Check out this awesome new Collector's Club web special from Breyer:
This month we are holding four online model horse events (all through Zoom):
Friday 5th February 7pm: Pub Quiz
Saturday 6th February 11am - 16.00 (drop in & out): NaMoPaiMo Painting Party #1
Saturday 13th February 11am - 16:00 (drop in & out): NaMoPaiMo Painting Party #2
Saturday 26th February 11am-15:00 (drop in & out): Breyer Bootcamp Social & Crafting!
This post is specifically about the NaMoPaiMo parties but if you want any information about any of the others just use the contact details below!
How To Get Involved
To get involved you will need the Zoom login details.
You can get these by emailing me at: catriona@chestnutridge.co.uk
You can also join the Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1518363228343127*
*You will still need the login details so just drop me a PM or email me for them!
If you have attended our Pub Quizzes before and have the Zoom login then you are good to go! I will be using the same one for everything.
What will Happen?
During the parties we basically just sit around and paint! We can chat, share tips and tricks or just be together. You can drop in and out at anytime, I will be online all day but might occasionally be away for a few minutes to get a drink or visit the bathroom!
I also recommend that you try and do something to celebrate, such as bake a cake! I was going to bake one but I'm having a no sugar month so I can't :( (every time I try and do sugar free cakes they end up being complete disasters)
Feel free to decorate your room or wear a special t-shirt or anything to celebrate :)
You do not have to work on your NaMo pony to take part, you don't even really have to be doing NaMoPaiMo! It is just a chance to hang out together. I plan to spend the day working on several different horses (I don't have any decent sealant at the moment so may not be able to do my NaMo horse anyway)!
Help! I've Never Used Zoom Before!
Do not fret!
First you will need to go to: https://zoom.us/
Then click "join a meeting"
Then enter the meeting code and password (you will need to email me for these)
If you want to speak you will need a microphone (your phone will have this, or a laptop). You may also want to turn on your camera, again your phone should have one, but most computers and laptops have inbuilt web cams as well.
You can use the 'chat' function to talk if you don't have a microphone!
I may occasionally mute people if they are making loads of noise (e.g. kids or pets running in). Please make sure to mute yourself if you are using anything like a compressor for an airbrush or a dremel!
Is there a cost?
Nope! Totally free and open to anyone :)
If you have any questions just email me at catriona@chestnutridge.co.uk I look forward to seeing you there :D
I do apologise that I have not been on top of making sure there are updates about our ongoing shows in here. I promise to do better in future!
For those who don't know what Popular Votes Photoshows is, it is a Facebook group that has been running since 2015. We run a different show each month. Each show is judged by group members, who like each others photos in a set window of time. The horses with the most likes win their class and go into a championship! Champions get a rosette sent to them and get to be the cover photo for the next month.
Group Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1493893527541574
January's Champion
Chromographic owned by SB
January's theme was artist resin and china.
Check out this year's Breyer Valentines Day plushie!
I preferred last years but still he is super cute. Should I spend $125 on a Breyer order just to get him? Probably not. Will I? Well that is going to depend on whether I get VIP tickets tomorrow or not!
If like me you missed out on the chance to get a VIP ticket you are probably eagerly (and nervously) awaiting Monday so that you can *try* and get your paws on one (if I don't manage to get one I'll genuinely cry).
One of my biggest concerns was that I'll be at work all day Monday and I can hardly refresh the Breyer website every two seconds and teach a load of students about duty of care under negligence law! So I was going to have to get Brendon to sit and do it for me, and as we know, he is less than reliable when it comes to these things.
Yesterday Breyer answered some FAQs on their website and it comes with good news!
Firstly the tickets will go on sale at around 1pm Eastern Standard Time. If, like me you are in GMT that is about 6pm, so long after I finish work. That means I can finish for the day, get my marking done and then get my laptop reading for NINJA REFRESH.
All these updates can be found here:
https://www.breyerhorses.com/blogs/breyerfest-blog/answers-to-faqs-about-the-ticket-on-sale
A lot of people were also concerned about people who already had VIP tickets buying more. Thankfully Breyer have clarified that you cannot do that and it is one per household, so that is also a relief for those of us worried that we may miss out!
My final concern is PayPal double authentication. This is a fun new thing they've implemented whereby EVERY SINGLE TIME I try to access my PayPal account they send me a code that takes about 10 minutes to arrive by text message. Such fun. So to deal with this I've just saved my card on Google Chrome and then will just need to type the CVC number! That should hopefully speed things up.
I am going to be super anxious on Monday, I'm desperate for a VIP ticket and really hope I don't miss out due to dodgy internet!
Good luck to the rest of you who are trying to get tickets on Monday. May the model horse gods forever be in your favour.
I've had lots of emails and messages asking me when we are getting in the Breyer 2021 range. As always we are at the mercy of the distributor and, of course, numerous other forces (Covid, Brexit, Sea Monsters) that stand in the way of shipments getting into the country.
I contacted the UK distributor last week to ask for an update and was given one this week.
The next Breyer shipment is due mid-March.
What will this contain?
The short answer is I don't know.
I do know that it *should* contain the 70th Anniversary Stablemates and Peptoboonsmal from the 2020 range.
It *should* also contain some 2021 products but we don't know what these will be yet.
When will items actually arrive?
If we assume that the container actually docks in Felixstowe on time it then needs to proceed through customs. There are currently delays of a few weeks through customs and at the docks (at one point they stopped working entirely).
Then it needs to be shipped to the distributor.
Then it needs to be shipped to us.
Then we need to ship it to you.
Add all that up and I think that if you have something on pre-order (e.g. Peptoboonsmal) then you will be looking at around mid-April delivery.
Important Note: Delivery will the same for ALL UK Breyer stockists. That means you won't get your item any quicker if you order from us over any other dealer, or any other dealer over us. Everyone will get their items at the same time :)
Can I pre-order 2021 models?
No. I don't want to take pre-orders this year as things are not stable enough for me to guarantee stock. I would rather you shopped elsewhere or patiently waited than I have to disappoint you or make you wait for things you've paid for.
Once we have the 2021 models in hand we will open up for orders.
We will of course sell out of box models as well as in box ones as always.
I've placed a pre-order and want to cancel, what do I do?
If you have the 70th anniversary Stablemates or Peptoboonsmal on pre-order and wish to cancel this all you need to do is email me at catriona@chestnutridge.co.uk
I normally refund any requests within 24 hours. Please note that although learning is online I do work full time as a teacher! Brendon is around to also help with requests and general queries. To make the process quicker tell me the email with which you paid on PayPal - that way Brendon can find your transaction and refund without me having to intervene!
I hope that helps provide some clarity on the situation and answer some questions. In the meantime we still have some beautiful 2020 items left over and I am also in the process of adding a new job lot to the website so do check out www.chestnutridge.co.uk if you need a pony fix!
Due to the whole all my models are in boxes and I can't find the wire for the LED light tent situation (and where is the actual light tent, who knows?) I haven't really had the chance to share a lot of my new horses with you.
This is definitely made worse by the fact that half of them were shipped to my mum's house! She just received another shipment containing my BreyerFest glossies, I can't wait to get to hers and unbox all of these models!
But that is a long way off so let's have a look at my two new RubberNedz. The unicorn is actually still boxed somewhere but I photographed him before packing him, as for elf I got him like two days before I moved so I just took a picture on a shelf I'm afraid! Glamour shots will come at some point I'm sure :)
First up is my AMAZING rainbow unicorn Shetland. Donna really outdid herself with this one. I requested purple hooves and horn and got just what I wanted :D
So say hello to CRS Cithaerias Merolina aka Merolina
