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Edythe Kegrize
Hallmark Master Designer

On Tuesday, June 23, 2105 Hallmark Master Designer, Edythe Kegrize chatted with collectors via Facebook. Here is a synopsis of that chat that highlights most of the questions and responses. Please note the chat is not in chronological order and has been grouped by subject and edited for brevity.

The Beauty of Birds

Edythe: I have always loved birds, my Great Grandmother would always give me table scraps when she was cooking so I could go out and feed the birds.

Edythe: Not just yet, but it is on my list. The Robin is such an iconic bird and the first sign of spring so I believe it will be important to include at some point.

Marc Mirabal: The American Robin is one of the most popular birds in North America. It has close ties to Christmas and yet has not been included in the series. Is there a reason that it hasn’t been included in the series being that less common birds have been released?

Edythe: I totally agree that it is an essential bird to include, so it is on my short list! When selecting birds for the series I always look for range of color and striking pattern.

Edythe: No plans at the moment. But I do have a 4ft one of my own with a branch in it that I use to display my collection.

Edythe: I would love for that to be the case if I had my way absolutely. Owls do not fit within the current Beauty of Birds series, but I have been brainstorming about birds beyond North American Songbirds, Owls or shorebirds would be really fun to create!

Edythe: I haven’t done one yet, but it is a possibility as we continue to explore different ideas for Halloween.

Western Tanager
The Beauty of Birds
11th in the series.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Five Golden Rings
Twelve Days of Christmas
5th in the series.

Edythe: If I had my way it would, but I think the Maids-a-Milking will require a different solution.

Edythe: Sorry to disappoint, but right now I am thinking of focusing on the Maid.

Other Work

Edythe: Not at the moment, but I do have more ideas that I would love to see come to life.

Edythe: The furniture is one of my favorite things to work on! I am working on something now, but not quite ready to share yet. What would you like to see?

Renee Micallef: Kitchen Table & Chairs, Mrs. Claus’s Refrigerator? I’d love a Keepsakes Claus house that we can put our stove, sink, and armoire in.

Edythe: That all sounds really good to me! Right now I am working on something outside of the kitchen, but would love to get back into my favorite spot. My grandmother’s kitchen was wonderful and I love recreating elements of it.

Edythe: We did explore creating that piece for retail, but unfortunately weren’t able to produce it at the same quality of those at the 2013 Event for a cost that was reasonable. I am disappointed since it was such a wonderful way to display kitchen and treat themed ornaments.

Mrs. Claus’s Cupboard

Edythe: The Keepsake Cupcakes series in a year is one of the new series for 2015 that I am very excited to be a part of. I did the concept work for the 1st in series, A Little Crab Cake as well as Nest Sweet Nest. I collaborated with Katrina Bricker who brought my designs to life in her wonderful sculpts.

The crab cupcake was particularly fun because it was inspired by the summers I spent at the beach as a child and who doesn’t love a sweet treat! It is a great combination of the two.

Edythe:  Actually, the little crab is part of my memories of summers spent by the sea. Those that nibbled at my toes while swimming or the bait thieves I reeled in instead of a fish, as well as the fun crab imagery that was often found on local restaurant signage.

Miscellaneous

Edythe: I have have been designing ornaments for my whole life really, starting with crafts as a kid.* I started my career in Hallmark in greeting cards but always had them on my radar, since I love 3D work.

*It seems fitting that what I enjoyed the most as a child was decorating the house and making ornaments for the tree. I couldn’t wait for the magazines with holiday ideas to come out where I often picked up a new formula for homemade modeling materials. I’m sure you all remember bread dough ornaments. Well, there were also cornstarch and laundry detergent recipes and even Elmer’s glue and white bread concoctions. One favorite was stained glass using gold cord, Elmer’s glue and food dye (my first partridge in a pear tree ornament ever).

I still have some of my early creations. Not surprisingly, bird ornaments were some of the ones I enjoyed making, mostly as gifts for my Mom and Grandmothers.

Edythe: I was recruited from my college out East and started in Greeting Cards as a designer.

Edythe: It has become much more decorative and elegant and that is from the heavy influence of my work in greeting cards, how can it not I did that for almost 25 years.

Edythe: I can't think of anything right now. I feel like I've been able to design pretty much everything I've wanted (with patience and persistence).

Edythe: I do! Especially the ones that remind me of my fellow Keepsake studio artists.

Edythe: I'm not as digitally savvy as I'd like to be, yet, but maybe in the future.