Golden Cockerel is holding its second Blank Nesting Doll Art Contest. Send us a picture of the masterpiece you’ve created from one of our blank matryoshka dolls and you could win a free year-long Gold Club membership, as well as an assortment of blank Russian dolls.

Visit Golden Cockerel at the Raleigh, NC Greek Festival and Charlotte, NC Southern Christmas Show. Browse our selection of beautiful Russian gifts. Meet Walton Conway, Golden Cockerel's owner and subject of Our State Magazine article "Founded on Friendship" By Leigh Ann Henion. It's sure to be a great time!

It pays to start holiday shopping early because now you can get the best for less! Over 100 of our favorite Russian gifts and nesting dolls are on sale through the end of August, 2008.

Gold Club members get an additional 20% off sale prices.

Save on blank nesting dolls, Christmas matryoshkas, animal stacking dolls, traditional items, and more! Even Peanuts and RAGGEDY ANN items! Click the arrow for full information.

Did you know that our replica of the very first nesting doll, the Rooster Girl, was featured on TV this year? Read on to learn more.

Learn more about matryoshka artist Natasha Pugaeva, creator of our stunning "Dunya" nesting doll.

Love matryoshka dolls? Golden Cockerel has just released three great new Russian nesting dolls. We're having a hard time picking a favorite! Lovers of humor, animals, and all things nautical will be pleased with these new matryoshka dolls.

Looking for a creative project that's both beautiful and educational? You can try copying some of nature's jewels - bird's eggs. We offer 5- and 7-piece nested egg sets ready for you to apply your artistic touch. See our web store to order your very own set of blank nesting eggs or blank nesting dolls, and get creative!

Announcing...NEW SPRING ITEMS! Increased interest in our nesting eggs has encouraged us to release two new designs: A set of 5 nesting eggs decorated with Russian Easter colors, primarily RED for the JOY of spring; plus an adorable Easter Bunny who hides a whole basket of eggs within himself. These new items, along with our Rabbit Nesting Eggs, Rooster Nesting Eggs, and Nesting Easter Eggs (pastel colors), make for an EGGsellent Easter season, filled with the fun of the Russian nesting doll. These are all original Golden Cockerel designs, created and produced in our workshop in St. Petersburg, Russia. Hop along this link to see a full array of items for the Easter basket.

Make a big hit this Christmas with a little ornament. We offer a wide selection of cleverly designed animals ornaments that work perfectly as add-ons to any gift package. Our new dachshund ornament may be the cutest thing on the tree. Horse lovers will be pleased with our horse ornament, cat lovers with the cat ornament, and so on. These are all original Golden Cockerel designs, created and produced in our workshop in St. Petersburg, Russia. And at only $6, they're affordable enough to treat everyone on your list. Buy 2 or more of any design for a savings. Speaking of lists, here's one of our current selection: Penguin Ornament; Holstein Cow Ornament; Pig Ornament; Polar Bear Ornament; Panda Bear Ornament; Cat Ornament; Dachshund Ornament; Elephant Ornament; Horse Ornament; Moose Ornament; Owl Ornament; Lion Ornament; Tiger Ornament; Turtle Ornament; Parrot Ornament; Wolf Ornament; Rooster Ornament; Rabbit Ornament; Frog Ornament.

Our next showing will be in Charlotte, NC, at the Southern Christmas Show. This 12-days-of Christmas show is open to the public and is fun for the whole family. Find there our full array of Russian gifts and collectibles, plus one-of-a-kind items that don’t get featured at our web site or in our catalog. Everyone’s favorite place at the show is our BARGAIN TABLE, where 2nds and clearance items can be purchased at “good will” prices. We’ll also have a basket of Russian orphan brooches there for you to sort through to pick the perfect gift. Find us in Freedom Hall at booth #3214 at the Charlotte (NC) Merchandise Mart. Want to find out more about the show or get directions? Contact Southern Shows @ 704-376-6594. See you there!

Golden Cockerel's Russian director Roman Karkachev is expert at designing more than nesting dolls. Here he poses with his White Cockerel, a snow sculpture he made near his home in St. Petersburg, Russia, where white Christmases are the norm. And this rooster has a lot to crow about: 2004 was a very productive year at the Golden Cockerel workshop, where our Russian "elves" painted thousands of nesting dolls and successfully loaded them on Santa's sleigh to ensure they would make it safely under your tree.

Golden Cockerel staff and artists would like to thank you--each and all of our many partners and patrons--for working with us, encouraging us, growing with us, and in short, making our 11th year a success in so many ways. We wish you all a very merry Christmas and the best of New Years. And may your Christmas be as white as ours--in Russia and in Boone!

Walton Conway The Golden Cockerel, Boone, NC

St. Petersburg’s transformation from barren marshland into a center of Russian political, academic and cultural life began on May 27, 1703, when Czar Peter I founded the city as a grand capital for his expanding empire. This year marks the 300th anniversary of the city’s founding, and Golden Cockerel is honoring the event with our White Nights of St. Petersburg" matryoshka.

The Easter holiday is perhaps the most celebrated in the Russian Orthodox calendar, and the egg is a revered symbol of this holy season.

This Easter, why not try your hand at decorating a set of nesting eggs? It's an Easter craft project the whole family can participate in, and the end result enjoyed year after year.

We offer a 5- and 7-piece nested egg sets ready for you to apply your artistic touch.

See our web store to order your very own set of blank nesting eggs or blank nesting dolls, and get creative!

Remember, have fun! Walton

Folklore abounds with New Year's traditions believed to bring good fortune. One such custom holds that seeing a chimney sweep first thing on New Year's morn will bring the viewer good luck throughout the coming year. Why not select one of Golden Cockerel's Chimney Sweep Collectibles for a fortuitous start to your New Year?

Golden Cockerel has purrfect gifts for cat lovers of all ages. We have nesting doll cats. Kitties adorn ornaments and frolic upon hand painted brooches and earrings. There are friendly felines of all sizes and colors, so come browse our web store for goodies galore that cat lovers adore!

The magic of Russian nesting dolls cast a spell over me years ago. Like many of you, I can remember the first doll of my childhood, a Semenov 5-piece my great aunt brought back from a far-away place. It was enchanting. A simple nesting doll, it carried the spirit of the Old World, of a land of dragons, wizards, and kings’ castles. The land of Middle Earth, Gandalf, and Bilbo Baggins.

Now, Harry Potter is taking a new generation of dreamers there. A place where owls deliver mail and dragons do breathe fire.

We at Golden Cockerel honor the magic of fantasy and have had fun transfiguring the nesting doll into fanciful creations meant to remind us of legend, of forgotten worlds, of the child within. Owls, dragons, magicians, and more… Follow this link to discover what good magic we offer here: Swish-n-Flick!

Remember, have fun! Walton

Golden Cockerel has just made matryoshka collecting even more exciting with our exclusive Gold Club. When you join our club for a $20 annual membership fee, you'll receive 10% off every retail purchase you make at Golden Cockerel - even sale items. You'll also be informed of "Members Only" savings throughout the year, and receive a special anniversary gift when you renew your membership!

To pay homage to the century-old art form of the matryoshka, Golden Cockerel proudly introduces our "Rooster Girl" - a faithful replica of the first Russian nesting doll created in the 1890's by toy makers outside Moscow. This historical collector's item, limited to 2500 signed and numbered sets, will be released late this summer. You can pre-order yours NOW!

A new catalog of Russian Nesting Dolls from The Golden Cockerel was printed today! On sixteen pages you can find a selection of 152 full color photographs grouped on subject for your convenience. Placing an order has never been so easy!

Order your copy for a penny!