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Jim Shore

Jim Shore is a multi award winning artist of very unique hand crafted figurines and ornaments. He also designs patterns to create calendars and puzzles. Jim has always had a love for art and he once said “There are many of very talented people who have great talents but never get to show them. I’ve been lucky because not only do I get to do what I love everyday but share my creations with people around the world.” His inspiration was from his family, as his father and grandfather were both very artistic individuals, as well as immigrants who brought with them a history of old world decorative creations. Jim looks back at English appliqués, quilts, and even old paintings to create his “heartcrafted” cultural pieces.
Jim originally went to school for engineering and graduated with a business degree. In his free time he enjoyed sculpting and painting and eventually started his own company called Designs Americana. The company had over 350 employees and more orders than could be filled. As business went on Jim was interested in finding a business partner and eventually merged with Enesco a gifts, collectibles and accessories company.

Each of the pieces he creates has two stages, first designing the figurine and then choosing the specific colours. He chooses the colours by looking through his favourite pieces as well as what customers are requesting.

Jim has been honored to receive multiple awards such as Artist of the Year 2003, 2004 and 2005, Christmas Collectible of the Year 2003 and 2005, Rising Star 2002, and Christmas Décor of the Year 2004 and 2005.
Poag’s has a wide variety of Jim Shore’ s Christmas and Disney figurines that would be a nice decorative accessory for any holiday home.

Fun Christmas Facts

• Coca Cola was the first company to ever use Santa for their winter advertisements.
• More diamonds are sold around Christmas than any other time of the year.
• If you received all of the gifts from the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” you would actually receive 364 gifts in total.
• In Italy they call Santa “Babbo Natale”.
• World’s tallest Christmas tree was 22 feet high and it stood in Washington’s mall in 1950.
• Christmas trees are edible and the needles are a good source of vitamin C – Yum!
• Christmas pudding was originally a soup that was made with raisins and wine
• The term Boxing Day originates from the day the money was collected in church alms boxes for the poor.
• In Greece, Italy, Spain and Germany every worker gets a Christmas bonus of one month salary by law.
• Alabama was the first state to recognize Christmas as an official holiday.
• The two days before Christmas are the busiest shopping days of the year.
• Charles Dickens’ original choice for Scrooge’s saying was “Bah Christmas” and ended up in the movie as “Bah Humbug”.
• During the Christmas season more than 1.76 billion candy canes are made
• In the movie “ How the Grinch Stole Christmas “ they feature more than 52,000 Christmas lights, 8,200 Christmas ornaments, and nearly 2,000 candy canes.
• In Holland they call Santa “De Kerstman”.
• The first Christmas card was created in England on December 4, 1842.
• Nova Scotia is the world leader for export of Christmas trees.

Gemstone of the month

It’s the newest member on the birthstone scene and it is making quite a statement! Tanzanite became an official December birthstone in October 2002, in the first revision since 1912 to the birthstone list maintained by the American Gem Trade Association

Tanzanite was discovered in 1967 in the Merelani Hills in Tanzania; some passing Masai Shepard’s noticed some beautiful sparkling crystals in the sun and took them along with them. The stones were sent to multiple sources, including the Gemological Institute of America, mineralogists at Harvard and the Heidelberg University to be indentified.

It was Tiffany and Co. of New York City that gave tanzanite its debut. They unveiled the stone and backed it with a major advertising campaign declaring that tanzanite could be found in only two places on earth - Tanzania and Tiffany’s.

The world’ s largest faceted Tanzanite is the "Queen of Kilimanjaro", it weighs 242 carats. It is set in a tiara and accented with eight hundred and three brilliant cut tsavorite garnets and nine hundred and thirteen brilliant cut diamonds. It is currently in the collection of Michael Scott, the first CEO of Apple Computers.

Except for a select few stones that were discovered close to the surface in tanzanite’s early days, tanzanite is universally heat treated to produce a range of hues that are both stable and permanent. This process is completely complimentary to the natural geological process, and there is no chemical or structural difference evidenced between heated and unheated tanzanite.

For a great Christmas gift, come check out our selection of tanzanite today!

Feature product of the month

     It’s December, and that means Christmas is just right around the corner! This Christmas we are featuring a beautiful custom made 14K yellow gold pendant in the shape of a Christmas tree.
    It is a yellow gold polished tree design that is bezel set with a beautiful 0.29 carat custom cut Christmas tree shaped diamond. The diamond is of SI2 clarity and G colour. It also has a large solid bail that would be great for many different styles of chain.
    If you are looking for a Christmas tree that will light up and sparkle in any room come on in to Poag Jewellers and take a look at this perfect one of a kind gift. To add this item to your wish list click here!

Brittanys Blog

Olympic Torch

Hello, its Brittany from Poag Jewellers again keeping you updated on the courses I am enrolled in at the G.I.A.! Last month I had two more assignments to complete before taking my final exam, and then one more course to complete as well. I am excited to tell you that I have completed my first course which was the diamond essentials course and on my final exam I passed with a 46/50!

For this months blog I am also going to tell you I have quickly moved into my second course which is coloured stone essentials and have until the beginning of January to complete it. I really enjoy being a part of the G.I.A and successfully moving forward to accomplish the graduate gemologist course.

In next months blog I will have for you the results of my coloured stones essentials course and as well as which new course I will have started!

   On December 24, 2009, the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games Olympic torch will be making its way through the town of Strathroy!
    Dave Randorf, a TSN host has been announced to be included as one of the torch bearers, but no others have been announced yet. The torch will be making a quick stop in town and there is going to be a closed section for spectators to enjoy the celebration and watch as the torch is welcomed to our town. There will be entertainment and keepsakes given out among the children throughout the route as well as special decorations in the area of celebration.
    Come to Strathroy and help us make a lasting memory as we watch the 2010 Olympic torch travel through our town.