Recently on Facebook, Painted Pony shared some great trivia about their company:
*our first angels were introduced in 1993. We had eight simple designs in a choice of four colors.
*we have designed 474 angels in the last 27 years
*we have 362 angel designs currently available
*…which means we’ve discontinued 112 from the series
*after three years of cleaning out our inventory, this year we only discontinued two angels and expect similar low amounts going forward
*we’ve had only one angel that was a true dud: a pennant/bunting theme that sold exactly zero times
*our current best seller is #996KM “I Believe in Magic”. #2 is 996KZ Sea Turtles. #3 is 996HU Under the Tree
*while angels are featured in all the Best Seller and Painted Pony trunk shows, there are only five shows a year that feature the entire collection
*one year, the wife of a man who had a partial ownership in the Chicago Bulls had 50 angels stitched as party favors for a holiday dinner she was hosting
*my brother once told me he went to pick up a date at her apartment and discovered she had an angel tree. He thanked me because her impression of him went up about a 1000% when she found out his sister was Painted Pony (LOL)
*my most treasured pic[ture] of a finished angel is of our Old Glory angel #996AJ. It was [given] to a soldier stationed in Afghanistan and he was proudly showing it off for the camera. I was asked to keep the photo private, so I can’t share it, but it really touches me to have my design be a part of that moment
*one of the most meaningful projects we were involved in was to donate angels to a group in Houston who stitched angels for each victim of Sandy Hook. Many were custom or customized to the interests of each child. I actually cried while painting some of them
*we have had five angels that with each sale we donate some of the proceeds to charity: the pink ribbon (breast cancer), #996EN cowgirl/Ellie’s angel (equine therapy) (a tribute to a dear friend who’s young niece volunteered at a equine therapy barn before she was killed by a hit and run driver), mini-angel 999BG Autism, plus two semi-discontinued angels for AIDs and 911. We also donate angels for silent auctions and money-raising projects for the above causes
*my favorite angel is #996IJ Pony Print Cowgirl…of course!
My favorite is the Lion & Lamb, pictured above.
Thanks to Debbie Woodward (owner of Painted Pony) for sharing this with us!
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
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