Calling All Club Members

Exciting program and club activity ideas top the agenda for this Seminar. Meet collectors from your region and beyond. Learn how to revitalize your club and meetings with fun and frolic, demonstrations and Do-It-Yourself ideas. Club officers and NCC reps are especially encouraged to attend. It will be a fun and information session for all!

Calling All Collectors

Learn how your Village collecting can become even more enjoyable! Meet other collectors. This seminar will focus on how being a member of a Village collectors club will enhance your hobby and be fun for you in the process. All attendees who are not a member of a club are encouraged to attend this enlightening seminar.

Celebrating the 10^th Anniversary of the Snow Village Halloween in Bootiful Style!

Freelance Village display artists Jill Schlung and Bryan Shroats will show you how they created the Department 56 Snow Village Halloween display at the Department 56 showroom in Eden Prairie. Jill will offer display tips on how to build spectacular displays at home on a mantle, and in a bookcase using Styrofoam to get the best from your Village pieces. Bryan, who is a wizard at cutting Styrofoam will demonstrate how he created the tombstones, rocks and display platforms you saw at OVP.

The Styrofoam pieces and vignette displays created by Jill and Bryan will be donated to the convention’s charity auction.

Celebrating Snowbabies

The original Snow Baby, Marie Peary, was born 115 years ago to Admiral Robert E. and Josephine Peary. Join Kristi Jensen Pierro and Melinda Seegers for stories of this remarkable woman who inspired those delightful little figurines. Kristi will share design stories and answer your questions about the Snowbabies.

Christmas in the Nifty Fifties

While the nifty fifties are ancient history to some, to others this decade is but a recent period of rich American history in which we sought a new identity for Christmas: Plastic, aluminum trees, bubble lights, lead icicles, and so much more. Who could forget The Lone Ranger, The Mickey Mouse Club, and Roy Rogers. Looking at the fifties from a historical point, we will look at a decade which had a profound effect upon America's decorating tastes and customs. As Americans, we turned from our European counterparts to create our own identity. This slide lecture will examine this new direction through historical images of homes and trees decorated for Christmas, catalog pages illustrating toys and decorations, images of the ornaments, trees, and decorations themselves, and a brief look at some of the customs of this period through narrative and highlights from cultural history of each of the 1950s years. Be prepared for some humor as we explore those 50s customs of Christmas.

Decorating for the Holidays with Department 56 Collectibles and Villages

Richard Anderson, of HGTV and freelance visual designer for Department 56 will use current Village pieces combined with Department 56 and Lenox giftware to create several attractive vignettes that you can copy and adapt to your own home.

Richard’s finished displays will be donated to the convention’s charity auction. Some of the giftware items used in Richard’s displays will be available to purchase through the Department 56 Retail Store at Mall of America this weekend.

Dining with Department 56

Ever wish you could set a festive table when guests are expected? Or, do something unusual for your summer picnic? Or, surprise your family when they gather? Ethel Campbell will create seasonal dining tablescapes from formal to very informal right before your eyes. She will show how you can create exciting tablescapes for any dining occasion using items from your village collection and a bit of your own creativity. This seminar is designed to spark ideas that will make your guests say, "Wow".

Foam"tastic Displays

Mary Ellen McKenna, a frequent and popular seminar presenter at Nancy's Hallmark in Cincinnati, will share her techniques for finishing touches for the base of displays, integrating creative foam ideas as part of a display, and adding vertical height to displays by adding levels. You will not want to miss Mary Ellen's award winning display ideas.

How Does Your Water Flow?

Join Bob O'Connor of the San Diego 56er's and Vern Schwieterman of the Tampa Bay 56er's for coast to coast ideas of creating unique waterways in your village display. Vern will share a simple technique for using a small electrical motor to make your rivers and lakes come to life. This has been described by some as "underwater animation". Bob will share pros, cons and how-tos of incorporating real water into your village display.

London in Dickens Time

Brian Young's personal knowledge of London and of Dickens history makes his seminar an outstanding opportunity to get a detailed vision of what London might have been like in Dickens's time from a true Londoner.

Make it Easy
Friday Presentation

In this, “How to” seminar, John and Pat Ehrenreich, will demonstrate various display assembly and easy foam carving techniques they used to make a D56 Halloween vignette display for the Gathering’s Auction.

Long time collector or novice, you will leave this seminar with the knowledge you need to make any size display easily for any village with unique details and shopping finds.

Making Accessories Out of Shopping Finds -- “An Easy How To” Seminar
Saturday Presentation

Well known for her “You Gotta Shop Around” seminars, Pat Ehrenreich is still shopping around. In this seminar, she will demonstrate how easy it is for you to make accessories with “shopping finds”. She has some new ideas and display techniques to demonstrate for D56 Halloween and Christmas Villages of all sizes. For beginners or seasoned displayers, come and see what Pat has cooked up for the NCC convention.

“Picture Perfect – Photo Tips for Everyone”

Esme Gibson, former NCC Bulletin Editor, along with Linda Kruger and Melissa Campbell of Village D-Lights will present quick and easy ways to control your camera and not let your camera control you.  After attending their seminar, your digital photography will instantly improve to the point that you'll be winning competitions and getting published in Village D-Lights or other publications.

Setting The Mood With Backdrops

Ken Shirley will show how backdrops for our Village settings can provide focus for the scenery that we have purchased ~ i.e., houses, accessories and trees. He will share how having a suitable and thematic backdrop allows our Village visitors to focus on the wonder and quaintness of our creations because of the finished nature of what’s behind the scene ~ not to be obtrusive, but as an enhancement. With an extensive use of nearly all of the Hot Wire Foam Factory tools, Ken will provide instruction on how to create and finish off the perfect backdrop for all of Department 56 Villages. He will also create what he calls Mid-Village backdrops such as walls, tunnel portals and side hills. Let your Village-scapes imagination run wild!

The Snow Village Halloween – A glimpse at the history of this popular holiday as well a look at Halloween giftware and lighted Village products by Department 56.

Ever wonder why we carve pumpkins, go trick-or-treating or don spooky costumes on Halloween? Join Melinda Seegers, manager of Department 56 Consumer Services who will share interesting historical tidbits surrounding this popular and sometimes scary holiday. Second only to Christmas, Halloween is quickly gaining in popularity with decorating, parties, gift giving and Villages displays.

Technology 101 – Or everything you need to know about lights, adapters, bulbs, cords and sound!

Senior Consumer Services Specialist and tech guru Wendi Fortmann will demonstrate the right and wrong ways to troubleshoot problems with your Village pieces and how Department 56 can help you. Come with questions and leave with helpful answers!

Using Lighting to Create Dynamic Effects in Your Village Displays

Experts Richard Tuck and Frank Biafore will demonstrate a range of lighting effects you can easily accomplish in your village displays.  Demonstrations and examples will include: low voltage lighting of buildings and accessories that don't usually light, using flood lights to enhance colors and depth, using "L" Wire" to create Neon signs, using track lighting to add drama to a display.

Village Development – from concept to manufacture, an inside look at how your favorite collectibles are produced.

Join Department 56 Creative Director Rick Jackson and Village Product Manager Jackie Geiger for an in depth look at how our artists and designers take a single idea and turn it into one of your favorite Village pieces.

These seminars are subject to change.