Morbid Beginnings: The Birth of a Josef Originals Collection
I realized recently that I have been collecting Josef Originals now for 10 years! And it got me reminiscing about how it all started for me...
Back when I was a young and very bored receptionist, I would peruse Ebay for, well, pretty much anything. I had a bit of an online shopping addiction, which some may argue still persists to this day. Of course it doesn't help that my current job involves sitting in front of a computer all day with a very light work load, and easy shopping at my fingertips, much like it was for me back then.
And in those days, I was hunting bluebirds because, for some reason, that was what I was collecting at the time. So, while on my daily bluebird hunt, I managed to stumble upon a large figurine of a lady in a pretty yellow gown, with a bluebird on her hand.
And, oh my, was she ever gorgeous!
I immediately wanted her, but when I saw the price of her, which was waaaay too extravagant for my measly very bored receptionist paycheck, I knew I should just back away slowly, and forget I ever saw her, or the name Josef Originals.
Now, fast forward a few years to Halloween of 2009.
The Hubs and I were really into Halloween, and enjoyed working on a different project together each year.
One year we perfected a severed head for a ghoulish dinner table, complete with bloody utensils and blood dripping candles.
And another year we pulled off a fabulous black snake wreath, a-la Martha Stewart.
But this specific year, we wanted to try our hand at making one of those gory figurines, like the ones created by Jessica Harrison you may have seen online.
So I was cruising eBay, looking for some cheap figurines; something with a nice long exposed neck, not covered up with any hair, and one with their arm and hand extended. The hope was to saw off the head, add some nicely placed blood and gore, and then fasten the head so as to appear it was being carried by the now headless woman.
Just another fun annual Halloween project for the Hubs and I!
Finding the right figurine was no easy task, but after a great deal of searching, I found a lady that fit the bill perfectly. But it wasn't just the perfect price point, or the sought after pose...there was just something about her that drew me in. Her features, and her dress, were just so.... alluring!
She had a little bit of damage, but I was going to decapitate her anyway, so I didn't mind.
But when she arrived, and I actually had her in my hands, I couldn't go through with the grisly deed.
She was of such fine quality, and just too damn beautiful, to mar with such an ugly act.
And that figurine turned out to be more special than I realized.
Turning her over in my hands, there was something tugging at my memory....something about that oval label on her side, and the name Josef, seemed so familiar.... And it made me think of that figurine I had seen years earlier with the bluebird.
So I went back to eBay and typed in "Josef Original bluebird" into the search bar, and lo and behold, I found that beautiful lady I had stumbled upon years earlier ('Bluebird of Happiness').
This meant that this new girl, who I quickly discovered was 'The Engagement', and who was very nearly guillotined, was one of those very dolls that I had thought too damn hot to touch, and had tried to forget. But in the end, one had managed to find its way into my home after all.
And I was never the same again.
I spared her head, and she stole my heart.
And the rest is Josef history!
In case you are curious, below is what we eventually came up with for our Halloween project:
Back when I was a young and very bored receptionist, I would peruse Ebay for, well, pretty much anything. I had a bit of an online shopping addiction, which some may argue still persists to this day. Of course it doesn't help that my current job involves sitting in front of a computer all day with a very light work load, and easy shopping at my fingertips, much like it was for me back then.
And in those days, I was hunting bluebirds because, for some reason, that was what I was collecting at the time. So, while on my daily bluebird hunt, I managed to stumble upon a large figurine of a lady in a pretty yellow gown, with a bluebird on her hand.
And, oh my, was she ever gorgeous!
I immediately wanted her, but when I saw the price of her, which was waaaay too extravagant for my measly very bored receptionist paycheck, I knew I should just back away slowly, and forget I ever saw her, or the name Josef Originals.
Now, fast forward a few years to Halloween of 2009.
The Hubs and I were really into Halloween, and enjoyed working on a different project together each year.
One year we perfected a severed head for a ghoulish dinner table, complete with bloody utensils and blood dripping candles.
And another year we pulled off a fabulous black snake wreath, a-la Martha Stewart.
But this specific year, we wanted to try our hand at making one of those gory figurines, like the ones created by Jessica Harrison you may have seen online.
So I was cruising eBay, looking for some cheap figurines; something with a nice long exposed neck, not covered up with any hair, and one with their arm and hand extended. The hope was to saw off the head, add some nicely placed blood and gore, and then fasten the head so as to appear it was being carried by the now headless woman.
Just another fun annual Halloween project for the Hubs and I!
Finding the right figurine was no easy task, but after a great deal of searching, I found a lady that fit the bill perfectly. But it wasn't just the perfect price point, or the sought after pose...there was just something about her that drew me in. Her features, and her dress, were just so.... alluring!
She had a little bit of damage, but I was going to decapitate her anyway, so I didn't mind.
But when she arrived, and I actually had her in my hands, I couldn't go through with the grisly deed.
She was of such fine quality, and just too damn beautiful, to mar with such an ugly act.
And that figurine turned out to be more special than I realized.
Turning her over in my hands, there was something tugging at my memory....something about that oval label on her side, and the name Josef, seemed so familiar.... And it made me think of that figurine I had seen years earlier with the bluebird.
So I went back to eBay and typed in "Josef Original bluebird" into the search bar, and lo and behold, I found that beautiful lady I had stumbled upon years earlier ('Bluebird of Happiness').
This meant that this new girl, who I quickly discovered was 'The Engagement', and who was very nearly guillotined, was one of those very dolls that I had thought too damn hot to touch, and had tried to forget. But in the end, one had managed to find its way into my home after all.
I spared her head, and she stole my heart.
And the rest is Josef history!
In case you are curious, below is what we eventually came up with for our Halloween project:
These brave ladies gave their lives to save that of a Josef
Are you still collecting?
ReplyDeleteMy mother had collected several hundredJosef’s. The girls and the whimsical animals. About 250 of them will be included in an estate sale in August. Is there a way for me to communicate with you privately instead of on a public blog?
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