It is now over thirty years since we first approached Wade to produce a collectable range of figurines. We already had knowledge of the Wade collectors market being collectors ourselves, and decided to make the step into producing our own range of Wade collectables. So in early 1992 we made the trip from the south coast of England to Wade Ceramics in Burslem, Stoke on Trent. To us it seemed another world when we first arrived in Stoke.

We already had an idea for the first figurine in our range, and Arthur Hare was born. Arthur Hare was a character from a children’s storybook by the local Sussex writer Caroline Parkes. Arthur Hare was not an immediate success, but his popularity grew slowly and other characters were produced from the book. They proved very popular and as time progressed, all the characters were immortalised in Wade Porcelain. 

We soon moved in to licenced characters, and approached the licensing company Yaffa run by Christopher Crouch and John McInnerney and signed an agreement to produce Andy Capp figures. In fact it was the very first time a private company had produced a licenced product with Wade, although they had produced many licenced characters for themselves, they were all in house for the company so C&S was the first third party for whom Wade produced a licenced figurine.  Andy Capp was released and was an immediate sell out. His wife Flo followed and again was a great success, and at the time it was a great pleasure to meet with the originator Reg Smythe who presented us with a signed cartoon.

In 1995 we signed a licence to produce Betty Boop figurines, and this was the beginning of a phenomenal success story for us.  To date we have produced over 250 different figures and colourways of Wade Betty Boops, and we were lucky enough to meet Mark Fleischer, Betty Boop’s creator’s grandson on many occasions at the Las Vegas Licensing Show.

We continued to commission many Whimsies and figurines, as the Wade collectors market grew year by year.  By 1996 we opened a small shop in Arundel, West Sussex, and our business was featured in the new collector's magazine Collect it!  This proved to be an amazing success, Russell was featured in the first issue and our Wade business grew substantially and this was the beginning of the Wade 1990's boom. In December 1997 we moved into one of the most prestigious shops in Arundel, and the Wade Collectors Meet began in Arundel that same year. The first Collectors Meet attracted over 3000 visitors who descended on the small Sussex town, I think the locals didn’t know what had hit them.  The UK TV series Collectors Lot filmed the event and it was broadcast the following month. Again this brought the Wade market to the attention of the media, which saw the Wade collectors market soar in popularity and C&S featured in many UK national newspapers. We continued to produce an array of Wade collectables, sometimes selling out before we had actually taken delivery.  

1997 – 1998 saw a huge boom in collecting in all fields, and Wade was no exception. We introduced a new range of Arthur Hare figures, being released at different events throughout the year, which were so successful we were physically threatened by some collectors who did not want to miss out on the latest Arthur Hare release, I guess that was the price of success?

During the mid to late 90’s we were fortunate enough to be able to travel to the United States when Wade teamed up with the Jim Beam Bottle events that took place annually.  This was a fantastic opportunity to travel the length and breadth of the USA as the fairs took place coast to coast, Seattle, Buffalo, Oconomowoc and San Antonia in Texas. This was a great experience for us.

Moving on to the new century, the Wade market suffered, like a lot of other collectables of the time from over production, and many collectors selling up. The boom was over, and we saw the slow decline of the once buoyant Wade collector’s market that had been so vibrant. Although this was disappointing, we continued to produce an array of collectable Wade Whimsies and figurines albeit in lower editions, Snoopy, Garfield, Thomas The Tank engine to name but a few.  It has always been a labour of love for us and never been about financial gain. We felt privileged, and never considered what we were doing as work. 

It was such a pleasure to be in the industry and meeting people who we had collaborated with like Garfield’s creator Jim Davis and Sue Nikas CEO of Hagen-Renaker, whose close relationship with the Wade Family is well documented.

After the slow down in the Wade market we had to make a living, so in 2003 we signed an agreement with King Features of New York to produce and distribute wholesale figurines and giftware of Betty Boop products in the UK. This venture proved to be the most successful agreement we had ever signed to date, and the financial rewards from this were phenomenal and provided us with the financial security to enable us to continue with our Wade collectables side of the business with the Betty Boop giftware supporting the Wade business to the extent we could indulge our passion for Wade, and continue to serve the collectors who were loyal.  Many Wade collectors over the years have become good friends, and it was a privilege for us to be able to continue to produce the Wade collectables that we have always enjoyed. In 2015 C&S were awarded a certificate by King Features for being the longest UK Betty Boop Licensee.

After taking the Betty Boop UK licence to distribute wholesale Betty Boop giftware, we moved to our premises, just south of Arundel into an old Victorian converted barn in Ford where we stayed for 20 years.

We still continue to produce Wade Collectables and enjoy developing new products bringing them to Wade collectors worldwide, The club has re-engaged with the Wade Family and during the Covid Pandemic the family have been of great support and embraced the chance to be involved with the collectors, and are thrilled to once again be able to support the club that carries their family name.  It has been a pleasure and we thank the Wade family for their continued contributions.  As Wade collectors it has been a unique opportunity to have been able to put together a fantastic collection of Wade, from samples that never made it to production, unique colourways of Whimsies and figurines and pieces from members of the Wade family who have been so generous over the years.

To date we have produced so many different Whimsies and figurines that we have lost count, we often say that maybe one day someone will come along and write a guide to C&S Wade Collecting. Any offers?

The Wade collectors market is now much smaller than it had been during the boom of the 1990’s and we have adjusted to the new way of collecting. The Whimsies had always been produced using what was known as a pressed method, but due to the excessive cost of the metal dies, production had to be changed to what we now use, the solid cast method, this is a less expensive production method and we were able to produce much smaller numbers of each piece, this is what the market wanted - low editions, making them more collectable and we were able to bring the Whimsie into the 21st century with more vibrant glazes, a range that consists of multiple colours rather than just an all over one colour glaze. 

Looking to the future we can see, due to such low editions being produced, there will be difficulties in finding some of the pieces produced over the last ten years, purely due to such low numbers. Consider the fact that in the 60’s 70's and 80's the Whimsies would have been produced in there thousands and some are still difficult to obtain, we are now producing them in the 100’s so such a small number will be virtually impossible to find.

At the turn of the decade in 2010, C&S were working very closely with the Wade Club so much so that in 2015 we merged with the Official International Wade Collectors Club. So from that first visit in 1992 making what seemed to be a pilgrimage to the factory, to running Wade Ceramics’ Official Wade Collectors Club, we feel has been something of an achievement.

In 2019 we signed another great licence with the Thelwell Estate and were lucky enough to meet with the Thelwell family. We were shown many of the original artworks from Norman Thelwell and we were invited to take copies of them for our Thelwell Whimsie publicity.

In 2020 the Covid Pandemic hit us all, and during this time the Collectors Club moved it’s activities online, and they proved to be a great hit with those who were unable to leave their homes or visit us in person. This was a challenge for us, but I think we rose to that challenge and provided our Wade collectors with an entertaining and historical record of the Wade Collectors Club's Covid Years. This can be seen in our facebook group facebook.com/groups/wadecollectosclub.

2021:  We were still running the Wade Club with Jenny, arranging the various events throughout the year, and still enjoyed running the club and serving collectors. We were still making the trek to Stoke several times a year, and were still producing Wade collectables at the club’s very own production line in Stoke on Trent.

Wade collecting has changed so much since we started. Today it is easy to find pieces, just search eBay or the many Wade Facebook groups, click and buy. We hope the Wade Club brought an element of fun with the various events, winning a unique piece which is not generally available, this brought something extra to Wade collecting, a different way of adding something special to your Wade collection, a bonus, the thrill of winning. 

We still have great enthusiasm for each new design produced, and many of the collectors who we have met during the last thirty years, are now considered not just customers, but Wade friends and that makes what we do a pleasure, and we will continue to bring our style of Wade collecting to those who appreciate it for as long as possible. What a life, and we thank the Wade Family, Wade Ceramics and most importantly you the Wade collectors for the opportunities we’ve had. 

The Wade Collectors Club's final premises were just south of Arundel in West Sussex, England.  Above is a picture of the The Wade Collectors Centre in the snow.

December 2022. Wade Ceramics Ltd entered administration and the factory closed.

2023. The Wade Collectors Club continued trading until 30^th September 2023 selling the last of the club’s inventory. It closed its doors for the final time at the end of September. A sad time for all those involved.

C&S Collectables Direct continue to trade selling secondary market Wade and their new range of exclusive Minikins. A new era in collecting. Join C&S on this journey.

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