Wolfe majored in art at college and started out doing commercial art, some pottery, jewelry etching and sculptures. One day when she was particularly stressed out, Wolfe went to an Antique show where some salt and pepper sets caught her eye. She only wanted the pieces because they were a reminder of her Grandmother.
Salt & Pepper Sets:
She got more than just a set, she got a total education on shakers from the seller and eventually another local salt/pepper expert the seller referred her to. Soon she wound up designing and making a set of Husky dog shakers for a local club. Next, a friend saw her shakers and wanted a Brayton-style cookie jar. The rest is history.
First Cookie Jar:
The first jar she made was the reproduction of a Brayton mammy in the early nineties, but that was just the beginning of the demand for her pottery designs.
Around the same time she made a set of Big Boy shakers and took them into the local restaurant to see what they thought. Luckily, the restaurant owner was related to the person handing the merchandise at the parent company. Soon Kathy was in the Big Boy pottery business.
Big Boy:
If you’ve seen a Big Boy cookie jar for sale, it mostly likely was made by Kathy. Although she hasn’t done them all, (there was one offered directly from the restaurants) her jars are the ones that go for big bucks — everyone loves them and they’re great jars to add to your collection. The first jar was one of the 1936 Big Boy character, he had no shirt on and a bite was taken out of the hamburger in his hand.
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Big Boy jars include:
- 1936 Big Boy character
- 1956 Big Boy character – shown above
- Dolly — Big Boy Waitress
- Cruisin’ Big Boy
- Large Mug-shaped jar – circa 1997
Licensed Jars Include:
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- Kentucky Fried Chicken Colonel
- Purdue Pete
- San Jose Sharks Goalie
- Statue of Liberty Jar
- Jazzy Junque Store
- Popeye in Spinach Can
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- Howard Johnson’s Restaurant
- Wolfe is also known for her one-of-a-kind waitresses, as well a a variety of other jars. And check out her scary Halloween jars!
San Jose Sharks Goalie
From the collection of Randy Hammond, the San Jose Sharks jar dates back to the mid-1990s. This was a limited edition production run of this is a limited edition run of 150.
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Kentucky Fried Chicken
Another license that Wolfe acquired was from the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants. These two jars are terrific. The one with the actual bucket of FRIED chicken is a limited edition of 250, produced in 1998.
The jar with the “live” chicken was an extremely limited edition jar, possibly one-of-a-kind.
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More Jars
The Statue of Liberty jar was a limited edition of 150 jars and although there are jars made with characters dressed like Liberty lady, this is the only one known to be strictly the statue.
Wolfe made a series of whimsical waitress jars, but this Campbell waitress was made for a contest sponsored by Campbell Soup Company commemorating an anniversary. No, it didn’t win, but I won by winding up with this great piece.
The Electric car jar — I don’t have much information about this jar or when it was produced. This one is from the collection of Jay Albert.
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Salt and Peppers:
Wolfe has done numerous dog sets (mostly the huskies she loves), Eskimos, as well as licensed shakers for Big Boy and Kentucky Fried Chicken. In the 1990s she made sets for the Novelty Salt and Pepper convention.
Her Other Life:
She not only rides motorcycles, she works with the Michigan State University Police Motorcycle Training department. Riding back and forth between different locations and coordinating the program.
Bottom Line:
If you love cookie jars and especially love Artist jars, Wolfe is someone who should be represented in your collection. Prices are reasonable and the market isn’t over-saturated with her jars. The licensed pieces are terrific and sought after by collectors across the country. It was only after talking to Kathy that I realized how many of her jars I have, probably more artist jars from her than anyone else.
And if you like something really special, look into getting one of her one-of-a-kind jars!
From the @barbcrews archives (early 2000s)