinstein
                • William Connelly, Strategic Analyst The New York Times
                • Hon. Tim Kaine, Senator and Former Governor, Virginia, United States Vice Presidential Candidate
                • Alex Padilla, California Secretary of State; current United States Senator -- appointed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom to fill Vice President Kamala Harris' Senate seat. (Padilla became the first Latino in state history to fill the role.)
                • Steve Strauss, Senior Small Business Columnist, USA TODAY
                • Diane McNulty, Former Executive Director of Media Relations, The New York Times
                • Hon. Anna Eshoo, Member of U.S. House of Representatives
                • Hon. Vic Fazio, Former Member of U.S. House of Representatives
                • Hon. Michael Bennet, Member U.S. Senate, Colorado; U.S. Presidential Candidate
                • Bruce Corwin, Chairman and CEO, L.A.’s Metropolitan Theaters Corporation
                • Michael Davis, Vice President, J.P Morgan
                • David Friedman, Senior Manager, Deloitte LLP
                • Craig Fuller, Former Assistant for Cabinet Affairs, President Reagan and Former Chief of Staff to Vice President George W. Bush, Former President and CEO, National Association of Chain Drug Stores.
                • Thomas R. McMorrow, Chair, California Policy Practice, Manatt Phelps & Phillips, LLP
                • David Moskovitz, Managing Director, Accenture
                • Jeffrey Plaut, Founding Partner, Global Strategy Group
                • Hon. Jerry Lewis, Former Member, U.S. House of Representatives
                • James Gilson, Vice President and General Counsel, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
                • Bellie Greer, Former President, Southern California Leadership Council
                • Susan Herrera, Former Chief Executive Officer, Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation
                • Bill Jackson, Former President and Founder, GreatSchools.net
                • Jill Nishi, Director, Office of the President and Chief of Staff, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, United States Program
                • John Sage, Chief of Staff to Melinda Gates, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
                • Iris Chen, Executive Director, The Fund for Public Schools, Former President and CEO, I Have a Dream Foundation
                • Beatriz Stotzer, President and Founder New Economics for Women
                • Hon. Carol Liu, Former California State Senator and Former State Assembly member
                • Hon. Holly J. Mitchell, Member, California State Senate
                • Hon. Adrin Nazarian, Member, California State Assembly
                • Dr. Stephanie (Lee-Miller) Myers, Former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
                • Hon. Debra Bowen, Former Secretary of State, State of California
                • Gene Siskel, Former Film Critic, Siskel & Ebert & the Movies
                • Phil Angelides, Former Treasurer, the State of California
                • Frederick O. Terrell, Vice Chairman of Credit Suisse, Co-Founder of Provender Capital Group, LLC
                • Ben Cannon, Executive Director Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission and Former Member, Oregon House o Representatives
                • Helen Dewar, Former Staff Writer, The Washington Post
                • Robin Kramer, Former Chief of Staff, Mayor of Los Angeles Current Senior Advisor to the Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands
                • Hon. Libby Schaaf, Mayor, City of Oakland, California
                • Hon. Jean Quan, Former Mayor, City of Oakland
                • Hon. Kevin Faulconer, Mayor, City of San Diego, California
                • Hon. Natalia Rudiak, Member, Pittsburgh City Council
                • Hon. Caprice Young, Former President Los Angeles Board of Education
                • Hon. John Greenwood, Former President, Los Angeles Board of Education
                • Linda Gibbs, Former Deputy Mayor, Health and Human Services NYC Office of the Mayor
                • Jeffrey Bleich, Former U.S. Ambassador to Australia
                • Don Gips, Former U.S. Ambassador to South Africa
                • Hon. Heidi Brieger, Judge, Massachusetts Supreme Court
                • Hon. Anna Blackburne-Rigsby, Chief Judge, District of Columbia Court of Appeals
                • Hon. Marvin Baxter, Former Associate Justice, California Supreme Court
                                                                     

                Highlights: The Great American Doll Company

                    • The company’s dolls have been featured in all eight windows of Tiffany & Co., and were sold in The White House Gift Shop during the Reagan Administration.

                        Multiple Award-Winner for Innovations in Design and Quality Manufacturing

                        • Doll Reader's Doll of the Year Award (DOTY): GADCO has been Awarded Three (3) DOTY Awards and Six (6) DOTY Nominations
                        • Doll's Magazine Dolls of Excellence Award: GADCO has Been Awarded Three (3) Dolls of Excellence Awards and Four (4) Nominations

                        A Partial List of The Great American Doll Company's Notable Customers:

                        • President Ronald Reagan & several other U.S. Presidents
                        • Brian Mulrooney, Former Canadian Prime Minister
                        • Frederik de Klerk, President of South Africa; Nobel Peace Prize winner. On February 11, 1990, amid growing domestic and international pressure, and with fears of a racial civil war, President F.W. de Klerk freed Nelson Mandela from prison. Mandela had served 27 years..
                        • Danielle Steele, Author
                        • Candice Bergen, Actress
                        • Bob Shaffner, President, The Rolls Royce Foundation
                        • Burt Reynolds, Actor
                        • Demi Moore, Actress
                        • Garry Marshall, Director, Pretty Woman, Happy Days, The Princess Diaries
                        • Whoopi Goldberg, Actress/Comedian/Host of The View
                        • And other international leaders and celebrities who have requested anonymity
                              Media Coverage:  Dolls and children's books manufactured by The Great American Doll Company and Great American Publications have been featured in numerous media outlets worldwide including:
                              • The New York Times
                              • The Washington Post
                              • Reuters News
                              • South China Morning Post
                              • The Times of London
                              • The Miami Herald
                              • The Orange County Register (Front Page Cover Story)
                              • People Magazine
                              • USA Today
                              • Time Magazine
                              • Newsweek
                              • People Magazine
                              • The Orlando Sentinel
                              • Hello! Magazine (U.K.)
                              • The Gulf News (Kuwait)
                              • Los Angeles Daily News
                              • Sports Illustrated
                              • Vogue
                              • And other media outlets featuring GADCO's realistic dolls depicting world renowned international tennis champion, Gabriela Sabatini; Princess Diana; Jacqueline Kennedy; Actress Marlene Dietrich; John F. Kennedy, Jr., and more.
                                  The Great American Doll Company Has Been Featured in the Following International Media:
                                  • Good Morning America
                                  • Live with Regis and Kathie Lee
                                  • The Home Show (ABC) 
                                  • BBC Horizon Series: The Highest Bidder
                                  • CNN
                                  • AP Syndicated TV News
                                  • The Late Show with David Letterman
                                  • And more
                                  • GADCO TV selling shows featured on QVC, HSN, and ShopNBC, repeatedly broke electronic media records when the dolls completely sold-out in just 16-22 minutes during all of its one-hour shows. (Average selling prices: $400; there are no returns from customers.)
                                  • The Great American Doll Company was named, "The Most Influential Company in the Industry" by the leading magazine, International Doll World, after the Company repeatedly breaking dealer, consumer and electronic media sales and profit records, and after the creation of the company's revolutionary intellectual property assets, including valuable trademarked brand-names, utility and design patents, and its best-selling trademarked properties.

                                  The Great American Doll Company and Great American Eyewear continue to create world-class products and patented technologies to upgrade, enhance and uplift dolls, children's products and luxury patented designer eyewear.