Bella Sara Timeline

On this page you can find a comprehensive timeline of Bella Sara and the major companies that created the brand. You can learn more about the history of the company here, and don't forget to check out the official Facebook page and the official website.

Current Updates
-Sura Hart (an author) has been brought on as a new partner to the Bella Sara Team

-On Facebook, Gitte claims new activities will be added to the site often. (This was in April 2020. No new updates have been given since).

-Facebook updates: Gitte claims new projects are coming and she hopes you enjoy the app!

-"Is the website coming back?": Gitte said absolutely not (on Facebook). They can't port the old functions without using flash, so they have discontinued them permanently. She apologized but said there are new things coming soon so stay tuned.

Timeline
The following timeline details major events and licensing agreements between Bella Sara's most notable companies including Hidden City Games and Conceptcard. Major events are in red.

1990

 * Peter Adkison founds Wizards of the Coast.

1999

 * Adkison sells Wizards of the Coast to Hasbro.

2002

 * May - Peter Adkison acquires Gen Con, LLC.

2004

 * Hidden City Games is founded by Peter Adkison to sell “Clout Fantasy” by game designer and art director Jesper Myrfors.

2005

 * July 11 - Danish company Conceptcard is founded by directors Gitte Odder Brændgaard and Peter Condrup Andersen.
 * August 8 - Poul Skaarup Villadsen joins Conceptcard as a director.
 * September - “Bella Silver” is released.
 * December - “Bella Gold” is released.

2006

 * March 13 - Peter Adkison of Hidden City Games is introduced to Bella  at the 2006 Game Manufacturers Association at Las Vegas, Nevada.
 * March - “Bella Copper” is released.
 * March-May - Peter Adkinson calls Gitte and Poul, wanting to invest in Bella. They initially turn him down, but after Peter calls again, offering to personally fly to Copenhagen to work out a contract with them, they accept.
 * June 12 - Hidden City Games signs 5-year licensing agreement with Conceptcard to create “Bella Sara” brand.
 * August 7 - Bella Sara “First Series” and U.S. website are announced.
 * October - “Bella Wise Warriors” is released.
 * October 19 - "First Series" is tested in mass-markets of Seattle and San Diego before being distributed nationwide to Blockbuster, Jewel-Osco, Kmart, The Kroger Co., Safeway, Target, Toys R Us, Wal-Mart, and 7-Eleven stores.
 * October 22 - Hobby stores voice disapproval over Hidden City Game's choice to make Bella Sara “First Series” mass-market exclusive. Peter Adkison responds by opening Bella Sara to hobby stores capable of advertising and recording weekly sales.
 * November 4 - HCG Bella Sara sponsors the first Girls’ Day San Diego featuring Ashley Tisdale at NTC Promenade, Liberty Station.
 * November 11 - HCG Bella Sara sponsors the first Girls’ Day Seattle Featuring Devon Werkheiser at Seattle Center, San Juan Room.
 * December 7 - Hidden City Games turns all attention to Bella Sara and puts its original game, Clout Fantasy, on hold.
 * December 21 - Peter Condrup Andersen leaves Conceptcard. 

2007

 * February 7 - “Second Series” is announced at the Hidden City Games booth #6039 at the American International Toy Fair in New York.
 * March 1 - “Second Series” is shipped to retailers.
 * March 12 - TV commercials of Bella Sara run for 13 weeks until June 10th.
 * March 15 - “Second Series” is released to major U.S. and Canadian retailers.
 * April - “First Series” is sold out.
 * April 17 - Hidden City Game’s original game, Clout Fantasy, is discontinued.
 * May 3 - Granada Ventures of the UK licenses with Hidden City Games to produce all merchandise except cards.
 * May 15 - Bella Sara is awarded “2007 Outstanding Product” by iParenting Media and “Best Products - Spring 2007” by Dr. Toy’s.
 * June - “Northern Lights” is released in Denmark. News of Bella Sara is shared to fans in Denmark and Bellacard.com slowly transitions to Bellasara.com.
 * July 16 - “Northern Lights” is released in North America along with Erinn in-store promotional cards.
 * July 26-29th - Bella Sara booth is present at San Diego Comic Con.
 * August 19 - Bella Sara booth #1439 is present at Gen Con Indy with guest celebrity Hayden Panettiere.
 * August 28 - Diamond Book Distributors is licensed to distribute Bella Sara products in book stores across the U.S. and Canada.
 * September 6 - Hydrogen and Hidden City Game’s ad for Bella Sara wins two Telly Awards.
 * October 2 - “Ancient Lights” is released.
 * October 4 - Bella Sara is advertised and distributed at Canadian mass-market retailers. Remaining “First Series” and “Second Series” cards are sold along with the new “Northern Lights” set.
 * November 1 - MasterPieces  puzzle company licenses with Bella Sara to produce puzzles and crafts.
 * November 6 - Hidden City Games receives $15 million fund from Rustic Canyon Partners and Trinity Ventures. Michael Song of Rustic Canyon Partners and Gus Tai of Trinity Ventures join Hidden City Game’s board of directors.
 * November 27 - Limited Too and Justice are licensed to distribute Bella Sara products. Dreamer promo is offered for a limited time.
 * November - “Mythology” is released in Europe.
 * December 19 - Hudson Group is licensed to distribute Bella Sara products at Hudson News, Hudson Booksellers, and Kids Works stores in airports.
 * December 28 - G.O.B. Holding ApS is founded by Gitte Odder Brændgaard in Tranekær, Denmark.

2008

 * January 17 - Joshua Howard is named senior vice president of Bella Sara Online.
 * February 5 - Phil Trumbo is named Art Director of Interactive Entertainment for Hidden City Games.
 * February 11 - Sababa Toys license with Bella Sara to produce games and toys.
 * February 19 - “Native Lights” is revealed.
 * March - “Native Lights” is released.
 * March 27 - HarperCollins and Codemasters license with Bella Sara through Granada Ventures.
 * May 16th - June 12th - Hidden City Games advertises the new “Magical Friends” set with the Quest for the Lost Horse retailer event.
 * June - “Magical Friends” is released
 * October - “Baby Bella” is released along with the Family Reunion event
 * December - HCG further advertises “Baby Bella” with the Family Reunion Family Game Night events.
 *  Bella Sara is nominated for an Award in Outstanding Video Game by Women's Image Network (WIN).

2009

 * January - “Treasures” is released.
 * June - “Royalty” is released.
 * October - “Bella’s Ball” is released.
 * Hidden City Games visits the Nurnberg Toy Fair.

2010

 * March - “Sunflowers” is released.
 * June - “Moonfairies” is released.
 * October - “Starlights” is released.
 * Bella Sara receives two awards from The Toy Man: the "Award of Excellence" and the "eChoice Award."

2011

 * February - “Spring Carnival” is released
 * May - “Summer Camp” is released
 * July - Hidden City Games shuts down after 5 year contract with Bella Sara ends.
 * July 11 - The Bella Sara Company, LLC, is founded by Gitte Odder Brændgaard and Henrik Heindorf in Seattle, Washington. Former Sr. Vice President of International Business and Licensing of Hidden City Entertainment, George Stetar, becomes Global Rights Manager.
 * October - “Winter Festival” is released.
 * November 2 - Gitte Odder Braendgaard leaves Conceptcard.
 * November 2 - Lilly Condrup joins Conceptcard as a director.

2012

 * February - “The Best of Bella Sara” is released.
 * May - The Bella Sara Company, LLC, shuts down. The Bella Sara brand is continued to be looked over by Conceptcard.
 * June - “Magical Chibis” is released.
 * October - “Herds from North of North” is released.

2013

 * July 25 - Conceptcard declares bankruptcy.
 * Foals prototype series is announced, but never released with only a few prototype series being found.

2014

 * February 10 - Conceptcard shuts down due to bankruptcy.
 * Gitte releases a survey on Facebook for a "new Bella Sara game" which is never released

2015

 * August 1 - G.O.B. Holding ApS is renamed to Bella Sara Company ApS .

2016

 * The Classic Bella Sara Website is temporarily shut down, but restored. Gitte claims updates to the site are coming, but none are actually given, the Bella Sara Company ApS is also confirmed to be the new company name, and is centered in Denmark, created in July. Website temporarily shuts down again, Gitte claims the website was ported to her in Denmark and is now under her control.
 * "Foals - 2017 Promos" boosters are released to secure card distributors.

2017

 * April - Gitte shares photos of "Foals - 2017 Promos" art on Facebook
 * New collection of cards proposed for the end of the year.

2019

 * September 2019 - Kidabord, a French branding company that handles design as well as fabrication, creates Bella Sara  school supplies including agendas, backpacks, etc. for the 2019 school year.
 * 2019 to Early 2020 - The website is still up, but the game is practically unplayable with many glitches, deteriorating features, and broken captcha functions.

2020

 * April - The Bella Sara App is released replacing the Classic Bella Sara Website (including stables and Bella Sara Adventures).
 * September - Kidabord  creates Bella Sara school supplies including agendas, backpacks, etc. for the 2020 school year.

2021

 * Kidabord  creates Bella Sara school supplies for the 2021 school year.