Madelena People

The stork has been busy.

Ben, with some help from Emma, produced Erin in April 2009.

Julie produced her second girl, Lucia in December.

Kerry produced her second son, Samuel, in February 2010.

To cover the shortages we have been joined by our first new full-time team member since 2002, Christine, who joined us in December and has now taken over from Jo who has also just started her maternity break . We wish her all good luck and plain sailing.

Christine is being assisted in the office by stalwart Jeni whose two girls now attend school freeing her for two days in the office in addition to weekend duty.

Also helping out is our first ever temp, Bethany; and David when he is not doing USA shows.

The wheel turns!

Hopefully Kerry, Julie, and Jo will all return as part timers in due course.

Watch this space because by the way the stork may not yet be done!

A Change of Wording

To make our website tidier and more logical, we've decided to change the wording we use to reflect items that have had price reductions. We will change these FROM: 'CLEARANCE' and then later 'FURTHER CLEARANCE', TO: 'REDUCED' and then later 'CLEARANCE'.

We reduce prices because we need to keep our stock moving, keep the website exciting, and to clear some shelf space. It also gives us an opportunity to give our valued customers some real bargains. We hope you enjoy!

Shipping by Federal Express

With immediate effect we are shipping all packages using FedEx.

FedEx honed their prices to within range of our current suppliers, for a higher quality, faster service. There will
be no additional cost to our customers.

Parcels shipped from the UK will be shipped using the
international priority service (1-3 days from date of
dispatch)

For the moment, USA-USA shipments will be by FedEx ground. (up to 4 business days from date of dispatch)

Tracking numbers will continue to be auto-emailed following shipment, and 'signature required' will remain standard practice.

We hope you enjoy the improved service.

Credit Card Security – PCI DSS Compliance

Personal data security has always been a top priority at madelena.com.

Our systems have always been completely secure, and confidential data has never been compromised.

The size of our business makes it unlikely that we would ever be a target for the bad guys. But we decided, nonetheless, that it would be a good idea to carry the stamp of approval of the most up to date international standard for security:

The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) , founded by the major credit card companies in 2006, is an open global forum for the ongoing development and implementation of security standards for account data protection.

Their on-going mission is to stay ahead of hackers and fraudsters bent on penetrating payment account data security barriers.

madelena.com is now PCI compliant. This means all systems and procedures have been independently audited to Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). We passed rigorous PCI DSS security tests, and our procedures are all in compliance. Regular tests are run on our systems to ensure this status is maintained.

More info can be found at www.securitymetrics.com

Customers choosing to pay by credit card may continue to rest assured - your personal information has always been, and will always be safe with us.

Emails Not Arriving?

Some customers we meet at shows tell us they used to enjoy receiving our emails, but the emails stopped coming.
Sometimes the reason turns out to be they changed their email address.
Another reason can be that our emails are being swept away by overzealous email filters (many spam blockers work by filtering out emails from addresses not in your Address Book or on your 'Allowed' list.)

So - if our emails are not arriving and you wish to receive them there are two things you can do:

1. Please email sales@madelena.com with your current email address.

2. Please add sales@madelena.com to your Address Book or your 'Allowed' list, and email us to say you wish to receive our emails.

Email us at sales@madelena.com if you have any questions or need help on how to do this.

Alternatively, sign in to myMadelena from our Home page (www.madelena.com) and change your email address and heads-up email preferences* from there.

*We email you to say when we will be at a show, and/or we email you when new items of interest to you personally are about to be listed.

Ackworth School Sampler Weekend

A four day extended weekend supremely organised by Jacqueline Holdsworth was unanimously voted a huge success by the seventy collectors, experts, and TSG (The Sampler Guild) members from six countries lucky enough to get themselves invited before this event went 'oversubscribed'.

Accommodation, meals, and facilities were provided by Ackworth School (a Quaker school circa 1760) in its beautiful historic sandstone area in the county of Yorkshire, UK.

The main focus of the weekend was a special viewing of the Ackworth School Sampler Collection, normally locked away and unavailable. Another highlight was the book launch of 'Quaker School Girl Samplers from Ackworth' by Carol Humphrey.

Madelena (Chrissie & David for this event) along with Erna Hiscock (Erna & John) and Witney Antiques (Joy Jarret & daughter Rebecca Scott) set up alongside vendors of stitching materials, sampler patterns, kits, etc. on the morning of the last day, Tuesday.

Madelena sold a little and learned a lot, making new contacts, thrilled to meet existing customers in person for the the very first time, and catching up with our good friends of TSG.

Congratulations Jacqueline on your great success. The sampler community look forward to another event at some future date.

15% of Madelena profit on sales will be donated to the Ackworth School Charity for the preservation of these charming, unique and wonderful samplers.

Madelena People

Kerry produced a son!

Andrew Willem Fleet, born 22nd June 2006.

Weighing in at 7lb 7oz (that's just the baby), mother and son are doing well.

Madelena looks forward to Kerry's return part time when her maternity leave is over.

Welcome back Kerry!

Hope young Andrew can spare you for a couple of days each week!

Majolica Heaven!

Feedback

The treasures of Majolica Heaven await you in Dallas, Texas - MIS Convention May 4-7, 2006 at the Adolphus Hotel, 1321 Commerce Street.

Free entry to the show/sale at noon on Sunday. Enjoy the heavenly prospect of eight of the world's top majolica dealers filling a large room with majolica for your enjoyment. Madelena has shipped fourteen boxes of majolica treasures and David will be on hand to welcome you to our display.

Or check in for the the entire program Thursday evening thru Sunday to enjoy the full MIS membership experience of visits to local members collections; Banquet Dinner on Saturday; other mealtime get-togethers; a line up of entertaining speakers headed by Nicholas Dawes, majolica expert and author and familiar figure on 'The Antiques Roadshow'; and visits to local antiques shops.

Membership and additional info from www.majolicasociety.com

Lest anyone is not yet aware, the blue links at the bottom of every page access interesting corners of the website.

Feedback is one such, e.g. Linda from Minnesota USA wrote:

'I just wanted to thank everyone at Madelena! I have always dreamed of collecting majolica and now I have some truly beautiful pieces. Thank you all for making this dream come true, with much appreciation.' March 24, 2006.

Another example, just in: '... You have been doing really well!! I tell you there is not much around...' and 'Many eBay sellers are so bad...'.

Shipping Cost

Effective today the breakdown of shipping and insurance costs will no longer appear in our website pages or follow up correspondence. Instead we will show 'Price: $...' and below it a line stating 'Price includes shipping/insurance'.

Ever since international shippers moved from pricing by weight to pricing by volume, our published website 'Shipping Cost' has been an approximation. We tried to devise a means of forecasting shipping volume and shipping cost with complete accuracy, but without success.

Feeling that truthfulness and total accuracy were all-important we proposed the change emailing
questionnaires to 20 customers to gather opinions.

The results were very encouraging both in the number and quality of responses and in the support for our proposal: 90% of respondents agreed in principle, some suggesting refinements which have now been incorporated.

For the 10% who would have preferred we left things as they were we hope very much that the change in its final form will prove agreeable. We will continue to calculate the shipping cost and insurance item by item for pricing purposes and these figures will always be available to anyone who asks.

Your personal 100% satisfaction with the 'Madelena shopping experience' is vital to us. Please email comments to sales@madelena.com.

A Fresh Approach to Interiors

Antiques used not to feature in modern interior designs. This may be changing. There appears to be growing interest from decorators and designers wishing to mix old with new.

It would seem that the old vision of whimsical antique

folk art as an expression of good taste and a source of delight fits comfortably with the fresh approach of modern design - producing an overall effect of sparkling individuality and discernment.

An old vision. A fresh impact.

Shipping and Tracking

Sales Buoyant

All packages to USA customers are now being shipped using the ParcelForce International Scheduled service which links up with USPS.

This service delivers within four working days, enables

customers to track an order all the way, and requires a signature on delivery.

Shipping cost to customers will not be affected. Customers using special services e.g. Fedex, will not be affected.

Madelena concluded 2005 with two strong quarters so you can expect more website improvements and even better stock during 2006.

Our thanks to each and every one of our customers for their steadfast support.

It would seem that buyers are increasingly comfortable buying antiques from a well-built, well-

known, and trusted website, run by a small team of dedicated professionals where 'customer comes first' is deeds not words.

In particular to first time buyers during 2005 we say 'Spread the word if you enjoyed the experience' and 'Let us know - to sales@madelena.com - of even the smallest most inconsequential improvement you would like to see'.

New Format for
Displaying
Detail Images

Madelena Gift Certificates

We are now abandoning our old style of displaying detailed images collaged together into what we refer to as a combo picture, in favour of a method we have always used for samplers, whereby we have a link underneath the general shot which will take you to a new page with images and item description carefully laid out.

We hope this achieves the desired effect of making our photos clearer and easier to interpret. We have long felt that with the combo picture, it is sometimes difficult to tell what our intention was with some of the close up shots. With the new method, each photo is annotated with text describing what the picture is representing.

So, for fresh items listed from today onwards, ensure you click that blue link below the general shot to see a wonderfully laid out page of detailed photos.

We have added a new feature to our website shopping experience. 'Madelena Gift Certificates'.

Looking for a gift for someone special? A gift that is different, tasteful, and will never be thrown away?

A Madelena Gift Certificate could be exactly what's needed.

• Redeemable for any of over 1000 pieces of Madelena stock
• Sent via email or on a beautifully scripted card through regular mail
• Include a personal message

Ordering is easy... Check out the link for details:
http://www.madelena.com/gift.asp

Just click on the above link.

Enjoy!

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season, from all of us at Madelena.

Wake-up Call

Record Quarter

A recent conference sent a wake-up call to the UK antiques trade.

Shops and dealers, research confirms, must win the attention of 'new money' and younger spenders to prosper.

Competition is daunting.

Many collectors and decorators perceive antiques as an irrelevance to their lifestyle goals.

Their taste and discernment find expression in 20thC and 21stC collections and decor.

Antique dealers, the conference heard, are frequently perceived as stuffy and dated.

Dealers' future prosperity may depend on 'non-traditional' buyers.

Working with an old vision dealers were advised to seek ways and means to generate a fresh impact.

July/August/September in years past have been quiet months. This year 2005 sees Madelena posting all time record sales for any single quarter.

Ben Tulk, Managing Director, says 'Congratulations to every one of us for effort, accuracy, passion, professionalism, and above all, teamwork.'

News for UK customers

Madelena People

The madelena website will shortly be available at www.madelena.co.uk with prices in pounds sterling, UK shipping and insurance in pounds sterling, credit card payments in pounds sterling, and English spellings.

When madelena was born seven years ago there were very few UK antique hunters and decorators with knowledge and confidence in the internet. Our first target therefore was the USA where it was commonplace to find internet savvy users up to age 75.

Since then the UK has caught up. Madelena percentage of sales to UK buyers is increasing.

Our UK customers deserve a full service. Launch date is under discussion. Existing customers will be notified. If you number amongst our legion of satisfied users, thank you for your patience and comments over the years and we hope very much the UK version will add to your 'madelena shopping experience'.

Jeni returned from maternity leave recently and is back at work part time in the evenings attending to late evening (UK time) correspondence on a rota with Julie.

Julie coped wonderfully with this job during Jeni's absence, working seven days every week . Now she can relax some evenings. Our special thanks to Julie. Rapid responses to emails are a very much appreciated element in the 'madelena shopping experience'.

Kerry is another vital contributor to your 'shopping experience'. She is one of two full time office 'self-managers' producing most of the pictures and descriptions you see.

Jo, another full time office 'self-manager', is well known to you all in her vital role as correspondent during UK office hours before Juli or Jeni take over.

Majolica Heaven

New Look Madelena Website

Majolica lovers, if you don't already know about this event mark your diaries!

28th April thru 1st May. Enjoy Majolica in Manhatten NY for a mind blowing Sunday show/sale by ten specialist dealers, or come

for the whole weekend to revel in a feast of majolica matters including Collections, Talks, and Events, concluding Sunday.

More info from www.majolicasociety.com

Planning has begun on a new look for our shop(website). We feel a brighter more up to date 'image' is required.

Friendliness/Functionality/Ease of use, our customers tell us, is as good as it can get, so we propose to retain the current structure.

Golf

Lacking Madelena news to report, here's a nugget of an e-mail from a regular correspondent.

Golfers may be looking forward to better golfing weather, and some useful tips:

"I played golf (or played at it) years ago and I may have a few pointers to help you break 100.

1. I don't know about courses in the UK, but on American courses

they have tee boxes for the ladies and seniors that are closer to the hole. Walk up to this tee box kind of crouched over like you are elderly and no one will say anything.

2. Your ball is attracted to water like a bee to honey. If you find yourself in a water hazard, instead of taking a one stroke penalty simply deduct one stroke. I always felt that the ability to hit EVERY water hazard on the course deserved some sort of bonus.

3. When you find yourself in a sand trap pick the damn ball up and pitch it on the green. Sand has no business on a golf course anyway and they are probably just waiting for the grass to grow in.

4. When you find yourself in a poor lie, simply kick the ball until you get a better lie. (You should probably do this when your mates are not looking).

6. If all of this fails and you still don't break 100, try putt-putt golf.

Well, those are my words of wisdom. Remember it's a silly game, very frustrating, expensive, time-consuming and not in the least bit relaxing."

Click on the blue link 'Feedback' at the bottom of any page to see praise emailed to sales@madelena.com.

One website shopper, new to the Madelena website, emailed us to say she had clicked the blue 'Feedback' link, entirely by accident, and was delighted with what she found!

How many other newcomers have yet to discover the less obvious 'gems', we wonder?

New to our website? Got a minute to spare? Try clicking those blue links!

Comments always welcome.

Thank you everyone who sent cards over the holiday period and at the start of the New Year. We so much enjoy receiving cards.

Our own email card supporting cancer research was very well received and we thank everyone for their news and kind words in response.

We felt that a simple card supporting a good cause was appropriate and are pleased that it seemed to strike a chord.

Madelena People

New York Show

Jeni produced a second daughter on 13th December. Her name is Holly. Very appropriate so close to Christmas.

Both are reported to be doing well. We all wish Jeni an enjoyable 6 months holiday, er.. maternity leave, and look forward to her return to part time work next summer.

Meanwhile evening and weekend correspondence will be in the capable hands of Julie.

Our first visit to New York and Stella's second week Triple Pier show during November was a success.

The city and its inhabitants are indeed unique. Seinfeld has it to a tee.

We met some wonderful people - new customers, existing customers, 'friends of Madelena' who knew the website well but were still fearful of buying

from the internet, dealer friends especially from the world of majolica, and many others.

Neighboring dealers were as delightful and helpful as always and the organization superb. Sales were less than we had hoped for, but trade generally appeared to be 50% down on expectations. We press on hoping the 'feel good factor' will return in the not too distant future.

SOLD

Our news on 25th February 2004 alerted customers that SOLD items would disappear from our web pages the day after the sale.

Some of you needed them left there a little longer. So they now disappear a week after the sale.

Madelena stopped showing at UK fairs early this year. Even NEC Birmingham Antiques for Everyone was dropped.

Instead we set up at US Shows. A bonus from our show schedule is we get to visit Bridget in Buford GA, our three grandchildren and eldest son.

Madelena Auctions

On 18th August our news item asked you to let us know how you might feel about 'Madelena Auctions' replacing the current method of listing new merchandise.

Feedback from this and from our recent round of shows tells us to leave well alone. If it ain't broke don't fix it. It would seem that many more folks dislike an auction atmosphere than are unhappy with the way we list new items currently.

So it is likely that when we start using 'Madelena Auctions' it will be for Clearance items only.

We have owned a desirable Lloyd Shelton Staffordshire figure without realizing it. At the time of purchase we titled the piece 'Staffordshire Ottoman Emperor'. He sure looked like a Turk, and we have seen auction houses call him by this title. The piece went unrecognized by us for over a year.

On listing in our Clearance Page it sold for a mere $150. A few days later, catching up on our reading, we spotted a picture very much like our Ottoman Emperor in Anthony Oliver's lovely book 'Staffordshire Pottery The Tribal Art of England'.

Suddenly alert to the possibility that our figure may be special we re-read the Chapter on Lloyd Shelton, satisfying ourselves that it was indeed a smaller version of 'Mr. Wood as Atabarnes in Artazerxes', illustrated on page 118.

Oliver observes common characteristics when attributing unmarked pieces to the Lloyd Shelton factory. The close resemblance of our figure to the (larger) piece on page 118 set us thinking. Checking out it's characteristics made it pretty much conclusive.

Characteristics of Lloyd Shelton figures:
Modeling: typically superb, modeled and enameled in the round.

Body: fine quality white porcelain .

Colors: green typically sage, well-fired enamels producing less flaking than later factories, sometimes in addition to underglaze blue two shades of overglaze blue, yellow not bright but a sort of subdued Cornish cream, red rich and deep, orange touches light-toned and cheerful, shredded clay clumps bright green with a touch of clear orange carefully applied to the center.

Base: sometimes showing a 'wiped' appearance; firm, simple base square or round sometimes with short support to the figure.

Gilding: rich and generous, fine quality gold.

Madelena Auctions

Madelena strives to ensure that all our customers are happy all of the time.

When we list fresh items each week, however, we often feel little ripples of dissatisfaction.

You all seem to love the notification and the merchandise, but many of you are choked at not being able to get to your computer at listing time.

Another source of dissatisfaction when we list fresh items is internet speed - some folks seem to get the new pictures a few minutes slower than others and feel they lose out.

We are developing a solution to these concerns and would like to hear from you how you feel about it.

In addition to our heads up e-mail notifying fresh items, we propose listing fresh items in a two day auction accessible exclusively on www.madelena.com to registered members only.

We feel it will deal with the current dissatisfaction and will also give time to consider the item at leisure.

Please do let us know how you feel about Madelena Auctions replacing the current method of listing new merchandise.

Sounds of gushing as Kerry & Julie enter the office on Monday morning...

No, not them recounting their respective weekends, but a burst kitchen pipe, spouting water, the floor by now three inches deep!

The girls dealt with the situation with characteristic speed and efficiency so by the time Ben had been woken, consumed his South Beach Diet breakfast, and arrived at the office, the landlord and his grinning plumber had long been on the case.

Damage we are glad to report was minimal. Fortunately our samplers, other stock, and all things electrical including the server, stand on four inch plinths - planned to give us time to react in the event of a sea flood warning, never expecting they would save us from bad plumbing.

Market Recovery in Prospect?

Can the antiques market look forward to a recovery when US Presidential elections are at last behind us, the US economy continues strong and growing, and Iraq is less in the media spotlight?

A boost in the feel-good factor could see collectors spending more freely.

Meanwhile many dealers have been feeling the pinch - overheads up, sales down, and the inevitable growth in internet sellers activity affecting the traditional market structure in ways that may bring permanent change.

SOLD items disappear!

NO SHOW MARCH SCOTT

Not a magic trick unfortunately. Nor a theft.

This news item is to inform you of a change about to take place in our website pages:

Formerly we left the SOLD items on the website for a month or two.

In future they will be removed the day after the item is sold.

Comments regarding the change will be welcome.

We will of course continue to supply pictures and details of any item past or present on the website to anyone by email. Just ask.

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For family reasons neither Ben nor David will be showing in Atlanta in March at our usual place in the L-3 L-4 L-5 section of the Scott Antique Fair South building.

We will try to contact all our local customers by email, but for those for whom we do not have current email addresses we apologise in advance for any disappointment.

Weaker US Dollar

Madelena sales are holding up well with record sales in January in spite of the weaker US Dollar.

Our US customers would appear to be traveling overseas less but shopping more from our booth at the various shows and from our website which they know is the only place they can view our entire stock.

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Justice be done!

A pair of Alcock Staffordshire spaniels stolen from us at a UK show in 2002 were spotted during 2003 on the website of a UK auction house.

We recognised them instantly as ours. The auctioneer willingly withdrew the Lot from the sale. The local police impounded the dogs.

Police investigations are now underway tracing the ownership back to the thief. One dealer, the last owner, is out of luck, unwittingly paying good money for stolen dogs.

Be wary of bargains folks. You may be buying items stolen from Madelena: described and photographed in such detail they will surely be apprehended.

The long awaited clearance sale for Staffordshire pottery, Majolica and Samplers launched in September was a great success with more than 70% of items sold in the first few weeks.

Customer reaction to the Clearance pages was 100% favorable. Many commented that it served as a useful reminder that they were missing 'good stuff' by never getting past the 'Most Fresh First' page. The next clearance sale will take place possibly in the Spring.

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Julie produced a daughter Gracie on 5th October. Both are looking extremely healthy. Madelena looks forward to Julie's return part time when
her maternity leave is over.

For an experimental twelve months we have been showing at Ardingly, Swinderby, Newark and NEC. We have been reaching out to 'hands-on' buyers to persuade them to visit the website. We had great fun. We learned much. We found many new customers who we hope to keep forever, and we made good friends in the dealer community.

With one exception however, the costs outweighed the benefits. We will continue to show at NEC but the others have to go. In the course of a year we handed out 540 leaflets. To our many friends and customers who we met for the first time during this period you are all cordially invited to visit us in our shop(website) at www.madelena.com or at the Birmingham NEC fair three times each year. FREE TICKETS on request.

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For an experimental ten months we have been showing at Scotts, Atlanta. Initially the plan was to persuade 'hands-on' buyers to visit the website, but we found to our delight that 50% of buyers there already knew our shop(website). Here too we had great fun. We learned much. We found many new customers who we hope to keep forever, and we made good friends in the dealer community. The benefits outweighed the costs and we will continue with Scotts in December, January and for the forseeable future.

We showed again in St Louis at the Majolica International Society annual convention in early May. Well worth the effort and highly beneficial. Majolica lovers this is a MUST with fifteen

or so of the top majolica dealers with their best stock on show all in one room. A wonderful sight to behold. And there's talks, presentations, and endless informal conversation and meetings with everyone present mad about majolica.

We showed also at Round Top, Texas. Now this was truly exciting. Madelena loves Texans! We found the organisers exceptionally helpful and focused on their customers' antiqueing needs. Neighbours were even more helpful and friendly than usual. The country was big and empty except for Show Days. The cops wore T-shirts. And the customers - well, they were there to buy. Everyone was so incredibly positive. The first day went by at fever pitch and everyone enjoyed themselves.

During 2004 we will continue at these venues and are looking for others: specifically up-market shows where our medium to high value majolica, staffordshire pottery, and samplers will be seen by the 'hands-on' buyers who are unsure about buying on the internet. All suggestions welcome. We have a number in mind but there is nothing to beat a personal recommendation if you are willing to shoot an email to davidtulk@madelena.com.

We have finally implemented the increase in shipping costs for USA and mainland Europe customers introduced by our shipper in January.

We delayed passing on the price hike for ten months.

All other shipping service options have been investigated during this time with the conclusion that for packages 2.0kg or more ParcelForce International Scheduled still provides the best all round service taking into account cost, tracking, and delivery time.

Packages from UK arrive at USA destinations as quickly or even faster than USPS packages USA to USA.

Other services e.g. Fedex take a day or two less time to arrive but cost 70% more.

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Madelena Website and emails down for 72hrs

Due to circumstances beyond our control, Madelena experienced it's worst ever period of downtime in all the years we have been in business. The period was from Thursday 31st July through to Sunday August 3rd.

The cause of the problem was a mindless, ruthless and relentless Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on our website host. The purpose of a DDoS attack is to cause maximum disruption to the network, bringing all internet services to a standstill.

Our host had no option available to them other than pulling the plug on all services, quarantining their servers whilst the authorities carried out a forensic investigation. This in turn meant that the Madelena website and email systems that reside on their servers were unavailable.

The motive behind a DDoS attack is purely disruptive, and no sensitive information on the website is compromised. For those concerned about privacy and compromise of sensitive personal information, fear not. Any information we have stored on our website is still, and has always been secure.

In defense of our host, many other companies experienced problems at the end of last week due to a huge increase in hackers activity. I believe there has been a report on the international news about this. We have been assured the infrastructure of their network has now been upgraded, making it impossible for a reoccurrence to take place. However, I have a number of questions for our host to answer with regards to this incident. If I do not receive satisfactory answers I'll have no option other than to take Madelena elsewhere.

I'd like to offer my deepest apologies to all our customers who were affected by this incident and any inconvenience and anxiety it may have caused them. Please email us if you have any questions regarding this incident and I'll be very happy to answer your queries.

Ben (writing this)

Madelena People

As a news bulletin this slot has been woefully neglected since January for which the Editor apologizes. He promises to do better in future.

Our hectic fairs schedule in the UK and the USA is gradually producing results following a slow start due to economic uncertainty, weather, war, and an understandable anxiety about air travel.

The antiques trade in general seems to be picking up. Long may it continue.

Madelena's sales are also improving...

Very many thanks to new customers we have met at shows and fairs, and to new customers buying from our shop(website) for the first time, and last but by no means least to our happy band of regular website customers many of whom have been with us since we started.

We thank you all for your business and hope to continue to earn your confidence.

Look out for clearance bargains when we introduce a new page to the shop(website) shortly.

Jeni is successfully teleworking from home while simultaneously caring for young Emily. Jeni handles the evenings and weekend email correspondence and other duties. She visits the office weekly to keep up to date with the rest of the business.

Kerry is handling most of the UK Shows with help from Ben or David.

Ben and David are handling the USA fairs. Bridget in Buford GA appears to welcome our visits. She also has produced a new member of the family: Daniel aged 3 months.

Madelena People

We'd like to start 2003 by wishing all our customers a very happy new year and thank you all for making our previous year as exciting and rewarding as it was.

Our move to new premises is now complete and we're settling back into business as usual on our part (hopefully you couldn't tell the difference while it was happening!)

We've got a hectic fairs schedule for this year, mostly U.K, but also some in the U.S too. Watch this spot and keep an eye on our Fairs pages for further information.

Despite the current lull in the Antiques trade, new items are coming into Madelena as fast as ever, so keep looking and hopefully you'll find that piece you've been looking for.

It looks as if Jeni will be back with us shortly after her 'break' on maternity leave. She'll be handling the evenings and weekends email correspondence amongst other things. We're all looking forward to having her back with us, and little Emily too.

David will be in Atlanta for a few weeks between mid-January and early February. He'll be exhibiting at Pride of Dixie and at Scotts between holiday commitments (or should that be the other way around!)

November/December saw Madelena exhibiting at UK Antique Fairs NEC, Swinderby, and Newark.

NEC Antiques for Everyone, a very comfortable venue with a numerous high quality dealers showing in all categories, and no 'rubbish', as usual attracted buyers and browsers in equally large numbers. Madelena showed Majolica, Staffordshire figures, and Samplers.

Swinderby, where we showed Transferware and Jewelry, and Newark, in winter, were not for the faint hearted.

These fairs have a mix of everything from bric a brac to high quality. The weather was bad, crowds were not large, and sales were poor.

The most often heard question of the season has been "When are the Americans coming back?". Answers please to The Editor davidtulk@madelena.com Replies may be posted on this page.

STITCHERS & SAMPLERS Creative Exhibitions have kindly offered space to Madelena at next year's Stitch Show, Olympia for an exhibition of samplers 1770 - 1870 that will be of interest to the stitchers.

Larger office accomodation is almost ready. We shall move during the pre-Christmas period.

The words 'Say a Little Prayer for Me' are much in mind as we attempt to maintain an uninterrupted service while shuttling systems, furniture, and stock in biting winter conditions.

Madelena People

Parcel Force shipping charges from UK will shortly be based on volume not weight.

Hardest hit are items of low weight with plentiful packaging, Madelena style.

Average increase on previous rates is 60%. A year ago ParcelForce cut prices by 30% to secure market share.

ParcelForce, their services now running very reliably, are getting into line with all other parcel shippers who use volume based charges providing the perfect excuse to hike prices.

We anticipate more USA dealers than ever will in future be 'accumulating' purchases to save money by shipping in bulk.

Jeni, our chief correspondent and deputy, has become a proud mother. Daughter Emily Beth Wilkins was born 11th November 2002.

During UK daytime hours Jo has stepped confidently into Jeni's shoes as correspondent. David does the night shift and weekends when not away at Fairs.

Commencing September 2002 Madelena is exhibiting at UK Antique Fairs: Swinderby, Newark, Ardingley and NEC.

Every piece in Madelena's huge stock is available for sale from the website. A representative selection is being shown at the Fairs.

To date we have shown Majolica, Staffordshire figures, and Samplers. Other categories - Transferware, Decorative Arts, Hair Jewelry - may be at future fairs.

Visitors commended, dare we say marvelled, at the range and quality. Those new to Madelena looked forward to browsing the entire stock from their home computers.

The weather was kind, crowds were large, and sales were good.

Next shows are NEC Antiques for Everyone, and the last of the year Swinderby - a guaranteed source for end of year bargains as sellers try to make up for a generally blighted year.

At the bottom of any page of the website look for the blue short cuts.

Click 'Go Shopping' to go direct to the stock.

Click 'PAY' (appears on the home page only) as alternative method of making payment.

If you are searching for one thing in particular click 'Advanced Search' and then click 'Use Boolean Word Search'. Try typing 'oyster' to see all the oyster plates etc. grouped together.

Here is another time saver:

Want to see only items listed since your last visit? Sign In to your myMadelena page.

We set up a SignInName for you as your email address e.g. iris2@aol.com and your Password as your email address up to the '@' e.g. (from the above example): iris2

You can change these to something more memorable at any stage.