... it wasn't easy...

Follow me?? Please?

4)
1931/32
Germany now had 6 million unemployed people. The economical adversities gave radical parties more and more influence. National Socialists won one election after another.

Father had 32 employees by now - 32 families plus his own were fed. The company's revenue reached a whopping 132,000 "Reichs Mark" and half of it were international orders.

I put an x over my father ;)

There surely were no toilets in this old barn-factory. So, saga has it that Father asked a worker to clean the "outhouse" which the employee refused: 'I am an Ivory Carver, I am not hired to clean the shit.'
Now, Father ordered him to get a chair. The man did. Then Father told him to sit down beside the out-house hole. The man did. Father grabbed shovel and bucket and started to clean out the hole.
It's said that the onlooking man got up and without a word took shovel and bucket out of the boss' hands and finished the job.
(Ok, I KNOW this story is true!! There are more like this to come.)

 It's all Ivory Jewelry

We all know what hellish times dawned next. Compulsory service was ordered as well as the construction of the Autobahn.

Beautiful Ivory carvings continued to be created at the Koziol Ivory factory, located hidden in the small town of Michelstadt in a serene forest - something like the Black Forest, just much smaller.

There were many more Ivory carving businesses, of course. After all it was the Ivory Capital of Europe.
But Father was such a hard worker, was so committed that he grew by leaps and bounds and while others "went out for a beer" he toiled away. Never took free time or God-forbid a vacation. Times were just not cut out for such.

As the very first of all of the region's Ivory Carvers in 1934 Koziol presented his goods at the Leipzig (East Germany) international fair.
The attendance' result was an immediate duplication of the company's revenue. Koziol achieved business connections that should persist over decades.

1935

Meanwhile the Government dictated what was "cultur" and what NOT. In many exhibits people were shown what was meant by 'degenerated art'...

... and Father took on yet another mile stone that should change and define his (affectionally 'my') company for the next 50 years and beyond.

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As always! Stay tuned, this will be continued - slowly but surely it's getting more personal then - not so much sad politics anymore. Well, yes, a little.
This is my birth town, Michelstadt, dubbed "The Pearl of Odenwald". Enjoy my little Video presentation ;)

I sincerely hope I am getting you hooked - please tweet, +1, send it to FB

AND ... visit my little adventures. All comments are welcome, especially the nice ones ;-)

Please visit me and say 'hi'    or here, at my private website

Don't forget to hug your kids and tell them they are doing GREAT!
I NEVER got one or a pat on my shoulder growing up!

Johanna (YoooHUNna)

Carved Elephant Ivory - some History first. Interesting?

1)

I think so!
Thus let me tell you that I DO know a 'little' about it - my father was an Ivory Carver and mighty proud to even have a master's degree.
HIS father was a master Potter who worked for Royals in what is Poland today in the late 19th and early 20th Century. So, that would be my Grandfather.
They both had the same name: Bernhard Koziol.

Around 1912 my Grandfather packed up his wife (Johanna) and 2 kids (Lucie and Bernhard) and moved from Poland to West Germany because he heard there was a kiln he could work with. Alas, this kiln was defect and then my Grandfather was drafted to serve in WWI. He came home with severe tuberculosis and was not able to work anymore at all.
A gentle whispering wind grazed his grave soon thereafter.
 
That's where my father came in. He started carving wood animals and flowers, sold it to tourists and was able to earn the rent for his family at the age of 12 (Twelve!)
Bernhard jr. had no shoes or a bag for books to go to school, yet he went. He was sincere and was teased by his 'buddies' for not coming out and play. He worked and learned.
After finishing his basic school he went to a technical college nearby at the still existing world renown 'Ivory Carving School' in Erbach/Odenwald in Germany.... that's where I grew up.

An Ivory carver first must be talented enough to draw what he has in mind and has to learn to perfect his skill. Ivory is and always was too precious to be wasted. What you start you have to finish.
At the tender age of 19 years my father registered his own business as an Ivory Carver. (Not a MASTER yet)

                On the left his registration        The first official Company Logo

A little bit about Ivory:
Ivory is a hard, white, opaque substance that is the bulk of the teeth and tusks of some animals such as elephant, hippopotamus, walrus, mammoth, etc
Prior to the introduction of plastics, it was used for billiard balls,
piano keys, buttons and ornamental items
The word "ivory" was traditionally applied to the tusks of elephants
In June of 1997 the ban on ivory trade was lifted under CITES guidelines
and then agreed upon by its member countries
Nothing really comes close or compares to the beauty of ivory
and was admired for centuries by Caesars, czars, kings and queens.

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See, the Ivory carvers are NOT the bad guys. They would not dream
of killing Elephants for their tusks. They would PRESERVE them.
The material they worked with came only from Elephants that
died a natural death. It was later on that ruthless 'killers' went
out and slaughtered those then helpless giants for their tusks.
And we condemn this STRONGLY.

I have been in Africa more than once, I have seen them,
I have HUGE respect for nature and in this case for these
intelligent, amazing creatures. We would not HURT them!

I will continue and show and tell more about Ivory (and cut crystal glass too)
and a little more about my fascinating father and what he accomplished.

Meanwhile you can look some up... my ancestors... right here:
http://www.JFK-Site.com 

Interested in my collections for sale?
I always say: Our last shirt has no pockets - so, I am looking for good homes for my rare treasures.

http://www.Bonanza.com/EuropeanGoodies

See you later.... oh and BTW, my name is Johanna (YoooHUNna) ;)

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I am also creating Videos for fellow Sellers - no matter where, Bonanza, Etsy, eBay, Addoway - using YOUR pictures and what ever YOU want.
It's quite a process and takes me about 3 days to finish one - yup, really.
See my latest? Right here

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