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Artist Insight: In The Studio with Terri Steiger

The Keepsake Studio spoke with Hallmark Artist Terri Steiger about herself and shared a glimpse of an ornament she created for 2025.

Can you tell us a little something about you that club members wouldn’t already know?

Terri: “ Recently, I came across huge bolts of jute and rope for $2 each at our local Habitat Restore. I started making baskets and embellishing them with buttons, trims or whatever I have on hand. It’s been a great way to use my hands and create something I have never tried before.”

What are you looking forward to this summer?

Terri: “Not this summer, but next summer, my daughters and I are planning a trip for when my youngest graduates from college.”

Can you tell us a little bit about Studio Stocking #5?

Terri: “I was inspired by the vintage ceramic figures that my grandma had on her tabletop at Christmas time—Santa, Mrs. Claus and a snowman. I thought they would be kind of fun in a ceramic-looking stocking.“

Stocking Stuffers, 5th in the series will be available at Keepsake Ornament Premiere in July!

Stocking Stuffers
5th in the series.

April 30th, 2025|0 Comments

Artist Insight: In The Studio with Allie Robillard

The Keepsake Studio spoke with Hallmark Artist Allie Robillard about her background and shared a glimpse of an ornament she created for 2025.

What’s your Hallmark story?

Allie: “I’ve been at Hallmark for around 8 years, and I’ve been working on ornaments the entire time. I spent 3 years in Hallmark Ornaments before moving over to Keepsake Ornaments for the next 3 years. And now I kind of double-dip into both!”

Can you let club members in on something they don’t know about you?

Allie: “Oh, wow, club members probably wouldn’t realize how much I love the horror genre. Most of my ornaments are on the sweeter side with bright colors and fun vibes. I couldn’t tell you why, but I’ve always just loved horror movies.”

What are you looking forward to most about spring?

Allie: “I’m looking forward to spending more time outside as a family. I LOVE winter but I’m missing how easy it is to get outside for a quick walk or playground run.“

Is there any special meaning behind your 2025 Sisters Share the Love ornament?

Allie: “I was originally inspired by my best friends as I was designing this ornament. But then, I found a new, special meaning when I learned I was pregnant with my second daughter! Now I will always see my girls in these fox sisters.“

Sisters Share the Love will be available at Keepsake Ornament Premiere in July!

Sisters Share the Love

April 2nd, 2025|0 Comments

Top Picks for 2025

Hmmm, decisions are hard!

If Keepsake artists could choose only one ornament as their number one pick this year, what would it be-and why? After checking in with a few of them, we learned it’s definitely a tough question. But these artists were up to the challenge.

Allie Robillard
Hallmark Keepsake Artist

Dasher
Eight Tiny Reindeer
1st in the series.

“My top pick for 2025 is going to be Dasher, the first ornament in my new series, Eight Tiny Reindeer. It ended up being a very collaborative project to plan this series, and I’m so excited to share what our studio created.”

– Allie Robillard

Christmas Cooker

“I am really looking forward to picking up the Christmas Cooker ornament by Matt Johnson. I love the little snowman face! All the detail he packed into this miniature ornament is amazing.”

– Emma Leturgez-Smith

Emma Leturgez-Smith
Hallmark Keepsake Artist

Sharon Visker
Hallmark Keepsake Artist

Keepsake Village

“The ornament I’m most excited about is the 2025 Keepsake Village magic ornament. This was a collaborative piece that I did with Emma LeturgezSmith. With light, sound and motion, this ornament required a lot of teamwork with our engineer, editor and art director. It was a labor of love, and I hope our club members love it, too!”

– Sharon Visker

“Let the Wookie™ Win”
Star Wars: A New Hope

“I can’t wait for the magic of “Let the Wookiee™ Win” from Star Wars: A New Hope™. When you press the button, the ornament comes to life with a hologram effect in the Dejarik (holochess) scene that looks awesome! The combined magic of video, light and dialogue from the film will be so cool for fans to experience.”

– Orville Wilson

Orville Wilson
Hallmark Keepsake Artist

“Top Picks for 2025.” For Keeps 25 Spring 2025: 13-14

March 5th, 2025|0 Comments

Artist Insight: In The Studio with Kris Gaughran

The Keepsake Studio spoke with Hallmark Artist Kristina Gaughran about her background and shared a glimpse of an ornament she created for 2025.

Can you tell us a little about your time with Hallmark?

Kris: “ I did a summer internship in 1995, and then when I graduated from college in 1996, I started as an official Keepsake Ornament sculptor! I love creating ornaments that tell a story or mark a special occasion or interest in someone’s life. As a mom, I love pulling the ornaments out and reminiscing about what my boys were into each year.”

What are you looking forward to most about spring?

Kris: “My husband is putting new windows in my office, which will be nice but maybe not super-exciting. But I am really looking forward to everything turning green again—and for the daffodils to come up. They’re my favorite flower because they always mean spring is making its first appearance!”

Can you share the inspiration behind your third ornament in the Mythical Mermaid series?

Kris: “This is a koi mermaid, inspired by a koi fish. These fish are so beautiful with their color patterning, and I knew while planning out the series that I wanted to create a mermaid inspired by them. I remember going to EPCOT on a family vacation and seeing koi fish while at the Japan Pavilion, so I wanted this mermaid to feel Asian-inspired with that same beauty.”

Mythical Mermaids #3 will be available at Keepsake Ornament Premiere in July!

Mythical Mermaids
3rd in the series.

February 25th, 2025|0 Comments

Artist Insight: In The Studio with Emma Leturgez-Smith

The Keepsake Studio spoke with Hallmark Artist Emma Leturgez-Smith about her background and shared a glimpse of an ornament she created for 2025.

What was your artistic background before coming to Hallmark?

Emma: “I went to school for art and illustration, and I kind of fell in love with sculpting while I was there. After I finished school, I really started to practice sculpting. That’s when I decided to try to get on at Hallmark.”

And what was your path into Hallmark?

Emma: “It turned out my husband’s good friend from childhood was the connection. His mom was a previous Hallmark artist-sculptor. She brought me in to show me around Hallmark. I got to see the Rice Center and the Discovery Studio with Hallmark Artist Matt Kessler, who inspires creative teams to innovate and learn new skills—and that was very cool. Then she introduced me to the freelance director for the Keepsake Studio. I started freelancing in 2016, which gave me a nice sneak peek into how everything works. I continued to freelance until 2020, which is when I officially became a Hallmark Keepsake artist.”

Can you tell us a bit about the Beauty of Birds (#22) ornament you created for 2025? Like...do you get to choose the bird each time?

Emma: “This is the Lady Blackburnian Warbler, the female companion to the series ornament for 2025. And yes, I always get to choose the bird for the series! And I also get to choose the birds for the miniature and KOC-exclusive designs. That means I have a rather full folder on my computer of bird ideas and research for the next few years.

Each year I might have a different inspiration that leads to which bird I choose. Maybe it’s a trending color or something that shares a similar palette to another Keepsake Ornament. Or it could be as simple as seeing a bird in my own backyard!

This year’s design has a special touch. I think probably all Beauty of Birds ornaments have either gold or silver decorative outlines. But this Lady Warbler has pearl white outlines instead, to mimic some of the soft, pale streaks of color on the real-life bird.

The Lady Blackburnian Warbler will be available in limited quantities at Keepsake Ornament Premiere in July!”

Lady Blackburnian Warbler
Limited Edition

January 28th, 2025|0 Comments