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South Bend convention grows asplate-collecting addictions reads
<br /> ,
<br /> Thousands coming; ► . .
<br /> h,k;.� — "�T^• ,;: New Carlisle store M IF • �,,. T,:•••,+
<br /> y
<br /> where it all started
<br /> 4 .
<br /> y Brooke Klott
<br /> �.
<br /> SOME 4A0 PLATE COLLECTORS will stage their
<br /> annual migration to South Bend this week. From all parts of the continental United Skates, and from I Cana-
<br /> da, � 4 a � A;n r da, Europe and as far away as Australia, they will ;
<br /> l come to the Fifth International Plate Collectors' Con-
<br /> °^ vention here Thursday throagh next Sunday.
<br /> What are plate collectors and why do they congre-
<br /> gate yearly in this particular place?
<br /> r The answers to those questions are favorite topics of
<br /> ,
<br /> conversation for Winme Watson, who makes both a
<br /> hobby and a business of collecting plates at her home
<br /> and shop, Watson's Colleetiales in New Carlisle.
<br /> "A plate collector," she zxplains, "is a person who
<br /> has a compulsion to buy lb-Ated edition plates. Some-
<br /> times described as having °plate fever' or as being a
<br /> 'plate-aholic,' he will live on bread and water in order
<br /> to save money for adding to his collection.
<br /> "A collectors' plate is a limited edition art object, "
<br /> usually made of porcelain er china. Its value is deter-
<br /> mined by the reputation of the manufacturer, the a,
<br /> ' artist's popularity, the 8111 i*ct matter, the number of
<br /> * plates issued in that series,and, of course, the mar-Winnie Watson selects the plates and other collectibles that are displayed in the store. She manages a ket's reaction to it."
<br /> g 35-member staff. Watson's has been selling�collectors' plates for eight
<br /> years, and it was through Niknnie Watson's enthusiasm
<br /> and organizational skills that the first plate collectors' e=
<br /> 0 ,o 1, W convention took place here in the summer of 1975.
<br /> t ,c Thirteen hundred manufacturers, retailers, dealers,
<br /> 1 artists and collectors came to see the latest editions
<br /> ' Y pexpected Wlson says even more than
<br /> ,e '. and to trade later. Mrs. W
<br /> RS 1P VYJJn �. 1
<br /> ast ear's 4,500 are to attend the convention
<br /> � � '' " � 7r "•t`" �' �h"Iq this week Watson's front showroom houses lithographs and figurines. The business evolved from a typical small-town corner drugstore.
<br /> n lw �
<br /> ,too ,, , yg - �„ 1 ' / WINNIE WATSON'S transformation from ordinary
<br /> W. „ � ti�sa;, '+, � � v"a �� wj shopkeeper to leading retailer of collectors' plates
<br /> came accidentally. She and her late husband, Gle
<br /> IM Y � u� ' g 3�.�
<br /> � , "� FFMM i "� began my own collection and felt compelled to share
<br /> . owned the corner drugstore in New Carlisle. They this wonderful hobbywith everyone I met. Think of all '
<br /> t �' �j,y, a .# enlarged it and added a gift department specializing in the things people collect — and I don't mean to knock
<br /> �. p lams and decorative accessories for the home. After them really — but barbed wire, matchbook covers, .
<br /> M several years, however, collectors' limited edition
<br /> ' of beer cans and then think
<br /> plates began edging out the other gift items. . . . uds plates. They're so
<br /> la
<br /> "We began to build up our plate department, and beautiful.
<br /> The first collectors' late ever issued was manufac-
<br /> through informative newspaper ads, established a
<br /> rep- Lured by a Danish firm, Bing and Grondahl, in 1895. 1t$ ,
<br /> utation for havingan unuEuall large selection of Called "Frozen Window," it sold in the U.S. for 50
<br /> them," Mrs. Watson says. "We wanted to attract cents. Today this plate is bought and sold for about
<br /> Philosophy that if you build a better mousetrap, people
<br /> $3,000
<br /> collectors from nearby towns, and I was sold on the r
<br /> +..,
<br /> .
<br /> Not all first editions appreciate to thistent
<br /> will beat a path to your door" ex , of
<br /> They did. Collectors started coming from such titles
<br /> course, but many now selling for$10 and up can double "
<br /> or Indianapolis trip le the original investment, according to Mrs.
<br /> m .
<br /> as Chicago, Detroit, Fort Wayne and
<br /> i Po to
<br /> Watson, and in the meantime, she says, "you have an r ,
<br /> buy and visit with other plea. collectors. object of beauty which can be enjoyed and displayed in } > ¢
<br /> Looking back, it took a 1 tt of nerve go into the your home." She stresses that a true collector acquires T a e r
<br /> plate business the way we di(," Winnie recalls. "For 20 plates for the aesthetic reward rather than for mone- « ^A xh v
<br /> y.•, years, we had worked long 1t ird hours in the drugstore tarYgain.
<br /> seven days a week We had repaid all the money we s
<br /> originally borrowed to go knt+ business and had finally 46
<br /> IN THE LAST eight years, Watson's Collectibles has s ki
<br /> made the last mortgage pays tents on the store and ourMlkr: .<`
<br /> had phenomenal growth and until recently was burst- g
<br /> home. At last we could relay, take a trip to Europe, ARTIST GEORGES DELODZIA, right, will demonstrate the art of uniting
<br /> work shorter hours and a o' our home and garden. ing at the seams. "The second floor of the building was
<br /> •� g pewter and oil painting a the plate collectors' convention in South Bend.
<br /> The ruby-carpeted main showroom of Watson's Collectibles surrounds the customer with limited editionplates. "After I had discovered limited edition plates, I (Continued on page 14) With him is Victor A. Noel, Schmidt Brothers Co. executive vice president.
<br /> TWELVE. The South Bend Tri'l+une, Sunday, July 8, 1979 THIRTEEN
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