A World Of Smiles From Lladro from Spain Porcelain

If there is a time when the language of emotions is at its height, that time must surely be childhood. Words, expressions, caresses …. learning to live entails a new and infinite array of gestures and attitudes. With their new collection, ‘A World To Discover’, Lladro from Spain are celebrating the magical process whereby a child displays the first signs of the human being that lies within. Lladro Porcelain recognize that this is a journey filled with hope, where each experience is another step towards making a place for oneself in life.

Similarly the new creations of Lladro’s The Pulse of Africa collection are inspired by the formal purity and expressiveness of traditional African art. Part of the proceeds of these sculptures are being donated to Operation Smile, a foundation that raises funds for the repair of facial deformities of underprivileged children in underdeveloped countries. Lladro are keen to extend their cooperation with this foundation from the United States around the world. It is a wonderful initiative which goes a long way to putting a smile back on the faces of thousands of children.

There are smiles all round too for the members of the exclusive Lladro Privilege Gold Society, which embarks on a new phase, with new sculptures and with many new benefits. For example, there is the introduction of the first Lladro Privelige Gold Annual sculpture, Playtime With Petals, the first piece in a brand new collection. Lladro invites collectors to join them in this new adventure, steeped in feelings and emotions. Emotions that we have attempted to reflect in their new advertising campaign. Because, as long as there are fairy tales, innocence, romance and freedom, there will always be Lladro.

Playtime With Petals

When springtime comes around, there will always be colour. At this time of the year, when life springs anew, the air is filled with nature’s fragrances and our energies are renewed, this is the ideal time to carry out our plans or live out our dreams. Lladro’s exclusive Privilege Gold Society opens a new chapter with the launch of its first annual sculpture, Playtime With Petals.

This piece will be followed by many other Lladro from Spain exclusives – sculptures which are sure to delight all those who admire their porcelain creations. As fresh as the real-life flowers that it represents, this sculpture, created in the artists’ workshops of the City of Porcelain, is destined to become one of the most sought after Lladro sculptures in the history of the company.

Collectors are urged to reserve their figurines soon, as Playtime With Petals will be restricted in number. No true afficionado of Lladro from Spain porcelain will want to miss out on this delightful new figurine.

Say the name ‘Lladro’ and a wonderful image comes to mind – the image of a living artistic tradition whose beautiful secrets have fascinated through the centuries. Modelled by expert Lladro sculptors, each work of art acquires its own spark of life. Romantic and energetic, sensitive and full of life – that’s what epitomises the Lladro story.  By: Stephen Church

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The Da Vinci Code And A Mother’s Day Gift

Have you read The Da Vinci Code? If you have, then half my job is done. The Da Vinci Code is the story of people’s pursuit of the feminine aspect of divinity, to which justice wasn’t done by the male-dominated society. Dan Brown calls this suppressed aspect of divinity the sacred feminine.

Mother’s Day is approaching and I thought that a little bit of thinking would be in order while making up your mind about the most ideal gift for your mother on that day. History gives you one clear gift idea for Mother’s Day – a Mother and Child figurine of Lladro from Spain.

Let me tell you why the gift item of a Mother and Child Figurine is most appropriate for Mother’s Day.

All through human history, the feminine was considered powerful because of its creative and nurturing forces.

The worship of the Mother Goddess was a practice in early human civilizations. Statues featuring pregnant women and figurines featuring a mother and child were discovered by archaeologists studying ancient civilizations.

Excavations of the Neolithic civilizations which flourished in Sesklo in Greece and atalhyk in Anatolia showed figurines featuring mother and child. Mind you, this was almost seven millennia Before Christ.

An ancient civilization flourished in the northwest part of India three millennia Before Christ. Folks there worshiped the Mother Goddess and there were images and sculptures of the Mother in her glory.

Archaeological studies show that in Mexico, two centuries Before Christ, the inhabitants of the region made figurines portraying mother and child.

In the Christian tradition too, the mother and child image is of great importance. Mary’s love and care for her son Jesus has inspired many pictures and sculptures.

It seems that the past was full of mother and child figurines. In other words, mother’s love has been a fascinating theme for human beings since time immemorial.

If you look at the Mother and Child figurines that are available in the market these days, you would see quite a range of cultural diversity. You find such figurines depicting African Americans, the Maasai tribe of Kenya and Tanzania, Native Americans, and the Japanese.

The Mother and Child theme seems to be a great leveler of diverse human cultures!

There is a famous Spanish company called Lladro which produces fine porcelain figurines. One of their Mother’s Day gifts, a part of their Catholic collection, is a child in mother’s arms – a picture understood and liked by people all over the world.

If you are like the great Leonardo Da Vinci or the fictitious but admirable Robert Langdon (easier remembered as Tom Hanks in the movie adaptation), you would worship the sacred feminine. You would not have any second thoughts about what to gift your mother with on Mother’s Day – a lovely Mother and Child figurine!  By: Jobin

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Define The Principles For Selling Expensive Collectibles On Ebay?

Recently, a friend asked me to help her brother sell his collection on Lladro porcelain figurines on eBay. These are expensive glass collectibles and I knew nothing about them – but I don’t have to. The principles for selling expensive collectibles on eBay are the same, regardless of what is being sold.

Obviously, like any eBay auction, the seller must have a powerful listing with great pictures. This is always true regardless of what the merchandise is. Expensive collectibles offer splendid opportunities, but also need special precautions.

These pieces of Lladro porcelain are examples that can be bought on eBay and other fine shops.

1. Price: decide the lowest amount you will accept for each figurine and set that price as a reserve. Then make your opening bid absurdly low – yes, absurdly.

Example: if you will accept $1,000 – make your opening bid $25. There is no risk in this, because you don’t have to sell unless the bidding reaches $1000, but the low price attracts buyers, (assuming there is demand, of course).

Looking at completed eBay auctions allows us to track prices.  Again and again we learn that starting the price where the seller hopes it will end is not a wise tactic.

For instance, a seller wants to get $750 for his figurine. An opening bid of $750 won’t attract nearly as many buyers as an opening bid of $25 and – surprisingly – the lower bid almost always gets higher prices. There is some psychology at work with the cheap price. It may not make logical sense, but it’s the reality of life on eBay.

2. Devote space in your auction listing explaining how you will pack your item to ensure safe transit. This is critically important because in the back of every buyer’s mind is the dread of receiving a package that rattles. A collectibles buyer will inevitably be thinking of the hassle she will have to go through – and the possible loss of purchase price – if her item is broken. She needs to know that the seller has carefully considered this issue and has a solution.

3. For the protection of both of you, insist that the buyer pay for appropriate insurance. Don’t allow this to be an option. You definitely do not want the liability of a broken collectible that costs hundreds of dollars. In fact, if a customer objects to paying for insurance, this might possibly be a red flag. A genuine collector is very eager to add to her collection and wants her figurine to be protected.

4. We can safely assume that every Internet buyer has heard stories of fraud on eBay and elsewhere on the Net. Therefore, anything you can do to prove the authenticity of your collectible is well worth your time. Is there a marking on the bottom? Do you have the original box or other container? Does it have a label? Is there a certificate of authenticity for your Lladro piece or an appraisal by a respected organization? If the answer to any of these is "yes", then be certain to emphasize your authenticity in your auction. Taking pictures of your proof is especially effective.

5. I don’t suggest offering a guarantee except in the most general way – that is, you, the seller, are telling the truth about the product. Anyone bidding on a collectible is knowledgeable and therefore they know what they’re buying so there should be no reason for a return. If someone expresses dissatisfaction and mails your merchandise back, there is every likely hood of it being broken. You do not want the hassle of trying to collect on broken merchandise or putting yourself into a litigious situation with someone who refuses to believe that the collectible was broken via return shipping.

Also, you don’t want to take a loss on your eBay fees, which might be substantial if the price is high.

6. With a really expensive item, always offer the option of an escrow service – at the buyer’s expense, of course. They may not take want this service, but make certain they have the option. You, of course, know that your Lladro from Spain is legitimate, but the buyer isn’t so certain. EBay recommends an escrow service that is available to all members.

7. If you’re willing to ship worldwide, you need to take special steps to protect yourself. In the US we have AVS (Address Verification System) which offers some protection. A very large portion of the fraud suffered by buyers occurs outside the United States and you are justified in protecting yourself. Losing the purchase price on a $5 item isn’t such a big deal – but a $1,000 collectible absolutely does matter.

Your bank can advise you on the time it will take to verify foreign funds. Be certain to let any prospective buyer know in your auction that there will be a delay if they are outside of your country. Do not let your merchandise out of your hands until you are sure!

If you follow these ‘rules’, the chances of selling your expensive Lladro collectibles at the highest possible prices will be greatly increased.

By: Vandana Sh

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