Joanne Wright Studio: Retro Wreath
Retro Wreath
By Joanne Wright Studios
We’re excited to share this one-of-a-kind wreath Joanne Wright Studio has created for an upcoming signing event in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Secondary Market Show & Signing Event
April 19th & 20th
From 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
New Salem Methodist Church
7516 Twin Creek Rd.
Knoxville, TN 37920
Artist: Joanne Wright
Hosted by: Hallmark Volunteers
2024 Sneak Peek: Joanne Wright Studio
From hand sculpting out of clay, to molding, to hand painting and adding the finishing attachments, no detail is too small
In addition to the previously announced hand painted resin Santa decor, Joan Wright Studio will release a Black Santa (also in limited quantities) and a hand painted Retro Santa in a ceramic boot mug (in uber-limited quantities). The three pieces will be available on Monday, July 1, 2024!
Retro Santa
Retro Christmas Collection
Retro Santa
Retro Christmas Collection
Santa with Mug
Retro Christmas Collection
2024 Sneak Peek
Here are more sneak peeks from the 2024 Keepsake Ornament line.
Cookie Cutter Christmas
13th in the series.
Cozy Critters
Special Edition
Partridge in a Pear Tree
The 12 Days of Christmas
1st in the series.
Reindeer Games
Dr. Finkelsteins Observatory
Disney Tim Burton’s
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Tree Topper
2024 Reveal: Dream Book Cover
2024 Dream Book Cover Reveal
The 2024 Dream Book is coming your way in April. Until then, here is a peek at this year’s cover.
2024 Sneak Peek: DUNE
Paul Atreides
DUNE, Part Two
In honor of the theatrical release of DUNE, Part Two here is a sneak peek of this year’s Paul Atreides Keepsake Ornament. Available in October.
2024 Seek & Find: PEANUTS®
Rise and Shine!
Beagle Scouts 5oth Anniversary
The PEANUTS® Gang
This year Beagle Scout Keepsake Ornament, Rise and Shine! has been unearthed by a diligent collector. Everything is pointing to this being an early-release ornament.
2024 Sneak Peek: Yellowstone
Dutton Ranch Barn
YELLOWSTONE
Here is a sneak peek of a 2024 Keepsake ornament featuring the Dutton Ranch barn from YELLOWSTONE, the iconic television drama series.
2024 Artist Insights: Snoring Santa
So, does the big guy snore? You bet he does! And Keepsake Artist Matt Johnson captured it in his animatronic Snoring Santa ornament, available in July.
Matt Johnson
Matt shares how it all began. “We’ve been using animatronics for licensed ornaments, but we wanted to explore what we could do with a classic Christmas design. The initial concept came from our team looking through images in the Hallmark archives. They found an illustration Charlie Hadley had created of Santa nodding off in a chair with a plate of cookies. From there it was up to me to reinterpret it in the sculpting process.”
Snoring Santa
Imagination and research played a big part in inspiring Matt as he prepared to bring Snoring Santa to life. “I was imagining Santa finally getting back home after a long night delivering presents. He’s worn out and finally able to rest and have a snack in his favorite chair. It reminds me of seeing my grandfather napping on the sofa after good meal.
“I also looked at a lot of photos of people chilling in armchairs and took a bit of inspiration from the 1980s Maxell audio tape ad called ‘Blown Away.’ Sculpting someone sleeping can be tiring, but that’s what cookies and coffee are for!”
While Matt did all the sculpting work (energized by cookies and coffee), he says it took great teamwork to bring the sound and motion to this ornament. “I worked closely with Charles Young (Art Director), Samantha Heryford (Engineer) and Lindsay Evans (Editorial). We loved the idea of Santa’s whiskers and the plate of cookies moving up and down on top of Santa’s belly in time with his snoring. Samantha provided me with the mechanics and general parameters to work from, and Lindsay developed the great audio with our sound studio.”
While Santa definitely needs his rest, you can also wake him up with the push of a button to hear him speak. Matt’s looking forward to your reactions to the ornament—and to people seeing it on his tree as well. “I think it will be fun to see how people respond when they come into my home. They’ll hear the snoring coming from my Christmas tree and then they’ll have to figure out where the sound is coming from. There is some discovery involved, and it’s pretty funny. Don’t wake up Santa!” (But do pick him up at Ornament Premiere!)
Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments. “Behind the scenes with Matt Johnson about his Snoring Santa ornament! Ccming at Ornament Premiere in July.” Keepsake Ornament Club Facebook Page, February 28, 2024. https://www.facebook.com/groups/KOCMembers/posts/3598560493717282/
2024 Sneak Peek: Sandal the Snowman
Our favorite sandman is back again! For the third ornament in this sunny series, artist Allie Robillard transformed Sandal into Santa. Will you be scooping up this cutie at Ornament Premiere in July?
Sandal the Snowman
3rd in the series
Ornament Spotlight: Rainbow Lorikeet
KOC-exclusive Rainbow
Lorikeet
coming in July
We have a feeling this
one will fly off the shelves!
Rainbow
Lorikeet
Member Exclusive
Keepsake Artist Emma Leturgez-Smith’s newest club-exclusive ornament will brighten any perch on your tree. And it seems destiny took over when deciding what this ornament would be.
Emma explains, “The decision was almost made for me in a weird, fated way. For one of our virtual events in 2022, all the studio artists did a short video with Santa. Those videos were compiled together and shared with club members.
“For my video, the Kansas City Zoo was kind enough to allow our crew to come in and film me in the Rainbow Lorikeet cage! We all showed up bright and early, and I was the first to feed them that day, so they were very eager to see the grapes and fruit nectar cups I had. It didn’t take long before I was covered in parrots. I had so much fun—how could I not create a Rainbow Lorikeet ornament after that!”
Lorikeets are common backyard birds in Australia, and Emma’s knowledge of their habits gave her the perfect inspiration for this beauty’s perch.
“I wanted to try a different type of flower shape. Lorikeets in the wild are fond of bottlebrush flowers, both as a place to hang out and as a food source. A brightly colored pipe cleaner gives a similar fluffy look for this bird’s flower perch.”
An avid bird lover, Emma has three birds in her little flock at home, each with its own distinct personality. She says, “Though I don’t have a Rainbow Lorikeet, one of my parrots does share a few of the same colors. It’s incredible how vibrant the colors are. And Rainbow Lorikeets are very playful and curious, so I gave this one a little head tilt to convey a cute, inquisitive look. To me, the pose is saying the lorikeet is ready to listen to whatever you have to say—or maybe it’s singing a Christmas song!”at they’re peeking at…only they know what ornaments are on their Wish List!
Remember, this ornament is available only to club members. You can pick yours up at Ornament Premiere in July!
“KOC-exclusive Rainbow Lorikeet coming in July.” For Keeps 23 Spring 2024: 3-4.