What makes something collectible?

WEST JORDAN — The first collectibles — objects made by manufacturers for the express purpose of collecting — came as premiums in other products: baseball cards in packs of cigarettes or bubble gum, for example.

But as those objects developed a secondary market and often inspired crazes, a whole new genre developed. Dolls, plates, figurines, music boxes, scale models and other such items were introduced as collectibles.

In the folk-art and figurine category, Department 56 deserves a lot of credit for kick-starting the trend, says Jim Lauscher, owner of the Village Christmas Shoppe at Gardner Village, which specializes in collectible and gift-item figurines. Thirty years ago, Department 56 introduced its first hand-painted, ceramic Christmas houses, and the build-a-village concept took off — and is still going strong.

The mid-to-late 1980s saw a huge increase in collectible lines, he says, with introduction of such artists and collections as Pipka, Precious Moments and others. Charming Tails came along in the early '90s.

Currently, no one is hotter in the field than Jim Shore, who incorporates quilt designs and bright colors into his folk art figures that include cats, dogs, people, lighthouses, Disney characters, holiday creations and more.

Other popular artists and lines include Williraye Studio, Snowbabies, Demdaco's Willow Tree Angels, David Frykman, G. DeBrekht Studios and Byers' Choice.

"Five years ago, no one was more popular than Williraye," says Lauscher. "Now it's Jim Shore." It tends to go in cycles like that, he says. "A line usually peaks five or six years after it first gets noticed. Then the novelty wears off, and it's on to something else. It's every retailer's dream to find the next big one."

Every year there are huge market shows where retailers flock to see the latest offerings. But it's a chancy thing, says Kay Kelly, the Utah representative for Enesco, the company that licenses Jim Shore's Heartwood Creek line. "Things that you think will do well just sit on the shelf; others go crazy. Ultimately, it's the public that decides what is a collectible and what is not."

Heartwood Creek is bright and colorful. "But then you have the Demdaco angels that are the complete opposite. They are simplistic, beige and muted colors. But they are also very popular."

It's a process "that you don't understand why it happens, you just know it does," she says. "What makes the difference? Jim Shore, I think, appeals to both men and women, but why it's become the phenomenon it has — that's one of the mysteries of life."