The Gnomes of Wendt and Kühn - Perfect for your Fairy House
Gnomes, Fairies, Elves, Dwarfs, Pixies, and Leprechauns - a fantasy land full of delightful little helpful creatures. This year, new for 2017, Wendt and Kühn adds to their Pixies,
with three dear little Gnomes -
All are perfect for your Fairy Home.
Celebrate Easter with our Emil Helbig 25% Off Sale
The Emil Helbig Workshop - the oldest woodcarver in the Erzgebirge (the center of Germany's Christmas Folk Art) - creates classic Easter pieces.
Above, the Girl with an Easter Egg, and the Boy with an Easter Egg ...
the Boy with an Easter Rabbit, and right a Bunny in a Tub of Eggs ...
Three Rabbits Delivering Easter Eggs, and Two Little Rabbits Hiding Under a Leaf.
Find these wonderful Emil Helbig Easter pieces and more here - an artful addition to your Celebration, and on Sale!
Enjoy our Emil Helbig Workshop Pinterest Board.
Wendt and Kühn's Girl on an Easter Egg Hunt
New for 2017 is Wendt and Kühn's Girl Finding Easter Eggs. She joyfully discovers two red eggs and one blue tucked in beneath a flower.
Seeing her for the first time, left us wondering about the origin of the Easter Egg Hunt.
One of the earliest references is to Scotland, where "it used to be the custom on Easter Sunday for the young people to go out early in the morning to search for the eggs of various wild fowls for breakfast, it being thought most lucky to find them."
The egg has been a symbol of life dating back at least 2,500 years. Long associated with the circle of life (rebirth and renewal), for plants and animals alike, the egg was first seen as a symbol of the beginning of spring and later adopted as a Christian symbol.
King Edward I of England is renown for popularizing the custom of dyeing eggs for Easter in 1307, when he had 450 eggs boiled and decorated for the royal household.
Wendt and Kühn's Girl Finding Easter Eggs is the latest in their wonderful Easter collection. Cherish her alone or add her to other fine Wendt and Kühn Easter children - which you can find here.
Enjoy My Growing Tradition's Pinterest board on Easter.
Esco - The German Easter Bunnies / Rabbits with the Distinctive Pointed Ears
We are happy to announce that we now carry the world renown classic German Easter Bunnies / Rabbits / Hares collected by our mothers and grandmothers. Our own collection was acquired during the Soviet period, a period of time when individual workshops were not identified. Nowhere could we find a label specifically identifying the Esco workshop. Just recently we were able to put two and two together and finally add them to our offerings. Known as the Bunnies / Rabbits with the distinctive Pointed Ears, they have been hand-crafted by Esco since 1930.
Kissing Easter Bunnies
Esco began as a small workshop (growing to around 15 craftsmen in 2005) in Leubsdorf, Germany, at the foot of the Erzgebirge (Ore) Mountains. Esco is synonymous with the pointed ear bunny - creating more than 300 different figures. We are happy to offer a selection of their best -
you can find these and more here
They are especially known for introducing the original Easter Bunny School
inspired by the book "The Bunny School" by Fritz Koch-Gotha in 1924.
Amazon Germany describes Koch-Gotha's masterpiece as "probably the most famous picture book of this [the twentieth] century. Who does not know them, the story of the Hasenhans and Hasengretchen and their schoolmates?"
In 2007 Zeidler Holzkunst took over the Esco company. They added tradition to tradition, as they are one of the most traditional wood craft workshops in the Erzgebirge. A family business, since 1866, they originally created wooden toys, and now have grown to produce many Christmas items as well as the Esco Easter Rabbits.
We hope you are as pleased as we are that we found them.
Marcel Carbonel Santons introduces - New for 2016 - the Dowser / Diviner / Seeker - Sourcier - Size #2 / Elite
Marcel Carbonel's mustached Dowser Santon, Size #2 / Elite (the 2-3/4 inch - 7 cm size), is nattily dressed with his hat, vest, blue cravate, and skin gaiters covering his shoes. His divining rod is crafted out of metal. Both metal and wood dowsing rods are traditional.
The dowser / diviner / seeker has a charm of his own. Dowsing, a pseudoscience, having a mystical / magical quality, has historically been used to search for water under the ground using a special stick. Seeking ground waters is also known as divining or water dowsing. The dowser uses a dowsing rod (divining rod) as shown below in the picture of a Frenchman holding his rod (traditionally a forked/y-shaped tree branch).
This new figure from Carbonel is certainly topical, given that the world is and will be increasingly addressing the need for water sources. A perfect time to add the Dowser to your collection.
You may also enjoy our Marcel Carbonel Santons Pinterest board.
A Scandinavian Christmas with Nils Olsson Dala Horses
It is Christmas and Nils Olsson Dala Horses (Dalahästar), the premiere Dala Horse Workshop, since 1928, in Nusnäs, Dalarna, Sweden, handcrafts the finest of all Dala horses. A Dala Horse is, simply said, a must for Christmas. The classic red is a tradition. Of course, we are proud to offer a selection of colors and sizes.
If you are looking for recipes, Trine Hahnemann's Scandinavian Christmas is a joy. She offers a potpourri of festive and traditional recipes.
Find a Scandinavian Christmas here on Amazon.
And, you may enjoy following our Nils Olsson Dala Horse Board on Pinterest.
Wendt and Kühn's New Advent Calendar
This year, for the first time, Wendt and Kühn has created an on-line advent calendar. Each day one can visit their calendar to discover a favorite Wendt and Kühn figure.
Check it out, here... and move forward each new day of advent...
Such a fun way to celebrate all our favorite Wendt and Kühn figures - one of those extra special delights of Christmas.
