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| Satisfying the Collectors |
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 The 'Best Collectable of the Show' award for
Smugglers Creek was the first of many awards and towards the end of the
first decade David Winter Cottages had established an enormous following. This
was demonstrated by the large membership for the David Winter Cottages
Collectors Guild which had been launched in 1987 to appease the growing desire
from collectors for information about David and his work.
The
David Winter Cottages Collectors Guild gave The Studios and Workshops of John
Hine Limited a unique opportunity to advertise its new releases exclusively to
Guild Members by supplying information through the quarterly Guild magazine,
"Cottage Country". The Guild also enabled members to obtain pieces exclusively
made for Guild Members. The first of these was Village Scene. 1987 also
was the first year that the annual limited edition Christmas pieces were
produced. The first of these was Ebenezer Scrooge's Counting House. This
series with its snowy festive theme has become to be amongst David's most
popular models.
Whilst Woolmer Way established itself as the
mainstay of John Hine's Workshops, the studio side had also been developing and
early in 1986 work began on converting a seventeenth century barn and adjoining
derelict buildings into offices and studios. This site, called Eggars Hill,
also became a visitors centre where the whole collection, including the
complete display of all of David's retired pieces, could be seen on display.
Visitors could also watch some of John Hine's other ranges being sculptured and
painted. There was also casting demonstrations and if you were lucky enough
even to have a go at casting your own cottage.
Although David still choose to work in his home studio,
Audrey White worked at Eggars Hill from 1986 until her retirement in August
1991, and many collectors had the opportunity to meet and talk with her.
Including yours truly.
Things were also changing across the Atlantic and
in 1988 the offices in Vancouver had moved into the United States of America
with the establishment of a headquarters in Houston Texas to oversee operations
and the American branch of the Collectors Guild in the still growing American
market.
Then in 1989, due to spiralling costs and a need to seek out
fresh sources of homepainters, small workshops were established at Southampton
and Newcastle-upon-Tyne to paint Cottages and larger premises were acquired for
casting and painting at Wrexham in North Wales. The role of Bordon as the main
base was reduced with Wrexham becoming the main centre.
Things
were also changing for the collector. As more and more information was released
individual collectors had the opportunity to get together and so numerous
regional collectors clubs were created. Mainly in America their intentions
varied from a desire purely to meet and converse with likeminded collectors, to
the promotion of buying, selling and swapping of pieces for profit thus
creating the secondary market. |
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