The Smallest Moo-seum
Watertown woman brings 40 collectable cows to NU’s Smallest Museum
Dani Daniels stands alongside her "Smallest Moo-seum" exhibit. Daniels said she has over 200 total, with around 40 in the exhibit. (Photo by Olivia Haggerty)
Forty porcelain cow creamers from Dani Daniels' 200-piece collection are on display through Oct. 29 in The Smallest Museum in Minnesota outside The Grand. (Photo by Olivia Haggerty)
CLEMENTINE: Daniels' favorite piece in the exhibit, a 1920s cow creamer with orange polka dots she calls "Clementine" for its bright colors. (Photo by Dani Daniels)
Daniels said she chose favorites and had family members pick theirs. (Photo by Olivia Haggerty)
Dani Daniels stands alongside her "Smallest Moo-seum" exhibit. Daniels said she has over 200 total, with around 40 in the exhibit. (Photo by Olivia Haggerty)
Forty porcelain cow creamers from Dani Daniels' 200-piece collection are on display through Oct. 29 in The Smallest Museum in Minnesota outside The Grand. (Photo by Olivia Haggerty)
CLEMENTINE: Daniels' favorite piece in the exhibit, a 1920s cow creamer with orange polka dots she calls "Clementine" for its bright colors. (Photo by Dani Daniels)
Daniels said she chose favorites and had family members pick theirs. (Photo by Olivia Haggerty)
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NEW ULM -- Forty porcelain cow creamers from a 200-piece collection are on display on Minnesota Street as part of The Smallest Museum in Minnesota exhibit.
The collection comes from Watertown artist Dani Daniels.
“My collection started 25 years ago,” Daniels said. “My husband’s grandparents gave us a Christmas gift that included a creamer along with matching salt and pepper shakers. That was the exact piece that started everything.”
Daniels said her full collection has grown significantly since receiving that first set.
“I have over 200 cow creamers in total at home,” Daniels said. “For this specific display in New Ulm, we brought about 40 pieces to fit inside the cabinet shelves.”
She said her interest in the items comes from the design choices made by various manufacturers over the decades.
“I think they have the sweetest faces, and I love seeing all of the variations that different countries and artists come up with,” Daniels said. “Every single maker has a completely different way of shaping the features.”
The form has a long history in ceramic production. The first cow creamers were made in Dutch silver during the 17th century. English potteries in Staffordshire began making ceramic versions around 1740. The design had a revival in the 1950s through the 1970s when factories in Japan, Germany, and England exported them to the United States as farmhouse kitchenware.
The creamer remains functional as tabletop serving ware. Cream is poured into an opening in the back of the figure and pours directly out from the mouth. The curved tail often forms the handle.
“My collection includes pieces from Japan, France, Germany, and the former Czechoslovakia,” Daniels said. “Each piece is marked by its country of origin stamped or pressed right on the bottom.”
She said finding new additions to the collection requires searching a variety of sources.
“I love finding them online, at thrift shops, at antique stores, and receiving them as gifts from friends and family,” Daniels said. “People who know I collect them will often send them to me when they run across one.”
Her favorite piece in the New Ulm exhibit is an antique figure dating back to the 1920s.
“The one I call ‘Clementine’ with the orange polka dots is my favorite in this show,” Daniels said. “It is from the 1920s and I love the bright colors on it.”
Clementine is white with bright orange spots, black horns, and a black tail that forms the handle. The piece sits on the middle shelf of the display cabinet.
The most unusual piece in the exhibit is not a traditional full-standing cow figure.
“The green cylinder shaped one with the cow head on top is very different than the traditional ones,” Daniels said. “That specific design comes from Japan.”
That piece is a cylindrical container featuring a three-dimensional cow head lid. It differs from the four-legged standing form that makes up most of the collection.
Other pieces in the exhibit include a blue and white Delft-style cow made in Japan, a floral chintz cow decorated with pink, yellow, and blue flowers, a black and white Holstein, a white calf, and a cow featuring gold horns and green clover detail.
Daniels said selecting which items to feature in the display required input from her family and followers.
“I chose some of my favorites, and also had family members pick theirs,” Daniels said. “We wanted a mix of colors, eras, and styles to fill out the three shelves.”
She said she also turned to social media to finalize the selections.
“We also took groups of four and had people vote on our social media pages,” Daniels said. “It helped us narrow down which specific cows made the trip to New Ulm.”
The voting process involved posting four cows at a time to her Instagram page and asking followers to vote on their favorites.
Daniels grew up on a dairy farm in Minnesota. A photograph of her childhood family farm is placed in the background of the cabinet to provide context for the collection and connect the ceramic cows to her early exposure to cattle.
“Growing up on a dairy farm gave me an appreciation for cows early on,” Daniels said. “Putting the farm photo behind the creamers links the display back to where that connection started.”
The exhibit also features a small inclusion representing her family pet.
“Our family includes my husband, our five kids, and our corgi Mr. Ted,” Daniels said. “Mr. Ted is represented right inside the exhibit alongside the cows.”
Mr. Ted is represented by a small dog figure placed among the creamers on the bottom shelf of the cabinet.
Daniels said she hopes passersby enjoy seeing the variety of items in the window.
“I hope that the happiness derived from seeing all of their faces, colors, and details gives everyone a smile,” Daniels said. “Smiles are contagious when people walk past.”
She said her family spent time visiting local businesses after setting up the installation.
“We enjoyed exploring around New Ulm after we finished installing the exhibit, and are excited to go back and see more,” Daniels said. “It was great walking through the downtown area.”
The family visited downtown shops and restaurants after completing the setup. Daniels said they plan to return to the area before the exhibit concludes.
The collection continues to expand as she travels and searches for new historical forms.
“We are hoping in the coming years to travel more and find some abroad,” Daniels said. “We may have to figure out another way to display them as they are getting crowded in their current spot.”
Daniels is the owner of The Cookie Store MN and Hey Sugar! located at 607 Jefferson Ave. SW in Watertown. She said her professional background in baking began after receiving regional recognition.
“I have been decorating cookies for friends and family for almost 30 years,” Daniels said. “I turned it into a business in 2014 after winning a ribbon from Gold Medal Flour at the Minnesota State Fair.”
She operates her retail gift shop in Watertown alongside her online cookie business. Her husband, whom she refers to as the Bagel Guy, works with her in their business ventures.
Daniels can be found at @cookiestoremn on Instagram. The exhibit remains viewable 24 hours a day outside The Grand Center for Arts & Culture at 210 N. Minnesota St. through Oct. 29.