The Keepsake Studio spoke with Hallmark Artist Orville Wilson about his background and shared a glimpse of an ornament he created for 2025.

Orville: “I’ve been working at Hallmark for 28 years and have been in every department you can think of that has to do with art—from greeting cards to gift products to marketing to packaging and finally to Keepsake Ornaments, where I’ve been since 2007. Before I started at Hallmark I worked on screen printing and trading cards, and my educational background is in commercial art and graphic design. Throughout the years, I started learning 3D design on my own and now use this self-taught skill every day as a Keepsake artist.”

Orville: “I’m excited to be working on two series that have been passed down to me: Toymaker Santa and Nostalgic Houses and Shops. I spend a lot of time working pop culture or fandom ornaments, which I love, but these original Keepsake Ornament series give me an opportunity to try new things and come up with brand-new ideas. It’s fun to research and ask, ‘Where can this series go next? How can I put my own twist on it?’”

Orville: “I’m so happy I inherited this series with so much history. Toymaker Santa was originally created by Ken Crow in 1999. Ken passed it down to Robert Hurlburt when he retired, and when Robert retired he passed it to me—and now, I get to put my own spin on it and incorporate new toys that kids are playing with today. For the 2025 ornament, I was inspired by the idea that Santa travels all around the world delivering gifts. In some parts of the world, kids can still swim at Christmastime, so Santa is bringing them gifts for the pool. It was really fun to give him colorful goggles, flippers and floaties. One of my favorite details is the fluffy tail on the back of the reindeer floatie! Another Easter egg for our fans is that the toy boat is the same one I designed for a Keepsake Studio collaboration ornament a few years back.’”

Toymaker Santa
26th in the series.