Wee Forest Folk MOTHER GOOSE M378XX Special 2012 Willy Petersen + Donna Petersen For Sale

Vintage Treasures from theMiniature History Vault... from the Worldwide Collectible Specialists ofSaturday's Toys

Item: Wee Forest FolkMiniature Figurine

Title:"Mother Goose" (Special Color)

Number: M-378XX

Date: May 2012

Figurine Details

• Subject: A mouse in custom attire riding a white bird with yellow beak.
• Attire & Design:Rather than soaring empty-handed on a black raven, they ride a white bird nestled on a wooden floor. The scene is jam-packed with custom-painted miniature nursery rhyme books (like Mother Goose, Jack and Jill, and Little Boy Blue) and a tiny menagerie of stuffed animals—including a lamb, duckling, bunny, turtle, and chick.
• Historical Context: Because the piece was produced in such extremely limited numbers and has since been retired, its value has significantly appreciated due to its popularity among WFF customized miniature collectors.

Special Editions & Variations

During its production lifecycle, a few limited specialevent variations were created under the M-378 catalog number:

Donna and Willy are siblings and co-sculptors whohave run Wee Forest Folk alongside their mother, founder Annette Petersen.Their artistic "input" typically functions in a few specific wayswithin the company:

• Signature/Autograph Variations: When collectors attend special Wee Forest Folk Expo events or in-store signings, both Willy and Donna often sign the bases of figurines together—regardless of which sibling originally sculpted it. As for the initials placed on the bottom of the base, it is very common to find Donna's initials alongside Willy's "WP" mark as an event autograph.
• Independent Halloween Lineage: While Willy designed the original sculpture for M-378, Donna Petersen has sculpted many of Wee Forest Folk's other highly popular Halloween-themed pieces across the decades. The siblings frequently coordinate their creative themes so their individual miniature lines complement each other for holiday displays.
• Collaborative Production: Because Wee Forest Folk operates entirely out of their small studio "mouse factory" in Carlisle, Massachusetts, every figurine undergoes a collaborative family molding and design review process before being distributed to hand-painters.

This piece features both the WP and DPinitials and is a highly collectible "Special Color" variationfrom the Wee Forest Folk collection.

The official "WFF Special Color" sticker onthe bottom confirms that this item was not part of the standard production run.These pieces are often made in incredibly small batches (sometimes limited tofewer than 100 units) for special collector events, anniversaries, or retailerexclusives.

When a standard piece gets transformed into a "SpecialColor" variant, Donna will frequently initial the base alongside Willy tocertify its authenticity and show her personal touch on the production of thatrare colorway.

This incredibly detailed piece is the M-378XX Mother Goosespecial event variation, produced exclusively for the Mouse Expo in May 2012.

Because it departed so vastly from the standard productioncatalog and featured a highly complex multi-piece layout, both Willy and Donnapersonally initialed the bottom of these limited "Special Color" basecastings to mark it as a genuine family-designed event masterwork.

The hand-written M-378XX code on the blue labelprovides essential context regarding the piece's history, packaging, andspecific classification within the Wee Forest Folk Collectors' Club indexingsystem:

1. The "XX" Suffix

In the company's cataloging system, a double letter suffixserves a distinct purpose:

• The "Z" Suffix vs. "XX": While the piece itself is sometimes referenced by collectors as M-378Z(Mother Goose) to denote it as the 2012 Mouse Expo design, the factory frequently utilized a hand-written "XX" suffix on the box labels.
• Meaning of XX: This designation formally classifies the item as a Special Event / Extravaganza Exclusive. It tells the packaging team that this specific figurine does not belong in a standard production box. It ensures the item is paired with the specialized base labels, higher retail price coding, and an official white box with specialty label.

2. The Blue Label Meaning

The color-coding of the label on a Wee Forest Folk boxindicates its specific production tier:

• White/Cream Labels: Used for standard, open-stock production pieces found in regular retail stores.
• Blue Labels: Explicitly reserved for Limited Editions, Special Colorways, and Club/Expo Event Exclusives.

Because these massive convention pieces were produced inhighly compressed timelines right before the event, the studio used simple blue labels and hand-wrote the item number (M378XX) directly ontothe sticker to ensure accuracy before packing the finished product.

This hand-written blue label serves as secondaryverification alongside the initials on the bottom, proving that the figurineis a completely intact, authentic 2012 Mouse Expo masterpiece.

Condition: Excellentcondition; perfectly preserved; never previously displayed or used; in original white box with customized blue label sticker.

Shipping: Carefully packaged; boxed within an outer box; with sufficient protective interior packaging to ensure safe delivery. Fully insured and shipped via USPS Priority Mail (signature confirmation required for delivery)