Caring for Your Ornament

When you buy a Dresden Star Ornament, you have a unique family heirloom that you'll treasure for generations.  Each ornament we make is truly a unique work of art designed and made from scratch by either Gail or Glenn with materials from our vast collection of antique and vintage supplies.  Every piece we create asks for a different treatment; we take extra time with details, like reinforcing fragile scraps with decorated card-stock to prevent damage, seamless finishing of decorative elements, and applying imaginative touches to each unique design.  Ornaments are well-made, well-constructed, beautifully decorated, and finished on both sides with superb craftsmanship down to the finest details.

Vintage-Chic means beauty, not perfection! Since these ornaments are made with materials that are between 60 and 130 years old, there is natural patina, wear and imperfections that we feel only add to the beauty and authentic look of these Victorian-inspired decorations. 

Care Tips

To ensure that your ornament stays in good condition, just follow these care instructions:

1)  Keep the ornament out of prolonged direct sunlight (to aviod fading).

2)  Hold the ornament mainly by its hanger with one hand while supporting the underside of the ornament gently with the other hand (handle the ornament itself as little as possible).

3)  Store your ornament in its original box with loose tissue on the top and bottom (don’t wrap the ornament tightly). 

4)  Avoid handling the paper "scraps". Our antique die-cut scraps are reinforced, but these old papers are still brittle and should not be over-handled.

5)  Take care not to catch the crinkle-wire on anything (your hands, other objects), or it may pull loose.

Repairing crinklewire. We use special crinkle-wire made in Germany to wrap our glass ornaments just like in the 19th century.  It actually helps to protect the fragile glass. (Those Victorians thought of everything!)  However, sometimes the crinkle-wire can come loose, accidentally get caught on something, or unravel. With a pair of tweezers and some patience, you can evenly crinkle back up those little pulled wires so they are not dangling loosely anymore.  If you prefer, you can send the ornament to us and we will re-wrap it for you free of charge.

We will repair an ornament at no cost to you! Accidents do happen.  If the glass portion of the ornament is broken, usually there is not a lot we can do.  We CAN, however, reinforce scraps that come loose or get bent, repair damaged or pulled crinkle-wire, and re-glue items that may have come apart or have missing pieces to them.  If you mail the ornament to us we can do small repairs free of charge! Please re-pack the ornament in its original gold box with loose tissue under and on top of the ornament, and mail it to us in a sturdy shipping box with lots of packing material around it. Please Contact Us in advance so we can be looking for your package.  We will repair your ornament and only charge you for the shipping cost to return your ornament to you.  Now there’s a deal you can’t refuse!  We don’t want any unhappy customers.