I feel a tight market coming on. The forecast is for rising prices, followed by a lessening of availability. Auction bids may reach new heights. A mad rush for what few are left will ensue, and many, many will be left out in the cold.
And I guess being left out in the cold is appropriate, since I am talking about SNOW GLOBES, and the little essay in this morning's NY Times. Watch that snowy real estate be snapped up pronto. And look to eBay for a bidding frenzy likely to rival the one I saw develop over chalkware bride and groom cake toppers.
I have always loved snow globes. When I was a kid I was particularly fond of the kind you could get at every Stuckey's south of the Jersey Turnpike. You know that kind: the ones with alligators, palm trees, mermaids, and an ever present abundance of snow. That's a surreal juxtaposition or an extra special kind. The Kitschy kind.
I have been putting them into illustrations since I started illustrating, because for me it is never enough to own junk, you have to draw it, too. Above is the one on the last page of my new book that is due out in the spring (TEX & SUGAR). I put one into my last PB, too:
Not long ago I doscovered that my publisher, Sterling, has a great book out: Celebrating Snowglobes, which I, of course, simply HAD to buy:
And this is REALLY weird: to see this article in the paper that mentions the company Global Shakeup on the West Coast that is like visiting Snow Globes City. I just yesterday placed an overnight FEDEX order for a few I loved, and a whole bunch of the do-it-yourself-kits. Check out their great selection of funky snow globes from all kinds of touristy attractions around the world.
There is also a new book that has come out that I am CERTAIN I will have to buy:
Something tells me that I'd better rush out and get as many plastic kitschy globes as I can BEFORE they are all gone. According to the woman at Global Shakeup, whom I spoke to yesterday after I went broke with my order, plastic snow domes (the other name for them) are likely to be a thing of the past. Because of plastic and the cost of oil? Because people love the glass globes more? Not sure.
Unlike the piece in the paper, which advises you to "buy tacky," I happen to love the glass almost as much. My son--who also collects them--told me one day in a in a very serious tone of voice, "Don't buy me those plastic junkie ones; I want the real ones--the glass ones."
Isn't that special? For about $40 a pop and up, I am soooooo glad he approves.
Maybe I should have started him off on the junk.
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