Another Anri Dog

Another Anri Dog

Nov 19

 

Got another Anri Dog in for repairs.

 

This one had a broken handle almost identical to the break on the one I fixed a few moths ago for the Leavenworth Nutcracker museum.

 

You can see the one I fixed a few moths ago for the Leavenworth Nutcracker museum HERE. Very odd the breaks were so similar.

 

Here’s a quick picture of the current piece that came in and and the broken handle:

 

 

 

Here are a couple pictures of the piece all fixed:

 

 

 

 

I was very pleased with how well this piece came out.

 

—–Brandon

 

 

 

Ugh, some days…

Ugh, some days…

Nov 05

 

Yep, some days just don’t turn out as expected.

 

Still had a couple days off to burn from my day job. Had plans of getting my oil changed Friday, get the deck railing stained, and the outdoor electrical stuff fixed; but the day had other plans for me.

 

Started off with a dull headache, then our cat Leo made a jig saw puzzle out of one of our Halloween busts we got a few years ago from Home Goods.

 

Here’s Leo looking innocent.

 

 

While being petted, he accidentally knocked the pirate bust off the end table.

 

The wrought iron railing took the head off and the 4 foot fall to the tiled landing did the rest. It was totally an accident so I can’t blame him or be mad.

 

 

I set it all aside and went to Home Depot for electrical parts n pieces. While at Home Depot the headache started getting worse and showing signs of a migraine. Still stuck to the plan and stopped to got my oil changed, but started feeling worse.

 

When I got home,  I stained the new deck parts real quick.

 

 

Then I fixed the broken Halloween bust.

 

Luckily all the pieces were accounted for and the breaks were somewhat clean. With some patience and a lot of 2 part epoxy, I was able to fix the Halloween pirate bust.

 

 

After that, I was done. The headache progressed to a full blown migraine and I was down for the count.

 

Not at all what I had planned for Friday, but that’s how it goes sometimes.

 

It’s now Saturday and I’m trying to take it easy and fully recover from the migraine.

 

It’ll be a few days before I get back to “normal”. Again, that’s just how it goes sometimes.

 

—– Brandon

 

The Deck

The Deck

Nov 03

 

Took a few days off work to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather for November over here in Ohio and get some much needed work done around the house before the bad weather hits.

 

The deck railing’s bottom board split and a baluster had come out. This made the rest of them loose which left this section of railing very unsafe.

 

As usual, I got too eager and forgot to get a before shot of it all screwed up and in need of repair.

 

Here is a shot of it just after I pulled the damaged railing section off. It came off way too easily which means it was really unsafe and way over due for repair.

 

 

Here’s a quick picture of it all put back together, fixed right, and most importantly it’s rock solid and safe!

 

 

The project looked easy, but I way under estimated it and it ended up taking me all day to finish.

 

If the weather cooperates, I’ll get it stained to match the rest of the deck soon. If not, it will have to wait for Spring. Regardless, it’s one more item off my list.

 

 As with any home, there are many more things that need fixed around here. Gonna be tackling them one at a time in hopes of getting most done before the holidays.

 

—– Brandon

Anri Parrot

Anri Parrot

Oct 29

 

With Fall in the air and Winter just around the corner, I’ve been trying to get some of the outdoor work done before bad weather hits. In between sealing the drive, raking leaves, etc., I’m still able to squeeze in some restorations.

 

Here’s a really rare Anri Parrot that was sent in by a Nutcracker Collectors’ Club member. It was missing the beak and was in need of an overall refresh on the finish.

 

Here are some before pictures when it arrived:

 

 

 

Here are a few pictures after the repairs and clean up:

 

 

 

Here’s a couple shots of the back of the piece showing that this piece actually still has the Anri sticker intact.

 

That not only adds to the rarity of the piece, but verifies the age of it as well.

 

 

 

 

Based on the Anri Logo Legend below, that sticker dates this piece to 1925.

 

 

 

This was a great piece to work on. These are crazy rare and even more so with the sticker intact.

 

The customer was very happy with the repairs and age sensitive finish refresh that was done to this piece.

 

A big “Thank You” goes out to the the original owner of this piece who contacted me before posting it for sale on Ebay. He emailed me to get permission to mention my shop in his description as a trusted source to get the piece repaired.

 

The winning bidder turned out to be one of my customers who was very impressed to see my shop mentioned in the Ebay ad. Again, thank you.

 

—– Brandon

 

 

Tunbridge Ware Box

Tunbridge Ware Box

Oct 15

 

Here is a fantastic Tunbridge Ware box I recently finished restoring for a customer.

 

As you can see in the following pictures, it came in missing some of the marquetry. I found more that was loose and coming off.

 

 

The keyholes had been plugged in both doors.

 

 

One of the irreplaceable knobs was broke on the bottom drawer

 

 

Here are some pictures after the piece was stabilized and fully restored.

 

 

The escutcheons in the doors had to be made by hand to fit where the plugs were removed.

 

 

The knob on the bottom drawer is not available and had to be meticulously repaired to match the others.

 

 

This is a fantastic piece that was very difficult to repair.

 

The customer was very pleased with the restoration.

 

—– Brandon

 

 

An Old Anri

An Old Anri

Sep 24

 

Here’s a great old Anri nutcracker I picked up off of Ebay about a year or so ago.

 

It was missing an upper lip and had a few chips in the hat and above the lever in the back.

 

Again, I was a bit eager and forgot to get good photos before I started on the repairs.

 

So here are some pictures of it in process:

 

 

 

This was another one of those pieces that you want to do a light restoration on.

 

Fix the obvious breaks and details, but leave the rest alone to retain the authenticity of the piece.

 

Here are a few pictures of the piece after it was restored:

 

 

 

 

 I’m very pleased with how well the piece came out.

 

—– Brandon

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:

 

 

 

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.

 

 

Here are a couple photos of the piece done:

 

 

 

 

 

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:

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

—–Brandon