Chincoteague Pony Pins, plus Unicorns

 A most pleasant premium has arrived:  Chincoteague Pony pins sold to benefit the Sea To Bay model horse show!  There are a total of 4 pin designs to choose from.  In addition to the two you see here (the mare and foal count as one pin), there is also a lying down pinto foal and a cantering chestnut filly.   Difficult choices!  I'm going to include a link to their order page later in this post;  I believe these pins are still available.

I'm not sure how I first became aware of these little cuties.  On my FaceBook?  On the Model Horse Sticker Swap and Shop FB group?  Around the second week in January, Jeanette was messaging me with "I thought you collected pins."  [Jeanette Eby, hostess of Sea To Bay]  Somehow she didn't explain;  and since I was on the road at the time, I couldn't make purchases.  It wouldn't've helped if I could've;  the notice, when I saw it, was only for gauging interest.  The seller was trying to collect advance commitments.  Yet these pins instantly intrigued me.  Mink and Breyer are not the only sources of lovely enamels.  It took some hard thought, but I made my choices and committed to a future order.

All these pins carried a freshness and clarity that seemed to blow straight off the Atlantic.  They are small -- the walking mare here is only an inch and a quarter in length;  the pinto filly is an inch high.   Their prices were equally small:  Each equine was only $12.  The mare and foal were $25. 

 

 

To someone used to Mink's beautifully detailed horses, these might seem abstract.  But therein lies their artful charm.  I find them refreshing.  Their conformation is correct, their colors true to the ponies.  Each one recognizes an actual Chincoteague Pony.  As pins, I found them well made, with crisp edges and rich gold and silver metal -- gold for the black and chestnuts, silver for the white & red pinto.  There was something appealing here -- a wild beauty, for a good cause.

The artist's name is Isabelle Pardew, of Hummingbird Circle Studios.  Here is the order page for the Chincoteague Pony pins, and much other Chincoteague Pony artwork as well!

 

Chincoteague Pony Pins and Prints

 

Here they are next to a couple of my Mink Dancing Horses.  This gives you an idea of their true size:

 

 

but who says little horses aren't just as appreciated!  This may be as close as I come to collecting minis and micros...!  We shall see, ...

In the meantime, the latest Imperial Unicorn arrived right alongside the Chincoteagues.

 

This is Azuriel, "Copper" of the metallic Imperials.  The edge metal is copper and so are all the rims.  With this pin I learned that the eyes of this series are often solid metal.  The screen-printed dapples are a delicate feature in an otherwise solid-colored animal.  Yet, typical of Mink's Unicorns, the mane and tail are incredibly bouffant, giving this pin great character.  

Here is my collection of every Unicorn pin Mink has produced so far:  Two originals, two Celestials and three Imperials.

 

 

My camera has made the Moon Mystashani into a golden morsel, but she is really silver.  I confess the Celestials are always going to be my favorites.  Still, the two oldest, the original Unicorn 1 and II, have a strong power of their own.  They came out by themselves, with no precedent, driven by who knows how much daring and desperation!  I am very glad to have them.  They paved the way for so much and so many to follow.

 

Of the three Imperials, each one is different.  Anuksamet, with her Bismuth rainbow coloring, is certainly striking;  while Mishkazelle (Rose Gold) is my top choice for glitter (unfortunately not shown well in this photo).  Azuriel, then, celebrates only copper.  But it is a very pure metal, and that royal blue background compliments it gloriously.

 

Translating the Imperials into pins is hard work.  I hope I can continue to be lucky enough to snag each of these beauties as they make their way into the world.