Adan Chung
Hallmark Artist

The Keepsake Studio caught up with Hallmark Artist Adan Chung to talk about what’s ahead in 2026 and to share a look at an ornament he designed for this year.

Adan: “Honestly, I’m not sure! The first design of mine that became a Keepsake Ornament was 2010’s Smiling Soldier, sculpted by Kristina Kline (now Gaughran). So I probably started designing that one in 2008. Throughout the years, I’ve been called in for multiple brainstorming sessions with the Keepsake Studio. The first ornament I was totally responsible for was 2020’s Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer.

I started working for Hallmark back in 2005 in the Greetings Studio. After about 2 years on that team, I moved over to Gifts where I stayed for 6–7 years. After that, I moved over to the Hallmark Ornaments team and have been there ever since!”

Adan: “I have an older brother with whom I shared a room with while growing up. We’re a year and a half apart in age, and we’re roughly the same size in physique. My brother moved away for college during his sophomore year, but our room was still “our” room—two beds, two dressers, etc. One day, he was getting ready to head back to school. I walked into our bedroom and saw a pair of black dress pants hanging off the foot of my bed. I looked over at my brother, as he was casually doing whatever he was doing, picked up the pants and tossed them on his bed. He looks over at me and asks me what I’m doing, to which I respond that those pants aren’t mine. He says that they aren’t his either. The tossing goes back and forth a few times, with mounting frustration on both our parts. I ended up giving up and walking away.

My brother eventually returned to school and, a few days later, I was pulling a pair of pants out of my dresser when I spotted the dress pants conveniently folded and placed under another few pairs of my pants. How dastardly! I took those pants and jammed them into his dresser. If memory serves me, I believe I brought those pants up in a phone conversation, and my brother busted out laughing.

Over the next decade or so, those pants would find their way into each of our possessions when we least expected it. Whenever he came home or when I went to visit him, the pants would come along. Both of us tried to find clever ways to sneak those pants into the other’s luggage or stash them somewhere in the house. We would wait until after the last-minute check before leaving for the airport to quickly stuff them in the luggage. We would employ the help of other family members to distract each other, wewould use the pants as “packing peanuts” when we sent each other birthday or Christmas gifts, and sometimes the pants WERE the gift.

It all ended when, eventually, I needed a pair of black slacks. I didn’t have a pair that I wore for special occasions, but I remembered I had the pants! Would they fit after all these years? I wasn’t exactly the same size as when these shenanigans started. I pulled them out and looked them over. For all the pants had been through, they were still in good condition! I tried them on and, lo and behold, they fit great! So, obviously, there’s no way those were mine to begin with!”

Cozy Critters
10th in the series.

Adan: “Oh, that would have to be Cozy Critters #10! This ornament is a chubby, little Purple Finch sitting on a branch, enjoying a brisk winter breeze. I inherited this series, so I approached this design trying to retain as much of the existing feel as I could, while still bringing in my own artistry.

I knew the series featured North American birds in winter, so I first had to decide which bird to do. I did some research, came up with a list and picked one that seemed to fit well with the series. All the previous ornaments featured a bird, branch and clothing, so I wanted to keep all those pieces. But I have an animation background, so I decided to add a little bit of expression to the bird’s face. I designed it with closed eyes and a great big smile! I also wanted the scarf flowing as if the bird were enjoying a gust of wind blowing past. I chose the colors, drew the sculpt from a bunch of different angles, then started on the approval process. It was so fun seeing the paint colors and details when the first samples arrived. That part always feels like magic—voilà!

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