Face repair

Face repair

Sep 17

 

Just finished repairing a great really old (1700’s) Boxwood piece.

 

This came in with most of the face missing and a pretty big chunk missing from the front of the lever.

 

Here are a couple pictures when it came in:

 

face_b4_2

 

face_b4_1

 

Here’s a photo of it in process of being repaired.

 

New Boxwood has been attached, carved, and is waiting to be stained and blended.

 

face_wip_1

 

Here are a couple photos of the piece done:

 

face_after_4

 

face_after_3

 

face_after_2

 

face_after_1

 

This was a challenging repair.

 

I want to thank Arlene Wagner from the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum for sending me reference photos of pieces she has from this time period so I could make sure the details I needed to add were authentic to the piece.

 

—– Brandon

 

Bear chewin’ on a Feedbag

Bear chewin’ on a Feedbag

Sep 10

 

Here’s a fantastic piece I got to restore recently for one of the Nutcracker Collectors’ Club members.

 

It’s a really rare screw type nutcracker of a bear chewing on a feedbag.

 

This piece has a ton of detail and is very well done.

 

It came in with a broken feedbag nub, hole in the base, and chipped ears.

 

Here are a couple before pictures:

 

bear_b4_1

 

bear_b4_3

 

Here are a couple pictures after all the repairs were made:

 

bear_after_2

 

bear_after_1

 

This was a fun piece to work on and came out great!

 

—–Brandon

 

Dog with a Rat

Dog with a Rat

Sep 04

 

Here’s a really rare unique screw type nutcracker that came into the shop recently for repairs.

 

Both ear tips were missing and needed replaced.

 

Here are a couple before pictures showing the ear tips missing:

 

dog_b4_1

 

dog_b4_2

 

Here are a couple pictures showing the piece after I added new ear tips:

 

dog_after_2

 

dog_after_1

 

The piece came out great and the new ear tips blend seamlessly with the original.

 

New Piece Available

New Piece Available

Jul 24

 

I carved a few unique nutcrackers to take to the 2016 Nutcracker Collectors’ Convention.

 

Here’s a brand new design I came up with for the convention to demonstrate the type of work I do.

 

It’s a Screw Type Skull Nutcracker. It’s hand carved out of Mahogany, it’s 3 inches tall, and about 5 inches long.

 

It’s signed and is the first and only one of this design so far. It’s numbered as #1.

 

 

Screw_1

 

Screw_3

 

Screw_5

 

This piece is currently available for purchase at Ardoria.com.

 

Old English Cottage

Old English Cottage

Jul 16

 

While I collect and restore antique nutcrackers, I also make my own pieces that I sell on occasion.

 

Recently I carved an Old English Cottage nutcracker to take to the 2016 Nutcracker Collectors’ Convention.

 

This is a highly detailed piece that I carved out of Walnut just for fun. It’s about 4 inches square and stands about 9 inches tall.

 

I used Pyrography to add some of the very fine details (door hinges) and accentuate  the smaller carvings (window tracery). This also gave the piece  a camp fire aroma which was an added bonus!

 

 

cottage_front

Front of the cottage showing the details accentuated using Pyrography

 

cottage_right

Right side of the cottage showing the chimney details

 

cottage_back

Back showing the screw knob and roof details

 

cottage_left

Left side showing the window tracery details

 

cottage_bottom

Bottom showing the screw nutcracking mechanism

 

This was a very fun piece to do and I am very proud to report this piece was bought by the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum at the convention.

 

Stay tuned for more great pieces i took to the convention.

 

—– Brandon

A Groden

A Groden

Mar 26

 

I’ve been posting a lot of Anri Nutcrackers lately so I figured a recent Groden repair would fit right in.

 

Grodens and Anris are kind of related. The Groden valley of Italy produced nutcrackers as far back as the 1700s and may have been a contributing factor to the famous nutcracker production firm called Anri to be established by the Italian artisan, Anton Riffeser in the 1920s in northern Italy.

 

The Groden nutcrackers pre-date the Anris. They are very rare and highly sought after by collectors.

 

I’ve been very fortunate to have had a few of these very rare pieces come through my shop over the years. Grodens are prone to having base and feet problems. The wood grain runs vertical throughout the piece which causes these areas to be weak.

 

The piece that came into the shop was no exception:

 

Groden_b4_1

 

Groden_b4_2

 

Here you can see I’ve added a new base, feet, and carved a new lever.

 

 

Groden_aft_1

 

Groden_aft_2

 

Groden_aft_5

 

Groden_aft_6

 

Groden_aft_7

 

This is as far as I’m going on this piece, the customer is going to paint and finish it.

 

I’m hoping they send me pictures once its done!