Registration
Attending Artists
Agenda
Event Notes
Event Product

Return to 1994 Event Map

The first Keepsake Ornament EXPO! – An exciting and memorable chance for collectors to meet Keepsake artists for ornament signing, participate in workshops, attend lectures and demonstrations, win fantastic prize sand enjoy lots of fun and surprises.

Event Dates: Saturday, September 10, 1994

Start Time:  9:00 a.m.
End Time:  5:00 p.m.

Location:

St. Charles Exhibition Hall
Mark Twain Hall
1355 South Fifth St.
St. Charles, MO 63301

Registration

Opens: July 23 – July 30 (at participating Hallmark stores)

Event Fees:  $10 with any $15 Keepsake Ornament purchase. (Open to Keepsake Collector’s Club members only.)

Attending Artists

Duane Unruh

Bob Siedler

Ed Seale

Agenda

Artist Signings

  • Each attendee could have one ornament signed per artist at the St. Louis EXPO, plus a Mrs. Claus’ Cupboard.  (The number of ornaments signed per artist was determined by the total number of registered attendees for each event.) Only current-year 1994 ornaments were allowed to be signed, excluding the 1993 “Santa’s Favorite Stop” and 1993 “Circle of Friendship”.
  • Artists were available to sign from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 am.; 11:20 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.; and 2:40 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.  Artists resumed at 5:20 p.m. for any remaining attendees who had not received their signatures.

Mrs. Claus’ Cupboard Shop

EXPO Souvenir Shop

  • Two of the six repainted Golden Old World Silver Collection ornaments were available at each of the eight regional events.
  • EXPO Sweatshirt
  • EXPO Pin
  • EXPO Single-Use Camera

Games

  • Play “Hallmark Keepsake Challenge” on the Spotlight Stage all throughout the day.

Presentations

  • Clara Johnson Scroggins (Main Expo Stage and Memories Stage)
  • Keepsake Collector’s Club Presentation – Rachel Perkal

Register-to-Win – Held at 5:00 p.m.

North Pole Photo Shop – Get your photo taken with Rodney and Rhonda Reindeer

Behind the Scenes

  • Artists’ Studio/Ornament Development Process
  • Sculpey Studio – Try your hand at ornament sculpting.
  • History of Keepsake Ornaments Exhibit
  • View the “Memories of Conventions” Past Video
  • 1995 Easter Keepsake Ornament Preview
  • View the 1994 Keepsake Ornament Collection

“Members Only” Keepsake Collector’s Club House

Collector’s Ornament Trees

Sign the World’s Largest Ornament – This ornament traveled to each EXPO where attendees could sign one side of it.  It also appeared at later year events.

Local Club Pin Swap

Event Notes

Rachel Perkal, Club manager for the Keepsake Ornament Collector’s Club, held 3 presentations throughout the day, which included a collector Q&A.

  • 14,000 club members in total registered for the 8 EXPO’s held in 1994.  St. Louis had the largest attendance of 5,000.  During her presentation, Rachel Perkal said Hallmark had been scared turn-out would be very low, which ended up not being the case.
  • Length of a Series is really based upon sales figures and nothing else.
  • There was no Rudolph in the Reindeer Champs series because the rights-holders would not allow him to appear doing human things, nor being dressed in clothes.
  • Merry Miniature sales are especially strong in the midwest and pricing on them would be more visible in the future.
  • Tissue paper was chosen this year due to it being more environmentally friendly than bubble wrap.  However, due to collector response they were switching back to bubble wrap mid-season.  Most 1994 ornaments are in tissue, however, some later releases will be in bubble wrap.
  • Collectors had overwhelmingly asked Hallmark to stop taping bubble wrap and to start using bubble wrap bags.
  • The “Caregiver” ornament name was chosen so it could represent multiple roles, like baby-sitter or care of an elderly parent.  However, they released there was a problem with the name and are looking to change it in the future and opened the floor to suggestions.
  • Hallmark was now committed to EXPOs in 1995 and 1996, but locations had not been chosen.
  • Hallmark only produces kids ornaments up to age of 5 because they feel beyond that age children have preferences of their own.
  • Box sizes on Series ornaments vary according to the size of the ornament.  It was stated there was a legal issues regarding packaging and that unless all the ornaments in the series were the same size, the boxes could not be uniformly sized.
  • Starting in 1993 Series boxes were white, regular line ornament boxes were burgundy, and Magic boxes were gold.
  • The 1995 membership kit would have more ornaments in it.
  • Starting in 1995, due to collector demand, the Dream Book would have Keepsake Artist attribution for all ornaments.

At the St. Louis event, attendees were encouraged to order Mrs. Claus’ Cupboard for delivery, instead of taking one home that day.  Due to production constraints they were trying to retain some for the following event.  As an incentive to do this, those who ordered received the “Patience is a Virtue” fortune cookie ornament as a gift.

Event Product


Other Register to Win items: 

  • Original Keepsake Artist Sketch (1 per event).
  • Warner Bros. Looney Tunes Christmas collection.
  • A complete Keepsake Miniature Ornament collection.

Note: Repaints (originally referred to as “mistakes”) introduced as event register-to-win door prizes. Unclaimed prizes were mailed to the lucky winners.