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Suitable for framing. . . Mia's artist inspired designs are certainly that. These ball and molded ornaments have become the hallmark of her collection. Since 1995 no other studio has dedicated itself to honoring the fine arts to the extent that Mia has both in her regular collection and through her commission design ornaments. Mia divides her time between her business and shipping headquarters in New York City and her design studio and retail store in Krakow, Poland. It is always fascinating to learn how a designer was drawn into the production of Christmas ornaments. Read as Mia shares her story and gives us the "scoop" about a few commission designs.
From Mia
I first went to Poland in 1989, just at the twilight of Communism there. For several generations, my family there was been involved in a traditional Polish craft industry --making Polish boxes. In a small provincial town in the south of Poland, I have a whole street of family (members). They all, several families, live on the same street. From the very beginning I was attracted to Christmas ornaments.
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As I began the Mia Collection, I bought ornaments from Polish factories for a couple of years. However, in late 1996 I started to see that they were not respecting the exclusivity of my designs and were also relaxing their standards of quality. I looked for an alternative producer in Poland that could give me the quality I wanted. I could not find any whose quality I could accept, so I decided to start my own studio where I could set the standards. A friend loaned me $15,000 and in April of 1997 I started my own production. |
| My training is regular college where I studied economics and political science. I then roamed all over the Social Sciences in my pursuit of a graduate degree, which coupled with my big love for the arts, added an appreciation of other cultures and their treasures. I do not have a formal art training, but if a year spent in Europe visiting museums could be considered training, then I do have it. Art, in its myriad manifestations...visual, written, musical and performance art, has been a passion all my life. |
| I never imagined that I would at some time in my life be able to combine a passion for the arts with a professional pursuit and that it would be so pleasurable. But it happened and it is great. Making art inspired ornaments actually happened and was not planned. A friend suggested that I do an ornament based on Matisse's The Dance. Then when we did it and it was so wonderful, we decided to do a second Matisse, one inspired by his paper cuttings. The reaction I received to these two ornaments was so enthusiastic that I decided to do other art inspired ornaments, realizing that there are quite a few kindred spirits who love the arts as much as I do. |
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These art inspired ornaments have a small following of people who share my love for art. When I began my own studio, I started receiving commissions. The first two were a Shoe and a Miyake Dress for the Philadelphia Museum of Arts' costume show. I have also created a Kimono ornament for the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The design is based upon a garment from their Japanese collection. I have also done The Kiss by Kali for the Austrian Gallery Belvedere and an insect (a cute and sweet looking one, somewhat with a Disney-like feel to it) for the opening of the insect section at the St. Louis Zoo.
Other current commissions include the Lady with Ermine for Milwaukee Art Museum. It's a Leonardi da Vinci piece that is in a museum in Krakow. Also the Madonna of Guadalupe for the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Wisconsin, and building of the Field Museum. Some other ornaments for this year include the Grand Central Station Building for the N.Y. Transit Museum, as well as a vintage subway train and bus. These are all special commissions and I have another 215 designs in our current line. Besides the Christmas and Halloween ornaments, there is also a New York series and a Vatican series.
I'm also excited about several San Francisco ornaments that will be coming out. An Alcatraz Santa is wearing a prison suit and has a chain around his feet weighted down by a small glittered ornament, and a Cable car Santa sitting astride a cable car. Just like my New York series, I'm starting now a San Francisco series. There will be additional ornaments in the series depicting this wonderful magical city.
For more information and to see Mia's current line, check out The Apple Tree Gallery.
Images Courtesy of the Apple Tree Gallery.
This article originally appeared in Celebrate365, Spring 2000 Issue
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