Category: ornament

A Day With Connie

While driving over to Atlanta Saturday morning to meet up with Connie and her sister Benita of Willow Springs … a family farm at AmerciasMart Atlanta an idea came to me. We all enjoy the beautiful publication Celebrate365 that Connie creates for us, so I thought a behind the scenes look at what goes on would be fun to share.

The day started off with me arriving in Atlanta around 10am, trying to find a “reasonably” priced place to park near the AmericasMart -Atlanta $25 a day to park in the garage was a bit too steep in my book. I did find a place a few blocks away. Walking in the bitter cold back to the Gift Mart had me rethinking the value of the parking deck. After meeting up with Connie & Benita, Connie took me to get my badge “that must be displayed at all times”.

Elaine Roesle graciously let us store our coats and excess “baggage” in her showroom closet. When Elaine was not busy talking with buyers, you could watch the great care that is taken with each individual piece in action. I was also introduced to Luca Terruzzi of Soffieria De Carlini Italian Ornaments.

Benita and I wandered off to attend the keynote address by Erik Qualman, author of Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business. The session was a very informative reminder as to why we need to be using blogs, Facebook and Twitter. After that we met back up with Connie on the 20th Floor. Then we headed to the Press Room for credentialed media types like ourselves and had a nice lunch.

We stopped off for a few minutes to chat with Debbee Thibault and she showed off some of her beautiful work to us. We then headed over to see the JingleNog and Thomas Glenn displays. Connie had quite a bit of work to do at the Thomas Glenn booth. Since  photographing and measuring every ornament would be time consuming, I wandered off to see other parts of the Gift Mart.

More treats were in store for us this evening as we made our way back to the 20th Floor to attend Halloween Carnevil – a whimsical little Halloween party that included a meet & greet with the artists along with a signing event.


What a wonderful surprise it was for me to see old friends again – Glenn Lewis and Debi Thomas of Traditions. This year I had the pleasure of meeting Debi’s mother. The last time I saw Glenn or Debi was in 2001.

We left the Gift Mart around 8pm, wrapping up glitter jam packed day. This is only one of eight days that Connie will spend gathering information for all of us to ahhhh and ohhhh over.

This has been the first of three guest posts by Leslie Kirk.

Saturday at AmericasMart in Atlanta

News from the Mart …

My web master, Leslie Kirk, joined us today driving in from the Birmingham, Alabama area. Leslie and my sister Benita attended the keynote presentation at AmericasMart. Erik Qualman discussed Socialnomics and how it can help retailers, artists and designers. They were impressed and I hope that they learned a few new tricks.

Meanwhile, I kept busy chatting with Bruce Elsass (a fellow Ohioan whose cousin once sat in my Spanish classroom in Wapakoneta). Bruce has a new line with new representation. The preliminary samples look fabulous! I have photos and will be talking more about this new line in the coming weeks. Expect to see his new work represented in the spring issue of Celebrate365.

Connie
Surprise from JingleNog!
Melissa Byrne, JingleNog owner, had a big surprise awaiting me when I visited her booth today. She has named her new peppermint striped mouse Melvin, in honor of my husband’s gourmet tastes. The real Melvin makes his restaurant reservations before he books a hotel room! Ornament Melvin loves to nibble upon gourmet cheeses.

I’ll report on the official name along with the ornament’s life history later.

Yes, that’s me with the glass version of Melvin … the one that can’t talk back!

What fun!  Thank you, Melissa.

Reporting from Atlanta … America’s Mart

I’ll be in Atlanta during the huge wholesale market this week and next. This is the spot where many ornament manufacturers debut their new collections each year. Today, I made quick stops at most of the permanent European glass showrooms. Tomorrow, I will begin note-taking and photographing styles to feature in the spring issue of Celebrate365.

Here are a few quick pics from today’s initial exploration.

Can you guess which showrooms I found these in? Use the comment box below to submit your guesses! I’ll enter your name into a drawing for prizes from things that I collect during the show.

Tomorrow, I’ll talk about the pieces shown below.

Connie
America’s Mart, January 6: Day 1
Good Enough to Eat!
Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3
 
Old World Designs, 1-of-a-Kind
 
Photo 4 Photo 5  
     
Elegant Design
 
Photo 6 Photo 7  
     
Exclusives from the Thomas Schaller German Workshop
Photo 8

Tinsel Time … the Magical Shimmer of German Lametta

I confess.  I have a thing for tinsel.  Not just any tinsel, mind you.  I want that wonderful, heavy metal stuff from my childhood, those silvery strands that my father patiently hung on the tree one by one.

What incredible dedication.  And, what a magical sight to behold! Mom certainly did not have time for that!  Taking down the tree was just as time consuming.  Off they came one by one to be carefully flattened and saved for another year.
How did this tradition begin in our little family?  I never knew.  Since decorating the tree was Dad’s domain, I think that tinsel must have been a Mitchell family tradition remembered from his own childhood Christmases in Dayton, Ohio.

Wow! Have you ever seen so many icicles?

Tinsel

I know that tinsel or lametta originated in Germany in the early 1600s.  German glassblowers from the Lauscha region crafted crystal ornaments, some looked just like icicles.  When the candles were lit on the tree, oh how those icicles glistened!  As the years passed, craftsmen created icicles from tin and even silver.  By the 1920s, the time when my grandfather Edgar Mitchell was celebrating Christmas in Dayton, Ohio with his wife and children, German craftsmen had invented lametta, tinsel icicles made from lead.  My grandmother’s family was German-speaking.  Perhaps that’s how my father’s love for a Christmas tree dripping in tinsel began.

Later generations have not experienced the magic of tinsel on Christmas morning.  Lead based lametta has been banned from the American market since the 1960s.  The past two Decembers, I’ve walked the aisles of German Christmas markets in search of the real thing.  Sadly, this magical tradition seems to be out of vogue in German households nowadays.  Although we visited markets, stores and flea markets in city after city, sightings of that old-fashioned lametta were few and far between.
But, I am persistent. During the past two years, little by little, I’ve gathered quite a collection of tinsel lametta, both vintage and newly manufactured.  I’ve come to appreciate the graphics on those early packets.  They represent an era – a time gone by.

I hope that you will appreciate them as much as I do.  Who knows?  Perhaps you’ll find something new and affordable to collect!

Click here or on the angel to view the tinsel collection.  New stock arrive this fall!

From Switzerland – Day 9

Saturday, Dec 12

Our last day in Europe and the day that Melvin and I have been eagerly awaiting – the lure of antique Christmas ornaments!  Our first stop was at Zurich’s large flea market.  We had plenty of time for browsing … but lunch was a quick one since we didn’t want to miss a treasure that might be lurking in some undiscovered booth.  In the afternoon we visited Zurich’s annual antique Christmas fair.  We had learned that at least one member of the Golden Glow would be exhibiting.  What did we discover? You’ll have to be patient until I return home and have more time to write and photograph our treasures!

We’ll be arriving back in Ohio (via Atlanta) Sunday afternoon.

Thanks to everyone for their patience in awaiting your ornament orders while I have been away.  I will begin shipping on Monday, December 14!