During the Rosemont International Collectible Exposition in 1997, the idea of wall plaques first occurred to Martin. He had been talking to collectors throughout the day, and several said that they were having trouble fitting more collectibles into their curio cabinets. Ever the opportunist, Martin thought about all that empty wall space.

"Two things excited me about the idea," says Martin. "The first was that we could carve a tile in relief, which would by itself be an attractive addition to any collector's arsenal. Yet even better, this single tile could then be part of a larger scheme. We could carve other tiles that would expand the original image into a larger and larger picture. In other words, people could own one, two, five or twenty tiles, whatever suited them. The other equally exciting aspect to this idea was that the subject matter would be limitless."

Ann Richmond carved the first series in the Picturesque™ Collection, "Noah's Park," and Peter lent his hand to the centerpiece tile, "The Lost Ark." The series took a full year to finish. "It is a ravishing visual image full of humour and the typically enigmatic Harmony Kingdom detail," says Martin. Inspired by the result, Ann created a second series, "Byron's Secret Garden." Both series premiered in March 1999 at the International Coverings Show in Orlando Florida. "Noah's Park" was first introduced to collectors the following week at the first stop on the "Picturesque Tour" and "Byron's Secret Garden" at the Long Beach Collectibles Exposition in April. In September 1999, pre-production tile figurines of "Wimberley Tales," the third series in the Picturesque Collection, were premiered at the final two Picturesque events in the U.S. Carved by Mark Ricketts, this spectacular pastiche of a medieval deep relief carving portrays the fictional town of Wimberley, named after Wimberley Mills.

In addition to a variety of Picturesque accessories to showcase one to twenty tiles, stand-alone tile figurines have been carved. Peter's "Storm Brewing" and Ann's "Ruffians' Feast" and "Purrfect Tidings" have been enthusiastically received. With Picturesque, Harmony Kingdom has created its second collectible category - tile figurines.

| CONTACT US |