Man on a Horse

Man on a Horse

May 10

Here’s a great piece with an even better story behind it.

There’s no way I could tell the story and do it any justice. So here’s the great story directly from Arlene Wagner (Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum):

 

“After the  antique shops closed on Portabello Road in London, George and I went pubbing with David Levi and Rik Gijsen.  After a few, the guys were all feeling good and one antique dealer asked Rik if he was interested in buying a nutcracker he had with him.  Said it would be 100 pounds since it was just “half a horse”  whereas a whole horse would be about 500.  A bit of dickering went on, and Rik agreed to buy “half a horse” without seeing what he was getting.  Well, indeed it is just that, the horse’s whole head and the rider’s R arm is missing!!  I have kept this thing all these years laughing each time I see it, and remembering the good times we used to have antiquing with Rik.   I think it is time to have it repaired!!!

The picture shows what I believe is a donkey, but to go with the story, I think you could make it into a horse!!    Arlene“

 

So I did just that. Sticking to the story, I added a horse’s head and tail to this piece, stabilized and repaired the cracks, carved him new arms, and gave him some rope to fit his new role as a horse rider.

The pictures below show what the piece looked like when it came in missing all its pieces and parts. I also included a picture of what it is supposed to look like in regards to him riding a donkey then what it looks like now all converted over to a horse.

This was a very challenging piece to do, but the story behind it made it fun.

Arlene is thrilled with the piece and can’t wait for Rik to see it when he visits her this July.

 

The shop still has a steady flow of repairs coming through.

Stay tuned for some more really great pieces!

—– Brandon

ANRI Ram

ANRI Ram

Apr 06

Here’s another fantastic piece from Arlene and the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum.

This ANRI Ram came in with its bottom jaw broken. Yes, another bottom jaw repair. Told ya broken jaws are common. 🙂

Here are a few before and after pictures. Click on the images to see a larger version of them.

 

 

 

 

The shop has been really busy. I can’t thank everyone enough for the steady flow of business and support.

Lots of great pieces and repairs coming up.

Stay tuned!

—– Brandon

 

ANRI Mouse

ANRI Mouse

Mar 18

Here’s another great piece from Arlene and the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum. This ANRI Mouse came in with its bottom jaw missing . This is usually caused by people’s misconception that the nut gets cracked in the mouth rather than in the back in the space provided under the lever. I see a lot of pieces with this type of damage. He also had a chip out of its right ear and the pin needed replaced.

I have never seen an ANRI Mouse before so I was happy to have this one in the shop. I enjoyed fixing him up so he can be put back out on display at the museum.

Here are a few before and after pictures. Click on the images to see a larger version of them.

 

 

 

 

More great pieces to come soon.

—– Brandon

Mustache Repair

Mustache Repair

Jan 25

Here’s another great piece Arlene Wagner brought from the Nutcracker Museum to the 2013 Nutcracker Collector Club Convention to be repaired.

This is a 19th century walnut nutcracker originally made in Switzerland.

It came in missing part of the mustache and had a wood grain crack back by the hinge. The repairs are seamless and the piece came out great.

I was very impressed with this piece. It is a high quality well carved piece with a lot of great details. You can see this piece in person along with many others at the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum located in Leavenworth Washington.

 

Squirrel gets a nut

Squirrel gets a nut

Jan 13

Arlene Wagner from the Nutcracker Museum brought a few pieces to the 2013 Nutcracker Collector Club Convention to be repaired.

This nice little Squirrel Nutcracker features an adjustable lever and finely detailed markings all over. It was missing its head and the pin was varnished solid in place removing the ability to adjust it. I restored the piece’s functionality, gave this little guy a new head, and took the liberty to add a nut to the design. It’s the least I could do for this little guy after all he’s been through.

As always, be sure to click on the images for a larger view.

 

 

 

 

Stay tuned for more great pieces from Arlene.

—– Brandon

2014 is here!

2014 is here!

Jan 01

Happy New Year everyone!

I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy new year.

I’m looking forward to 2014 being a busy and productive new year. I’ve got lots of ideas and things in the works out in the shop.

Be sure to raise a pint with me and bid 2013 a well deserved farewell.

—– Brandon

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Dec 25

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope this blog post finds you well.

As promised here are some pictures of this year’s decorations.

Missy loves Christmas and does a fantastic job of getting the house ready for our families to come by, feast on all kinds of goodies, open gifts, and enjoy Christmas as much as we do.

As always, click on the images for a larger view.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and enjoyed a small glimpse into our holiday home.

 

—– Brandon

It’s almost Christmas…

It’s almost Christmas…

Dec 23

It’s our favorite time of year …. CHRISTMAS!

Missy has been busy baking cookies today. Peanut Butter Blossoms, Sugar Cookies, Chocolate Chip, and my favorite … Molasses Cookies (click here for the recipe – Molasses Cookies Recipe ). The house just smells like Christmas.

The house is all decorated and we’re looking forward to having our families here to share the holiday with us. I can almost smell the ham cooking Wait… nope… that’s still fresh baked cookies I smell.  Man, I love Christmas!

I took the week off from my day job. Fixed the very noisy dishwasher, got some nutcracker repairs done, and made another snail nutcracker that will be for sale after the holidays.

Stay tuned for pictures of the house all decorated for the holiday (you may even see a nutcracker or two … or three…).

Also noteworthy (or should I say “nutworthy”… groan, yeah I went there), a Spokane Washington news channel did a great short segment on the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum. If you look close, directly to the left of the nutcracker Arlene explains is dated around 1500, you’ll see the piece I repaired for her a while ago ( click here – 1500’s Nutcracker Repair ). It’s great to see that piece being proudly displayed.

Click here to see the segment ( KHQ Nutcracker Museum/ Arlene Interview ). Be patient,  you’ll have to watch a commercial or two before the segment starts. It’s definitely worth the wait though.

Enjoy!

 

—– Brandon