Lladros Fro Spain:  Humble Beginnings

The Lladro brothers, Juan, Jose', and Vicente, were born into a small farming community called Almacera.  From this humbel start, Lladro porcelain rose and  is fast becoming an accepted name to decorators and collectors the world over.  Originally, Lladros from Spain were primarily collected by the wealthy families of Europe. 
Now, however, Lladro porcelain figurines are world famous and highly collectible. The  creators, the three Lladro brothers  rose from their poor background of the small farming community, to the point of making making the finest porcelain in Europe.   Introduced to the arts by their mother,  the young brothers had a burning  desire to provide a better future for themselves and their family.  Their interest in pottery led to them building a Moorish-style kiln in the family backyard. They learned and became intrigued by the Chinese discovery of porcelain that added a secret ingredient to clay so as to make it into the fine and practical porcelain that became highly desired by European Royalty.This so inspired the Lladro brothers, they set themselves a goal to produce the finest porcelain in Europe. They began by creating and experimenting with formulas for the porcelain and pigments, moulds, varnishes and firing times. Finally, they were content with a unique high-quality porcelain mixture.  Using this mixture in today's high quality porcellain figurines.
To finance  their dream they borrowed 2,000 pesetas (Roughly $35 US dollars) from a friend in 1958 to found Lladro porcelain in the town of Tavernas Blancas. Their porcelain immediately became desirable in their local area as they began to sell their crafts in market stalls while at the same time beginning to design their own product that was to become the Lladro porcelain figurines of today.  In the 1960s many celebrity customers began to buy and collect the elegant figurines, and so the business became nearly an overnight success.
This explosive growth in popularity necessitated enlargement of their factory seven times. In 1969 the start of what today is known as “Porcelain city" was planned."Porcelain city" has factories, kilns, offices and showrooms that cover 100,000 square feet, and the employer of over 2,000 people. Lladro porcelain is still made by hand and each piece is given individual care and special attention to detail.

In 1986 Lladro established a Collectors society, One year for Christmas, I gave my wife, who is a collector of Lladro figurines in a small way, a membership in the society. The first piece of the Collector's Society was called “Little Pals.” This figure was a big success and every year since then a special piece has been made, to be offered only to members of the society for $85. The original issue of "Little Pals" if you can find it, is worth over $3500. 
David Lladro, son of Vincente, says the company “creates sculptures with soul that celebrate life and have feelings".  One thing is for sure and certain, nowhere can you find a more detailed and exquisite attention to details.  Lladros from Spain are a highly desirable commodity despite their humble beginnings.