Latest News: Characters & Interests

Welcome to Elfville!
Rob Stanphill’s playful new series takes us to the merriest village in the North Pole.

“I grew up in Southern California, and my family would visit Disneyland® once a year–best day ever! I loved the way that each ‘land’ had its own theme and everything tried together to create an immersive experience,” Rob says. “That idea struck with me, so I decided to bring in that world-building to create a magical Christmas village populated by enchanting little elves. Welcome to Elfiviille!”

Santa’s favorite holiday helpers are the stars of this new series that will feature full-sized festive shops and miniature shop owners, sized to scale with their shop’s front door. Here’s another fun fact: As a 2024, KOC member, your Elfville collection is already in the works! This year’s Dream Box included three exclusive companions to this new series: Ollie’s Ornament Shoppe, miniature Ollie and miniature Lia, the delivery driver. In 2025, we’ll meet the newest small business owner (pun intended) in town at Candy’s Bakery.

Candy’s Bakery
Welcome to Elfville
1st in the series.

“I started by gathering some inspiration images and sketching some small pencil drawing,” Rob says, “I imagined Candy would design her bakery to reflect all the tools she loves to use and all the things she loves to bake every day, so rolling pans, oven, mitts, cinnamon bread, cookies and more all found a place in the architecture of the shop.”

After creating a rough sketch, Rob says he began fine-tuning the details and created “turnaround” drawings that show front, back and side views. Then he brought the images into his computer and created a 3D sculpt. The final result is a quaint and colorful bakery, complete with Candy in her white chef’s hat holding a delicious dessert–and there’s more sweetness where that came from!

“I’m always looking for ways to spark the imagination of kids and adults to explore the details. I’m excited to see Elfville continue to grow with new residents, interesting buildings and fun little places to visit and explore. I’m asking, ‘Who might live there and what are they creating?‘” Rob says. “There’s so much to choose from because Christmas inspires all kinds of wonderful, magical things.”

On the second day of Christmas
Gregor Benedetti brings us Two Turtle Doves!

In 2024, the Twelve Days of Christmas. Papercraft series made its debut and became a new favorite among so many of our ornament fans. So, when Gregor told us he could finally share a sneak peek at his second ornament in the series, that was music to our ears! Featuring two lilac turtle doves nested among glistening gold accents and greenery. this latest ornament is filled with beautiful details sure to make every spirit bright.

Twelve Days of Christmas
2nd in the series.

“Certain details in the series will remain the same each year like the overall shape, number at the top and printed song verse on the back. But I’m giving each new ornament a unique decorative archway border on the front and its own color palette that will make the layered paper scene inside really shine,” Gregor says. “These distinctive features will give series collectors something special to point out about each of the ornaments when they’re displayed.”

After Gregor brainstormed the sketch and initial design, he began digitally sculpting the ornament, playing with textures and color until the team was happy with the final look. Then, it was time to call in the engineers!

“Gregor and I got together and discussed how we could break the artwork into different layers to create more depth in the pieces and bring in bough of finely cut greenery to frame the doves,” says Christina Ferguson, a senior design engineer in the Keepsake Studio. “I worked with him to suggest places the greenery could be placed so they would be securely glued to the wood frames and provide specification for the thickness of the scalloped top that holds the ribbon hanger, making sure it was sturdy and would hold up over time.”

Kristina says Gregor also came to her with the idea to add windows to the back and sides of the piece to let more light peek in and brighten the artwork.

“Gregor is so easy to work with and has a great eye for paper sculptures.” Kristina says, “I love any time I get to spend with the artists! Our process in the Keepsake Studio is very collaborative and everyone’s opinion counts, which makes our pieces a real team effort.”

Speaking of team, another person who helped bring the series to life is Senior Designer Technician R.J. Stebbens After Gregor and Kristina nailed down the design, R.J. used a laser to create a prototype of the ornament.

“This is the most exciting part for me is when you can finally see the ornament take shape,” Gregor says, “Another fun fact is that we’re achieving the original paper mockups from this series in the Christmas Ornament vault. My hopes is they can be part of a future public display somewhere down the road. They’re also so beautiful!”

The collaboration across the studio has made creating such an intricate series smooth so far, Gregor says, “But ask me again when we get to Ten Lords a -Leaping!”

In with the old
Keepsake Artist Matt Johnson and Hallmark Archivist Samantha Bradbeer Stephens give historic art a new life in the Vintage Greetings series.

“If there’s one thing our founder J.C. Hall believed in, it was the importance of creativity. That’s why, in the 1950s, he began creating a historical collection of artwork to help inspire artists and writers. That collection grew and grew, and today the Hallmark Archives is home to over 500,000 pieces, some dating all the way back to the 17th Century.

Just like J.C. intended, Hallmarkers still search the archives for inspiration. But they’re also able to reimagine art in entirely new ways, thanks to partnership with our resident archivist and historian, Samantha Bradbeer Stephens.

“I’ve had the privilege of working with dozens of artists over the past 13 years to create a wide range of vintage-inspired products,” says Samantha. “I love sharing Hallmark’s long, rich heritage and passion for connection, creativity and craftsmanship.”

For the first ornament in the new, club-exclusive Vintage Greetings series, Matt Johnson began by looking through hundreds of vintage cards stored in the archives.

Santa card by Vivian Smith

“I found a beautiful Santa card by an artist named Vivian Smith, who worked at Hallmark from 1924–1970, and that became our starting point,” Matt says.

According to Samantha, Vivian began her Hallmark career as a colorist, meaning she added color to others’ artwork, rather than creating her own. But soon after starting, she won a contest to become Hallmark’s very first artist trainee.

“From cute children and lighthearted animals to stylish couples and jolly Santa Clauses, Vivian could do it all,” Samantha says. “She also holds the distinction of being the first Hallmark artist allowed to add a signature to her work.”

Vintage Greetings
1st in the series.

Matt was honored to give Vivian’s artwork new life and share her legacy with the next generation of fans, but he also knew how important it was to get every detail just right when transforming the design from 2D to 3D. But just like Santa himself, Matt delivered!

“Matt is a wonder at both modernizing and transforming vintage designs, while honoring the original artist’s intention,” Samantha says. “His process makes these designs truly timeless.”

Sugar & spice
Meet Ginger, a new limited-quantity ornament and the third merry member of the gnome sisters.

Gnaughty and Gnice, sugar and spice—that’s what Gnome for Christmas is made of.

“When I found out Gnaughty and Gnice were going to be the stars of the show in the Gnome for Christmas series, I was like, wait, these two fellas need an amazing support system, like I’ve had with my own sisters,” Keepsake Artist Gregor Benedetti says. “The five Spice sisters love partaking in their brothers’ Christmas shenanigans and don’t mind being the center of attention every now and then.”

Gregor says he began the design process by brainstorming different ways that the sisters’ storylines could match the adorable antics of their big brothers.

Ginger’s Favorite Gift

“Ginger being Gnaughty’s little helper, happily holding her Christmas bauble ready to pitch in and help decorate Gnice for the holidays, made perfect sense for the 2024 ornament,” Gregor says. “Another fun design element is that each of the sisters have their own special charm dangle attached to the top of their long, pointed hats. Ginger’s is an acorn.”

After he settled on the idea, Gregor says he pulled out a notepad and pencil and got to sketching. From there, he scanned the drawings into his computer and filled in the festive details, colors and patterns. The result is as cute as can be and, luckily, Gregor says there’s more sweetness where that came from.

“Peppermint is making her debut in 2025. Dare I say she might just be my favorite?”