The Shepherdess – the Twentieth (20th) Essential Santon for a Provençal Creche
The Shepherdess – La Bergere (French) – La Pastresso (Provençaux) is number 20 on the list of the top 20 Essential Santons for a Provençal Creche.
We included her in our very first entry on the 20 Essential Santons, the Shepherd being #1, at the very end of that post, as she is represented by the Carbonel workshops in four pieces, all tendering a lamb - two in Size #3
The Angel first announced the birth of the Saviour to the Shepherds. The Shepherds were the first to reach the manger, and summoned all the Provencal villagers to follow them. It is because Christ's birth was first revealed to the Shepherds (the Pastors) that the original nativity plays in Provence were called pastorals. "Filled with wonder, the shepherds made their way to the manger carrying jugs of milk, wheels of cheese and a precious lamb. On the way, they stopped at every farm and village to tell of the wondrous happening....Their jubilance and excitement was infectious and it was not long before everyone who could walk was on his way with a gift or to offer assistance." (Foley, p. 83-84)
Classic Indented Reflectors - Inge-Glas Collections
Reflectors are one of the most traditional and oldest Christmas ornaments. They represent the essence of light on the Christmas tree. They capture the beauty of the surrounding ornaments and Christmas lights. The finely molded walls of their indents create a prism of glittering color.
Reflectors, like other mouth-blown glass ornaments, begin with the glass blower heating a glass tube to a molten state. The glass-blower then blows into the tube until the hot, soft glass takes the shape of a sphere. To make an indented reflector, a "plug" (wood or plaster are commonly used) embossed with a unique design is then pressed into the hot glass.
This year we have enjoyed adding a wonderful selection of Inge-Glas classic Reflectors to our offerings. There are so many to choose from:
Click on the images above to find more in each of these Reflector collections: Reflections of the Past (on the left), Holiday Reflections (center), and Christmas Reflections (on the right)
Click on the images below to find: Vintage Reflection (left), Silver Reflections (center), and Botanical Reflections (right)
Add them to your Christmas tree and let the light shine!
New Wood-Shaved Trees - Spanbaum - for 2014
We have added to our popular Wood-Shaved Tree - Spanbaum offerings this year and we wanted to post the video here in our blog on how they are created. They are just so very special. They have many names - Spanbaum, span trees, wood shaved trees, chip or chipped trees, twilled trees, and curled trees. They were first created by Spanbaumstecherei (carvers of Spanbaum trees) in the 1930s and are crafted from the wood of a linden tree - the trunk lathed, and then each branch carved from that trunk, curl by curl. Watch the video - the process is exquisite.
We know you will enjoy these two new special trees - a 10" Spanbaum in green which is simply gorgeous 
and a 12" Spanbaum, wood-chipped, tree with a woodpecker nestled in the tree, pecking away... 
In addition, we now carry a Spanbaum, wood-chipped / wood-shaved, Christmas tree topper. 
They are a sight to behold - watching the video, seeing them pictured, and holding them in your hands.
The Wood Workers Shop - An Advent Calendar and our Traditional European Artisans
As we near this holiday season we realize that My Growing Traditions is truly about celebrating with the best of European folk art and Christmas. The artisans and their workshops whose folk art we offer are ones that represent the premier of their genre. All of them have histories that go back decades, some closing in on 100 years, and some beyond. They are artisans that have perfected their art and are recognized world-wide as masters in their field. They have been instrumental in creating and maintaining tradition. We carry Inge-Glas of Germany Christmas ornaments - the oldest Christmas ornament company in the world (since 1596) - and Marcel Carbonel Santons (since 1935) of Marseille, France, the preeminent Santons workshop.
And, we rejoice in the smaller workshops of the Erzgebirge, Germany - from the official German Christmas Village, Seiffen, and the toy-making villages that surround.
These wood-working artisans are so beautifully depicted in Brück und Sohn's (printer Meissen, Germany since 1793) Advent Calendar - The Erzgebirge Woodworker's Shop.
Click here for Brück und Sohn's other Advent Calendars available on My Growing Traditions.
Our fondness for the Woodworker's Shop Advent Calendar led us to want to share with you photos of the workshops of many of the artisans that we carry.
Christian Werner of Seiffen (since 1985) specializes in the exact work of the Woodworker's Shop - he is one of only eight who work in Reifendrehen, or ring-turning.
Bettina Franke has followed in her parents footsteps and carves wonderful Santas and nativity figures. Her workshop like Christian Werner's has flourished since the fall of the Berlin wall and the end of communism in Eastern Europe. 
The Emil Helbig Workshop (since 1933) of the toy making village of Grunhainichen in the Erzgebirge is renowned for their exquisite figures - here the wood carver works on a cat.
Classic Angels and many other wonderful wooden figures have been created by the Wendt and Kuhn Workshop in Grunhainichen since 1915.
And last but not least, we want to share with you here this picture of the creation of a wood-chip tree, or Spanbaum, a folk art that dates to the 1930s.
We have been privileged over the years to visit the workshops of each of these artisans - a true joy and an experience that has cemented our desire to make their work available to you.
Wendt and Kühn and Walt Disney's Movie: Saving Mr. Banks
In the Disney movie Saving Mr. Banks, a story of the making of Mary Poppins, Tom Hanks plays Walt Disney and joyously notes: “There's no greater joy than that seen through the eyes of a child, and there's a little bit of a child in all of us.” Like Walt Disney, Grete Wendt had a special eye for seeing the world through the eyes of children, and with Wendt and Kühn and all the wonderful figures they have created, Grete Wendt gave the world the opportunity to do so as well. It was no wonder that Walt Disney so thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful wooden creations of Wendt and Kühn.
As reported by the German-American Chamber of Commerce of Atlanta, Georgia: "Remembering her childhood, his daughter Diane Disney Miller wrote: 'My dad collected things that interested him ... As he and mother traveled together, they shopped, as tourists do, seeking out unique little things that pleased them, and that he thought his daughters would like to have.' A staff member at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco confirms this account, 'Walt Disney loved miniatures and picked up many of them on his travels.' He was obviously fascinated by the little wooden figurines from the Grünhainichen workshops of Wendt & Kühn in distant Germany. Perhaps they even provided inspiration for the creation of some of his film characters.... Corinne Leles from the Walt Disney Family Museum recalled, 'From what I have heard personally from Diane is that Walt received many Wendt & Kühn figures purchased by his wife Lillian and given to him as gifts from his two daughters Diane and Sharon.' The studio manager is also said to have presented his colleagues and employees with figurines from Grünhainichen."
What is especially nice is that in the process of creating the sets for the movie, in October 2012 Disney productions reached out to Wendt & Kühn, determined to recreate Disney's personal office as accurately as possible - his office being a key backdrop in the film. Using photos of Disney's office sent to them by e-mail, Wendt & Kühn happily shipped off to them the figures that they needed. Nothing had changed, Wendt & Kühn was still able to make available the exact same figures. Among them was the Flower Child holding a Sunflower, which you can find here at My Growing Traditions.
"The Hollywood production team could hardly believe it. 'Thank you for working with us in such a timely manner. ‘Walt’s office’ looked wonderful and authentic. I think you will be pleased when you see the film,' wrote Set Director Susan Benjamin in her thank-you card to the Grünhainichen workshops. And it’s true: in the scenes featuring Tom Hanks in the reconstructed film producer’s office, the Wendt & Kühn characters are wonderful to behold. They are vital props that give the film an authentic feel. The carefree, childlike appearance of the figurines is almost certainly the characteristic that most appealed to Walt Disney. After all, they seem to express a view of the world that Grete Wendt shared with the imaginative film producer."
We say thank you to the German-American Chamber of Commerce of Atlanta for writing this story and thank you to the Disney studios for making it happen in the first place. It is truly nice to see Wendt & Kühn celebrated on film.
You may also enjoy following our Wendt & Kühn Pinterest Board.
The Woman with Cabbage and Garlic – the Nineteenth (19th) Essential Santon for a Provençal Creche
The Woman with Cabbage and Garlic – Femme au chou et a l’ail (French) - La Femo eme lou caulet (Provençaux) is number 19 on the list of the top 20 Essential Santons for a Provençal Creche.
The Carbonel workshop offers her in all four of the Santon sizes that we carry.
She carries a braid of garlic in one hand while holding a head of cauliflower with the other. Both of these vegetables are important to a Provençal tradition: l'aioli, a garlicky mayonnaise. As explained in Wikipedia: "In Provence, aioli (or more formally, Le Grand Aïoli) also designates a complete dish consisting of various boiled vegetables (uniformly carrots, potatoes, and green beans), boiled fish (normally, desalted salt cod), and boiled eggs usually served along with snails or mollusks, with the aioli sauce. Other commonly used vegetables are cauliflower, courgettes (zucchini) and raw tomato."
Garlic, of course, has also been important historically and to this day for its medicinal qualities.
Enjoy following our Pinterest Board on Marcel Carbonel Santons.
Legend of the Bird's Nest
Add the Legend of the Bird's Nest to your Christmas traditions.
You may also enjoy our Inge-Glas Pinterest Board.
