Post by Freckles on Jan 27, 2010 17:19:25 GMT
Final Blog and Final Slog to Christmas!...Yo Ho Ho!
Well here it is ..Merry Christmas…here already and it’s arrived way too quickly. These Blogs for instance…I intended to write them more often but there has simply not been the time, so I apologise. Maybe next year things will have settled down here a little ..or maybe it won’t !!
Things have definitely changed for us over the past couple of years. Obviously we have had a change of location, which would seem to be a success with all three events we have hosted this year, melding both familiar and unfamiliar faces, yielding varying opinions on both present releases and future ideas alike.
There have been many highlights throughout the year but for me personally, the main one has to be the launch of our new Breed Standard range which for one reason or another has taken the best part of a year to produce as a complete figurine.
It is a result of this that I really do have to thank Steve Sergeant for his massive help both with his enthusiasm and want for us as a company to succeed with all products, but specifically for his help and advice in bringing our Bull Terrier to life. Which will and has in the case of the Bulldog dictated the scale for all Breed Standard dogs we sculpt from here on. Meaning that if we produce a mastiff it will be HUGE…or a Dachshund….smaller.
From initial conversations I had with Steve going way back to early 2008, developing into lengthy discussions…very lengthy…(we both can talk for Britain)..A real Bull Terrier sculpt was muted. Now Robert and I have always thought and believed that we could or attempt to produce some “real” dog sculpts but it never seemed to be the right time. So sometimes you need that little push or catalyst to actually go on and do it…That believe me was Steve.
Without doubt we were not only super keen to sculpt what we felt to be an aesthetic Bull Terrier figure of a state mental mantelpiece scale, but we also had the pressure of an existing audience that we wanted to please. This is where advice was needed and so on completion, I nervously invited Steve to comment on the wax sculpt in person. To be honest he was only too keen to oblige and I think he would have genuinely crossed the dead marshes outside Mordor to see it. No added pressure then as you can all imagine, at least those of you who have met Steve and have witnessed at first hand the drive and passion the chap possesses with all things Bull Terrier it was to my enormous relief and his it would seem, that the first impressions were good. Now Steve carries no punches so it was from this meeting that it was felt a couple of subtle tweaks had to be made in order to achieve an even better appearance. Even after the figure was in prototype form another last minute amendment was advised. Specifically smoothing off the gulf beneath the eyes leaving a fuller appearance. The same sort of change was also needed on the rear hind quarters. I have mentioned this to demonstrate how seriously we have taken on the mantle of aiming to please our existing whimsical breed collectorate and hopefully new interest alike. But also to openly demonstrate the difference a person can make…he is definitely a force to be reckoned with…always positive….and for that he has my personal thanks. I also think his wife Kim needs a medal for putting up with us both gibber jabbing for hours and also to their daughter Mackenzie who herself must be our youngest serious collector. She is one smart cookie and a testament to them both. I can only imagine that the dog’s they rear are nothing short of perfect.
This undoubtedly leads to our journey into the world of Lost Wax Bronze.
This has been our project X-2, the Painted Breed Standards being X-1, sorry I’m complicating things aren’t I …anyway…Lost wax bronze is the medium of choice for capturing sculpture that usually has been reserved for the perceived “Fine Art” market. Yes we have already revealed and have had reserved, fully in the case of Dennis the Menace, many of the bronze figures already. We are very proud of these and have also been flattered by the response they have recieved, particularly at the Christmas event we held on the 5th December. It was a total pleasure to demonstrate the shear weight of these figures allowing many of you the ability of holding the pieces in the flesh. Also many admired the colour of paternation we have engineered with Lunts Castings of Birmingham, it is also true that we intend to carry the same hue as standard over the whole limit. I may have suggested various shades were possible to differing tastes of palette. However because we are unusual in having our own membership , unlike many fine art solo sculptors, we realize that varying colours within a limited edition as small as 20 within our world would only cause complication.
Also I have to mention the stunningly unique bases that each Bronze is solidly mounted on. These were sourced by Robert himself who also chose the colour which best represents us and enhances beautifully the golden brown hues shimmering out from each individually patinated Bronze casting. All the bases are bespoke, cut and finished from “Indian Green Marble” by Nigel Owen Stoneworkers, Yelvertoft Northampton.
By outlining the journey we have taken with our initial Breed Standards involving members of our collectorate really demonstrates how our business has changed over the past couple of years. It’s the familiarity we now have with many of you whose opinions really matter that can ultimately make huge differences in what we design sculpt and paint in the future. The Breed Standard Bulldog for instance was painted exquisitely by Peggy Horton, whom never fails to deliver anything other than perfection in my eyes and we always seem in tune when coming up with any new palette. However we relied heavily upon pictures of one of our members own Bulldog’s,”Monty”. An extremely apt name and who’s namesake we really must add to our Doggie people portfolio in the future. For Monty’s visit to the Mill we have to thank Terry and Sally Sherwood, whom I have also had the pleasure of meeting on many occasions. Terry literally should right his memoirs , he has so many stories to tell, spanning the globe it would seem starting right from when he served as a Royal Marine sniper, transported by submarine to play a definite part in the Falklands war, he’s speaks a little Japanese and is now a Stone Mason. This I think must lead us to one day begin telling our own collectors stories.
We really do have to thank The Mill for allowing us to meet you all as often as we do and there are many others that deserve a mention. For this I will use a combination of real and forum names. In the Camberwick corner we have Number 452 whose contribution to the forum is never unnoticed and his suggestion toward some sort of Collectors saving club will have to one day be put into practice. He has visited us on every occasion and I always look forward to showing off and demonstrating all new Camberwick prototypes to him. Knowing who we have to please always keeps us on our toes and hot on 452’s heals we have Mr and Mrs Captain Flack, Landyman and Claire along with many many others. I would like to specially thank Jimmie Barry for his utter commitment demonstrated by his journey from 30 miles north of Aberdeen in coming to visit us for a second time. He had his photograph taken with one of Gordon’s original prototype puppets along with the Glenfiddich tube he lives in. There is a particular irony to this story when revealed that Jimmie’s father actually works for the said Malt Whiskey company which is indeed Mr Murray’s favourite tipple.. This Christmas Fayre we felt we introduced one of our most fastidious Camberwick releases to date. Farmer Bell’s Helicopter, which we revealed both on the ground and in flight, piloted by Mr Dagenham. This was a piece that I had wanted to produce for years and finally we have done it, warts and all. This piece was crafted by Simon Boden one of our in house sculptors who has sculpted many of your Camberwick Green favourites to date and who I have no doubt will deliver stout works well into the future. He has been with us for many years, his milk teeth literally falling from his mouth as he walked through the door.
It is also important to recognize that every single Camberwick, Trumpton and Chigley piece have always and are still passed by Gordon Murray himself. I can still remember meeting him many years ago with the first Windy Miller figure and how his eyes lit up with joy. He said at the time that he always felt that his work would translate marvellously into the world of figurines and was utterly and still is smitten with our representations. One thing to note is how he always wanted us to polish up the rough edges with our sculpts so that you wouldn’t detect the cardboard that he originally used to create the Vehicles or Ping Pong balls for the heads of his characters. All the reference material we ever use are the DVD epiturfes themselves!!!
This is entirely the opposite approach almost demanded of us with our interpretation of Wallace and Gromit. Aardman and Nick Park require the true essence of “thumbyness” to reside within our sculpts of their beloved characters. We have learnt loads over the many years of producing many nostalgic copyrights and this has definitely been required in producing what I feel to be one of our best figurines to date….the Radio Times front cover Wallace and Gromit piece. This is a no holds barred, perfectly freeze framed captured sculpture from one of Britain’s favourite Christmas TV guides, from 2008. This has been a true combined studio effort. Mike Rogers, who has also sculpted many of our Doggie people over the last decade, crafted the piece in different stages to really allow us to complete a thoroughly authentic representation of the Radio times front cover that hopefully looked like it “was” actually the set itself. We used metal nails for Gromits knitting needles and real twine from the sculpted woollen ball all precisionally brought to life with colour by Peggy. Dan Buckley, the main moderating voice on the forum has many talents and responsibilities and along with all the brochures, he also designs all the boxes for every range and in this case also designed the decals for not only the front page of Wallace’s TV guide but the inside as well. Do we push the boat out or what!!!..(Another appropriate cliché) . This will be a true collectors must have of which I have no doubt!!
Whenever we are talking Beano or Dandy we have the trio of Poppy, Snibbo and Hillbilly all real people with real jobs and real children. All three are nothing short of an utter pleasure to talk to and I always look forward to their views on existing and future works. They have been with us for years, particularly Poppy and Snibbo who between must really have one of the largest Beano Dandy collections in the country and I don’t just mean Harrop’s figurines. Because I have been involved one way or another with the Beano Dandy right from the outset and read them myself growing up, I always look forward to proposing new works to them and gauging their approval. It is true that we have not always gained the response we were hoping for but this is not surprising when you bear in mind that the first Dennis the Menace was sculpted way back in 1993.(released 1994). The retro painted series of late has gone down extremely well, initially released with our Dennis “Armed and Menacing” figure at the last Weston Park event in 2007. This definitely inspired me personally to bring out of mothballs a Christmas piece that we had put on hold for almost a decade. I felt compelled to show our collectorate, at the Christmas Fayre, a huge Bash Street Christmas Pudding sculpt, admittedly a bit bashed...no pun intended…and worse for wear, but something that one day I would really love to finish. This will be a demand driven piece and so please give us your “unabashed” want and enthusiasm for the piece. If we get enough response I will try and finish it for Xmas 2010. The first person to put his name on the “want list” was 17 year old Thomas Warne with pictures of his own developed collection for viewing…..how’s that for a confidence boost!!
Our flagship range “The Doggie People” has spanned from Robert Harrop’s initial conception with the increasingly sought after “County Set” for well over 25 years, captured behind glass within our archive for public viewing along with all of our work. It is within this collection that our largest collectorate lies. We can say this because it inspires many people to collect for many different reasons. Some are attracted to certain breeds, for some it’s pure subject matter and others favour the patriotic elements of our work. Which ever reason it is there is always a common bond with all our dog collectors and we have grown to realize who they are personally, along with giving them the chance to talk within a welcoming environment amongst themselves. This is where the Mill comes to life and really works as well as we always hoped it would. For not only can we talk face to face, relaxed with maybe a cup of tea or coffee in our members lounge but also as often as not we end up talking amongst the wonders of our archive ,which we too still find fascinating ourselves. Made even more important when we see with our own eyes collectors fastidiously adjusting their want lists for past releases and indeed their enthusiasm for present and future releases often revealed behind glass well before their release date. Certain faces and people come to mind, Rosie’s Mum, her forum name, is one of the most dedicated and knowledgeable collectors I have met and I always find her warmth towards us as a company inspiring and her work behind the scenes with her new fan website “The Dark Side”, nothing short of staggering. A real well done there I reckon. I can also remember having a long chat with Ken Hodkin about the Breed Standard Bulldog on how I thought it should look, gauging his opinion, at the Black Swan pub on a splendid Sunday afternoon when Becky and I met a large group of collectors organised by Dray (Steve Sergeant) who wished to initially meet at the Mill….Believe me Mr Purplebudgie likes a few….of our pieces of course!!!..and Ajsdot even has a Robert Harrop signature tattoo. We welcome any of our members to utilize our facilities on mass if they wish outside the confines of a specific event or fayre……sometimes it’s all down to you!!!!
As you can see I have tended to use many of our collectors forum names. This is because in terms of day to day response and conversation our forum is basically where most topics Harrop based are discussed. We urge more of you to join in and feel welcome to ask whatever you want…most of the characters on there won’t bite…just be wary of the “Carla”, she is a font of all knowledge it’s true and her bark is worse than her bite. Though now, it appears, she too is coming to the Mill and that say’s something bearing in mind she’s more stubborn than a six-legged Mule (said in jest with a wink). It will be a pleasure to meet her in person. Last week I met Plink-Plonk and his father who had travelled up from the south east to talk Camberwick. Extremely interesting pair .Plink–Plonk as his name doesn’t suggest is a tree surgeon in his 20’s and his father upon lengthy conversation is a bit of a Love Joy, very up on gallery art it would seem, both of them really taking a liking to the Lost Wax Bronzes, interestly concluding that in comparison to other fine art works, it was suggested that ours were under priced. That was the point of project X-2…read earlier…we so value our collectorate that we wanted to enter the Bronze market with a price structure that can appeal to more of you, hopefully selling through, gathering speed to swifter secondary market values.
Talking of secondary markets, our foray into the open world of public auctions through eBay from our dedicated Harrop Auction site has been nothing short of a success gaining far higher residuals than we had thought of. All monies we have gained from this and hopefully into the future, believe me will be absorbed by the Harrop studio development machine allowing us to further create more of your sought after figurines on all of your wish lists. We have already begun sculpting for 2010 with many pieces complete already, many of you have seen a few tasters already and some you haven’t. In terms of new projects we maybe looking at the likes of “watch with mother”, which will involve Andy Pandy and hopefully more additions to the Thunderbirds. However we still feel we have more work to do with our current ranges…so really it’s a case from now on to watch this space…or indeed keep suggesting to us what you would like see.
This leads us to the Collectors Club and Sales team, which without them we would have no way of providing you with the goods you long to purchase. Any ideas you have please contact Becky directly (fire-endly red-head who laugh’s a lot), or basically feel free to phone or email us no matter what the issue. If you are finding it difficult getting hold of an item, talk to us directly, Cinta will be only too keen to oblige, she has the ability to delve into our history with firm knowledge of all things Harrop, some things are made up but on the whole water-tight and she too along with myself can banter for Britain. You should though be wary of Christine our accounts person, she’s a tough Northerner with a Staffie called “Tyson” who lives on a tread mill!!
Other members of Team Harrop that should get a mention is Russ who many of you have met in the casting and moulding department and who has the splendid task of absorbing most of my ever changing frustrations and temperament swings when he’s not in Azeroth. Peggy’s literal other half (twin) and painting colleague Carole who never cross words apart from at lunch time when they do nothing else but….with a pen!!.and with a brush produce marvels. There’s Paul, my brother in law and “I.T.” department. Then there’s the elves in the dispatch department who normally comprise of Carol-ton of the Wheelies and Ashley, who himself was born a lord but felt a longing to reside with the salt of the earth types…which is us ain’t it…..I’m not joking!!!
Then of course there’s Mr and Mrs H themselves, founders of it all. Robert is still a constant source of inspiration, though no matter how hard I try I cannot convince him to get out his sculpting tools again……I’m still convinced that his Red Rum bust would be great as a new Lost Wax Bronze…small limited edition perhaps. I cannot leave out Margaret, often forgotten, works like a Trojan and very much at the helm of sales, who along with Robert I still aim to please the most with all figures we produce. Upon completion of any new figurine I still take it from the studio on a turntable for Directorial viewing, believe me I have made many changes just based upon an expression or an observation of an eerie silence…It is often, “The Man from Del Monte, He say yes” moment you’re after!!!
Well that about sum’s it up for this Blog, I know it’s a little short but I will attempt more detail next time and there are many of you that still deserve a mention. For now may you all have a Very Merry Christmas from all of us and may we all look forward to what the future may hold for all of us in 2010…….come on England!!!
All the best MattB
And a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
from all of us at Robert Harrop Designs!
Hope to see you soon in 2010!
.
Well here it is ..Merry Christmas…here already and it’s arrived way too quickly. These Blogs for instance…I intended to write them more often but there has simply not been the time, so I apologise. Maybe next year things will have settled down here a little ..or maybe it won’t !!
Things have definitely changed for us over the past couple of years. Obviously we have had a change of location, which would seem to be a success with all three events we have hosted this year, melding both familiar and unfamiliar faces, yielding varying opinions on both present releases and future ideas alike.
There have been many highlights throughout the year but for me personally, the main one has to be the launch of our new Breed Standard range which for one reason or another has taken the best part of a year to produce as a complete figurine.
It is a result of this that I really do have to thank Steve Sergeant for his massive help both with his enthusiasm and want for us as a company to succeed with all products, but specifically for his help and advice in bringing our Bull Terrier to life. Which will and has in the case of the Bulldog dictated the scale for all Breed Standard dogs we sculpt from here on. Meaning that if we produce a mastiff it will be HUGE…or a Dachshund….smaller.
From initial conversations I had with Steve going way back to early 2008, developing into lengthy discussions…very lengthy…(we both can talk for Britain)..A real Bull Terrier sculpt was muted. Now Robert and I have always thought and believed that we could or attempt to produce some “real” dog sculpts but it never seemed to be the right time. So sometimes you need that little push or catalyst to actually go on and do it…That believe me was Steve.
Without doubt we were not only super keen to sculpt what we felt to be an aesthetic Bull Terrier figure of a state mental mantelpiece scale, but we also had the pressure of an existing audience that we wanted to please. This is where advice was needed and so on completion, I nervously invited Steve to comment on the wax sculpt in person. To be honest he was only too keen to oblige and I think he would have genuinely crossed the dead marshes outside Mordor to see it. No added pressure then as you can all imagine, at least those of you who have met Steve and have witnessed at first hand the drive and passion the chap possesses with all things Bull Terrier it was to my enormous relief and his it would seem, that the first impressions were good. Now Steve carries no punches so it was from this meeting that it was felt a couple of subtle tweaks had to be made in order to achieve an even better appearance. Even after the figure was in prototype form another last minute amendment was advised. Specifically smoothing off the gulf beneath the eyes leaving a fuller appearance. The same sort of change was also needed on the rear hind quarters. I have mentioned this to demonstrate how seriously we have taken on the mantle of aiming to please our existing whimsical breed collectorate and hopefully new interest alike. But also to openly demonstrate the difference a person can make…he is definitely a force to be reckoned with…always positive….and for that he has my personal thanks. I also think his wife Kim needs a medal for putting up with us both gibber jabbing for hours and also to their daughter Mackenzie who herself must be our youngest serious collector. She is one smart cookie and a testament to them both. I can only imagine that the dog’s they rear are nothing short of perfect.
This undoubtedly leads to our journey into the world of Lost Wax Bronze.
This has been our project X-2, the Painted Breed Standards being X-1, sorry I’m complicating things aren’t I …anyway…Lost wax bronze is the medium of choice for capturing sculpture that usually has been reserved for the perceived “Fine Art” market. Yes we have already revealed and have had reserved, fully in the case of Dennis the Menace, many of the bronze figures already. We are very proud of these and have also been flattered by the response they have recieved, particularly at the Christmas event we held on the 5th December. It was a total pleasure to demonstrate the shear weight of these figures allowing many of you the ability of holding the pieces in the flesh. Also many admired the colour of paternation we have engineered with Lunts Castings of Birmingham, it is also true that we intend to carry the same hue as standard over the whole limit. I may have suggested various shades were possible to differing tastes of palette. However because we are unusual in having our own membership , unlike many fine art solo sculptors, we realize that varying colours within a limited edition as small as 20 within our world would only cause complication.
Also I have to mention the stunningly unique bases that each Bronze is solidly mounted on. These were sourced by Robert himself who also chose the colour which best represents us and enhances beautifully the golden brown hues shimmering out from each individually patinated Bronze casting. All the bases are bespoke, cut and finished from “Indian Green Marble” by Nigel Owen Stoneworkers, Yelvertoft Northampton.
By outlining the journey we have taken with our initial Breed Standards involving members of our collectorate really demonstrates how our business has changed over the past couple of years. It’s the familiarity we now have with many of you whose opinions really matter that can ultimately make huge differences in what we design sculpt and paint in the future. The Breed Standard Bulldog for instance was painted exquisitely by Peggy Horton, whom never fails to deliver anything other than perfection in my eyes and we always seem in tune when coming up with any new palette. However we relied heavily upon pictures of one of our members own Bulldog’s,”Monty”. An extremely apt name and who’s namesake we really must add to our Doggie people portfolio in the future. For Monty’s visit to the Mill we have to thank Terry and Sally Sherwood, whom I have also had the pleasure of meeting on many occasions. Terry literally should right his memoirs , he has so many stories to tell, spanning the globe it would seem starting right from when he served as a Royal Marine sniper, transported by submarine to play a definite part in the Falklands war, he’s speaks a little Japanese and is now a Stone Mason. This I think must lead us to one day begin telling our own collectors stories.
We really do have to thank The Mill for allowing us to meet you all as often as we do and there are many others that deserve a mention. For this I will use a combination of real and forum names. In the Camberwick corner we have Number 452 whose contribution to the forum is never unnoticed and his suggestion toward some sort of Collectors saving club will have to one day be put into practice. He has visited us on every occasion and I always look forward to showing off and demonstrating all new Camberwick prototypes to him. Knowing who we have to please always keeps us on our toes and hot on 452’s heals we have Mr and Mrs Captain Flack, Landyman and Claire along with many many others. I would like to specially thank Jimmie Barry for his utter commitment demonstrated by his journey from 30 miles north of Aberdeen in coming to visit us for a second time. He had his photograph taken with one of Gordon’s original prototype puppets along with the Glenfiddich tube he lives in. There is a particular irony to this story when revealed that Jimmie’s father actually works for the said Malt Whiskey company which is indeed Mr Murray’s favourite tipple.. This Christmas Fayre we felt we introduced one of our most fastidious Camberwick releases to date. Farmer Bell’s Helicopter, which we revealed both on the ground and in flight, piloted by Mr Dagenham. This was a piece that I had wanted to produce for years and finally we have done it, warts and all. This piece was crafted by Simon Boden one of our in house sculptors who has sculpted many of your Camberwick Green favourites to date and who I have no doubt will deliver stout works well into the future. He has been with us for many years, his milk teeth literally falling from his mouth as he walked through the door.
It is also important to recognize that every single Camberwick, Trumpton and Chigley piece have always and are still passed by Gordon Murray himself. I can still remember meeting him many years ago with the first Windy Miller figure and how his eyes lit up with joy. He said at the time that he always felt that his work would translate marvellously into the world of figurines and was utterly and still is smitten with our representations. One thing to note is how he always wanted us to polish up the rough edges with our sculpts so that you wouldn’t detect the cardboard that he originally used to create the Vehicles or Ping Pong balls for the heads of his characters. All the reference material we ever use are the DVD epiturfes themselves!!!
This is entirely the opposite approach almost demanded of us with our interpretation of Wallace and Gromit. Aardman and Nick Park require the true essence of “thumbyness” to reside within our sculpts of their beloved characters. We have learnt loads over the many years of producing many nostalgic copyrights and this has definitely been required in producing what I feel to be one of our best figurines to date….the Radio Times front cover Wallace and Gromit piece. This is a no holds barred, perfectly freeze framed captured sculpture from one of Britain’s favourite Christmas TV guides, from 2008. This has been a true combined studio effort. Mike Rogers, who has also sculpted many of our Doggie people over the last decade, crafted the piece in different stages to really allow us to complete a thoroughly authentic representation of the Radio times front cover that hopefully looked like it “was” actually the set itself. We used metal nails for Gromits knitting needles and real twine from the sculpted woollen ball all precisionally brought to life with colour by Peggy. Dan Buckley, the main moderating voice on the forum has many talents and responsibilities and along with all the brochures, he also designs all the boxes for every range and in this case also designed the decals for not only the front page of Wallace’s TV guide but the inside as well. Do we push the boat out or what!!!..(Another appropriate cliché) . This will be a true collectors must have of which I have no doubt!!
Whenever we are talking Beano or Dandy we have the trio of Poppy, Snibbo and Hillbilly all real people with real jobs and real children. All three are nothing short of an utter pleasure to talk to and I always look forward to their views on existing and future works. They have been with us for years, particularly Poppy and Snibbo who between must really have one of the largest Beano Dandy collections in the country and I don’t just mean Harrop’s figurines. Because I have been involved one way or another with the Beano Dandy right from the outset and read them myself growing up, I always look forward to proposing new works to them and gauging their approval. It is true that we have not always gained the response we were hoping for but this is not surprising when you bear in mind that the first Dennis the Menace was sculpted way back in 1993.(released 1994). The retro painted series of late has gone down extremely well, initially released with our Dennis “Armed and Menacing” figure at the last Weston Park event in 2007. This definitely inspired me personally to bring out of mothballs a Christmas piece that we had put on hold for almost a decade. I felt compelled to show our collectorate, at the Christmas Fayre, a huge Bash Street Christmas Pudding sculpt, admittedly a bit bashed...no pun intended…and worse for wear, but something that one day I would really love to finish. This will be a demand driven piece and so please give us your “unabashed” want and enthusiasm for the piece. If we get enough response I will try and finish it for Xmas 2010. The first person to put his name on the “want list” was 17 year old Thomas Warne with pictures of his own developed collection for viewing…..how’s that for a confidence boost!!
Our flagship range “The Doggie People” has spanned from Robert Harrop’s initial conception with the increasingly sought after “County Set” for well over 25 years, captured behind glass within our archive for public viewing along with all of our work. It is within this collection that our largest collectorate lies. We can say this because it inspires many people to collect for many different reasons. Some are attracted to certain breeds, for some it’s pure subject matter and others favour the patriotic elements of our work. Which ever reason it is there is always a common bond with all our dog collectors and we have grown to realize who they are personally, along with giving them the chance to talk within a welcoming environment amongst themselves. This is where the Mill comes to life and really works as well as we always hoped it would. For not only can we talk face to face, relaxed with maybe a cup of tea or coffee in our members lounge but also as often as not we end up talking amongst the wonders of our archive ,which we too still find fascinating ourselves. Made even more important when we see with our own eyes collectors fastidiously adjusting their want lists for past releases and indeed their enthusiasm for present and future releases often revealed behind glass well before their release date. Certain faces and people come to mind, Rosie’s Mum, her forum name, is one of the most dedicated and knowledgeable collectors I have met and I always find her warmth towards us as a company inspiring and her work behind the scenes with her new fan website “The Dark Side”, nothing short of staggering. A real well done there I reckon. I can also remember having a long chat with Ken Hodkin about the Breed Standard Bulldog on how I thought it should look, gauging his opinion, at the Black Swan pub on a splendid Sunday afternoon when Becky and I met a large group of collectors organised by Dray (Steve Sergeant) who wished to initially meet at the Mill….Believe me Mr Purplebudgie likes a few….of our pieces of course!!!..and Ajsdot even has a Robert Harrop signature tattoo. We welcome any of our members to utilize our facilities on mass if they wish outside the confines of a specific event or fayre……sometimes it’s all down to you!!!!
As you can see I have tended to use many of our collectors forum names. This is because in terms of day to day response and conversation our forum is basically where most topics Harrop based are discussed. We urge more of you to join in and feel welcome to ask whatever you want…most of the characters on there won’t bite…just be wary of the “Carla”, she is a font of all knowledge it’s true and her bark is worse than her bite. Though now, it appears, she too is coming to the Mill and that say’s something bearing in mind she’s more stubborn than a six-legged Mule (said in jest with a wink). It will be a pleasure to meet her in person. Last week I met Plink-Plonk and his father who had travelled up from the south east to talk Camberwick. Extremely interesting pair .Plink–Plonk as his name doesn’t suggest is a tree surgeon in his 20’s and his father upon lengthy conversation is a bit of a Love Joy, very up on gallery art it would seem, both of them really taking a liking to the Lost Wax Bronzes, interestly concluding that in comparison to other fine art works, it was suggested that ours were under priced. That was the point of project X-2…read earlier…we so value our collectorate that we wanted to enter the Bronze market with a price structure that can appeal to more of you, hopefully selling through, gathering speed to swifter secondary market values.
Talking of secondary markets, our foray into the open world of public auctions through eBay from our dedicated Harrop Auction site has been nothing short of a success gaining far higher residuals than we had thought of. All monies we have gained from this and hopefully into the future, believe me will be absorbed by the Harrop studio development machine allowing us to further create more of your sought after figurines on all of your wish lists. We have already begun sculpting for 2010 with many pieces complete already, many of you have seen a few tasters already and some you haven’t. In terms of new projects we maybe looking at the likes of “watch with mother”, which will involve Andy Pandy and hopefully more additions to the Thunderbirds. However we still feel we have more work to do with our current ranges…so really it’s a case from now on to watch this space…or indeed keep suggesting to us what you would like see.
This leads us to the Collectors Club and Sales team, which without them we would have no way of providing you with the goods you long to purchase. Any ideas you have please contact Becky directly (fire-endly red-head who laugh’s a lot), or basically feel free to phone or email us no matter what the issue. If you are finding it difficult getting hold of an item, talk to us directly, Cinta will be only too keen to oblige, she has the ability to delve into our history with firm knowledge of all things Harrop, some things are made up but on the whole water-tight and she too along with myself can banter for Britain. You should though be wary of Christine our accounts person, she’s a tough Northerner with a Staffie called “Tyson” who lives on a tread mill!!
Other members of Team Harrop that should get a mention is Russ who many of you have met in the casting and moulding department and who has the splendid task of absorbing most of my ever changing frustrations and temperament swings when he’s not in Azeroth. Peggy’s literal other half (twin) and painting colleague Carole who never cross words apart from at lunch time when they do nothing else but….with a pen!!.and with a brush produce marvels. There’s Paul, my brother in law and “I.T.” department. Then there’s the elves in the dispatch department who normally comprise of Carol-ton of the Wheelies and Ashley, who himself was born a lord but felt a longing to reside with the salt of the earth types…which is us ain’t it…..I’m not joking!!!
Then of course there’s Mr and Mrs H themselves, founders of it all. Robert is still a constant source of inspiration, though no matter how hard I try I cannot convince him to get out his sculpting tools again……I’m still convinced that his Red Rum bust would be great as a new Lost Wax Bronze…small limited edition perhaps. I cannot leave out Margaret, often forgotten, works like a Trojan and very much at the helm of sales, who along with Robert I still aim to please the most with all figures we produce. Upon completion of any new figurine I still take it from the studio on a turntable for Directorial viewing, believe me I have made many changes just based upon an expression or an observation of an eerie silence…It is often, “The Man from Del Monte, He say yes” moment you’re after!!!
Well that about sum’s it up for this Blog, I know it’s a little short but I will attempt more detail next time and there are many of you that still deserve a mention. For now may you all have a Very Merry Christmas from all of us and may we all look forward to what the future may hold for all of us in 2010…….come on England!!!
All the best MattB
And a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
from all of us at Robert Harrop Designs!
Hope to see you soon in 2010!
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