Lladro figurines and other things people used to buy

i work at charity shop and we get lots of peoples collection .this time is bunny rabbit ornaments .some are valuable some are not . i am having a de-clutter... as i hope to move soon... so they are off to another charity shop. its just things to dust. i have kept some of my mums ornaments .but now i am thinking what for ..i wont get rid of her black elephants .made from ebony and yes (ivory) .yuk ...she had them from her childhood. me i would rather put a hammer too them ,but no they still sit there.....

I used to collect Wedgwood Christmas plates. My mother-in-law was an avid collector of donkeys, owls, elephants, cottage windowsill ornaments. She also gave me a few pieces of Murano glass (which I really didn’t like!) Surprise! Have you looked in your display cabinet? She had snuck in the glass and I pretended to be surprised! The worst think was a brassy wall plate with an elephant figurine coming out of it with screw in tusks? Needless to say, we had to ‘display’ it as she always checked it was on display at our house ? I had a clear out when going to live in Spain like Hazbeen and when we returned to the UK, my furnishings and ornaments were very minimal and I like it like that. I must admit I couldn’t resist a beautiful cut glass bowl (old fashioned I suppose) and two little cut glass dessert bowls from a second hand shop. These are used regularly.
My mum didn’t collect anything as such. My sister-in-law has a cabinet full of Swarovski figures and she got nothing when she sold the collection of cottage ornaments a few years ago. My advice, don’t invest in collections as they are worth anything, unless you invest in art perhaps? I know my daughter will only want to keep things that I have personally worn or treasured. I passed my mother’s old oak dresser to my daughter as we were going abroad. Now I am thrilled, as it it has a new lease of life, repainted in shabby chic style, new knobs, and it has pride of place in her living kitchen.

I collected egg cups, ending up with 800 on display. When we downsized I donated 700 to a man in the Netherlands who every year filled loads of egg cups with chocolate eggs and donated them to children's homes and hospitals.

Lilliput Lane is the name of a set of pottery cottages that was very popular. I thought they were quite cute and brought one years ago. I don't really like collecting things or having ornaments about but because I'd got one family thought I liked them and so for a few years they brought me them for Christmas and birthday presents and a church with a wedding going on for a special anniversary. Unfortunately I ve now got quite a collection! This collection has moved places in my house and is now squashed onto a low shelf in my conservatory. My little grandson loves looking at them and taking them off the shelf. They have a few chips on now which my husband thought I would be sad about, however I'm actually sad they have proved to be so resilient ?

My Mum collected towels and teatowels! I think it had something to do with WW2 when they were hard to obtain. She had this thing about 'nesting'. Some of the them were the texture of a loofah and I took them all to Dogs for the Disabled who were glad to have them to rub the doggies down after their walks!
(Used to keep soap in drawers too, until it had lost its scent. Lord knows why....)

My mother in law collected a Royal Doulton ladies. When she dies she left her 3 granddaughters 12 each. None of them wanted them so they were sold at auction. This is a few years ago and some of them made a reasonable price. My two daughters kept one each but didn’t want them in their houses so we ended up with them! When we decorated we had a big clear out including the 2 Royal Doulton ladies my 2 daughters then decided they didn’t want. They made peanuts in a sale room. My poor MIL would be devastated!

Your post has made me laugh out loud, MooM00

the cottages were called Lilliput Lane, Sodapop.I had them as Christmas presents from my husband for years,the collectors club sent me out a new one each December.I wouldn't part with them,I also bought the odd one in between.I felt they were like the gift that goes on giving,as my husband became ill and couldn't get out as much,he passed away 2 years ago.I was sad when Lilliput Lane finished a few years ago,I would have carried on with them.Like most things,I know my family will never want them,but I still like them.

Just a thought-some theatre companies and businesses who supply props for film sets may be interested in buying up dinner services ,ornaments etc. in bulk.

My collection was novelty teapots, I had some beautiful ones. The ones I bought myself were expensive at the time and friends and my husband bought me some lovely pieces. I would display them in my conservatory. The only thing was telling my dad about my collection and he was off on a mission to buy some, his motto why buy one for fifty pounds when you can get five from the market. Boy did he bring me some of the ugliest teapots I had ever seen. Luckily he lived 5 hours drive from me so I would only get them out when mum and dad visited me.

I have a friend who collected the Royal Doulton ladies, the crystal animals, Old Country Rose's China, children's books, vintage perfume bottles. She's had to have her attic floored just to store clutter. A neighbour once suggested she was leaving a lot for her children to sort out when she died. She was very offended as she thinks the collections are worth a fortune.

Collectibles go in and out of fashion so it's sometimes worth just boxing them up and trying to sell them at a later date. I've never been a fan of 'lady' china ornaments but I do collect other 'tat' which will have a very niche market for resale.

don’t feel guilty

Another way to view it is what if your relatives through two or three or more generations collected sets of things, you wouldn’t be able to keep them all and the same goes for future generations. Just keep one special item to remind you of them and son’t Feel guilty. They had all the joy while they were alive.

My friend gave away her mum's china tea-set to the village cafe, and was thrilled to see it in use. She says it is much better than having it sitting unused in a box then (probably) being taken in a "house clearance" - because no relatives want it - after she's died.

I have an RD figurine, made in the 1930s, which I inherited from my Gran. To my amazement I see online that (in perfect condition) this could be sold for over £100. Even in imperfect condition, they're selling at over £20. So perhaps this is worth bearing in mind, if you inherit any RD "ladies"!

HAZBEEN I too have my mum's tea set i think it was called Royal Albert Old Country Roses. It is beautiful but i will never use it as too delicate and fragile. People just don't use these kind of tea sets nowadays. It is packed away in a box under the stairs. I guess when the time comes it will be thrown away.

I've a few nice cups and saucers and pretty blue and white china which I use every day. I've got just two pottery cottages as I haven't enough space now for them. With a lot of us having down-sized that's often the case, isn't it?

When I first married I collected little jars for herbs and spices but over the years I realised that all I really needed was pepper, salt, mixed herbs and mixed spice so they bit the dust. Things come in and out of fashion and we go off things. Many of us live in smaller houses and have neither the space, time or inclination to dust all these things.

When clearing out an aunt's house a few years ago, stuffed in all sorts of orifices where corsets!!!! With my mothers house it was rubber gloves!! My mother did collect Lladro. I'm afraid I used to collect all sort of things -clay cottages, toy cars in boxes and vans. Now I just collect silver sugar tongs (they are quite cheap) and dust!!!

I have started collecting Willow Tree figurines these past couple of years for my DGD who is also called Willow just the small childlike figures which look good on her shelf in her nursery always good for a present.

Luckly i have collected victorian furniture which has increased in value.I have a beautiful Davenport desk thatci would never sell

I had three tea sets, inherited from parents, never used and so when my Canadian DiL mentioned how much her and her friend loved Downton Abbey, I packed them up and we carried them in our hand luggage all the way to Montreal. I don’t imagine she uses them but they are out of my way!

I collected cameras and had a collection of about 200. Which was fine when I lived in a big old house, and had room for display cabinets. Since we downsized, eight years ago, most of them are in the loft. Perhaps I should send them to auction, but lethargy keeps getting the better of me.

Annsixty
Tell your friend to advertise her unwanted RD items as many advertise for free . There is always someone out there looking for what she has to sell. Royal D. did make the occasional 'unique'.Your friend may have one or even more of these. Nothing ventured ????

I have collected Lilliput Lane cottages for about 20 years. They're beautifully made and very detailed, and I like that they depict real places, some of which we have visited eg where we spent our honeymoon. I have about 30 snowed Christmassy models and 20+ Victorian Shops. Each year I display the snowy models as a Christmas village with lighting and miniature figures, this year I am adding a working railway to it - it's become my lockdown project! The Victorian Shops are displayed in a similar manner throughout the year. Our GC love them and like to move the tiny people around. Sadly Lilliput models are no longer made. Some of the large models have retained their value especially in the U.S. but the small ones are worth very little. But I will still keep mine.

I also have a small collection of Willow Tree figurines which represent us and our grandchildren. That collection is now complete so I won't be buying any more.

I'm not really a 'collector' as such, I just take a fancy to things that have some personal meaning for me.