Winter Wonderland
Member Exclusive

Keepsake Artists Edythe Kegrize and Robert Hurlburt were asked to tell more about creating this year’s club exclusive “Winter Wonderland”.

Edythe: Sometimes the vision of an ornament just pops into my head. That is how this idea came to me as I thought about doing something with movement and music that could be designed in a more decorative, pretty style. Due to the complexity of its form and the character movement, I knew I needed the help of Robert on this one.

Robert: The idea for this one was all Edythe, but when I heard it, I was inspired by the paint finish from a glass ornament I saw, and thought we could use a similar finish to really make this one beautiful.

Robert: You have to have music with this idea! We watched videos of couples dancing and ice dancing when we created this. Music was always a big part of those shows.

Edythe: “Winter Wonderland” seemed to be the perfect choice for the lacy, snowy canopy of trees that make up this skating environment.

Robert: There were lots of adjustments of the inner components to get the couple to turn naturally while skating, and then present themselves facing outward at each tree opening so you could appreciate the whole ornament no matter how it was hung or held in your hand. The design of the tree canopy and snowflake patterns were adjusted to allow for a strong interlocking construction while keeping a beautiful tree canopy that didn’t hide the skaters from view.

Edythe: Robert is so talented and did a great job bringing this to life perfectly while staying true to my original vision.

Edythe: Robert was the mastermind behind making the little snow couple skate so sweetly around. He sculpted the entire piece after I did a sketch of the ornament and snowflake design. We worked pretty closely together on the piece, leveraging each of our strengths in the completion of an ornament that neither of us could probably have created alone. I really love collaborating with Robert—he’s an amazing talent.

Robert: Edythe designs beautifully with a strong vision of what she wants it to achieve, then I get to add my thoughts and design aesthetics while sculpting with a balance between design and manufacturing concerns.

Robert: The size of the windup movement for the sound and motion created a lot of issues to design around for the shape and size of the ornament itself. It was also challenging to keep the tolerance just right between all the moving parts for a good skating movement.

Edythe: I hope the collectors will like this more decorative and pretty style with simple motion and sweet music box sound. I like the sweet and gentle quality this magic ornament has.

Robert: I think they’ll like how the couple skate and dance together, and I personally really like the paint finish over the embossed silver design. I think Edythe and I worked well together when creating this ornament, and it shows!