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Wendt and Kuhn 2023 figures

Posted on February 14, 2023 | 0 Comments

Wendt and Kuhn new 2023 items -
Click the picture to order.
Birthday Angel Painting Angel - Only Available in 2023
Pre-Order now for March 2023 Delivery
Boy with Helenium - Pre-Order Now for May 2023 Delivery
Angel Wearing Crown with Two Candles
Pre-Order now for May 2023 Delivery
Gnome with Cake. Pre-Order Now for May 2023 Delivery
Trio of Anniversary Angels - Limited Edition of 5,555 sets
Pre-Order Now for September 2023 Delivery
Nativity Set Stable - Pre-Order Now for September 2023 Delivery
For all Wendt and Kuhn Items click this text
So many wonderful pieces from Wendt and Kuhn this year.

Posted in Angels, Christmas Traditions, Erzgebirge, German Christmas, German Folk Art, German Traditions, Gnomes and Pixies, Nativities, Wendt and Kühn

New in 2022 - Angel Orchestra Musician with Alpenhorn

Posted on August 31, 2022 | 0 Comments

New for 2022 is Wendt and Kühn's Angel Musician with Alpenhorn (Alp Horn (alphorn)  / Alpine Horn)     

Orchestra Angel with Alpenhorn

   The Alpenhorn is a straight wooden horn from 5 to 14 feet long.

When the new Grunhainichen Angel blows into his alphorn its unmistakable sound can be heard over many miles. Originally used as a means of communications in the mountains, the instrument has long since found its way into the hearts of fans of the alpenhorn all over the world.   

With its soft, calming tones it enriches both jazz compositions and modern pieces. It is even to be found in classical music.

The Angel comes with either brown or blonde hair and is available here.

     

 

Posted in Angels, Erzgebirge, German Folk Art, German Traditions, Wendt and Kühn

Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf brought to us by Wendt and Kühn

Posted on December 17, 2019 | 0 Comments

Little Red Riding Hood is on her way to her Grandmother's house, bringing her a lovely basket of cake, something special to drink, and some beautiful flowers.

     

Yes, she is a truly favorite fairy tale known to all of us - yet, at the same time bringing good cheer, she makes a delightful addition to any special occasion.

She is new in 2019, stands 2" tall, and comes with a Wendt and Kühn Presentation / Gift Box.

Grete Wendt loved the world of fairy tales and used her fascination for them to create a whole series of delightful figurines. One of them is Little Red Riding Hood and a companion piece of the Big Bad Wolf. 

     

Other names for the story are: "Little Red Riding hood," "Little Red Cap," or simply "Red Riding Hood." 

"Little Red Riding Hood is a European fairy tale whose origins can be traced back to the 10th century to several European folk tales. One of the best known versions was written by the Brothers Grimm. 

Little Red Riding Hood is named after her red hooded cape/cloak. She walks through the woods to deliver food to her sickly grandmother (wine and cake depending on the translation). In the Grimms' version, her mother had ordered her to stay strictly on the path.

The Big Bad Wolf wants to eat her and the food in the basket. He secretly stalks her behind trees, bushes, shrubs, and patches of little and tall grass. He approaches Little Red Riding Hood, who naively tells him where she is going. He suggests that the girl pick some flowers as a present for her grandmother, which she does. In the meantime, he goes to the grandmother's house and gains entry by pretending to be the girl. He swallows the grandmother whole (in some stories, he locks her in the closet) and waits for the girl, disguised as the grandma.

When the girl arrives, she notices that her grandmother looks very strange. Little Red then says, 'What a deep voice you have!' ('The better to greet you with,' responds the wolf), "Goodness, what big eyes you have!" ('The better to see you with,' responds the wolf), 'And what big hands you have!' ('The better to hug/grab you with,' responds the wolf), and lastly, 'What a big mouth you have' ('The better to eat you with!,' responds the wolf), at which point the wolf jumps out of bed and eats her, too. Then he falls asleep. 

In the Grimm's German version a  hunter comes to the rescue with an axe, and cuts open the sleeping wolf. Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother emerge unharmed. They fill the wolf's body with heavy stones. The wolf awakens and attempts to flee, but the stones cause him to collapse and die." - Wikipedia

Beginning in 2017 and over the next few years Wendt and Kühn will release a new fairy tale figurine every fall to add to the joy. Cinderella is the first in the series, Star Magic - the Sterntaler Girl - is the second, and Red Riding Hood is the third.

Click here for the companion pieces - The Big Bad Wolf and the Little Red Riding Hood Jig-saw Puzzle.

     

All Made in Germany
by
Wendt and Kühn of Grünhainichen, Germany,
a "Toymakers Village"- since 1915 
Imaginative, unique, elegant, and delicate
figurines from a traditional workshop -
meticulously hand-crafted by 155 artisans -
80 are painters,
but only four (4) paint faces.
Winner of the 1937 World's Fair, Paris
Gold Medal - Grand Prix
Simply Exquisite!
A more than special addition to your collection!

Posted in Fairy Tales, German Folk Art, German Traditions, Wendt and Kühn

Brück and Sohn Advent Calendars - European Cities and More - Limited Supplies Available

Posted on November 15, 2019 | 0 Comments

Brück and Sohn (Printers in Meissen, Germany 1793-2018) celebrate European cities and culture with their exquisite Advent Calendars. After honoring their 225th anniversary in October 2018, the 7th generation, Annette and Helmut Brück, retired, closing their doors. An era has come to an end.

My Growing Traditions has scavenged where we could and replenished our inventory in hopes of being able to make them available to you as long as possible. We do have limited supplies available.

Here we present a few customer favorites - 

   

Stuttgart, Germany

Colmar, Alsace, France

Graz, Austria

Victorian Playroom

Christmas Tree Mischief     

The Brücks continue to memorialize the history of their company and offer a small museum and postcard archive which are preserved in Meissen and which are open to the public by appointment.  

Given our limited supplies we recommend you secure yours now. You can click on the photos and titles above, or click here: to find the entire collection 

 

Posted in Advent, Brück and Sohn, Christmas Traditions, French Christmas, German Christmas, German Folk Art, German Traditions

A new annual Special Edition Series from Wendt and Kühn to Celebrate Advent and Saint Nicholas Day

Posted on October 25, 2019 | 0 Comments

Wendt and Kühn is creating a new annual special edition series, meant to be a small, perfect, yet precious gift for Advent or Saint Nicholas Day (December 6).

For 2019 they give us a charming Angel on a Star at 2" tall. The Angel is similar to the legendary Angel 28 designed by Grete Wendt even before Wendt and Kühn was founded. The Angel has a special label on the underside of its base with the words "Zum Weihnachtsfest 2019" (For Christmas 2019) and comes in the Green and Gold Wendt and Kuehn presentation box.

Angel on a Star 
A truly extraordinary gift! 

 

 

Posted in Advent, Angels, Christmas Traditions, German Christmas, German Folk Art, German Traditions, Wendt and Kühn

Wendt and Kühn's Sterntaler Girl / Star Magic / Star Money - New for 2018 - A Symbol of Humanity

Posted on October 14, 2018 | 0 Comments

New for 2018, Wendt and Kühn brings us their latest fairytale figure, the Sterntaler Girl / Star Magic - a symbol of humanity.

       Grete Wendt loved the world of fairy tales and used her fascination for them to create a whole series of delightful figurines. One of them is the Sterntaler Girl - Star Money / Star Magic. Sitting in a moonlit glade, the Sterntaler Girl spreads out her apron. When stars fall from the heavens and turn into coins it is fairy tale time at Wendt and Kühn. 

A Grimm's Fairy Tale, the Star Talers, "An unnamed, orphaned girl is poor and homeless; she has only her clothing and a loaf of bread that a kindhearted soul has given her. She is a goodhearted person, however, and so she goes out into the countryside to see what might happen. She gives a hungry man her bread, and to three cold children she gives her cap, her jacket, and her dress. After wandering into a  forest, she sees a naked child begging for a shift, and since it is dark and she cannot be seen, she gives her own shift away. As she stands there with nothing left at all, suddenly stars fall to earth before her, becoming talers [brightly shining coins], and she finds herself wearing a new shift of the finest linen. The story ends with her being rich." - Wikipedia

      

Illustration by Heinrich Voegeler

"This fairy tale was particularly popular before the first World War as it symbolized the compassionate man who helps others even when he apparently has nothing himself.  Grete Wendt first designed the Sterntaler Girl in 1930.

Now nearly a century later she still stands for compassion, modesty, and care for others. Those values are today more important than ever. The Sterntaler Girl is a symbol for humanity, one of the reasons Wendt and Kühn chose this particular fairy tale to continue the fairy tale collection in 2018" - Wendt and Kühn

She is also available in a 24-piece jigsaw puzzle - find it here.

Beginning in 2017 and over the next few years Wendt and Kühn will release a new fairy tale figurine every fall to add to the joy. Cinderella is the first in the series and the Sterntaler Girl is the second.

You will definitely want to add this very special piece to your collection.

Posted in Fairy Tales, German Christmas, German Folk Art, German Traditions, Wendt and Kühn

Wendt and Kühn's Girl on an Easter Egg Hunt

Posted on March 17, 2017 | 0 Comments

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.

Girl Finding Easter Eggs

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.

 

Posted in Easter, Erzgebirge, German Folk Art, German Traditions, Spring, Wendt and Kühn

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