Hi there readers how are you all doing ? I thought today’s article could be about displays and how best to display your pieces with a few rights and wrongs chucked in along the way, I’m no expert and there’s no courses but let’s see what I’ve learned hey.

I was hoping that guest bloggers would be taking my place whilst I’m settling in but everyone seems to be affiliated and wanting you redirected to profit making websites which we feel at collectibulldogs is a little misleading and most don’t reply after we mention this fact oh well let’s try and pull a rabbit out of the hat.

DISPLAYS THOSE PESKY DOWNFALLS

So it’s my experience that three major factors play a part in this subject matter and that’s space, light (either natural or other) and heat and for that I don’t mean the summer sun melting our chocolate bulldog here, no matter how your displays turn out you will have to encounter and work around these issues.

Let’s start with space, Displays with an even spread of pieces on each shelf looks lovely and for some they can continue buying cabinets to keep the trend looking great but what about those that have lots of bulldogs and not many shelves to stick them on, an over displayed shelf can look messy unless uniformed.

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Start off by putting your four heaviest pieces for each shelf where the pin meets the glass this is the toughest area of each shelf and will hold the weight better, then start putting less heavier large pieces along the back followed by smaller until you have a kind of step up of figurines on each shelf and all can be seen this way. (If pieces all the same size you can buy or make plinths to create the step up look.

HEAVIER DISPLAYS

Short but true story here and a lessen too; years ago when I had started my metals they lived in a Georgian cabinet I had found cheap and looked ok…..CRASH!!! one night a small bronze that knew wobbled topped over on the top shelf created a crack and WHOOSH CRASH CRASH the top shelf pieces had smashed through and all the pieces where displayed in a heap at the bottom with shards everywhere.

So with saying that may I suggest if you cannot afford wooden styled cabinets then save some money buy a deep book case and a feather duster, not only is a bookshelf open so if like me you need to get a piece easy peasy and they are also wooden shelves designed to hold heavy things so a great alternative and you don’t have to worry about crashes in the night.

 

SMALLER DISPLAYS

Those with a small display either through choice Budget Space or other reasons firstly can I say I envy you truly, I sometimes wished I had stopped but then there wouldn’t be the moving forward of bulldogging or Bulldog memorabilia collecting. There’s not much information to explain to those with small collections other than the basics ie don’t put your wobbly metal pieces on glass shelving and just to follow our tips to keep your pieces safe at all times.

SUBS N COLOURS

Without sounding brash I have 14 sub sections ie porcelain, metal, club pieces and in my collection (before I moved) I kept in each of its own sections, as you can see until I have the space I need all mine are jumbled up, I will get round to practicing what I’m preaching here but the wife wanted boxes out of the way to create some SPACE.

If you have many pieces or a few of each you can do the same, if you have lots then take heed of the advice above but if you have a few of each you can buy cabinets with wooden shelf’s or old curios and display each section on each shelf.

COLOUR

Metal pieces have all different colours and I found a book shelf Let’s enough natural light through with its obvious open front but I would suggest if you want to display them at higher standard, buy some external lighting and aim at the display this gives of an amazing warm cozy feeling in the evenings and I’ve also learned that no matter how you display the metal pieces after half an hour each change looks the same.

Colour is important if your display is in a glass cabinet as these normally come with a small light which I believe is for evening use, so if you stack that top shelf with pieces or chose all dark colours you’ll see a darkening pattern go down the display once finished.

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Play around after you have chosen your corner heavies keep the darker pieces for further down or to the sides of the cabinet, this article isn’t about me telling you that green goes with blue or yellow and red go well as for choice it’s your collection and your own mind this is just how to get the most out of what you have it was all trail and error with me and still is sometimes. (One tip for you glass and silver look amazing paired up).

GOING CRAZY

When you buy an object that’s over one hundred years old you will want to see crazing as part of the pieces ageing process but imagine watching your own collection start to craze decades before it’s even going too, the first problem is home heat we cannot live without it but if I were being truthful a collection of porcelain would fair better in someone’s loft or even better a garage where there’s cool air and no natural sunlight giving your pieces a nasty tan.

If you have display cabinets near windows have them facing back and towards the window and try and have your cabinets on back walls if facing windows glass doors attract light and you have enough daylight as it is without adding more light and hence heat, speaking of heat keep top shelf pieces to a certain height or you will notice the bulb will heat up the pieces underneath slowly cooking the glaze away.

TOP TIPS

Putting tape in glass corners helps to stop chips from starting

Full cabinets should be fixed to the wall even if you never think the worst can happen

When drying pieces after cleaning make sure bottom is dry as wetness will cause pockets of air and the piece may become stuck to the glass and when picked up pull the glass with it.

Be mindful that the sun magnifies through some glass so figurines that are not treated like cabinet doors are not in direct sunlight.

If you keep your pieces in sub sections you will learn that you soon know every piece you have great for counting and insurance purposes as well as research.

This tip comes from recent events (see I’m still learning too) if you display in an open plan living space keep ALL cabinets even the metals as far away from washers and dryers as possible even if you can feel the vibrations they give off they do which will weaken the cabinets the pieces and what they are sitting on.

When placing pieces in put your finger or thumb over the tail till it’s placed in properly the last thing you want to do is break the tail on the back of your display cabinet.

If your moving a piece and hear lots of chinking you have to many pieces on the shelf and over time chips will be seen when cleaning, if possible have a think and rearrange the new display may give you that much needed mms between each piece.

For investment collectors don’t clean the bottoms of porcelain pieces the dirty rim shows age and if cleaned can put doubt into the pieces provenance

Use the least amount of effort when cleaning hallmarks on soft precious metals your collection will get older and as you clean the markings wear away, if hallmarks are rubbed in England the metal stops being called silver and further devalued when classed as white metal.

My last tip here is do as YOU want it’s your collection I’ve spent so much time taking photos for self promoting I’m only going by my own experience there’s no official guide and as said the blogs more for those up and coming. ENJOY YOUR COLLECTION

Displays TOTALLY SUGGESTIVE

Of course we are not here to tell you what to do and I wouldn’t expect everyone to go changing their cabinets because I wrote this, it would be unwise in my eyes not have blogs like this on this kind of website, seasoned collectors will know most of this but those with up and coming collections could quite easily not think about the cleaning but I will heed to all the importance of glass and sunlight.

ENJOY OUR COLLECTION

Well folks here it is and there’s no how to etc we’ve put together a pdf that we hope will become popular, Digital Wulf on twitter Or  THIER WEBSITE EMAIL have worked hard and now we can produce the worlds first free downloadable bulldog collection.

2500 images have been compressed into this free gift to anyone wanting one ☝️ we suggest you make some room due too the size and any problems downloading please contact my host for instruction on how you can own it too, I’m off now for a bit so if you download enjoy and until next time happy collecting.

Here it is your own pdf of COLLECTIBULLDOGS please allow for downloading speed and space we hope you enjoy

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