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Alex and Emily Vaishville, owners of Hummelking Antiques and Collectibles in Downtown Lodi, hold a hard-to-find Goebel "Cardinal Tuck" in red. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)
German figurines are Lodi antique dealer's specialty
As any antique enthusiast will tell you, collecting specific pieces takes patience, a keen eye and an ounce of luck.
Alex and Emily Vaishville, owners of Hummelking Antiques and Collectibles in Downtown Lodi, possess all three qualities, and they specialize in the highly sought after M.I. Hummel figurines.
After working for 25 years within corporate structures as a customer service manager, then marketing, and finally as a credit manager for Fortune 500 companies, Alex Vaishville became tired of mergers and acquistions and decided to go into business for himself. At first, he and his wife, Emily, opened an antique shop in San Jose. From there they began selling their pieces at antique and collectible shows and street faires.
But with the rising cost of gas, hotel fees and promoter fees, the Vaishvilles decided to open another shop and bring the collectors to them. They chose Lodi because of its proximity to family in Stockton. Plus, the Downtown location had an appeal they both liked.
Though they deal in almost any antique item from furniture to jewelry, they focus on figurines by Goebel, Hedy Schoop, Beatrix Potter, Royal Dux, Doulton, Wallendorf and, of course, M.I. Hummel.
A Hummel waits to be purchased at the antique shop. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)
Alex Vaishville is constantly keeping his eye out for estate sales and any opportunity that might have a worthwhile find. He's also open to people who come into the shop with something to sell. But how does he know what to look for?
"You have to have a trained eye, like Emily or myself," Alex Vaishville said.
When it comes to the Hummel figurines, Alex Vaishville knows exactly what to look for. On the side of the base of the figurine (or in close proximity to the base) will be the M.I. Hummel signature, along with the date, the number of the piece and the Goebel logo. Goebel is the parent company that crafts the figurines.
Nowadays the figurines are designed by various artists based on the early sketches of Berta Hummel and only a limited number are produced. In fact, according to Alex Vaishville, only 20 figurines are produced per mold before a new mold is used. Each figurine is painstakingly hand-painted.
M.I. Hummel's signature and the Goebel mark are seen on the bottom of a Hummel collectible at Hummelking Antiques and Collectibles. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)
The rarest Hummel the shop has is an eigh-inch tall "Umbrella Boy" created in 1949. Though collectors can expect to usually pay $3,000 for this piece, Hummelking sells the item for $900. In fact, Alex Vaishville sells most items at a drastic discount.
"We sell (the figurines) at about $60 off the value," Alex Vaishville said. "We're the largest Hummel dealer on the West Coast."
Berta Hummel was an accomplished Bavarian artist who was born in Massing, Germany in 1909.
Hummel studied at the Academy of Applied Arts in Munich, creating landscapes, cityscapes, still lifes, portraits and sketches of small children that later became the inspiration for the figurines.
In 1931 Hummel joined the Convent of Siessen and became known as Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel. Franz Goebel, the owner of a porcelain company, gave his permission to start creating the figurines based on Hummel's work in 1935.
Hummel died in November of 1946.
Source: www.egoebel.com
Hummelking Antiques and Collectibles at a glance
Where: 20 N. School St.
Owners: Alex and Emily Vaishville.
Open: Tuesday through Saturday.
Information: 327-3310.
Source: Alex Vaishville
Hummel studied at the Academy of Applied Arts in Munich, creating landscapes, cityscapes, still lifes, portraits and sketches of small children that later became the inspiration for the figurines.
In 1931 Hummel joined the Convent of Siessen and became known as Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel. Franz Goebel, the owner of a porcelain company, gave his permission to start creating the figurines based on Hummel's work in 1935.
Hummel died in November of 1946.
Source: www.egoebel.com
Hummelking Antiques and Collectibles at a glance
Where: 20 N. School St.
Owners: Alex and Emily Vaishville.
Open: Tuesday through Saturday.
Information: 327-3310.
Source: Alex Vaishville
But it's not just Hummels that will bring serious collectors into the store. A look around the well-organized shop will reveal the elegant porcelain beauty of a demure Wallendorf statuette, the '60s Italian design of a Capodimonte porcelain bouquet or the perfect condition of a 64-piece set of Crown Ming china that's over 100 years old. There's something for almost any antique taste.
"One buyer bought almost all our ivory pieces," Emily Vaishville said.
Possibly one of the more intriguing collections in the shop are the Goebel Friar Tuck cookie jars that retail for around $600. Most are hand-painted brown, but now and again seekers will find a red one known as the Cardinal Tuck. One of these, from 1957, resides among a bevy of browns on the shelves of Hummelking.
"The red ones are impossible to find," Alex Vaishville said. However, it's that keen antique dealer's eye he used to find the Cardinal.
Contact Business Editor Marc Lutz at marcl@lodinews.com.
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