Now in Size #3 - The Olive Gatherer - La Ceuilleuse d'olives - New from Marcel Carbonel Santons for 2015
Happily, 2015 brings The Olive Gatherer - La Ceuilleuse d'olives - to Marcel Carbonel Santons Size #3 / Grande - the 3-1/2" size.
First introduced in 2012, we loved the Olive Gatherer in Size #2
and we love her even more in Size #3. She is more than elegant, wearing a wide-brimmed black hat to shade herself from the sun over a green cotton headdress. She has a headscarf on her shoulders, a pinafore around her waist, and carries a basket of olives on her right arm, a branch of olives in that right hand, and an olive rake in the other. A bag of olives lies at her feet. The painting of her costume is, as always, exquisite.
Yet, more than that, we think she is especially appealing to those of us who are not from the French culture, as she symbolizes the harvesting of the glorious olive trees and in turn the pressing of those olives into olive oil, that we, as foreigners automatically and rather romantically associate with Provence.
Olive trees were planted by the Greeks when they settled circa 600 BC in Provence and around the Mediterranean. The trees thrived in the dry, stony, limestone soil and helped prevent erosion. Today, Olive oil from Provence is a limited crop. Varied and distinctive, Provence is known not known for the quantity of its olive oils, but for their superb quality.
Patricia Wells, a renown Provence cookbook writer rejoiced in this year's harvest.
Just last month, in November, she made the decision to pick the olives in her olive grove by hand. She writes:
"The events of Friday November 13th in Paris left us stunned and horrified. It is the city that I have come to call home and not uncommonly for a Friday night, I was out dining with friends at a small bistro on the left bank when the news of the attacks broke. We decided that the most positive action we could take was to continue with our plans to harvest our olive grove in Provence, both to celebrate the longevity, strength, beauty, and bounty associated with the revered olive and to soothe our saddened souls."
Carbonel's Olive Gatherers make a soulful addition to everyones Santons collection!
Enjoy our My Growing Traditions Marcel Carbonel Pinterest Board - click here
Emil Helbig Wood Carvers - Enchanting!
Three generations strong (1933-present) the Emil Helbig Workshop in Grunhainichen, the Erzgebirge, Germany, is the oldest wood carving workshop in the Ore Mountains. This year we have expanded our offerings considerably, with fairytales
Their art is distinctive and elegant in its simplicity.
The exceptional Folk Art of the Emil Helbig Workshop has thrived over the years, suffering through the stark demands of the communist period, and then flourishing again since 1991 in the hands of Emil's son, Walter, enjoying a rebirth of the classic wood-carvings established by Emil himself. Their woodcarvings are created with a simple precision - the essence of the figure is revealed with a few, precise cuts. The native basswood, a bright, simply grained wood, is vital, accentuating the charm of the carvings through the final step - the full splendor of color. The art is in the omission! Emil Helbig's creative spirit lives on.
A celebration of humanity, from the figures created to the creators themselves, they are simply dear!
A My Growing Traditions Folk Art Sampler - Celebrating the Best
The perfect gift of art! or, simply enjoy this sampler - a very special and wonderful opportunity to discover the artists we all treasure... and save $20.00
Olde German Treasures Silver Gift Set from Inge-Glas
In our quest to create Inge-Glas gift sets - ones that meet all your gift needs, including smaller ones for a wedding or bridal shower present, we were particularly struck with the Silver ornaments from the Olde German Treasures collection.
Inge-Glas Olde German Treasures celebrate both German tradition and art form. It was the style around 1900 for a tree to be decorated using only silver and white. To honor that tradition with their Olde German Tresures collection Inge-Glas carefully chose ornaments made from real antique, lovingly restored, old-glass blowing moulds. As always, Inge-Glas ornaments are mouth-blown and use pure sterling silver.
For the bride and groom, the tradition is to present a collection of good wishes .... symbols of a happy home to bring good fortune. The ornaments come in an Inge-Glas gift box and have a symbol card explaining their importance:
Our feeling was that they are simply elegant. As a gift, whether for a wedding, or a dear friend, they are classic, distinguished, and will always stand out on a tree - catching the light in much the same way that tinsel does.
To find the Silver Gift Set - click here or on the image above. They are, indeed, rather irresistible!
Christmas Tree Finials from the Erzgebirge - A Tree to Top Your Tree
This year we have added several hand-shaved (spanbaum) wooden Christmas tree finials to our offerings. They are splendidly crafted in the Erzgebirge and we are ever so pleased to carry them.
These two tree toppers feature spanbaum trees that have been cut in half - the stars in the center are on both sides
click on the image above or find here 
click on the image above or find here
The third is "three dimensional" with full spanbaum trees all around
find here
Trees atop your tree - they will naturally add a touch of majesty to your tree!
An Anniversary Angel - Celebrating Wendt and Kühn's 100th
She stands proud with the Musician Angels, beside your collection of Grunhainichen Angels, or even enjoyed in a Children's Parade.
To follow our Wendt and Kühn Pinterest Board - click here
A wonderful gift at Christmas!
We Now Carry Nils Olsson Natural Wood Dala Horses
We've expanded our offerings of Nils Olsson Dala Horses to include these charming Natural Wood dalahast.
above - on the left , at 4", and to his right, at 5", and below a 2" Christmas Ornament
To find these Dala Horses click on the images above or click here
In Sweden clearly the tradition is to stand your Dala Horse collection strategically here and there as a central element to your Christmas decor, but we wanted to hang some of ours on our Christmas tree. We admit that we do have a Dala Horse collection on a window sill under a Norfolk Pine year round. Still, we found ourselves determined to add them to our tree ornaments and thus, took dalahast keychains and turned them into Christmas ornaments. We hope you will enjoy them on your tree as much as we do.
For a thorough presentation of Dala Horse history - we know you will enjoy reading - click here
Natural Wood dalahast smartly shows off the grain of the wood that Dala Horses are individually carved from - they celebrate Sweden's national folk art symbol and the beauty of the wood!
