Yahoooooooo!!!!

My latest desire, Nene Thomas' "A Close Encounter" arrived yesterday. I was a little bummed when I saw the box on the porch. It was obviously too small to accommodate the recommended (and requested by me) 2-3 inches minimum of tightly compacted peanuts or other packing material. Plus, it had a big dent in the side of the box. Not good signs.

Surprisingly, the seller had not sprung for insurance. A pretty dumb move in my opinion considering the price of the item. I also think that she didn't even pay for tracking which is super, super, super dumb. If I was dishonest, I could just claim that the package never arrived, file a dispute for non-receipt and my payment would be refunded.

Anyway, I opened the box slowly bracing myself to find a broken wing or the little dragon snapped off..... but, guess what??? Totally perfect condition!!!! Yeah!!! So #717 of 2400 has arrived. Yeah!!!

Thump thump...
New figs come out all the time. Most of them are pretty but not all of them appeal to me in a way that makes me feel like I want plunk down the credit card. Every once in awhile I see a new figure that makes my heart go "thump, thump." Silly right? But, I guess its like any other work of art. Anyway, I was doing my regular search and came across some new figures.

This one is called "A Frog Once Loved a Turtle" by Jacqueline Collen-Tarrolly. I love it!! I don't completely get the name. I'm assuming that the "frog" is the prince but why is the fairy the "turtle"?
This one is called "Love Springs Eternal" by Jessica Galbreth. I can't wait to see this one in person. From this pic --which seems to be the only one available right now--you can't see the faces. I do love the way the base is the bridge though, very creative!
They appear to be open editions which is always a little disappointing. I like the limited editions even if they are high. These are supposed to be shipping sometime in July. Thump, thump, the credit card is all revved up!!!

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!
Yeah!!! Mine was the winning bid for the Thomas figure "A Close Encounter." Got it for a pretty good price, too. I checked the highest bidder about 2 or 3 hrs before the close and found that they were more than likely German. That's always a little scary. I've seen some European bidders who seem to have an "at any price" bidding mentality. Not sure if its the strength of the Euro or what. Anyway, this one worked out well for me. Already paid and sent my "please package carefully" email to the seller. She responded that she packs with the intent that the package can withstand being hit with a baseball bat. I'll believe it when I see it. But now, all I can do is cross my fingers and hope for the best!

Is it possible that I could obtain 2 rare figures in the same week after my many failed attempts over the last 4 yrs or so?? I believe it is.

Delivery day!!!!
I won a fairy last week from Ebay. It was Nene Thomas' "Ivy" NT 107, created in a limited edition (LE) of 1800. This is one of those figs that have become increasingly difficult to find. I won an Ebay auction for one a few months back but, as has become somewhat of a common occurence, Ebay canceled the sale. I believe when this happens its because the seller has had too many complaints from sellers so their account is pulled. Alternatively it could be some other issue. I think Ebay will cancel sales already completed if Paypal tries to do a credit back on an account backed by a bank account instead of a credit card and they find insufficient funds. Anyway, when it has happened in the past its always a little disappointing but overall I figure its a good thing because it helped me to avoid what would likely have been a problem. Non shipment is easy to deal with. Cancel, move on. Having to return is kind of a pita. I have to go to the post office, stand in line, and pay for the return shipment which usually runs me about $10. Like I said, pain.

Anyway, this one was quite a find! As has become my habit for these purchases, I generally only bid on these rare figures if the seller will be able to ship in the original styro box or if they have a fantastic plan for shipping carefully. Then, if I do win the auction, I email the seller and politely make some safe packaging suggestions. This includes the most important rule: a minimum of 3" of tightly compressed packing material on top, bottom and all sides of the figures original box. They always tell me "no problem" and then they never do it. After that, all I can do is hope for the best.

Got home today to find it on the porch. Opened it slowly and voila!!! She's perfect!!! Number 494/1800 is now living safely in my fairy cabinet!!! Yeah!!!

First post...
I'm not exactly sure when I first developed my "thing" for fairies. But I do know it was a long time ago. I wish I could remember which one I got first or even firstish. But, I don't. I do know that my collection has grown to be quite substantial. I know that I love my little fairy figurines. They're just so darn pretty! I love their wings and I'm constantly on the lookout for the unusual. I collect the figures created by many artists: Nene Thomas, Amy Brown, Jessica Galbreth, etc. My taste has changed over time and I've come to appreciate the darker fairies more and more. I used to like the Fairie Glen figures but it seems that they use the same design for all their faces merely changing the clothing. It gets a little boring.

Some of my favorites are the Amy Brown Signature Series figures. Many of the earlier ones, while not created in limited editions, had extremely low production runs. Plus, the early ones, created in the year 2000 or so, were not the greatest quality. They look good for the most part but had molding issues that caused them to be particularly fragile. There are some that due to low production runs and excessive breakage resulted in only 30 or so figures. They're very hard to find and even tougher to receive unbroken.

Anyway, I started this blog as a way to keep track of my fairy collection, talk about the new figures coming out, and pine over the retired and hard-to-find ones I'm always searching for!

I've posted a pic of my current lust, Nene Thomas' "A Chance Encounter." It was created in a limited edition of 2400. Interestingly enough, its not at all the rarest of her figures. Some were created in editions of many less, 1200 or 1600. But, this one has eluded me. I've actually ordered/won this figure on 4 separate occasions over the last three or four years but still don't own one. Twice its arrived broken, once the seller never shipped, and the fourth time ebay cancelled the sale. Sigh. The thing with this figure is that the little dragon that rides up on the horse's neck is very, very fragile. I wonder how many of the original 2400 did not survive shipping. It has to be a pretty high percentage.

There's one currently listed on ebay that I've been watching for the last week. Hopefully it doesn't get too pricey (fingers crossed)!