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Speaker Bios
Richard Anderson
You may recognize
Richard from several different HGTV decorating programs like “Decorating
Cents” and “Design On A Dime”. Richard has been working as a freelance
visual designer for Department 56 for many years and has a flare for creating spectacular giftware
displays in our showroom here in Eden Prairie as well as other
Department 56 showrooms
around the United States.
Robert Brenner
Robert has studied
and researched Christmas customs, decorations, and décor for over 40
years and everyday makes new discoveries for Christmas history is so
encompassing of American society. As author of numerous books on Christmas, he has also written a
number of articles for national publications, travels to Europe for
research, and continues to collect as he admits to “an addiction for
Christmas.” His wife is
also sharing his addiction as she collects Dickens Village and
Snowbabies.
He is currently
working on three more Christmas history books:
- A history of Santa Claus in this country, due to be released in 2009.
- A rich history of
“Christmas Gardens under the Tree,” due to be released in 2010.
- A comprehensive look at the electric lighting of the
American Christmas tree, due to be released in 2011.
Ethel Campbell
Ethel and her husband began collecting Department 56
in 1980. They thought it would be fun to have a small village display
for their Christmas mantle. They purchased an Original Snow Village
church and two houses. Little did they know what an addiction this would
become. They now own hundreds of houses and accessories, including Snow
Village; New England; North Pole; Christmas in the City; Dickens; Little
Town of Bethlehem; The Holy Land Series and The Night Before Christmas.
Many of these villages remain on permanent display throughout their
home.
Ethel enjoys designing,
engineering and executing unique village displays. She continues to
explore ideas and techniques to share in workshops for collectors and
club members. She and her husband are charter members of The Four States
Village People and she has served as its president; vice-president; NCC
club representative and currently serves as its newsletter editor. She is the immediate past NCC Secretary and the current NCC
Region VII Rep.
A highlight of the Holiday Season is inviting guests
into their home which is showcased in distinctive vignettes and
displays. They have hosted charity and benefit tours which featured
their extensive collection. The local NBC affiliate visited their home
and produced a feature story that aired during the 2004 Christmas
season.
Melissa Campbell
Melissa Campbell is the Editorial Associate for the Collectibles Division of Pioneer Communications,
Inc., located in Grundy Center Iowa. Campbell works closely with
Linda Kruger on the collectibles magazines Village D-Lights,
Collector Editions, and Collectors News, doing both
editing and writing. Melissa is one of the 3 presenters for the
“Picture Perfect – Photo Tips for Everyone” seminar. In this
seminar they will provide valuable tips to help participants improve
their photography and be able to produce great photographs of their
Department 56 displays.
Pat and John Ehrenreich
John and Pat Ehrenreich began collecting Department 56
with Dickens Village in 1988, and now have several of the Villages. They
found out quickly how much they loved to make displays with the
houses, and each year the displays got bigger and more detailed. Then,
Pat began finding miniatures while she was out shopping, making
scenery and landscaping to enhance the displays even more. She began
writing about her shopping finds and display tips when she edited and
published her Department 56 club’s newsletter. She was also a feature
writer for “Village Pride”, writing “You Gotta Shop Around” as well as
articles and instructions on how to make displays of all shapes and sizes.
Both John and Pat are active members of their local D56 club. They
have also created displays for dealers and given seminars. Many people
also know Pat as “News56” since she is a long-time member and
contributor to AOL’s Department 56 Forum. More recently, John and Pat
have become representatives of the Hot Wire Foam Factory’s foam
cutting and carving tools.
Wendi Fortmann
Wendi Fortmann is
the Senior Consumer Services Specialist and has been employed at
Department 56 for 9 years. A background in technical theater has
afforded Wendi the experience necessary to become the go-to person for
technical questions regarding the animated portions of most Village
items.
Jackie Geiger
Collectors may
remember Jackie Geiger as a former member of the Consumer Services
Department who started at Department 56 in 1998. She recently became the Product Manager for
Villages and works with the marketing and product development for all
the collectible Village lines.
Esme Gibson
Exploring photography as an art form has
been part of Esme’s life since her godmother gave her a Brownie Hawkeye
box camera for Christmas in the late 1950s. Over the years, she advanced
professionally with images printed in magazines and newspapers, on
permanent exhibit in federal courthouse collections in San Francisco and
Los Angeles, the director’s office of the Los Angeles Opera and in many
private galleries. With the advent of grandsons, the stars of her images
now focus on little boys, who grow up in the most appealing (and
dirt-covered) ways.
In 1995, a moving sale for a local dealer
giving up the Department 56 village line lured Esme and her husband Bob
into collecting Dickens Village. They own all but the Village Mill and
Norman Church. They also acquire North Pole "just for the grandsons."
Trained as a journalist, Esme served for
two years as the Editor of the NCC Bulletin and belongs to Our 56 Club.
She also helps moderate an online Department 56 group.
During the seminar “Picture Perfect
– Photo Tips for Everyone” with Village D’Lights, Esme hopes to help you
improve your photography with her invaluable tips and to help you apply
them to photographing your Department 56 displays.
Rick Jackson
As Creative
Director for Department 56,
it is Rick Jackson’s job to oversee the design and production aspects of
all Village products. He started with
Department 56 in 1998 and
brings a wealth of knowledge from his background in industrial design.
He coordinates the work of the Village artists and the production
facilities overseas to bring the Villages into the homes and hearts of
collectors.
Linda Krueger
Linda Kruger is the Executive Editor of the Collectibles Division for Pioneer
Communications, Inc., located in Grundy Center, Iowa. As editor for
antiques and collectibles publications since the early 1980s, Kruger is
currently responsible for the magazines Collectors News, Collector
Editions, and Village D-Lights. She also serves as the
Executive Director of the Collectors Information Bureau (CIB
www.collectorsinfo.com), the leading trade organization in the
collectibles industry. Linda is one of the 3 presenters for the
“Picture Perfect – Photo Tips for Everyone” seminar. In this seminar
they will provide valuable tips to help participants improve their
photography and be able to produce great photographs of their Department
56 displays.
Mary Ellen McKenna
Mary Ellen began collecting and displaying eight
years ago. Her displays
have won numerous contests both locally and at gatherings. You might remember the one she made for the Display Contest at
the Department 56 Silver Celebration which won in the miscellaneous
category--a North Pole Carnival. Many collectors recognize her name because of working at Nancy's
Hallmark in Cincinnati where she presents seminars on retirement
week-end every year. She is
a member of the Queen City Villagers where her home has been featured on
their Holiday Tour several times.
Bob O’Connor
Bob O'Connor is a member of the San Diego Fifty Sixer's and the
editor of their Village Views newsletter. He has given club and
gathering level demonstrations ranging from landscaping tips to dropping
Independence Hall in front of a full meeting while cutting Styrofoam.
Bob doesn’t collect Department 56 that was his wife’s job. She also
did all the village set up until ten years ago when he made the mistake
of criticizing the way she was doing it. Since then he does all the
display work. What started as a chore to keep peace in the
family has evolved into an addicting and entertaining way to occupy
Bob’s time. As if making large displays at home wasn’t enough he has
entered displays in contests at 8 gatherings and has been a winner in 7
of them. (He says he would argue about the eight one if the competition
had not been so wonderful). It is because of these contests he has
created water in so many different ways, always seeking to make it as
realistic as possible. Next step, real water.
He is the father of 3, grandfather of 7 and great-grandfather of 5.
He was a firefighter for thirteen years, a touring pro bowler for
thirteen years, and a business owner since the age of nineteen. What
does this have to do with Department 56? Nothing but it is a part of who
he is.
Kristi Jensen Pierro
Kristi Pierro
started working with Department
56 as a freelance designer in 1986. One of her first projects was to
illustrate a tiny collectors’ book for The Original Snow Village. Later
she worked to develop the Snowbabies line of figurines, ornaments, music boxes and water
globes. Kristi is also involved in developing giftware merchandise and
is credited with designing “Merry Makers”, “All Through The House” and
“Winter Silhouettes.”
Jill Schlung
Some of you may
remember Jill from display seminars given at the
Department 56 25th
Anniversary Celebration in 2001. Jill was not only involved in several
display presentations, she also worked on the team that built the
mammoth Village display for the celebration. As a freelance visual
designer, Jill designs and executes Village displays in our corporate
showrooms, at Department 56 retail stores and at other retailers throughout the US.
Vern Schwieterman
Vern Schwieterman and his
wife, Judy, are members of the Tampa Bay 56er’s. They were actively
involved with putting on the 2007 SSRG in Tampa. Vern is known as
the master of Unique Styrofoam carving. Many of you have seen his
wonderful creations in display contests at various gatherings.
Vern has another talent; it is creating animation in a water scene with
the use of small motors.
Vern and his wife, Judy reside in Largo, Fl.
They enjoy sharing their collection of small porcelain houses especially
during the Halloween and Christmas season. Their house was on the
Tour of Homes at the 2007 SSRG.
Melinda Seegers
Melinda Seegers is
the manager of Department 56 Consumer Services and has been with the company since 1989 when the
Consumer Services Department was first formed. She is considered to be
the company historian with a vast knowledge of the history of the
Villages knowing stories about the names and designs of the Villages.
She is also well versed in most giftware lines introduced over the last
20 years.
Ken Shirley
Ken has been a
professional freelance display artist for eight years. During this past year he has freelanced as a designer with
Department 56 creating Village displays for their showrooms at One
Village Place, Columbus, Denver and Seattle. His "home base" is
Lorrie’s Gifts and Collectibles in Albuquerque, New Mexico…the largest
and most complete Christmas Store in the state. Ken has been published
several times in Village D-Lights and is known for his massive Village-scapes.
His unique and detailed carving that he brings to each surrounding
landscape in all the villages has made him a fixture for store design,
publication and instruction nationally.
Ken has been a
collector since 1994. He and his wife, Pat, collect Dickens, Christmas
In The City and The Holy Land. He is a member of the New Mexico
Townspeople Collectors Club where he is Editor, Vice President in charge
of Programs and the NCC Representative.
Bryan Shroats
Bryan Shroats is a
man of many talents. Besides being an avid collector and owner of
“Villages Unlimited” in Orland Park, IL, Bryan also freelances as a
Village display designer for Department 56. He is a wizard with a hot knife and has worked on the
corporate showroom Village diorama, displays at
Department 56 retail stores
and at other retail stores throughout the US.
Richard Tuck and Frank Biafore
Richard Tuck has a Master’s degree in Victorian literature, did his thesis on Charles Dickens, taught theater and stage design, is CEO of a technology recruiting firm, owns a circus and is Chairman of the Board of Directors of a nonprofit organization commemorating bygone amusement parks.
Frank Biafore studied Architecture and Design, started building miniatures as a child, is a network administrator and website developer, and loves to work with Styrofoam. Together Richard and Frank open their home, It Must Be Magic, to 3000 visitors a year, conducting tours and explaining how to build displays. Their new project, Playland-Not-at-the-Beach, is a 9000 square foot nonprofit family fun center / museum which features Department 56 villages, each one with its own heavily themed exhibit area: Santa’s Village, The World of Charles Dickens, Halloween (“Dark Mystery”), and Bygone San Francisco (featuring Christmas in the City and Snow Village buildings). Richard and Frank have been featured on several TV programs in the United States and Canada and delight in sharing their display ideas.
Brian Young
He calls himself a "Cockney",
A Londoner born within the sound of Bow Bells of parents also born
within the sound of Bow Bells. He was born in a London hospital in an area known as the East End
that is notorious as the scene of the Jack The Ripper murders which took
place in Dickens "time."
Mr. Young had been retired
for two years as Managing Director of a large retail group in London
when he opened City Lights in San Diego in September of 1991. As time
progressed, it grew from a small 1000 sq. ft. seasonal operation to a
Gold Key dealer of over 27,000 sq. ft. City Lights is now open 7 days a
week, all year long.
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