Christian Werner's Very Special Fir Trees
We all know the artisan Christian Werner for his animals. With his workshop in Seiffen, the Erzgebirge, Germany, Christian Werner is one of only eight master craftsmen in Reifendrehen - or ring-turning. Beyond his wonderful creatures, Christian Werner has revived a lost art with his production of very special fir trees.
As explained in the Werner catalog:
"the production of intricate and highly detailed toys began in the Western Erzgebirge in 1861. Economic production of cardboard products gave rise to an industry that employed more than 1200 workmen and 140 engravers. When the last factory, in Buchholz, closed in 1953, it wasn't just the pretty toys that disappeared from the market. Along with them went the know-how and craft skills needed to make them, from making the tools used to produce them through to the application of the last lick of paint."
He revived this lost craft in creating the fir trees that we offer in these two sets. They are delicate and precise, and help to create these true-to-life forest scenes.
For photos of the history and workshop of Werner enjoy our Christian Werner Folk Art and Ring-Animals board on Pinterest.
Favorite Horse - Hobby Horse
New for 2013, Inge-Glas' Favorite Horse Christmas Ornament - a delightful child's Hobby Horse - so often found in one form or another in all of our playrooms.
Immediately, the classic children's Nursery rhyme, Ride a Cock Horse to Banbury Cross, comes to mind
Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes,
And she shall have music wherever she goes.
Mr. Jourdan – the Twelfth (12th) Essential Santon for a Provençal Creche
Mr. Jourdan - Monsieur Jourdan (French) is number 12 on the list of the top 20 Essential Santons for a Provençal Creche. He is available in three of the Marcel Carbonel Santons sizes offered by My Growing Traditions: Size 3, Size 2, and Size 1.
Stemming from the early Christmas play, the Pastorale of Antoine Maurel, Mr. Jourdan and his wife, Margarido, are symbols of the middle class. Margarido is the eighth essential Santons for a Provencal Creche, and clearly where she goes, he goes.
Margarido is infamous as a woman with a very bad temper who nags her husband. In the Pastorale, Roustido belatedly, as a latecomer, and in the middle of the night, beckons the couple to scurry to the Stable. Margarido comfortably and proudly rides her donkey, while trying to hurry along her husband as he trudges along beside them.
Mr. Jourdan is nattily dressed in his "opera hat, cravate, embroidered waistcoast, white stockings and shoes with silver buckles." He brings a basket filled with food to the nativity. (Carbonel Dictionary)
You may enjoy our Pinterest Board on Marcel Carbonel Santons for photos of history and the making of Santons.
Traveled Companion
New for 2013, the Traveled Companion brings to your Christmas tree a remembrance of all those special trips in your life. This charming ornament is from Inge-Glas (No. 1-090-13, 2-3/4" tall).
Travel is one of those things that we all dream about.
High on our list are return trips to Provence (the home of all things Santons) - this guide book full of gorgeous photos and our Pinterest Board on Provence allow us places to feast on wonderful images of the area,
to Neustadt, Germany - the home of Inge-Glas' Historical German Christmas Museum,
and, to the Erzgebirge, Germany - the home of German Christmas, where we delight each visit in returning to the Ore Mountain Toy Museum in Seiffen.
A dream is to follow the German Toy Road and to extend that road south into Tirol, Northern Italy.
And, ultimately, a visit to Dresden and its Christmas Market - the oldest Christmas Market in Germany.
Celebrate your travels - past and future - with the Traveled Companion.
German Christmas Tree Pine Cone Candle Holders
In the 17th century, the Germans created the first lights on a Christmas tree by pinning or tying candles to the tree - using melted wax as an adhesive (much as we, today, use candle wax to affix a candle to a table top candle holder). In 1878 Frederick Artz invented the clip-on candle holder. This wonderful painting, Merry Christmas, by Danish painter Viggo Johansen in 1891 celebrates the Christmas tree alight with candles.
For the first year, My Growing Traditions offers German Pine Cone Candle Holders for you to clip-on to your Christmas Tree. They are available in both silver or gold colored metals
New for 2013 Wendt and Kühn Angels
My Growing Traditions offers two new Angels introduced by Wendt and Kühn in 2013.
A Marguerite - Snowflake Angel working hard in Santa's workshop
creating a doll. Given the diminutive size of the Marguerite Angels (1.5 inches tall), the cakes, angels, dolls, jumping jacks, rocking horses, etc. that they hold and carry are incredibly small. Extraordinary skill is required to create these delightful figures. The daisy chain garland gives the Marguerite Angels their name - Marguerites being a small delicate daisy flower. Their daisy crowns were once made of tin. When tin became scarce, in the 1940s, Wendt and Kühn turned to a delicate embossed cardboard for the daisy garland.
And, a Classic Angel (2.5" tall)
with Teapot and Flower. At their workshop in Grunhainichen, Germany, Wendt and Kuhn employs 155 workers.
Eighty of them are painters, but only four of those 80 artisans paint faces. They have a very special hand.
You may enjoy our Pinterest board on Wendt and Kuhn angels.
Emil Helbig Exhibit at the Seiffen Toy Museum - and yes, we carry their wonderful folk art
If, by any chance, you plan to travel to Germany before the 4th of May 2014, make a side-trip to Seiffen and their Toy Museum. From 16 November 2013 and 4 May 2014, the Toy Museum is holding a special exhibit of the work of the Emil Helbig Workshop in Grunhainichen. Founded 80 years ago, the Helbig Workshop is one of the oldest existing wood working workshops (Schnitzwerkstatten) in the Erzgebirge and considered one of its finest.
A graduate of the Dresden Arts and Crafts School in 1919, Helbig worked at the Meissen porcelain factory where he was discovered by Professor Alwin Seifert, the director of the "State Toy School." Helbig founded his own very special workshop in Grunhainichen in 1933. The exhibit at the Toy Museum includes many pieces that have never before been seen by the public.
We proudly carry their nativity, from the Mary, Joseph, and Jesus (shown here) to a full set of other nativity figures
and many of their Christmas ornaments, this angel being only one of them. Visit here to see more delightful Helbig Christmas ornaments.
We look forward to carrying more and more Helbig folk art over the years. Let us know if there are specific pieces you are interested in.
