40th One of a Kind: A Judi Vaillancourt Original

Although Judi Vaillancourt has designed over 3,000 chalkware figures during the 40 years Vaillancourt Folk Art has been in business, most of her original designs are quickly whisked away to the Museum for safekeeping. It is uncommon for an original Judi Vaillancourt piece to be made available to collectors.

In fact, most of the one-of-a-kinds that have made it to the collections of Christmas connoisseurs are prototypes or gifts. The handful that have been painted for collectors sell quickly and are rarely given time to be shared.

For Vaillancourt’s 40th Anniversary, Judi has been working on a special one-of-a-kind Santa that will stand out even among the most extensive Christmas collections.

During the 2022 Vaillancourt Christkindlesmarkt & Artisan Show, Judi saw an antique chocolate mould being sold by mould dealer Dad’s Follies, which she fell in love with. Dissuaded by the cost of the mould, Judi was disappointed that she would not be able to let her artistic eye create a Santa so grand.

The mould was a 34-inch tall “Jolly Santa” made by Anton Reiche in Dresden, Germany in the 1930s. It was one of the many moulds made in Dresden that would find its way to Reiche’s satellite factory in Czechoslovakia. Because of crippling inflation in Germany caused by war reparations following World War I, this factory was set up as part of a strategy to lighten the enormous excise duty levied on finished goods for export. Moulds like this one were passed through customs from Germany at a lower, unfinished tax rate before arriving at this satellite factory, where they would be completed, assembled, and cataloged. This is indicated by the “S” that was added to its catalog number, 21335S.

Upon completion, this mould passed through the hands of T.C. Weygandt, the American agent for Anton Reiche, and was sold to Hoft’s Luncheonette in Bronx, NY. Although a notable corner drugstore, Hoft’s opened in 1949 with marble-top tables, mahogany shelves, a “cast-iron ceiling, honeycomb floor, and a stained glass and wood candy counter filled with Hoft’s own chocolates.” Known locally for its ice cream and chocolates, Hoft’s adopted the European tradition of chocolate making and would have used this newly acquired mould to create a statement piece of chocolate to entice customers into their store.

In 1996, Hoft’s, the last of the borough’s ice cream parlors, shuttered its doors. In a New York Times article in Bronx Week Expo, Al Hoft, the proprietor and son of founders John and Betty, reflected on the store, saying it went through over 2,000 lbs of chocolate a year, filling glass display cases with their seasonal chocolates—especially their Santas.

Just as Gary Vaillancourt bought Judi her first three moulds in 1984, it was auspicious that Luke, seeing her eye light up simply by looking at the potential of this mould, purchased this mould for his mother for Christmas 2022.

What cannot be seen by looking at this JCV Original is the work and time that went into it from start until its release. In November 2023, the first blank was poured, and because of its size and weight, an electronic rig was installed to help hoist the filled mould. Upon being poured, it remained in the drying room for three months to remove the moisture from the blank canvas.

Finally, during the start of 2024, the same year Vaillancourt celebrated their 40th Anniversary, Judi began working on this one-of-a-kind original. She started by penciling in some intricate designs and then added gold leaf and foil. After several months of working on this piece, she was not satisfied and scraped off all of the leafing, painting over her first attempts.

It wasn’t until after the Premier Number Weekend Opening that Judi began to focus on this piece again. Working mostly from 10 p.m. until 3 a.m. in her home studio, the piece began to come to life and take shape into its final look.

During this time, Judi turned to countless resources both from professional references to items that held personal significance to her. It was during these next few months that Judi would paint, and re-paint, countless layers of symbolism and detail.

Every inch of this one of a kind has careful detail. In his sack is a pink elephant, in homage to a chalkware elephant first painted during a Collector’s Weekend. Along with this toy elephant, there is a drum, a train (with silver leafed details), basketball, and a teddy bear—the same teddy bear that Judi had as a child and used as a model during the painting process.

Additional details include detailed shadows on the belt and belt buckle to bring it to life, incredible details in the fur, as well as stitching in his white gloves to bring them to life.

It’s obvious in looking at this piece that considerable amount of time went into its base. The rings, representing the time that has past since 1984, are beautifully arranged to highlight the strong bark with a small hole where a beautiful kitten is poking his face (and tail!) through—because Judi’s grand children have always wanted  a pet to bring home.

The most considerable part of this piece is  Santa’s face. Painted, and re-painted, several times over the past few months, Judi painstakingly painted a face that is her truest representation of Santa Clause to-date.

Lastly, after having difficulty with the gold leafing in the start, the final touches of gold leaf were applied using tweezers to ensure that they were placed in the proper locations for impact.

As Judi and Gary commemorate four decades of helping to create and celebrate Christmas in all of its traditions, we are beyond honored to present a piece that is a true pinnacle to the Vaillancourt collection: Judi’s Magnum Opus Santa.

Slideshow of it being made…