LEA STEIN BROOCH - THE BLACK & RED SPOTTED LADYBIRD

Well it is X-mas in my shop at Grays Antiques and the most popular vintage jewellery items are always the Lea Steins.  People know that it will be a well liked present.  If it is one the recipient already has I would always change it for another.  The Lea Steins are not all vintage, of course.  Some are made today.  I understand Mrs. Stein is now 80 but she is still hard at work!    Taking this red and black ladybird brooch in tomorrow.  It is a little different from the ones I have had lately.  The smaller black spots are quite irregular.  This one to me looks much more like our native ladybird and I love it!  Ref: 3013 C57/41 Price £65

Lea Stein Brooch - black & red spotted ladybird

LEA STEIN BROOCH - RED LADYBIRD WITH BLACK SPOTS

Back to one of my favourites today - the Lea Stein ladybird brooch.  Not my best photo - the red colour is quite even - but cannot get it to look that way!  Round the sides of this particular ladybird are bands of colours - cream, mustard green etc.  These are the various layers of cellulose acetate that go into the making of a Lea Stein brooch.  They are hand made - not reproduction - so everyone is a bit different and they are not 'perfect' like a mass produced item.  The other day I went to a vintage fair and saw lots of Lea Stein copies from China - at £10 each.  In my opinion they are horrid and I would not want to own one - but I specially object to people copying the work of someone like Lea Stein.  She has spent a lifetime developing her brand and designing her jewellery.  It annoys me that another manufacturer cannot be bothered to design their own goods and develop their own brand - just to make money - and I hate it when professional dealers sell these copies!  Ref: 2994 C50/6

Lea stein Brooch - Red Ladybird with Black Spots