Nancy Falzone's Get Together - Wrap Up

I did some shopping down in Nancy's basement. There was plenty to choose from, and not just Hagen Renakers. There was a bit of everything!

Table after table chock full of things to buy!

 I am not into fantasy items, but this piece from Kristina Lucas Francis was so beautiful - the head is so pretty, and the colors perfect.

She called it an "okaptopus"and the color is purple orchid. It is #5/6.

 She also brought this sweet, Sleeping Fjord to sell! 

 There were ten for sale (they were snapped up FAST) and she has five others at home.

Then, I found a piece I have wanted for a long time but have never found at a price I felt was reasonable.

Steffanie Bodamer had this lovely Lenox Appaloosa for sale and he came home with me.

Jamie and Yvonne Rott surprised me by bringing me a gift.

 It's the early Monrovia Elephant Baby with pink ears and decorated toenails! That was such a nice surprise!

After the shopping time and then all sixteen of us showing our models and telling stories of each one, it was time for the potluck lunch.

There was so much food to choose from! Craig had offered to make white chicken chili for me to take and it was a big hit.

And when lunch was done, it was time to draw for door prizes. Liz Cory ran that, while Nancy chose each door prize to hand out.

There was enough for two go-rounds! (I got some yummy popcorn.)

Meanwhile, Nancy Kelly was calling us back one by one into one of the bedrooms which had been turned into a photography studio.

She photographed each horse, its stickers (if it had one), and then measured it for her next book which is on hobby history.

My Steha Circus Pony in the photo booth.

(Photo credit to Nancy Kelly.)

With the exception of Nancy Kelly, who took the photo and thus is not in it, here we all are! Front row, left to right: Liz Cory, Yvonne Rott, Donna Connors, Dawn Sinkovich, Steff Bodamer, and Linda Shawhan. Middle row, left to right: me, Ardith Hillyer, Michelle Oviatt,. Back row, left to right: Jamie Rott, Paul Francis, Kristina Lucas Francis, Liz LaRose, Nancy Falzone, and JoEllen Arnold.

The get together was scheduled to end at 5:00, but I left at 3:00. The dreary, drizzly fog had not dissipated all day, and since I had a four to five hour drive, I wanted to minimize the time I would spend driving in the dark. Paul Lucas was kind enough to help me pack my things into my car, and I said my goodbyes.

What a day - it was everything I could have hoped for and more. But best of all was the opportunity to see Nancy again and chat for a bit. She is a lovely lady, inside and out.

Nancy Falzone's Get Together - Show and Tell

Nancy had asked each of us to bring up to seven pieces from our collections that were special to us. We would be given the opportunity to share about them, and then Nancy Kelly, who was also in attendance, would photograph our pieces for her next book on hobby history.

The tables for the show and tell took up the entire living room, dining room, and family room!  Piece after piece after piece... it was all amazing! (See that large grey Thunder on the left next to the orange wing chair? That was done by Maureen Love and actually was a yard decoration at her home!)

 Nancy Kelly acted as emcee for Nancy, and Nancy started us off by sharing some of her favorites.

 I do not know how she was able to winnow these six pieces out of her thousands!

Such a lovely lady, inside and out. She is one of my favorite hobby people.

Ardith Hillyer brought one piece - the large white statue on the base.

Dawn Sinkovitch had found these three decorators at an auction a few weeks ago and paid $4 apiece for them. Lucky find!

Steff Bodamer (left) takes a picture while Yvonne Rott listens. Here's Ardith's big white horse, again.

Kristina Lucas Francis and Dawn Sinkovitch were my seat mates on the couch.

Liz Isham Cory, Liz LaRose, Jamie Rott, and Donna Connors. (See that pigeon? Nancy's husband, Don, who passed away a few months ago, raised homing pigeons. His decorating mark on their home was pigeons.)

Nancy Kelly listens as Dawn presents.

Both Nancy and Kristina were taking notes throughout our presentations.

Nancy shares her pieces. (You can see that large Thunder better in this photo.)

JoEllen Arnold asked Kristina to hold her pieces while she talked about them. (I took over note taking for Kristina so she could.)

This piece belonged to Keith Bean and is very special to Jo Ellen.

Jamie Rott loves Breyer's Running Mare mold. She found this unusual dapple grey mare on eBay.

Yvonne Rott, Jamie's mother. (What fun to share a hobby!) I think this is a raffle piece that she won at this past BreyerFest.

Steff Bodamer loves Breyer's Fighting Stallion. She showed us her chalky one and one that her father gave her that "started it all." (I have one of those and had brought it to share, too!)

Liz Isham Cory used to work for Breyer and edited Just About Horses, Breyer's magazine.

She had been given many of the white bisques that Hagen Renaker sent Breyer when they were starting the Classics and Stablemate lines. Two of them were with her (Sesepe which Breyer did not use, and the SM Draft horse.)

Living room displays finished, we then moved into the kitchen and dining room areas.

Donna Connors presents. At the table on the left is Michelle Oviatt, another long time model friend of mine. She did not bring anything to share, but it was fun getting a chance to see her again.

Donna is holding a piece carved from wood that was her father's. He kept it on a shelf, and she used to push a chair up, stand on it, and then lovingly pet the horse. Her dad gave it to her years later. (Jo Ellen Arnold in red, Nancy Kelly and Steff Bodamer on the right.)

I brought circus ponies! JoEllen wanted to buy my large Friedman Leahy as she collects circus ponies, too, but it's not for sale.

JoEllen and Linda Shawhan listen as Kristina begins her show and tell.

Her awesome green Nataf! 

In the light of the room (it was a dreary, drizzly and foggy day outside) he looked more grey than green to us, but she assured us that he was, in fact, very green in good light.

Jamie Rott, Liz Isham Cory, Steff Bodamer, Donna Connors, and Nancy Kelly (still taking copious notes!)

Paul Francis, Kristina's husband. I had not met him before Saturday, and he is a really nice man.

He loves Hagen Renaker's Dead Bird and has the one that belonged to John Renaker.

Linda Shawhan had a beautiful Animal Artistry Arabian with the golden saddle.

Liz LaRose told a story of her original collection of Hagen Renakers breaking when the shelves collapsed and her mother surprising her by gluing ever single one back together!

Liz had brought the bay Zara that Ellen Hitchins and Simone Smiljanic had had a tiff over. There are only four known bay Zaras in the world, and three of them were at our gathering!

Several collectors, including Liz LaRose, invited us to handle their models. "In this crowd, I know it will be okay," she said.

Next up? Miscellaneous photos to wrap it all up.

Nancy Falzone's Get Together - Nancy's Horses

I had been looking forward to Nancy's get together since I received an invitation two months ago. And it certainly did not disappoint. I have never, ever been in a home with so many chinas. Thousands and thousands of them, in glass display cases, wall-mounted shelves, on tables, and in every single room of the house.

I tried to take pictures of all her pieces and got many of them, but I did not take photos in the bedrooms.

A welcoming sign was on Nancy's front door and on the basement stairs where we could set up anything we  had brought to sell.

 A shelf with overhead lighting ran the entire perimeter of the room.

 It was covered with thousands of Hagen Renaker minis, all sorted into logical order (cats, wildlife, etc.)

I walked around that perimeter several times, just enjoying the sight of so many beautiful pieces together. Nancy was willing to sell her minis if you saw one that you wanted.

She also had a lot of the HR plaques displayed around her home.

This is one of the sales tables - just look at those drool-icious pieces!

 In addition to the perimeter shelf, Nancy had display cases in her basement, too.

 The living room (the models on the tables were brought by attendees for a show and tell later in the day.)

Another display case in the living room (that's Ardith Hillyer on the left and Jo Ellen Arnold on the right in the dining room).

 Case after case, everywhere I looked.

This one was in the front entry hallway. I worried about bumping it as I carried in my tub, card table, and other things, but Nancy didn't seem concerned as we trooped in with all our things.

 Nancy is mostly a Hagen Renaker collector, but she does have other chinas in her vast collection.

I think, for the first time in my life, I became a little "horse overwhelmed." Walking the concourse at BreyerFest or room shopping at the CHIN will show you more total pieces, true, but this was all one person's collection and on her home turf. I could scarcely take it all in! Simply amazing!

Next up? Show and tell!

A Gathering of China Collectors

I am am back in Illinois, and I am very, very excited - I am attending a gathering of china collectors at Nancy Falzone's home!

Nancy and I have been friends for years (since the early 1990s.) We met at an auction that had model horses advertised. I was walking around looking at them prior to the bidding, when Nancy and Michelle Oviatt walked up to me.

"I can tell you're one of us," Nancy stated firmly, and then she introduced herself and Michelle. We ended up spending the rest of that day together, bidding on horses and chatting. I learned a lot about collecting that day, but even better, I made two lifelong friends. (Michelle is going to be at the gathering, too.)

I've got my dish for the potluck (white chicken chili), a door prize (my extra HR Circus Elephant), and a couple of my circus ponies for the photo session with Nancy Kelly.

I can't wait!

Another Road Trip

Two weekends ago I went to GLC's October model show in Chicago. Last weekend, I traveled to Lynchburg, Virginia to visit our daughter and her family for my fall break. I haven't even caught my breath from that trip and am preparing to leave again Friday after school for another one!

This time it is to a collectors' gathering in Illinois. We are to bring some of our favorite pieces to show and tell, a dish to pass, a door prize donation, and anything we'd like to sell or trade. There is a lot of fun planned, and I was excited to receive an invitation, but I am also scrambling to get ready to go as I have something after school every day this week.

I haven't even made my motel reservations yet. So much to do...