Sid Dickens Spring 2012 Preview Review

The first picture of the first tile of the Spring 2012 collection appeared yesterday on the 10th of January. This means it's time for the return of the most popular biannual blog post (Fall 2011 / Spring 2011). I know most of you come for the pictures, but for the three of you who come to read what I think, I will once again be live-blogging each day's release(s). So check back daily for updates. The tiles and my thoughts are after the break.


I don't have a tile number or name for you, so I'll update that when we get it. It was posted with the tantalizing line 'A Herald of Spring.' The blog post on Sid's website, which is where I prefer to redirect traffic so Sid Inc can get some business, is annoyingly blank, so I'll redirect to Twitter for the time being.

T275 Aviator

I believe the first words out of my mouth were probably not fit for publication in a family-friendly medium. Let's go with my more sober second thoughts this morning. This first tile is adventurous - a bit of a departure from his normal subject matter. I guess Sid needed an insect for all the birds to eat and/or to pollinate all those damn roses. I'm not going to say this tile bugs me, because insects in general don't pester me, except when they commit suicide by flying in my eyes, nose or mouth, but I'm not overly impressed with the finish of the tile or the subject matter. One astute Facebook fan commented that he 'loves bugs, but not in his house' is probably an adequate summary of the sentiments of the majority of collectors. The taxidermist / zoologist collectors will buy this, the rest of us will avoid it.

Update on Friday the 13th:
Sid Inc finally released the full collection today. It's the Daydream Collection. As in, Sid was daydreaming and forgot to come up with new tiles. I can see why they waited to unveil the entire collection in one shot, because the disappointment spread over several days would've been agony, much worse than this sitting around waiting. (All images can be expanded by clicking on them.)

T271 Whole Heart

There's that heart again. Ooo and cracks. I like cracks. I'm glad cracks are back. The wreath isn't as nice as the one on Liberty, but it's nice enough, especially with the faint gold dusting that I'm noticing on my second glimpse. I might've been more enthusiastic about this tile if Sid Inc had released a tile per day rather than showing me T271 and its off-centered twin T273.

T272 Fledgling

Another out-of-focus angelic child. Yawn! We just got one of these in fall. Or was it the spring? Both? Oh wait, this one is a little bit interesting - the "naughty bits" are blurred out. Apparently artistic angels don't have to pee. Is there no pissing in heaven? I suppose with my constant stream of caustic sarcasm I should probably be more concerned with the fate of my penis when I get to hell ... I have trouble holding it for a four-hour car-ride, so eternity is going to be agonizing if I don't get a penis!

T273 Ace of Hearts

See what I was saying above about T271? He's taken the same work and shifted it so that one is centered and the other shows the corner of the card. I'm noticing some subtle differences when I look at the larger images, however. The wreath is definitely more floral in this one, and the gold tinge is more prominent (prompting me to take a second look at T271). The gold tinge is nice. This tile might go nicely with the Seven of Hearts ... assuming the red tints are the same, which they don't appear to be, and assuming this wasn't bisqued.

T274 Water Dance

The colours are eye-catching. Another tile that looks like fine porcelain or china ... the kind that you would find in your grandma's home. Sid might've released this tile before and he's just playing a trick to see how attentive I am. Anyway, the longer I stare at it trying to remember the last iteration of flowers on blue, the hungrier I get for some of grandma's finest squares and cut-up sandwiches served on her nice china.

T275 Aviator
This is the bug tile that was discussed above on January 11th. I still don't like it, but I love that there's only one more tile to go.

T276 Celebration

Again, the colours are lovely. Another fine serving platter. All those hairline fractures suggest that this plate is less than mint condition and nearing the end of its life. I'm celebrating that this is the end of this collection and I don't have to find new ways to express disappointment for more tiles. It's exhausting being this cynical.

Final Thoughts
The best of the bunch are the two wreath-hearts. If they sell them two-for-one with a de-bisquing, red-tint-matching kit then maybe I'll consider them.

Yogi Berra must have been forecasting Sid's biannual releases when he said "it's deja vu all over again." Add in about 10 more iterations to the repetitive loop for how I feel right now. We've seen this level of uninspired work from Sid before; I've complained about it before; I've whined that I complained about it before. However, after so many disappointing releases, I'm beginning to wonder why I keep getting my hopes up that Sid might actually do something new and interesting. Really makes me wonder if he's handed over the artistic reigns to one of the knockoffs. These are a pale (aka bisqued) imitation of what used to be inspiring and imagination-inducing mass-produced home decor.

What's really sad is that in a decade or two when the Baby Boomers who buy these uninspired floral tiles in bulk start dying off these blocks are going to be piled up in landfills and saturating garbage sales everywhere. Luckily, I have good taste, so whoever inherits my collection will be grateful ;)

So that's it folks. Share your thoughts below, or via Facebook, Twitter or Google +.