2015 Reveal: Event-Exclusive Keepsake Ornaments and itty bittys®
Exclusive products will be available at Star Wars Celebration, Comic-Con and D23 Expo
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (April 14, 2015) — Hallmark continues its participation at the nation’s largest pop culture fan gatherings with Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments and itty bittys® plush collectibles exclusively developed for 2015 events.
As previously announced, a pair of Keepsake Ornaments and a pair of itty bittys will be sold this week in limited quantities at Star Wars Celebration, scheduled April 16-19 in Anaheim, Calif.:
An Epic Vision, Star Wars: A New Hope™– This Keepsake Ornament two-pack features Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader locked in a heated lightsaber duel as inspired by the concept art for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, by the famed artist Ralph McQuarrie. An Epic Vision has a total production run of 2,000 and sales will be limited to 500 per day ($40 per set).
Bossk and Dengar, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back™ – This Celebration-exclusive itty bittys two-pack features the fearsome bounty hunters seen in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. This bounty hunter two-pack has a total production run of 2,200 and sales will be limited to 550 per day ($20 per set).
Three ornament designs and a pair of itty bittys will be sold in limited quantities at Comic-Con International, to be held July 9-12 in San Diego, Calif., and at New York Comic Con, set for October 8-11 in New York City:
Batman Classic TV Series Batmobile, BATMAN™ – Featuring dialogue and sound directly from the 1960’s Batman Classic TV Series, this Keepsake Ornament depicts the series’ iconic George Barris design for Batman’s ride, styled all in chrome rather than its traditional black paint job.
Xenomorph: From Egg to Alien, Alien – Inspired by the 1979 science-fiction/horror classic Alien, this Keepsake Ornament created exclusively for event sales depicts a fully grown humanoid alien crouched next to an egg from which a fellow creature will be spawned.
U-3PO and R5-D4, Star Wars: A New Hope™ – This Keepsake Ornament two-pack created especially for event sales features droids that first appeared in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The humanoid protocol droid U-3PO served aboard Princess Leia’s consular ship while the astromech droid R5-D4 was offered for sale by Jawa traders to moisture farmer Owen Lars on Tatooine.
Boba Fett and Han Solo in Carbonite, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back™ – The latest in Hallmark’s itty bittys line with this exclusive two-pack of the armored bounty hunter and his prisoner as seen in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.
An exclusive Keepsake Ornament and a pair of itty bittys will only be available at the Disney-themed D23 Expo 2015, scheduled Aug. 14-16 in Anaheim, Calif.:
The Band Concert – Based on a Keepsake Ornament produced in 2013, this version sports a black-and-white paint scheme for Mickey Mouse and friends, and features light, sound and motion. This event-exclusive ornament celebrates the 80th anniversary of the short film’s release.
Cinderella and Prince Charming – Cinderella and Prince Charming come to Hallmark’s itty bittys line dressed in their finest wedding attire. This two-pack celebrates the 65th anniversary of Disney’s classic animated feature film of the fairy tale.
Additional details about prices and production runs for each exclusive product, as well as Hallmark’s plans for each event will be announced closer to the respective dates.
For more information on Keepsake Ornaments, itty bittys and Hallmark’s other popular licensed character gifts, visit your local Hallmark Gold Crown store or shop online at Hallmark.com.
An Epic Vision
Star Wars™
Set of 2 ornaments.
Dengar™ & Bossk™
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back™
itty bittys®
Bounty hunter two-pack
Battman Classic TV Series Batmobile™
BATMAN™
From Egg to Alien
Alien
U-3PO™ and R2-D4™
Star Wars: A New Hope™
Set of two ornaments.
Han Solo™ in Carbonite & Boba Fett™
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back™
itty bittys®
two-pack
The Band Concert
Mickey Mouse
Cinderella & Prince Charming
itty bittys®
two-pack
The 2015 Dream Book is Here!
A digital copy of the 2015 Dream Book is now available. To view it and/or download a copy CLICK HERE.
Throwback: Father Christmas
In 2004 Hallmark introduced collectors to Father Christmas, a handcrafted and fabric Santa series inspired by classic images. Learn about how Keepsake Artist Joanne Eschrich, with the help of her mother, creates this popular series.
Father Christmas
Old-World Figure Brings Joyful Messages
While Christians agree that the purpose of Christmas is celebrating the birth of Jesus, the holiday’s secular traditions are recognized in a variety of ways around the world. In many countries, St. Nicholas, Kris Kringle, or Father Christmas—not Santa Claus—represents the season’s spirit of goodwill.
Keepsake artist Joanne Eschrich’s parents were born in the Azores Islands of Portugal. As Joanne grew up, expensive gifts weren’t the focus of her family’s holiday.
“Christmas was all about the nativity for us,” she says. “And beyond that, it was about the meaning of generosity and peace. We were told about St. Nicholas, who lived a long time ago and helped poor children.”
When asked to design an ornament series to honor that uplifting spirit of Christmas, Joanne turned to old-world traditions to create Father Christmas, a series introduced in 2004 with an ornament entitled Peace.
Father Christmas
3rd in the series.
Each ornament in the series brings and inspiring message written on a scroll that Father Christmas carries in a bag, along with symbols reflecting the message. In selling her idea for the series to Keepsake management, Joanne researched and drew concepts for ten ornaments, each with its own message, icons, and color scheme. The Father Christmas of Peace is adorned in white with a dove, a heart, and a staff topped with a laurel wreath. For Harmony (2005), Father Christmas carries musical instruments, and in Wonder (2006) he holds gifts and a snowflake staff and wears a blue coat decorated with stars.
Joanne sculpts her characters individually in wax, giving each a unique sense of vitality and appearance of movement. All prototypes were painted and assembled by hand.
And here’s another family connection for Joanne—the bags holding her Father Christmas’s messages were all created by her mother, Leona. A professional seamstress, Joanne’s mother not only sews the bags for each ornament prototype but also helps Joanne design the rich fabric coats that each Father Christmas wears. Joanne is clearly grateful for her mother’s help. “I still run my ideas by my mom,” she smiles. “Of course, I have to work around her busy schedule.”
In terms of popularity, Joanne says Father Christmas has been the high point of her Keepsake career, which began in 1996. “I’ve signed more of these ornaments than anything else I’ve done so far,” she says.
For that she can give partial credit to her family heritage. But the attraction of such enduring ideas as Peace, Harmony, and Wonder also help make Father Christmas a welcome holiday messenger.
Reprint of: “Father Christmas, Old-World Figure Brings Joyful Messages” Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments, The Inside Stories From the Artists Who Create Them by John Peterson.
2016 Sneak Peek: The World of Frosty Friends
The World of Frosty Friends fun will continue in 2016 with the release of a new mantelscape piece.
The World of Frosty Friends
Mantelscape/Tabletop
Features Frosty, on one end of a teeter-totter, and his friends (a husky pup, a polar bear and a penguin) on the other end. An orca calf gives Frosty a little lift from below. Magic-cord.
Connect this table decoration to the Magic-cord for a continuous light effect. Press button to activate a sound and light show. Base lights up. By Tom Best.
2015 Mystery Ornaments – NO PEEKING!
It’s a fairy surprise—the very first fairy in the beloved Fairy Messengers series has come back this year as the exclusive mystery ornament. The Poinsettia Fairy has been repainted with a white poinsettia with gold accents.
There is also another special version with golden wings. Will your box hold one of the truly golden fairies? You’ll have to wait until you open the box to find out.
Fairy Surprise
Mystery Ornament
Repaint of 2005
1st in the Fairy Messengers series
NOTE: Each package contains either a beautifully repainted first-in-series Poinsettia Fairy or (a limited version) of the same repainted ornament with golden wings.
Each fairy ornament is placed in a non-see-through bag and then randomly boxed (using a single uniform box design) and sealed.
Consumers will only be able to discover which design they received after purchase. “All sales are final. No refunds, returns or exchanges.”
New Mystery Ornament – An ornament whose design is modified to create different variations and then packaged using a single uniform box design, thus creating a concealed random sample. In addition to having the Keepsake box sealed, the ornament is sealed in a non-see-through bag to prevent peeking! Each ornament is sealed in a box. Product packaging is marked, “All Sales Final. No refunds, returns or exchanges.”
ADDITIONAL HISTORICAL INFORMATION
During the 2011 Ornament Debut, Hallmark released a New Frosty Mystery Ornament blank painted in three different ways including: Hawaiian Frosty (By Tom Best), Toymaker Frosty (By Ken Crow) and Kris’ Penguin Frosty (By Kristina Gaughran). In 2012 the Frosty Mystery ornament returned with three new editions: Astronaut Frosty (By Tom Best), Winter Fairy (By Kristina Gaughran) and Frosty’s Sweet Ride (By Tammy Haddix). A new set of Frosty Mystery ornaments by Tom Best including: Germany Frosty, Queen’s Guard Frosty and Cowboy Frosty were issued in 2013. In 2014 there was a sweet twist. The Sweet Surprise Mystery Ornaments were a repaint of the 1st in series Christmas Cupcake from 2010.
2015 Sneak Peek: Halloween
The 2015 Halloween Keepsake ornament offerings include:
Cookie Cutter Halloween
Dia de Los Muertos
Happy Halloween!
3rd in the series.
Oogie Boogie
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas
Sweet Skull
This is a reissue from 2014.
ADDITIONAL HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Halloween Keepsake ornaments debuted in 2003. Among the introductory offerings were 8 coordinating ornaments: Van Ghoul (QFO6007), Sneakaboo (QFO6009), Mr. Tap Happy (QFO6017), Zephyr (QFO6019), Acrobats (QFO6029), Mesmerelda (QFO6039), Midnight Serenade (QFO6047), Stack O’Lanterns (QFO6049) and a display piece, 1300 Oak Road (QFO6037) for this collection.
Throwback: First Keepsake Miniature Ornament Set
“Tiny Tea Party” combines the nostalgia of an old-fashioned tea set with the playfulness of a band of frolicking mice.
Imagine a friendly band of tiny mice filling the air with merriment as they host their own little tea party. Hallmark artist Ed Seale had visions of such a party when he created “Tiny Tea Party,” the first Keepsake Miniature Ornament set ever offered.
Tiny Tea Party
set of 6 ornaments
As the 1991 miniature line was coming together, Lorrie Kreit, who helped develop the offering, proposed designing a whole miniature scale tea set. Then Seale envisioned merry little mice inside the dishes, and the idea for “Tiny Tea Party” was on its way.
“From the beginning, I wanted to use mice because their size fits in with a miniature set like this one, and they just seemed perfect,” Seale says. Other animals such as bunnies and chipmunks were considered, but mice won out.
Seale and the Keepsakes staff wanted the six-dish set to resemble a real glazed china tea set, so the dishes were made from fine porcelain.
“We wanted the set to be a little piece of nostalgia,” he said.
And the mice, who are having their own little party, add a hint of fun and playfulness. One of the mice, “Teacup Taster,” is busily stirring while “Teacup Lounger” appears in a moment of quiet repose as he takes a break from the festivities.
All six pieces can either hang from a tree or stand on a table, mantel or other setting in your home.
Reprint of: “Tiny Tea Party,” First Keepsake Miniature Ornament Set, Serves Up Fun and Nostalgia
Collector’s Courier: Volume Five, Number One 1991
NOTE: For a complete listing of all Ed Seale’s beloved tiny mice sets and other coordinating pieces, click on the “Unofficial series” button (located on the right sidebar) and then scroll down to “Tiny Mice Sets.”
Meet Hallmark Keepsake Artist, Joanne Eschrich
Though not an official Keepsake artist signing event, you can meet Joanne Eschrich and see her new Hallmark Artist Collection faith gifts on May 2 at Ashwina’s Hallmark in Sierra Vista, AZ.
Date: Saturday, May 2, 2015
Ashwina’s Hallmark
Sierra Vista Plaza
2160 E Fry Blvd.
Sierra Vista, AZ 85635
(520) 458-0922
2015 KOC Dream Book Cover (UPDATED)
KOC members, get excited! The 2015 Keepsake Ornament Club Collectors Edition Dream Book will start shipping on Monday. That is in only SIX DAYS!
The cover of the KOC Dream Book showcases the 16th in the Toymaker Santa series. By Ken Crow. Which features Santa wearing a baseball cap while riding on a toy tractor.
If you look closely, Toymaker Santa’s hat has a crow on it. When Ken Crow was a little boy, he remembers watching his grandpa write letters on special stationery. Every letter had an image of a crow in a side view silhouette. Ken has always identified with that image and even takes a little crow figurine with him on trips and signing events.
UPDATE: (4.8.15) Keep an eye on your mailbox as the 2015 Keepsake Ornament Club Collectors Edition Dream Book has started to ship and has repordly been received by a few lucky KOC members.
ADDITIONAL HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Although the first booklet containing a pictorial review of the then current Keepsake ornament line was released in ’79, it wasn’t until ’90 that the “Dream Book” name was first included on the cover of the annual Keepsake Ornament catalog.
Featured Artist: Ruth Donikowski
Title:
Hallmark Senior Artist
(Retired)
Started at Hallmark:
October 1987
Started at Keepsakes:
January 2008
Hometown:
Born in
Paterson, New Jersey
Grew up in
Fair Lawn, New Jersey
Ruth Donikowski loves working with different kinds of materials—glass, metal, porcelain, fabric—you name it. Learn about the materials she used for some of her favorites in this year’s Hallmark Keepsake Ornament collection, and how the artist’s previous career as a baker helped prepare her.
In 1976, Ruth Donikowski and her husband, who worked for Macy’s, moved to Kansas City from Montclair, New Jersey, where Ruth had been an art teacher. At the time, Ruth took a job making food miniatures in a shop at Crown Center, across from Hallmark headquarters.
She used salt dough to make tiny, collectible replicas of hot dogs and hamburgers, creating dozens at a time. She then sealed the dough with varnish so the little novelty items would be moisture-proof. At the time, Ruth had no way of knowing that skill would come in handy again someday.
“I always wanted to work for Hallmark and thought it would be a distinct possibility,” Ruth said. Shortly after that, she started freelancing for Hallmark and was hired full-time in 1987. She officially became a Keepsake artist in 2008.
One of Ruth’s recent projects afforded her the opportunity to put her culinary skills to work once again, creating miniature treats for the tree this time.
Petite Treat
1 of the Extra Exclusives you can buy with a 2015 Keepsake Ornament Club membership.
Although this one’s made from styrene instead of dough, it still took Ruth on a trip down memory lane. “Just seeing that little cupcake as a miniature—it made me so happy,” she said.
This 2015 KOC exclusive ornament has an added bonus, it is a mini replica of the Christmas Cupcake series ornament to be released in 2016! In the final version of the full-size series piece, the peppermint you see on top will actually be made from two pieces of fabric rolled together and sliced. And what looks more like frosting on this ornament will become individual pieces of “coconut” on the series ornament.
Tasty Tannenbaum
6th in the Christmas Cupcake series
How do you get fabric to look like frosting? Well, this year’s Christmas Cupcake series ornament features a layering technique called “ruching.”
Ruth described it this way: “You run the stitching this way and that way, diagonally, and then there’s a running, gathering stitch straight down through the diagonal lines. And when you pull all of that, it takes it all up, and the fabric ruches.” The technique sounds fairly complex, but that’s just another day in the office for Ruth, who has tremendous skill as a seamstress to go along with her many other design talents.
Like every cupcake in the series, the base or “wrapper” is made of styrene and then painted to coordinate. Then as a finishing touch she added tiny plastic hearts and chunky glitter as the “sprinkles.”
Radiant Cross
One of the things that Ruth loves best about her job is that she gets to work with so many different kinds of materials. And there’s no better proof of that than this elegant cross.
A combination of glass and metal, the cross was inspired by Ruth’s fondness for camphor glass, a material used in a lot of vintage necklaces, pins and other antique jewelry. Ruth actually collects camphor jewelry, so she had plenty of research material to get her started on the project.
She used a vintage camphor piece for inspiration and crafted digital drawings from various angles for the engineers and the manufacturer. The front of the glass is smooth and the back has cut lines that feel like ridges. The edging of the cross is metal. The middle piece is a crystal, and the corners feature metal filigree.
Always Remembered
Another material that Ruth is quite fond of: porcelain. So that was an easy choice for the nautilus shell. “Porcelain is just a beautiful medium,” she said. “It’s very elegant.”
The nautilus is a natural symbol of the infinite, which obviously ties in seamlessly with the intention of the ornament. In small gold lettering, it says: “The ones we’ve lost are found in our memories.”
The ocean theme of the piece also made her think of growing up in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, and spending summer days on the Jersey Shore, which she visited again just last summer.
“I’ve always had an attraction to the ocean,” Ruth said. “I just love the sea and all the things that come from it.”
She created the mockup from paper clay after researching shells as part of her personal craft projects. “I like to take vintage bottles and solder sea shells onto them,” Ruth said. “Just another tribute to the sea.”