Stephani Stephenson on wed 6 aug 03
Jan wrote:
"No one makes
ceramic ornament but Disney and Kincade, and I believe Disney's
are done in
China."
Jan , actually there is a company still doing ceramic figurines
and miniatures in the US.
Hagen -Renacker is the name of the company. It is family owned
and operated since 1945.
The studio where I work was once a small satellite Hagen
-Renaker studio. They had a factory in San Marcos, also in
Culver City and San Dimas. They now continue operating out of
San Dimas, CA. They made ceramic horses in the fifties, quite
nice , well made and very collectible . Actually you look at the
glazes and handpainting on those figurines and can appreciate
the handwork in them
.
They made some of the first Disney figurines when Disney opened
in 1955 I believe,. Many of their molds were stored here at
the studio where I work for quite some time, and talk about
highly detailed many -part molds, I have a better appreciation
for that kind of work, though I myself would go nuts working on
that scale.
I think the business was adversely affected when much of that
industry went overseas, losing out to cheaper imports, and lost
again when the use of resins became poular. But they have
survived and
are still in production, and thriving I think, producing some of
their most popular items, esp. the horses. website :
http://www.hagenrenaker.com/
Stephani Stephenson
steph@alchemiestudio.com
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