Artist Insight: In The Studio with Orville Wilson
The Keepsake Studio spoke with Hallmark Artist Orville Wilson about his background and shared a glimpse of an ornament he created for 2025.
Toymaker Santa
26th in the series.
2025 Sneak Peek: HCE, What’s to Come
Sixteen sneak peeks were shared during the “Sneak Peek’s & What’s to Come” seminar presented in conjunction with the KOC Days at the Hallmark Christmas Experience event.
Simone Marino
Mischievous Kittens, 27th in the series – Keepsake Artist Simone Marino will be taking over the much-loved Mischievous Kittens series. Her first design in the series will be revealed next year. It features a black and white kitten standing on a laptop computer swatting at fish on the computer screen. Tilt to see the lenticular motion of fish swimming on the computer screen.
Sweet Lil’ Sushi , Miniature – Four pieces of sushi and a pair of red chopsticks arranged on a square board.
Debra Nielsen
A Pony for Christmas, 28th in the series – A bear wearing a cowboy hat and bandana plays a guitar while riding a white pull cart horse.
Nordic Santa – Ornament features the jolly old elf dressed in nordic attire, holding a gold-colored hook to display the included reindeer ornament/toy or your own favorite miniature ornament.
Matt Johnson
LIONELVILLE®, LIONEL® Trains, 125 Anniversary, Christmas table decoration – Inspired by the 2004 Lionelville Christmas ornament by retired Hallmark artist Ken Crow. Features four different trains.
Christmas Cooker – A snowman-themed crockpot filled with mint swirled hot cocoa.
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Emma Leturgez-Smith
Keepsake Village – An Emma Leturgez-Smith collaboration with Sharon Visker. This Christmas ornament which features a train circling the base of a castle pays homage to past and current Keepsake ornament series.
Painted Bunting, The Beauty of Birds, miniature – A bright and bold bird with metallic gold trim, sparkling gemstone accents and a small holly berry dangle.
Kristina Gaughran
A Gift from Santa – The playful penguin trio are riding a rocking horse ice sculpture.
Mythical Mermaids, 3rd in the series – The next fanciful mermaid in this enchanting series features a tail inspired by a coy fish.
Allie Robillard
Sister Share the Love – Two foxes stand next to each other cheek to cheek sharing a scarf.
Dasher, 1st in the new Eight Tiny Reindeer series. Features a little reindeer wearing a signature saddle blanket and a gold bell on a red ribbon tied around its neck.
Orville Wilson
And to All a Good Night – A cloché with a bas-relief wintery village scene on its base. Inside Santa flies around a silver tinsel tree as a train chugs along a track at the base of the tree. Press the button on the ornament to hear music from “Jolly Old St. Nicholas.”
Toymaker Santa, 26th in the series – Santa wearing goggles, flippers and a reindeer pool float while holding a toy boat that pays homage to a previous series.
Tim Bishop
1976 Chevrolet® Camaro, Bumble Bee, Transformers, 5th in The Car’s the Star series.
Mirror of Erised™, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone™ – Features an open book with a 3-D scene emerging from it.
2024 Artist Insights: Sandal the Sandman
Allie Robillard
If Keepsake Artist Allie Robillard has a favorite ornament in her Sandal the Sandman series, this Special Edition is the one! She explains, “The main reason is because this ornament introduces us to our new seagull friend, Sammi! Anyone who has been to the beach is very aware that once the seagulls show up, they never leave, so you can expect to see more of them in the future.”
Inspired by her Florida upbringing, Allie thinks back to her own childhood when imagining what Sandal will do next. “The concepting process always starts with me asking myself what I loved about going to the beach and what favorite memories I’ve kept. Then it’s about translating that joy to Sandal’s experiences. How can I make a sandman do my favorite activities and make it believable? What friends can I invite to his fun? Finally, I like to look one last time and try to add that Hallmark touch—a little something extra that elevates the scene.”
Sandal the Sandman
Special Edition
When it comes to the scene Allie set for this ornament, she has a charming story to tell. “Every ornament has a story. I’ve built a world and made a friend in Sandal. The story I imagined for this design was that Sandal and Sammi found the paddleboard left at the beach. They had seen other beachgoers using these contraptions before, so when they discovered it, they looked at each other with big eyes and wide smiles as they realized that now was THEIR chance to go play in the waves.”
This sweet Sandal the Sandman Special Edition ornament (available at the ’Tis the Season event)—don’t miss YOUR chance to add it to your tree!
Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments. “Behind the scenes with Allie Robillard about her Sandal the Sandman Special Edition Ornament!” Keepsake Ornament Club Facebook Page, December 3, 2024. https://www.facebook.com/groups/KOCMembers/posts/3816692741904055/
Artist Insights: Dream Box ornaments
From sketch to sculpt
Our Keepsake artists reimagine Hallmark artwork for the 2025 collection of Dream Box ornaments.
Jake Angell
Hallmark Keepsake Artist
“Charles Young, my art director, found a piece of artwork that was done by Hallmark illustrator Charlie Hadley and instantly knew it would make a wonderful piece for our collectors in the Dream Box. I’ve known Charlie for quite a few years, and was so happy we got to bring his artwork to life as an ornament. I wanted to be sure to capture the spirit of the original piece that’s done in a wonderful graphic style, so I took extra time to translate the triangle pattern on the tree and get the coloring just right.”
“It just so happened that Charlie also had an illustration of a festive puppy. I thought it would be the perfect mini companion piece to help the snowman decorate the tree!”
– Jake Angell
“The original design for Santa’s Favorite Treats was actually inspired by some wonderful artwork by Hallmark Artist Rick LaPierre. It was a fun challenge to capture the feel and whimsy of the original art, right down to a loose sketchiness of it. Originally, Santa was holding lots of packages, but we simplified it down to a cookie box. I thought it would be fun to (give a) nod to a few fan-favorite ornaments, so the cookies Santa holds are shaped like a train, a rocking horse and one of Joanne’s Snowtop Lodge snowmen.”
– Kristina Gaughran
Kristina Gaughran
Hallmark Keepsake Artist
Simone Mariano
Hallmark Keepsake Artist
“Sheyda Abvabi Best designed the original concept art for the beautiful,Decked Out Deer ornament. After I saw the artwork, I did quite a bit of research so I could get the sculpt just right. I compiled a lot of deer references, especially for the head. Then I drove into the sculpt, first loosely blocking in shapes, then adjusting proportions and finalizing details to capture the styling from Sheyda’s original design. It’s so fun watching 2D illustrations come to life As sculptures!”
– Simone Mariano
“From our hearts to your tree.” For Keeps 24 Fall 2024: 2-3
2024 Artist Insights: Season’s Treatings
Sharon Visker
When it comes to adorable sweet-themed ornaments, we only have one rule: The s’more, the merrier! Thankfully, Keepsake Artist Sharon Visker is here to make our dessert dreams come true with Season’s Treatings #16.
“S’mores have always been a favorite of mine. They might traditionally be a summertime treat, but I thought why can’t they be around for Christmas too?” Sharon says. “Since a campfire wouldn’t be available in the winter, I decided to do an indoor cooker like I have at home.”
Seasons Treatings
16th in the series
After Sharon settled on theme, she started brainstorming ways to add more holiday details and personality into the piece. The marshmallows became darling snowmen, topped with melted chocolate and graham crackers, and the ornament got a festive red and green color palette, too. Then it was time for Sharon to sculpt the ornament in wax. The result is truly a treat for your tree!
“After working on this series for so long it becomes a bit more challenging to come up with new Christmas treats to feature, but I like to look through cookbooks, magazines and online recipes to find inspiration,” Sharon says, “This series has evolved into much more than the original Christmas cookies it began with in 2009!”
We hope you have a sweet tooth because the Season’s Treatings #17 is sure to be a delight!
Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments. “Behind the scenes with Sharon Visker about her Season’s Treatings #16. Ornament!” Keepsake Ornament Club Facebook Page, October 30, 2024. https://www.facebook.com/groups/KOCMembers/posts/3732986470274683