Welcome to my "about the artist" page. I've never done one of these so bare with me.
My name is Jessica Fry, I usually go by Jessie or "hey you".
I was told by a few friends I should do a "meet the artist" kind of page, but what would anyone want to know about me? I don't really know to be honest.
I currently live in NW Pa, within 10 miles of where I spent most of my childhood. I have lived in Idaho, Virginia, and Oklahoma, and really enjoyed all three of those states. I love to travel, which is why I enjoyed driving over the road tractor trailers so much (before the kids were born). I've seen all 48 states, as well as Canada and Mexico. I don't really have a favorite state, as almost all of them have something really interesting to offer. We have a very diverse, incredible country.
I've collected Breyers since I was 5 years old, when I was given my first, a Stock Horse Stallion in black pinto. I still have him, minus an ear. He now has the company of over 20 other SHS's, and is one of my favorite molds. I also really like the Love Classic Vintage molds, and have hundreds of them (I probably should thin those down a little at some point...). I love variations (which is why I have so many classics lol) and oddities. I think it's the idea that someone's actual hands touched and painted a model, they weren't just machine made.
Almost all of my long term friendships have started with model horses. While we all may bring something different to the table, our love of horses gives us something common to enjoy, and going to places like a live show or Breyerfest is like going home to family.
J's Critters was founded due to my love of model horses. It started off as me being a Breyer/Peter Stone/Sandicast/Hagen Renaker dealer, with a side bit of me repainting Breyers. It has morphed into being totally independent of retail, and focuses now on customising, custom glaze kiln work, and collection purchases for resale.
Hobbies outside of model horses include listening to music, writing, reading, gardening, and riding my motorcycle(s). I used to have real horses, and greatly miss them, but have decided at least for now that a motorcycle is the way for me, and allows affordable travel and has opened up a whole new world of friends to be made. Comradery can be found in any hobby, and I've come to really enjoy some of the bikers who I have met, and experiences I've had. The bike thing is relatively new, I only started riding in the spring of 2022, but I am now considering becoming a motorcycle instructor, to share not only the love for riding, but the safety aspect behind it. I have battled depression my whole life, but honestly, it's hard to be depressed on a bike, it's hard to be anything but fully present in the moment on a bike. It was a hidden passion I never saw coming, combining love of travel and solitary together in an affordable way. Before I started riding I was one of the people who said motorcycles are dangerous, scary, they are just going to fall over in front of you, ect. What's more scary is someone texting on their phone while driving, and almost hitting you. Trust me, bikes want to stay upright and most even want to go home in one piece (tho the way some people ride makes me wonder lol).
So regardless of how you travel, be safe, be aware, and have fun.
My name is Jessica Fry, I usually go by Jessie or "hey you".
I was told by a few friends I should do a "meet the artist" kind of page, but what would anyone want to know about me? I don't really know to be honest.
I currently live in NW Pa, within 10 miles of where I spent most of my childhood. I have lived in Idaho, Virginia, and Oklahoma, and really enjoyed all three of those states. I love to travel, which is why I enjoyed driving over the road tractor trailers so much (before the kids were born). I've seen all 48 states, as well as Canada and Mexico. I don't really have a favorite state, as almost all of them have something really interesting to offer. We have a very diverse, incredible country.
I've collected Breyers since I was 5 years old, when I was given my first, a Stock Horse Stallion in black pinto. I still have him, minus an ear. He now has the company of over 20 other SHS's, and is one of my favorite molds. I also really like the Love Classic Vintage molds, and have hundreds of them (I probably should thin those down a little at some point...). I love variations (which is why I have so many classics lol) and oddities. I think it's the idea that someone's actual hands touched and painted a model, they weren't just machine made.
Almost all of my long term friendships have started with model horses. While we all may bring something different to the table, our love of horses gives us something common to enjoy, and going to places like a live show or Breyerfest is like going home to family.
J's Critters was founded due to my love of model horses. It started off as me being a Breyer/Peter Stone/Sandicast/Hagen Renaker dealer, with a side bit of me repainting Breyers. It has morphed into being totally independent of retail, and focuses now on customising, custom glaze kiln work, and collection purchases for resale.
Hobbies outside of model horses include listening to music, writing, reading, gardening, and riding my motorcycle(s). I used to have real horses, and greatly miss them, but have decided at least for now that a motorcycle is the way for me, and allows affordable travel and has opened up a whole new world of friends to be made. Comradery can be found in any hobby, and I've come to really enjoy some of the bikers who I have met, and experiences I've had. The bike thing is relatively new, I only started riding in the spring of 2022, but I am now considering becoming a motorcycle instructor, to share not only the love for riding, but the safety aspect behind it. I have battled depression my whole life, but honestly, it's hard to be depressed on a bike, it's hard to be anything but fully present in the moment on a bike. It was a hidden passion I never saw coming, combining love of travel and solitary together in an affordable way. Before I started riding I was one of the people who said motorcycles are dangerous, scary, they are just going to fall over in front of you, ect. What's more scary is someone texting on their phone while driving, and almost hitting you. Trust me, bikes want to stay upright and most even want to go home in one piece (tho the way some people ride makes me wonder lol).
So regardless of how you travel, be safe, be aware, and have fun.
Sugar: Shipping Management. She inspects all incoming and outgoing packages.
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Merlin: Quality Control Supervisor. It's a hard job.
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So this picture might make bikers twitch, but this is my Vulcan 500, complete with passenger Grogu (aka Baby Yoda), that replaces my Silverado during all days ridable (aka spring to fall and once in the snow). I use it for everything, including getting groceries, running to the post office, you name it. I even bought a collection with a Breyer barn one, (let me tell you that was challenging to get home, and I really don't recommend that... lol). I've had a lot of people come chat with me because of Baby Yoda, he's a heck of a conversation starter lol.
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Halloween Horses: So these were a happy accident. I never set out to paint Halloween horses, I actually was looking for a rounded surface to practice to paint my helmet. But they sold so well that I ended up painting them, full time, for over two years. Ironically, I don't even celebrate halloween lol.
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A custom classic mustang mare I painted trying out a new style of Appaloosa. I love how she turned out. Behind her are several other classics I've painted. The little pony is a Hagen Renaker Sample that they used in the factory. She was the one workers looked at to make sure they were painting horses from that release properly.
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Autumn's Delight: When I was a Peter Stone dealer, I designed this release of 100 Weanlings and sold them thought J's Critters. She was a red chestnut tovero. She came in both glossy and matte. Honestly, it was super cool working with the factory. All the ones with major flaws I repainted or sold as bodies, so the actual edition is less than 100.
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