I am fairly certain at this stage in my life I don’t truly “need” anything. I am happy with my belongings and have more clothes than I could wear in a year, so I need to truly declutter. Honestly, I simply don’t want anything this year…or so I thought.
I recently saw a post put on Facebook by my friend Loren Zeller. Loren has been an amazing resource for transferware and willow and I truly love reading his articles. He is a wealth of knowledge for some rookie collector like me. I did ask my husband for an autographed book, but we will see if he listened. I am guessing, I will need to purchase one for myself after the holiday!
Anyhow, Loren started his own gallery of his favorite items and also began a sale page. I immediately decided to purchase this little hound for myself. I am pretty good at buying some wonderful willow pieces when I see them and I hate the feeling of regret for that “one that got away”. So without hesitation, I hit purchase input my info…and the rest is history.
I was good with this purchase meaning I didn’t track it 5 times a day. In fact, I never even got the tracking number. I only asked after 3 business days. The mail, even priority is slow at the moment. I was pretty excited when the mail lady came but out of sheer fear, I continued decorating and didn’t open m package until hours later. I would have been shattered if it wasn’t in perfect condition.
I will tell you, I have longed for a dog with a willow pattern base. I had no idea there were so many kinds until I saw his gallery. My mouth literally watered. Check it out at http://www.zellercollection.com. The gallery of figurines is simply amazing. Regardless, I am happy to have purchased the one item I truly wanted.
Many of these figurines are contributed to being made my James Kent in Staffordshire. This little guy is unmarked. I am truly pleased to have a piece of Loren’s collection. I have admired his posts, presentations and articles since I began collecting. I will take really good care of this guy! And yes, this was a Christmas gift to myself. I didn’t think twice.
Here is to buying your own gifts for Christmas! I am all about just buying what you want. By the way, if you need any additional reference materials, I would strongly recommend joining the IWC. They do have a webpage, Facebook and marketplace but they also produce a quarterly newsletter that is a wealth of knowledge to help you learn. I will also add it is a way to learn where items are made, what reproductions look like and how to not buy things that are new to the market. It is easy to get taken these days. http://www.willowcollectors.org is where you can join the IWC.
Now I need to name this little guy….. maybe Rudy…short for Rudolph for some Christmas cheer!!!???
Happy Willowing Friends
Blue Willow Treasures - A collectors showcase 