I thought some of you might be interested in seeing my Lladro collection, most of which I inherited from my mother, who was a Lladro Society Member until her death in 2002. First of all, Lladro is Spanish porcelain. This is a section from their website: "Juan, José and Vicente Lladró - Heirs of the ancient tradition of porcelain, the Lladró brothers knew how to make this tradition their own and to bring a type of art that, up to then, had been reserved to a few much closer to people. In 1953, they quit their work at a tiles factory and built a little Moorish kiln in the courtyard of the family home. Their adventure began in Almàssera, a little town on the outskirts of the Spanish city of Valencia. And very near the place where they installed this first rudimentary workshop, is where The City of Porcelain stands today. Over two thousand people now work there, and their creations are exported to more than one hundred countries all around the world and sold in almost 4,000 points of sale." The manufacturing ingredients are kept under tight guard. The process is detailed in a number of Lladró publications and is fully on view for tour groups and individuals at the City of Porcelain. Lladró figurines are made out of an original blend of hard-paste porcelain, which gives the products their unique porcelain characteristics. The glaze ingredients also add to the look of the figures and is an industry secret.
For me, each piece is special because of how I came to possess it. For example, the first piece my mother brought me from Spain is the girl holding a lamb. The story behind it is that I was expecting my first daughter while my parents were away vacationing in Spain and they weren't expected back until after my due date. But, I held on and greeted them at the airport when they got back - they couldn't believe I still hadn't had the baby. But, the very next day, I went into labour (Oct. 29/76) and that Xmas my Mom presented me with this piece.
The other special piece is the girl holding the hat. This was one of the first pieces that Lladro made with colour. My husband knew how much I admired my Mom's collection and bought it for me - just because.
The pieces vary in size and detail but it's hard to tell in the photos. I also have a 12-piece collection of Lladro Christmas balls and bells. Each one is from a certain year (only available to collectors like my mother) and is intricately designed with either a scene from nature or a Christmas story.
I hope you enjoy perusing the photos and some day perhaps some of you might see it in person. The photos really don't do the pieces justice, of course. The intricacies of design and the facial expressions really need to be seen up close. If you'd like to, check out the Lladro website at http://www.lladro.com/
This piece is really very large - it takes up the height of the shelf in the cabinet.
The yellow piece is the one my husband gave me and the girl with the puppy was in my mother's collection.
This is a smaller piece - a young boy dressed as Melchor for a Christmas play.
My 2 1/2-year-old grandson Noah loves to look at these two little boys. The one holding the baseball bat has his school bag behind him and the one playing with the train on the floor reminds me of Noah as he does the same thing with his little cars and trucks.
Cinderella is special to me because my Dad gave it to me for Christmas the year my mother passed away. The girl with the lamb is the first piece my Mom gave me (story above.)
This piece just HAS to be seen in person to appreciate the design of the dress and the flowers. Each flower is made up of individual petals. Amazing!
I have four Japanese pieces. This one is of geisha performing a traditional tea ceremony.
This piece depicts a geisha in front of a cherry blossom tree. She is holding a mirror which can be removed. It is the largest (and most valuable - monetarily) in the collection).
The faces on these two geishas are exquisite. One is holding an umbrella and the other is performing a traditional dance.
At age 2 1/2, Jaclyn tried very hard to get the pose just right! And yes, I made her little outfit - I can remember sitting at the sewing machine trying to get those little shoulder ruffles just right!
At age 3 1/2, Jaclyn stole the show in the Arabian Nights portion of the ice show by skating away from the other little ones to skate with the two adult "stars." She got quite the round of applause!
By age 4, Jaclyn had the "pose" down just right. I think my mother may have knit this little wooly skating outfit for her. She looks like she's enjoying the moment, doesn't she?
Here she is all decked out in her "Changing of the Guard" costume. And yes, I made this costume, too! Even the hat and the collar! I can remember fussing with this costume and cursing under my breath that the organizers had gone too far that time! But what a picture all those children made at the show!
At age 7, Jaclyn turned into seaweed for the annual ice show called "Under the Sea." She looked absolutely adorable in the costume complete with green cheeks! However, that Halloween, she was mad that I made her wear it because it still fit and I didn't want to make another costume! I was beginning to have had it with all the fancy sewing.
Here she is in her official dance portrait the year she was 7. She was in a number called "Mistress Mary, Quite Contrary, How Does Your Garden Grow?" I can't believe how much time I spent driving the girls to ballet and skating during those years! But it was all worth it to look back now.
As I mentioned above, Jaclyn started getting other interests. She knew all about her Grampa being a soccer star in his youth and decided to take up the sport. I think this photo is quite amusing as she had just come home from ballet practise and was still in her outfit to open her birthday present - a soccer ball
