Miniatures - Putz - for your Christmas Village or Nativity Scene
We have added charming miniatures this year - perfect for use with your French Santons or German nativity scenes. These are just a few examples - baskets, wood, metal, copper, clay.
To find the miniatures and trees below, simply click on the images
They work well alongside the Carbonel accessories available for each size of Santons, and with the Erzgebirge Emil Helbig Workshop nativity figures and creche sets.
The German verb putzen means to decorate and one commonly finds the word putz to describe miniatures for a Christmas Village or Nativity Scene. Putz, miniatures, accessories, whatever one calls them, they add a very special touch to your Christmas. The traditional nativity figures, a few larger accessories, a few miniatures, and a few trees -
create a tableau, small or large, that is special to you. In both Provence and Germany, each year families wait for the Christmas fairs during Advent to find new treasures to add to their nativities (just as we in America rejoice in adding new Christmas ornaments to our trees).
Enjoy both...it all adds up to a bit of wonder!
Now We Can Take a Peek Behind the Windows - Brück und Sohn's Advent Calendars
We have always treasured Brück und Sohn's Advent Calendars for the memories they capture of our travels here and there. We are really pleased to have been able to add an additional touch of folk art to our calendar descriptions. We've always presented a photograph of each Advent Calendar for you to choose from. Now we can show you a small peek into the delightful art behind the windows.
Nuremberg's Christmas Market is renown as the "model" for Christmas Markets all over Europe. Brück und Sohn offers this gorgeous painting of the market in the town center and they have carefully chosen children's toys, a Christmas tree, and a Gingerbread House (Lebkuchen being a symbol of Christmas that Nuremberg is famous for) to place behind the windows as an additional delight.
The calendar of Colmar, the Vienna of Alsace, is equally charming. Here we find Saint Nicholas greeting children on a town square.
And, the one of Seiffen - Germany's Christmas craft capital - has delightful drawings of a Wendt and Kuehn Angel along with a smoker and a Soldier on a Rocking Horse.
So many of our artisans are from Seiffen or the immediate surroundings within the Erzgebirge.
These are just a few of the Brück und Sohn Calendars that we offer. Find them - here - and Enjoy!
The Legend of the Acorn - "From Little Acorns Come Mighty Oaks"
The oak tree is America's National Tree. The oak signifies courage and power - standing strong and proud through the ages. Thus the proverb "from little acorns come mighty oaks." That a tiny seed produces a mighty oak, reminds us that great results can be born of humble beginnings. Those who provide care and comfort to children are revered. Their is a special recognition for those who exercise the power of nurture - they and we live to see great acts of kindness, love, and success from our children / the next generation.
The acorn sustains countless wild creatures. "... deer, gray squirrels, red squirrels, chipmunks, wild turkeys, crows, flying squirrels, rabbits, opossums, blue jays, quail, raccoons, wood ducks—more than 100 U.S. vertebrate species eat acorns. In autumn and winter, the acorn is the cheeseburger of the forest ecosystem—fairly easy to find and nicely packaged. They are one of the most valuable food resources available for wildlife.... Like wine, acorns come in two basic types: red and white, depending on the type of oak they come from.... (Red and White Oaks have a) difference in tannin, an astringent chemical common in plants, (which) affects how wildlife use acorns.... (the tannin in) red acorns makes them less palatable to wildlife, both due to taste and digestibility. Ergo, animals vacuum up acorns from the white oak group with more gusto than they do the reds." - National Wildlife Federation
The acorn is revered as a Christmas ornament. In Germany the oak tree is considered sacred and the acorn - the fruit, the seed, the origin of the oak - is considered a symbol of good luck. Early German Christmas trees were laden with cones, cookies and nuts, and most notably the acorn, to commemorate the gift of life and good fortune.
Inge-Glas (the oldest Christmas ornament company in the world) gives us this delightful acorn ornament -
We want to share with you two special children's books celebrating the acorn and the oak - Because of an Acorn by Lola M. Schafer and The Busy Tree by Jennifer Ward...
these are books to share with your next generation or to enjoy alone as peaceful commemorations of the glorious world we live in...wonderful symbols of family and the natural world we are all blessed with!
Enjoy our Pinterest Board on Inge-Glas - here and on Trees - here
The Celebration of Wendt and Kühn's 100th Anniversary - October 3 -11, 2015
Wendt and Kühn's 100th Anniversary has arrived and they are celebrating in Grunhainichen (the home of their workshop) and at their shop in Seiffen from October 3 - 11 - introducing The World Of Wendt and Kühn and special presentations.
Above - a poster of Wendt and Kühn's delightful birthday parade in celebration of their centennial.
In subsequent blog posts, we will continue to highlight many of the special figures made by Wendt and Kühn for the 100th Anniversary collection. You can find them at My Growing Traditions - here
We invite you to enjoy our Wendt and Kühn board on Pinterest.
Wendt and Kühn's Berry Pickers
In celebration of their 100th Anniversary in October 2015, Wendt and Kühn has brought the Berry Picker children back to the collection. 
They were in fact the cornerstone of Wendt and Kühn. After studying at the Royal Saxon School of Applied Art in Dresden from 1907 to 1910, in 1913 Grete Wendt entered a design competition for quality souvenirs organized by the local heritage association "Sächsischer Heimatschutz." Her "Beerenkinder" (Berry Children) figurine group won several prizes, including second prize.
Having received these awards, her Berry Pickers were featured in countless publications. Orders started pouring in. They were filled by specially commissioned toymakers and by working from her parents home and became legendary. Shown above is an image of the award, original drawings, and two sets of the children beside the charming wooden splinter box in which they came. The demand for the Berry Pickers resulted in the establishment in October 1915 with Margarete Kühn, a fellow student from the Dresden School, of the Wendt and Kühn workshop.
Here we are in Maine where the blueberry reigns and we admit that of all the many wonderful Wendt and Kühn figures they hold a dear place in our heart. We are so pleased to add them to our offerings to you - find them here or individually by clicking on the photos below:
Celebrate these pivotal figures by adding them to your Wendt and Kühn collection.
Please enjoy our Pinterest Board on Wendt and Kühn - here
Christian Werner's Large Noah's Ark
We are pleased to now carry Christian Werner's wonderful Large Noah's Ark.
The Erzgebirge folk art world has produced "toy" Noah's Arks since the mid-1800s. During the 18th and 19th centuries thousands of Noah's Arks made their way into American and European homes. Today, Reifendreher (ring-turner) Christian Werner is renown for making the most exquisite Noah's Arks in the Erzgebirge. Werner has perfected the Ark itself. Using old factory pattern books, he has created an Ark that is reminiscent of the classic early ones found in an 1840s catalog.
We offer his Ark as a "complete set" - the Ark, Noah and his Wife, and 12 detailed animal pairs: sheep, pigs, elephants, rooster and hen, dogs, bears, cows, giraffes, cats, horses, camels, and doves. Or buy the Ark alone and create your own set.
The ark opens to stalls under the roof and space in the hold to display and store your animals.
Ring-turned animals have been made for generations. As the wooden ring turns,
the Reifendreher meticulously uses chisels to create precise grooves in the moist fir wood. The raw shapes of each animal, the Tiger here being an example, 
are sliced off the wooden ring using a hammer and knife. The toy maker's skilled hands carve the animal's final shape, embellish it with tails and ears, and finally they are painted by the workshop's artists.
The ark measures approximately: 20" long x 13-1/2" high x 7-1/2" wide.
Build your own and/or find additional animals - Pairs (2 x 2) or One Alone (1 x 1)
An incredible classic piece of Folk Art.
Christian Werner - the Ring-Turner / Reifendrehen / Wood Carver at Work
With his woodworking workshop in Seiffen (Germany's Christmas Capital), the Erzgebirge, Germany, Christian Werner is one of only eight master craftsmen in Reifendrehen - ring-turning.
His work is truly exquisite!! You will want to read the German blog post available here (even though the article about Werner is a bit whimsical in Google translation it is worth the read and includes additional photographs of Werner). AND we know you will enjoy the video below of Werner at work in his Seiffen studio.
My Growing Traditions, of course, offers a selection of his folk art -
From left to right: the Bremen Town Musicians, the Bernese Mountain Dog, and a wonderful mixed-media Pack Donkey
plus sets of his Cows and Sheep
and we look forward to adding more in 2015.
Enjoy our Christian Werner Pinterest Board!
