Hazle Guide Update

From Marilyn on 31st October 2004 and edited since:

Mary C has written:

“Marilyn, I always enjoy reading your bits about Hazle history. It truly is enlightening and fascinating. One day, if you were so inclined, maybe you should put all of this information together, publish it, and sell it. I for one would buy it. I don't know if you have ever heard of Longaberger baskets here in the US, but they have a HUGE following. They are handmade maple baskets, and are very collectible as well. A separate company called "Bentley" publishes a listing of all Longaberger's baskets, and then sells an update each year to keep it current. It's what made me think about it. I don't know how big the Hazle following is (I'm sure you have a better idea), but hopefully it will continue to grow, and it would be worth your time for such a venture. Anyway, I hope you don't mind me bringing this up, it's just something I think about every time you publish another tidbit for our group.”

This has prompted me to give an update on the proposed Hazle Guide which Chris and I are presently developing on a voluntary basis. Actually two products are planned:

Collectors’ Guide
By model, in chronological order of issue. This will include background information on the real building with photos of this, the main ceramic and many paint variations. There will also be a table of approximate numbers of the model plus all known paintings on it.

It is unusual in the collectables’ world to have such details. Hazle Ceramics are more quirky than most, as some paintings are prolific while others are very short-runs. So this data, where available, is really part of the story. The research, garnered from old delivery notes and summary sheets, is well-advanced. My personal collection has been digitally photographed and we may use ceramics from other collectors too.

The Best of Hazle Ceramics
By Theme - for example Hazle Post Offices, Bookshops, Fashion Houses and so on. The aim is for this to be a celebration not only of the ceramics but, through them, of our heritage and social history too.

Originally the Themes book, as well as organising material in a different way for the serious collector, was intended to appeal to a more general readership. But the more I think about it, why not make both versions like that? As Mary said, collectors enjoy information - and readers into nostalgia might also be drawn into collecting.

We have invested in a Mac computer because commercial printers work with Mac and not PC files. Our very expensive Adobe ‘Creative Suite’ software will enable us to do the design work ourselves - to a professional standard.

However there is a concern about getting enough sales to break even on the printing, let alone see any return on our huge investment of labour, time and other costs. Commercial print jobs have a minimum run of 500 copies but it is much more cost effective to print more. Although at the moment the Collectors' Club has 400 members, we know that not all of them will buy.

I am reliably informed that the originator of the Lilliput Lane Guides, who was independent from the company, went bankrupt in the process. And Lilliput Lane have several times as many collectors. So we do have to be careful.

Clay suggested that a way round printing costs would be to have an eBook. Trouble is, a lot of Hazle collectors are not computer literate. And I think having an actual book might generate interest if sold, say, in Hazle's shop at Barleylands. I don't think there would be many takers for an eBook and it could dilute the market for a physical one. But the group website isn't doing too badly as an electronic work!

The current thinking is to worry about printing as and when the time comes.

From Marilyn on 6th January 2007:

Building Names
As previously mentioned the spreadsheet, on which I am compiling the list of Hazle Ceramics, is organised first by building and then by all the different paintings on that.

I am forever experimenting with what constitutes the best permanent name for a ceramic. The working title in the workshop usually goes by subject matter eg Bridal Shop or Bookshop. But when a replacement Bridal or Bookshop comes along that is usually called the same, which is clearly impractical for a guide.

In naming buildings so far, I have tried to convey some useful information such as the place, era, subject matter, name impressed in mould, popular usage or a combination - at the same time trying to keep the name short and memorable!

In the past year I have been prefixing each ceramic with the place name. If you have explored the new website you may have noticed these prefixes. Using them has revealed, for example, that to date there are 15 buildings in London for the Nation of Shopkeepers. I hadn’t realised it was that many. Where there is only one model in a town, I sometimes simply use that name for the ceramic.

EXAMPLES

• COLCHESTER AWNINGS covers all the Straight, No and Round Awnings.
• BANBURY for Teashop & Telephone and other paintings.
• EPPING covers A Pet is For Life/Village Pet Store, Batchelors, and Camping with three mould variations.
• MALDON FLORIST is so named because, although there are no other Hazle buildings there, the modelled flower stall is always part of it.
• SOUTHEND TURRET used for the Turret Pub and others, although the only Southend piece the name also refers to its distinctive shape.

The three models from Bath are named:

• BATH SALLY LUNN easy to find in any tourist guide on Bath.
• BATH CHEMIST one of the most prolific buildings so the popular usage name of Chemist is appropriate here rather than say, Bath Argyle Street.
• BATH COUTURE was mostly painted as the Dress Shop. From the location it could also be called Bath Abbey Green.

The four models from Windsor so far are called:

• WINDSOR NELL GWYNN based on the historic house of Charles II’s mistress in Church Street, found in any Windsor Guide.
• WINDSOR CROOKED TEAROOMS You can’t miss this leaning building in the centre of town. With one entrance on Market Street and being in front of the Market Cross, it could also be called Windsor Market House.
• WINDSOR THAMES STREET currently painted as the double shops of Dairy/Barber is easy to find along Windsor Castle’s boundary.
• WINDSOR CURFEW YARD otherwise known as Raffles or the Teddy Bear Shop, the building is off Thames Street, opposite the Castle’s Curfew Tower.

One downside of the place name approach is that although it can shorten some ceramic names, others are rather long. But in practice most people, including myself, will continue to call the ceramics Thomas Cook, Sally Lunn etc. The prefixes are just intended as a more official title with the added dimension of the place. So unless someone comes up with a better idea, I will be sticking with this scheme for now.