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:

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

Anri Clown

Anri Clown

Aug 13

 

Here’s a really nice older Anri Clown that looks like it may date back to when they were made in the Groden Valley.

 

This piece came in with an older repair applied to a broken nose and there was a small spot of impact damage to the hair.

 

 

Lucky for me the older repair wasn’t done well and came off easily and clean.

 

 

 

A new chunk of wood was added to the broken nose and a small piece added to fix impact damage to the hair.

 

 

 

Here are pictures of the piece after a lot of carving, blending, painting, and staining.

 

 

 

 

The customer sent final pictures off to an Anri expert in Italy for their opinion before final acceptance of the piece.

 

The verdict was “Perfecto!”.

 

The Process

The Process

Aug 06

 

I’ve had a few inquiries regarding the processes and techniques I use to restore the pieces that come in.

 

The short answer is that everything is done under high magnification and special lighting.

 

The longer answer is, wood specific to the piece and a lot of time and skills are used on each piece to make sure it is accurately restored to the highest quality without compromising the integrity of the piece or its age.

 

A recent restoration I just completed for one of the Nutcracker Collectors’ Club members is a perfect example.

 

The customer sent in a really nice piece of a man wearing a tricorne hat.

 

It had damage to the face (nose) and most of the tricorne hat was missing. Damage to these specific details can detract from the piece’s aesthetics as well as its value.

 

The piece was also missing the feet, but due to this piece’s age they were left alone.

 

The feet missing does not detract from the value, in fact, this type of damage on a piece this old helps to maintain the piece’s integrity and prove its age.

 

Here are some pictures of the piece when it came in:

 

 

 

 

Here’s a great picture of the piece “in process” with many small chunks of period specific European Boxwood joined to it.

 

Each chunk is roughly about the size of a fingernail.

 

 

 

Here are pictures of the piece completed:

 

 

 

 

 

This piece has all the right details in place now that it should, but hasn’t been “over restored” to where the age of the piece might be questioned.

 

 —– Brandon

 

Getting a Handle on Things

Getting a Handle on Things

Jul 31

 

One of the more common breaks I see with nutcrackers are the handles.

 

This is common if the piece gets dropped.

 

I’ve fixed a number of these over the years (most recently – Anri Dog & Rolling Eye Anri) some more difficult than others, but all came out great.

 

Here’s a great piece from one of the Nutcracker Collectors’ Club members that needed the handle repaired.

 

The original piece was gone, so a new one had to be added to the existing break then carved and blended to match.

 

Here’s a before picture showing where the handle was broke.

 

 

Here are a few pictures of the piece all fixed and ready to be put back out on display:

 

 

 

 

The piece came out great and the customer was very pleased with it.

 

—–Brandon

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

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!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

Recent Acquisitions

Recent Acquisitions

Jul 09

 

In this business I get to work on some really great pieces for Nutcracker Collectors’ Club members and other clients.

 

One of the things that fuels my passion to rescue and restore damaged pieces for people is that I’m also a collector. I understand each piece’s value and the historical significance to fixing it right.

 

Compared to most, I don’t have many pieces; but the pieces I do have are good ones I bought reasonably and restored for myself, or are ones I really liked and/or admired the carving or style.

 

I bought two pieces at the 2016 Nutcracker Collectors’ Convention. They both are pieces that caught my eye and I really liked them.

 

What’s most important is, I don’t have to fix them. Just wax them and set them out for display.

 

 

 

 

 

I’m very happy with my new acquisitions.

 

Coming soon — The original pieces I took to sell at the convention (spoiler alert! – The ones I didn’t sell are currently for sale on Ardoria).

 

—– Brandon

 

2016 Nutcracker Convention – Day 2

2016 Nutcracker Convention – Day 2

Jul 02

 

As promised, here are some pictures of the second day at the 22nd Nutcracker Collectors’ Club Convention.

 

The meeting and auction were held at the Holiday Inn Express in Lexington Virginia.

 

A club member from Lithuania presented the history of Josiah Pratt (1767)  brass nutcrackers and other notable makers (Edward Grouttage (1770), William Ward (1770), Rob Moor (1770), and Richard Eades (1770)) .

 

 

 

 A few collectors brought pieces from their collection in for display

 

 

 

 

  Others brought in some great pieces to sell

 

 

 The Silent Auction was in full swing and had a lot of great pieces available to bid on. Here are just a few of the tables

 

 

 

 

 

 

 CBS (WDBJ-7) came by and did a lot of filming and interviews. The news story can be found here – Nutcracker Collectors Gather in Lexington

 

 

 After the convention, everyone had a little free time to wander before meeting for dinner. We went antiquing a little, then downtown to a couple galleries.

 

 

 

 

 Everyone gathered at the Southern Inn for a great dinner and to say goodbye to fellow collectors and great friends til next year.

 

 

 

 Missy and I had a great time. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed getting to see everyone.

 

We can’t thank Lynn and Ann enough for doing such a fabulous job hosting this year’s convention.

 

 Stay tuned for pictures of the pieces I took to the convention to sell and pictures of the pieces I bought.