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| The
Bubble Finally Bursts |
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 There was one very obvious factor in
the way that Media Arts Group Inc operated and that was for increased profit.
Whereas John Hine had been keen to please the collectors he understood that the
main appeal of the David Winter Cottages was their apparent individuality.
However, as the company grew, and especially when Media Arts Group Inc took
over the business side of things, mass production occurred and the painters
were given very little freedom on how they could paint the cottages and so they
became more alike with very little colour variations. Their individuality had
been lost and so had some of their appeal.
With the greater need for profits more and more
releases were being made each year. During the 1980's an average of 12 cottages
were released each year. However, in 1994 there were 42 cottages released and
in 1995 this peaked at 53! It was soon becoming obvious to collectors that it
was now impossible to keep up with all the releases and so they were becoming
more prudent on what cottages to buy. Rather than trying to collect every piece
collectors were more inclined to just obtain certain collections or special
pieces. Unfortunately a large number of collectors stopped altogether and even
sold their collections so flooding the secondary market. As the prices for the
retired cottages reduced and with the market flooded with even more new pieces
it was clear that the golden days of collecting David Winter Cottages was over.
With individual collections decreasing in value, so making them less of an
investment, there was less of an incentive for new collectors to start.
During 1996 Media Arts Group Inc realised that
they were heading for problems. With the more detailed and difficult pieces
that David had been encouraged to sculpt the company were beset with increased
production costs and further problems with the production of some of these
pieces. Being very large and heavy both Quindene Manor and
Guinevere's Castle had been costly to produce with a very short life
span for the production moulds due to the heat generated by the drying
crystacal. Infact John Hine admitted that he had "Goofed with Guinevere's" but
even so he refused to either cease production or increase its price which was
extremely low anyway for such a large piece. By the middle of 1996 Media Arts
Group Inc ceased to finance The Studios and Workshops of John Hine and so the
company was forced to call in the receivers. There was an attempt to salvage
The Studios and Workshops of John Hine and a much reduced production continued
nearly to the end of the year but by the end of the year the company was no
more and so John Hine's and David Winter's working relationship was over.
During the carnival, which was held at Rochester in Kent
during the first weekend in December 1996, it was up to David with the help of
his father to announce the bad news that had befallen John Hine. However, they
announced that David would continue and that they were confident that a company
would be found that would not only produce his work but would allow David to
create his works of art with more freedom and with less pressure.
The
year may have ended on an uncertain note but at least attempts were being made
for David Winter Cottages to continue and in early Spring of 1997 it was
announced that a company was interested in David's work. That company was
Enesco. However, it would be many months before things started to settle down
and for production to restart so that collectors could see for themselves how
much this huge change would effect not only their own collections but the
future for David Winter Cottages as a whole. |
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