Membership in the Flow Blue International Collectors’ Club, Inc. provides a number of valuable assets to enhance your collecting experience.
Newsletters
“The Blue Berry Notes,” our club newsletter is received four times a year by members. It consists of 16 to 36 pages filled with educational articles, photos, information on club activities, and ads for items wanted or for sale. In addition, it contains decorating ideas and wonderful human interest stories of our members and their collections.
As a preview, below is the 2016 March – April Blue Berry Notes.
Pattern Identification Database
The Pattern Identification Database is a treasure chest of over 1600 flow blue and mulberry patterns featuring photographs, makers’ marks, borders and written descriptions. Club members search the Database using pattern name, potters name, type of ware (flow blue/mulberry/color), category, or prominent features in the pattern.
Listed below are three categories of many that are in the Database.
Education
Educational materials detailing in-depth information on flow blue and mulberry china are published by the FBICC Educational Committee. Past publications include research on a variety of potters and “new flow blue.” Pictured to the left is a major publication on teapot shapes and forms. Authors of many definitive publications on flow blue, mulberry, children’s china, and potter’s marks are current and past members of FBICC.
Rare & Unusual Presentations
The “Rare & Unusual” (R & U) Flow Blue and Mulberry presentation has become a favorite event at the Flow Blue International Collectors’ Club conventions. The event allows club members to share rare and unusual pieces of Flow Blue and Mulberry from their collections. The event is both exciting and educational.
Club Roster
An updated club roster listing fellow members with names, mailing and email addresses, phone and fax numbers, EBay handles, and patterns or specialty areas collected is received annually by club members. It also contains a list of all member dealers. This roster is a most valuable tool for networking within the flow blue and mulberry worlds.
International Conventions
Our annual international convention, held on the third or fourth weekend of July is for hundreds of our members the highlight of our collecting year. It is a chance to greet old friends, welcome new friends, and put a face on that EBay rival! Though the site varies, the event always brings top notch speakers (most recently Neil Ewins, and Geoffrey Godden). There is also a most entertaining rare and unusual program, a flea market, a boutique, and a sales extravaganza. For the flow blue and mulberry lovers an auction of three to four hundred pieces of flow blue and mulberry china concludes each convention on Saturday.
Regional Meetings
Regional one-day conventions or gatherings promote activities on a more local level in the club’s six regions. Smaller groups of club members frequently meet for antique shows, auctions, or just dinner and discussion.
Website
The club website is maintained for both member and nonmember lovers of flow blue and mulberry china. We hope that you find the articles, photos, and information both entertaining and helpful.