Enesco Ceramic

Enesco Ceramic

I recall only too well my first introduction to the Willow Tree collection. I was visiting Enesco, our top supplier for gifts and collectables. Every year I pay them a visit early in the New Year to see what they have for us that is new and exciting. As distributors for Border Fine Arts, Lilliput Lane, Breed Apart, Franz Porcelain and many other successful collectable ranges, it's important that I devote a solid couple of days perusing their amazing showrooms. Popping onto their stand at a trade fair is never enough.

So, it was January 200 and the Managing Director of Enesco, John Hammond asked me to come and see something new. He forewarned me, "You won't have seen anything like these before. You probably won't understand them, let alone like them, but we believe they have a chance of being the collectible phenomenon of the new century. What an odd build up to a new product launch. Not a conventional sales pitch. But then John Hammond isn't a conventional man. More than anyone else in our industry, John has been responsible for revolutionising the collectibles industry. It was he who realized and developed the use of polyresins in the manufacture of figurines. He understood that you can achieve incredible detail with resin that just isn't possible using traditional ceramic materials.

John took me into a side room annexed to the main Enesco showroom. There, on a low table in a poorly lit corner of the room was a collection of figurines and angels, each about five or six inches in height. At first glance, they all looked the same, pale beige in colour and pretty non-descript in appearance.

My first reaction was along the lines of, "OK John. But why show these Willow Tree figurines to me now? They're not finished. They haven't been painted and they haven't even got any faces yet." "Ah," he retorted, "they most certainly are finished and they're not supposed to have faces. And I'll tell you something else," he continued, laughing. "You'll buy them and your customers will collect them .... By the hundred" I found it hard to credit. Where was the appeal in these dull, anodyne figurines? Without facial features, they looked, at best, incomplete, at worst, positively spooky. Still, John is a good chap, and more importantly, a good judge, certainly a better one than me. So I did what I was told and placed an order, admittedly a small one. And so began, what for us has been arguably the biggest collectible phenomenon our industry has ever seen.

The first order arrived in February of that year. I remember the day well. I recall unpacking the delivery myself and gingerly putting these strange new Willow Tree figurines and angels out on display. The staff thought I'd gone crazy. "We'll never sell these in a month of Sundays." Deep down inside I shared their trepidation, but I put on a brave face. "Let's be patient. You never know." Within two days, I had placed our first repeat order and the rest is history.

To explore our range of Willow Tree collectibles further, please visit our website at http://www.theukgiftcompany.co.uk

Enesco: Piano Trios $12.49 Enesco: Piano Trios

Violin Concerto/Symphonie Espagnole (Enesco, Menuhin) $6.49 Violin Concerto/Symphonie Espagnole (Enesco, Menuhin)

Enesco: Trios $22.49 Zig Zag:303

Janacek-enesco $24.49 Pid:903439

Enesco My Little Kitchen Fairies Shishkabob Fairie Figure $24.99 My Little Kitchen Fairies "Shishkabob Fairie"By Enesco, Item # 4004991Measures approx: 3.75"HMaterial: Resin/Stone/Acrylic Type: Statues and Sculptures

Enesco 339206 Los Angeles Raiders Magnet Case of 36 $82.91 Los Angeles Raiders Magnet From Enesco corporation Made in China. Manufactured to the Highest Quality Available. Design is stylish and innovative. Satisfaction Ensured. Great Gift Idea. 36 Per Case.

Enesco: Cantabile and Presto $6.95 By Georges Enescu (1881-1955). For Woodwinds. Classical. Part. 12 pages. Published by Alfred Music. Digital Sheet Music

Georges Enesco Plays $15.99 Opus Kura:7009

Enesco Re-imagined (Dig) $18.49 Sunny Side:1259

Ultima Enesco(Orchesterwe $17.99 Pid:923718

Beethoven; Enesco; Etc $16.99 Cembal D'amour:148

Enesco: Sonate No.3, Impressions D'enfance $12.99 Zig Zag:2010801

Bach: Sonatas And Partitas / George Enesco $29.99 Idi:328/9

Franck, Debussy, Enesco: Violin Sonatas $16.48 Description not available.

Ceramic $24.99 Pablo Picasso Ceramic - Collectable Print

Enesco: Cantabile and Presto (Digital Sheet Music) $6.95 By Georges Enescu (1881-1955). For Woodwinds. Classical. Part. 12 pages. Published by Alfred Music. Digital Sheet Music

Enesco, Shostakovich: Octets, Etc / Asmf Chamber Ensemble $16.99 Chandos Records:9131

Enesco: Roumanian Poem, Roumanian Rhapsodies / Foster $16.99 Erato:75179

Enesco: Suite For Orchestra 3, Symphonia Concertante $16.99 Erato:75329

Dvorák: Symphony No 9; Enesco: Roumanian Rhapsody / Fiedler $14.99 Rca Papillion:2RG6530

Enesco: Suite Châtelaine, Suite For Orchestra No 3, Etc $14.99 Marco Polo:223145

Yuri Bashmet- Schubert, Schumann, Bruch, Enesco / Muntian $14.99 Rca Victor Red Seal:60112

Enesco: Roumanian Rhapsody No 1; Liszt: Rhapsodies / Dorati $11.99 Mercury Living Presence:432015

Isaac Stern - A Life In Music - Franck, Debussy, Enesco $9.99 Sony Classical:64532

Enesco: Three Sonatas For Violin & Piano / Sirbu, Sarbu $17.99 Dynamic:41

Bartok: Concerto For Orchestra; Enesco / Neeme Järvi $16.99 Chandos Records:8947

References - Enesco, Szymanowski, Prokofiev, Ravel / Menuhin $31.99 Emi Classics Special Import:565962

Enesco Nayla Cockapoo Plush - 10.5 Inches $17.95 From the Designer Pups line by Gund, Nayla the Cockapoo is a cross between a cocker spaniel and a poodle. Type: Animals & Pets Gender: Unisex Age: Child

ENESCO Beanbag Abby Cadabby - 6 Inch $8.9 Gund's 6" Abby Cadabby beanbag includes a hangtag with fun facts. The world's most huggable since 1898. Surface washable. Type: Dolls Gender: Female

Enesco Brighton Bear Plush - 11 Inches $10.99 A classic white 11" bear with a sheer polka dot ribbon. The world's most huggable since 1898. Surface washable. Type: Animals & Pets Gender: Unisex Age: Child

Enesco Fuzzy Beige Bear Plush - 13.5 Inches $14.99 About 13.5? tall from head to toe, this super-soft and cuddly tan teddy bear is a perfect companion for toddlers and teddy bear fans of all ages. With a floppy, loose-limb body style, Fuzzy is easy to carry anywhere. And his cute grin, makes you wonder just what he?s been up to. The world's most huggable since 1898. Surface washable. Type: Animals & Pets Gender: Unisex Age: Child

Enesco: Roumanian Rhapsody no 1; Liszt: Rhapsodies / Dorati $20.3 Track Listing:

Wood Finish Ceramic Bird $99 -Ceramic

Red Ceramic Urn $103 -Ceramic

Black Ceramic Vase $62 -Ceramic

White Ceramic Vase $68 -Ceramic