Once upon a time, when I was a very little girl I collected bone china animal families. I can't even remember when or where I received the first one. But whenever we went on vacation or had a special occasion where I could pick a souvenir I would choose one of these sets. They were very popular in the 1960's. You could find any animal you could think of. I had horses, dogs, cats, you name it. Even a family of dolphins I purchased on my first trip to Florida.
By the time I was 20 I had dozens of these families and kept them arranged just so on a wall of shelves in my first apartment. It was beautiful and ,as it turns out, fragile. Literally, out of the blue, a storm blew up and straight into my window, pushing the drapries across the shelves, taking with them all my little families. There was not one piece left unscathed. Every little animal had a nick or chip or broken leg. I was devestated. Right then and there I vowed to never collect again.
Ten years later, while at a home show, I discovered a display of pewter fantasy pieces. Now, there's a collectable that could stand up to a little wind. I bought my first piece that day.



It's called "Mother Love"

And here's the rest---->

See the slide show

at left to have a closer look.

For a while there were entire stores

dedicated to pewter collectables.
Now I usually wait for the Renn Faire.