Artist Insights: 2023 Holiday Parade
There’s nothing quite like a parade⏤ the excitement of kiddos running to scoop up candy, the happy hellos from your neighbors, the music from the marching band. It just brings a smile to your face! Those are exactly the feelings Keepsake Artist Tammy Haddix set out to capture in her Holiday Parade series. And after just a peek at the 5th ornament in the series, it’s safe to say: Tammy’s done it again!
Featuring an adorable snowman in a bowler hat and bright blue scarf, this year’s ornament was inspired by someone very close to our heart.
“I reached out to all my fellow artists and asked a few questions about if they were to own their own shop in a cute little Christmas town. It was so fun to read the responses and get to know them a little bit better,” Tammy says. “The truck you see is inspired by my good friend Nello Williams, who loves music and even makes his own guitars!”
Once Tammy decided on the theme, she got to work sketching, crafting, and bringing this toe-tapping truck to life. She says she began by sketching in the Procreate app on her iPad. Then she reused a past truck sculpt to make sure the undercarriage and size remained the same.
“I move the wax around to create a whole new truck,” Tammy says. “The hardest part is deciding how to change up the body of the truck without copying any actual styles or brands.”
After the truck is designed and sculpted, it’s time to add the signage and those little details we love. This year’s design features a “Nello’s Music Shop” logo with a vinyl record, a musical note hood ornament, real spinning wheels, and a Christmas tree guitar tucked in the trunk.
“It’s super exciting when I finally get to paint, design the shop logo for the side of the truck and add all the fun details. But, if I’m being honest, my favorite part is sharing it with the person who inspired it! It’s so fun to see what they think,” Tammy says.
Holiday Parade #5 will be available in just a few months at Ornament Premiere in July. Tammy hopes you enjoy lining up all your trucks and creating a little Christmas parade of your own.
“And stay tuned because there are some exciting things coming soon that go with this series!” Tammy says.
Music to our ears!
Holiday Parade
5th in the series.
Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments. “Behind the scenes with Tammy Haddix about her Holiday Parade, 5th in the series, that will be releasing at Ornament Premiere!” Keepsake Ornament Club Facebook Page, March 21, 2023. https://www.facebook.com/groups/KOCMembers/posts/3377491769157490
Save the Date!: 2023 Dream Book Facebook Live Event
In Celebration of the launch of this years 50th Anniversary Dream Book, Hallmark will be hosting a special Facebook Live event at 11 AM CST on April 14th, 2023. The event is completely free – all you have to do is go to the Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments Facebook page from 11:00 p.m.-12:00 p.m. CT on April 14.
Kristina Gaughran
Matt Johnson
Debra Nielsen
This special Facebook Live event will feature Keepsake artists Kristina Gaughran, Matt Johnson and Debra Nielsen, as well as Art Director Charles Young. Be sure to tune in live with us to hear all about the Dream Book and for the chance to win some special giveaways!
Location: Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments Facebook page
Date: Friday, April 14, 2023
Time: from 11:00 p.m. – 12:00 p.m. CT
To participate simply set up a facebook account and click on the Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments Facebook page link on April 14 from 11:00 p.m. – 12:00 p.m. CT.
Artist Insights: Getting to know your Keepsake artists
Getting to know your Keepsake artists
Discover how these four featured artists found their way to the Keepsake Village.
Orville Wilson
From marketer to maker
Orville Wilson knew he’d work at Hallmark from a very young age.
“When I was little, I was always drawing. I even won a few contests at school. My mother always said I would work at Hallmark one day.”
As we all know, Mom knows best, and Orville found his way to the marketing department at Hallmark in 2016, where he spent much of his time designing the Dream Book.
It was not long after that Orville’s manager said there was an opening in the Keepsake Village.
“I jumped at the opportunity,” he says. “I had spent my free time learning to create 3D designs. So I scrambled to pull them all together and even re-rendered a bunch of them to create a portfolio.”
That portfolio that got him an interview-and onto the team.
Anita Marra Rogers
Sculpting her own path
“Growing up in Kansas City, I always wanted to work for Hallmark,” Anita Marra Rogers says. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t good enough at two-dimensional artwork to get in the door.”
That’s hard to believe, coming from someone who’s in her 38th year in the Keepsake Studio.
“But luckily, I met Peter Dutkin, a Keepsake artist at the time. And he looked at my work and told me I had talent.”
He showed her around the department, and that’s when she spotted a few of the artists sculpting ornament designs
“It looked like so much fun! I just knew I had to try my hand at it.”
With a little encouragement, Anita had found her calling. She assembled a new portfolio filled with 3D artwork. And that’s how we ended up with more than 600 of Anita’s designs.
Allie Robillard
Imagination over expectation
Becoming a Keepsake artist came as a total surprise to Allie Robillard. As a child, she imagined working with animals
“I always thought I would be a veterinarian when I grew up. Which is hilarious because l’m just not great actually being around animals. I guess I just love the idea of them,” Allie says.
It turns out Allie’s imagination would be the key to her success
“Ever since I was a kid, my imagination is the thing l’ve depended on most,” she says. “I was constantly drawing up my own new worlds.”
Thankfully, her creative spirit never went away. Instead of following her childhood dream of becoming a vet, she went to art school.
“I specialized in illustration and animation, which led me to the ornament teams at Hallmark.”
Matt Johnson
The best Halloween treat ever
For as long as he can remember, Matt Johnson has always been interested in art. The older he got, the more he became fascinated by design and architecture.
“I didn’t really begin taking formal art classes until I graduated high school,” he tells us. “I used to visit my older brother, who is an artist and works in the film industry, while he was in school. Seeing the classes he was taking had a big impact on me.”
Following in his brother’s footsteps and attending art school led to a job designing for a toy company on the East Coast. But he longed to return to Kansas City. It was after returning home that, on one fateful Halloween night, Matt made a connection with a neighbor working at Hallmark who introduced him to recruiters.
More than 10 years later, Matt’s still putting his design skills and imagination to work. Talk about a Halloween treat you’ll never forget!
“Getting to know your Keepsake artists.” For Keeps 22 Spring 2023: 4-5.
Artist Insights: 2022 The Beauty of Birds
Emma Leturgez-Smith was the perfect choice when it came to deciding who would carry on The Beauty of Birds series. As she explains, “I’ve been in love with birds of all kinds since I was young, and it’s so much fun sculpting my favorite creatures and seeing how colorful I can get. I’m also loving the growing library of cute bird references I now have on my computer!”
When it came to her 2023 design, Emma had artistic reasons behind her choice of the Steller’s Jay for the 19th ornament in the series. “I felt like sculpting a stately bird this year as opposed to some of the more round and sweet birds. The shapes of the long beak and crested head of this jay really stood out to me. And its colors are so interesting. The small, bright streaks of color on top of the jay’s head turn to teardrop streaks on the sculpt, with darker blues around it that make the colors pop.”
Emma also has a reminder about something to be on the lookout for. “Keep an eye out for the limited quantity companion this year. It’s called a Leucistic Steller’s Jay, and this one has a unique (and totally opposite!) color palette that I ended up absolutely loving.”
Sounds like a couple feathered friends will be flying off the shelves in 2023. Don’t miss your chance to pick up both ornaments this year!
Steller’s Jay
The Beauty of Birds
19th in the series.
Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments. “Behind the scenes with Emma Leturgez-Smith about Steller’s Jay, 19th ornament in the Beauty of Birds series that is available now!” Keepsake Ornament Club Facebook Page, January 30, 2023. https://www.facebook.com/groups/2330268633879814
Artist Insights: 2022 Nostalgic Houses and Shops
Hallmark: Can you believe that this year brings the 40th ornament in our Nostalgic Houses and Shops series? This iconic series is one of the longest running ones in our history—which started in 1984 with the Victorian Dollhouse.
After Don Palmiter retired, Tom Best and Rodney Gentry took over this beloved series to release last year’s Bicycle Shop. And, for 2023, they’re releasing this amazing piece that was designed after one of the homes in Tom’s old neighborhood.
Tom: “I went back to my old Kansas City neighborhood I lived in for 30 years,” Tom told us. “It’s an area of town that was built up between 1910 and 1920. It’s filled with Tudors of every size and shape. It’s impossible to find any two that are the same, and they have so much character.”
Hallmark: According to Tom, his role was to come up with the building concept, design, color, and details. From there, Rodney developed the structure of it with a 3D modeling program on the computer. Coming up with the concept, however, proved to be quite a task.
Tom: “The hardest part was choosing ‘the one’,” according to Tom. “After several tours through the neighborhood, I took about a million photographs and had about the same number of ideas for what this year’s ornament should be. Though Rodney and I, along with our art director Charles Young, narrowed it down.”
Hallmark: One of the most important elements of this collection is how uniquely different each one must be year after year. And with a series this vast, that job can become more and more challenging. But our Keepsake artists are always up to the task, as Tom reminded us of when he told us that #41 was nearly finished as well.
As for this year’s ornament, a retired Tom reflected on his role in this Keepsake Ornament series proudly. “Rodney and I are quite happy with how this one, and the others we’ve created, turned out. We were happy to take over Don’s vision and hope you like where it’s going. Look for more to come as Don Palmiter’s township grows…stretching the city limits of your tree.”
Traditional Tudor
Nostalgic Houses and Shops
40th in the series.
Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments. “Behind the scenes with Tom Best about the 40th ornament in our Nostalgic Houses and shops series that will be releasing at Ornament Premiere” Keepsake Ornament Club Facebook Page, January 12, 2023. https://www.facebook.com/groups/2330268633879814