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When I met Mary.…
The dream for all of us Mary's Moo Moos cow-lectors was to meet our favorite artist in person. Well, that dream came true for a group of about 30 of us when we went to the International Collectors Exposition in Rosemont, Illinois last month. You have never seen such a "wild and excited" group of moo collectors! First we waited in line...and waited...and waited....then as we were "herded" into the convention center we all started talking faster and faster. Ready, set, here we go...to the Enesco booth we go! Tammy Browning-Smith was the first one in line at the Mary's Moo Moos signing, kind of holding down the fort for the Moo Hunt Club. As 11:00 am approached and it was almost time we got a visit from the "Got Milk" cow. That kept us happy for a few minutes, posing for pictures and helped pass the time. As 11:30 approached and there was no sign of Mary we all began to wonder what happened...surely she would be here. As it turned out she got caught in traffic and arrived over an hour later. It was a mad dash to contact everyone as we were told we could come back on Sunday as she would be there then. Mary patiently signed our precious items and smiled and took in all us "moo-crazy" fans. She also posed for pictures with all of us and her product manager Jeanette arranged a group photo for us. Talk about being on cloud nine! We were all disappointed when Mary had to leave but figured she needed a break from the madness we had created...there was always tomorrow.
We all had a great time at the "mini-convention" and party Saturday night and we made plans for the Sunday signing. When we got there Mary was just arriving and had a "milk" mustache on...really cute! She again patiently signed all our MMM's and posed for pictures. Deb and I were
the only moo-bers who were brave enough to get a milk mustache but it was worth it now as we have the picture to remind us of this special day.
I got to visit for a little over an hour with Mary and we casually talked about the line and some of her moo-stakes. Yep...even Mary makes moo-stakes! You may have caught them too but the one Mary remembers most is the spelling of Heifer. In the early days of her designing she used to put "heffer" instead of "heifer" until someone brought it to her
attention that she was spelling it wrong. Yes, she said the Dan Quayle of Moo Moos!
Mary also mentioned another figurine that was originally supposed to have a little different title. One of the first Christmas series to come out has the figurine, "Once Upon a Midnight Steer". The original title was meant to be "It Came Upon a Midnight Steer" but somewhere along the way the title was changed. She draws and designs her ador-a-bull figurines from an office at Enesco and off-site at home...an
arrangement she enjoys. After drawing the figurines she brainstorms with other staff members and her boss who has the final approval. She is very excited about the "Got Milk" and "John Deere" series and does not have a "favorite" figurine. Although she claims to only collect "dustbunnies" she does have the Limited Edition pieces which are very near
and dear to her. She, like her mother before her, is not much of a collector she said.
continued … Click here...
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