Historic Craft Reimagined
Meet the American studio reviving the art of spun-cotton figures through imaginative Santas, animals, sea creatures, holiday characters, and miniature works of narrative craft.
BON TON goods is home to Europe’s largest Vintage by Crystal collection and the largest selection outside the United States, presented online and through our extensive in-store world in Malmö.
The Artists Behind the Characters
Who is Vintage by Crystal?
Vintage by Crystal is the upstate New York studio of husband-and-wife artists Crystal and Ben Sloane, who give a historic European ornament tradition a playful and highly personal new life.
Crystal’s fascination with antique German spun-cotton ornaments inspired her to develop a distinctive interpretation of the historic craft. What began as her personal artistic practice grew into a family studio with Ben, bringing their wonderfully expressive figures from Saratoga Springs, New York, to collectors around the world.
Rather than reproducing a particular antique exactly, Crystal and Ben use the material to create an expanding cast of Santas, children, animals, birds, sea creatures, Halloween characters, woodland residents, flowers, and dreamlike hybrids.
The work feels convincingly old and unmistakably original at the same time. Each figure has a particular posture, expression, costume, and story. That individuality is why the pieces are collected far beyond Christmas.
Light as Air
What is spun-cotton craft?
Spun-cotton figures are built by wrapping and shaping cotton around an armature, creating a lightweight but dimensional form. Layer by layer, the artists establish the body, gesture, costume, expression, and surface of each character.
Painted faces, paper, fabric, trims, glass ornaments, natural fibres, miniature accessories, vintage finds, and antique fragments may complete the figure. The process encourages invention, allowing humble materials to become fur, clothing, feathers, fins, flowers, or snow.
Crystal and Ben search antique fairs, flea markets, yard sales, and even beaches for unusual materials. These discoveries can determine the colours, character, and details of the finished work.
Because every piece is assembled and decorated by hand, variations are expected. They give the figures the spirit of studio-made objects rather than factory-perfect decorations.
A World Larger Than Christmas
The Vintage by Crystal collections
Christmas
Santas, snow children, angels, reindeer, swans, and glass-ball figures bring old-world warmth together with unexpected colour and wit.
Woodland & nautical
Foxes, owls, rabbits, birds, mushrooms, mermaids, fish, and sea creatures turn shelves and seasonal displays into miniature natural worlds.
Halloween & Easter
Witches, pumpkins, black cats, rabbits, chicks, flowers, and egg figures make the collection enjoyable throughout the entire year.
Choosing a Character
How to begin a Vintage by Crystal collection
Begin with emotional recognition. The right first figure is often the one whose face, colours, animal, or tiny story feels oddly familiar. Practical considerations come next.
Ornament or standing figure?
Ornaments animate a tree and can hang from branches or decorative stands throughout the year. Standing figures work on mantels, shelves, place settings, and beneath glass domes.
One season or many?
Christmas is a natural beginning, but woodland, floral, nautical, animal, and other year-round pieces can remain on view long after the holiday boxes are stored.
A family of figures
Collect by colour, species, holiday, material, or scale. Repetition gives the group unity, while different expressions keep it from feeling overly matched.
Small Figures, Strong Presence
How to display spun-cotton figures
Create different heights with books, boxes, cake stands, and small plinths. A single character beneath a glass dome becomes a miniature sculpture. A group of three can suggest an entire scene.
On the tree, place figures where their faces can be seen from the room. Give dimensional pieces clearance from neighbouring branches and heavier ornaments.
Mix them with antique glass, papier-mâché Santas, paper ornaments, shells, dried flowers, velvet ribbon, or natural branches. A shared colour is enough to connect very different materials.
Keep spun cotton well away from candles, radiators, steam, water, and damp greenery. These are decorative art objects rather than toys.
Care & Storage
How to preserve spun-cotton ornaments
Handle a figure by its main body or base, not by a limb, hat, wing, hanging loop, or accessory. Remove dust with a very soft, dry brush. Do not apply water, cleaning solution, compressed air, or heat.
For storage, support the figure loosely with acid-free tissue inside a rigid box. Avoid pressure on faces and projecting details. Keep the box in a dry interior space with a stable temperature, protected from insects, sunlight, damp, and heavy objects.
Vintage by Crystal in Europe
Discover Europe’s largest Vintage by Crystal collection
BON TON goods is home to Europe’s largest Vintage by Crystal collection and the largest selection outside the United States.
Our extensive collection brings together Christmas, Easter, Halloween, woodland, nautical, floral, animal, and year-round pieces. Rather than treating Vintage by Crystal as Christmas décor alone, BON TON presents the work as a complete world of collectible American folk art.
Explore the collection online with worldwide shipping or experience the figures together in our Malmö shop. The in-store presentation makes it possible to compare expressions, materials, scale, and individual handmade variations before choosing a character for your own collection.
Shop Vintage by CrystalFrequently Asked Questions
Vintage by Crystal FAQ
Who makes Vintage by Crystal figures?
Vintage by Crystal is the upstate New York studio of husband-and-wife artists Crystal and Ben Sloane. Crystal developed the studio’s distinctive interpretation of historic spun-cotton craft, and the couple now creates the collection together as a family business.
Where are Vintage by Crystal figures made?
The figures and ornaments are handmade in Crystal and Ben’s studio in Saratoga Springs, upstate New York.
What are the figures made from?
Cotton shaped around an armature forms the core. Paint, paper, fabric, trim, natural fibres, glass ornaments, vintage finds, antique fragments, and miniature accessories may be added according to the individual design.
Are all Vintage by Crystal figures one of a kind?
No. Some pieces are one of a kind, while others belong to open editions. Because they are finished by hand and may incorporate changing materials, colours, expressions, and details can vary between examples.
Are they only Christmas ornaments?
No. The studio creates hanging ornaments and standing figures for Christmas, Easter, Halloween, weddings, woodland and nautical themes, flowers, animals, and year-round display.
Are the figures toys?
No. They are delicate decorative collectibles with small components and should be handled and displayed as art objects.
Where can I buy Vintage by Crystal in Europe?
BON TON goods in Malmö is home to Europe’s largest Vintage by Crystal collection and the largest selection outside the United States. The collection is available in our shop and online with worldwide shipping.