Department 56 Villages, Accessories and Figurines
Department 56 Villages
Department 56 was created by a group of friends on a Christmas evening, while enjoying a dinner of celebration at a small country inn nestled in a small river town. As they rounded a bend in the road, they saw the small, old-fashioned village that was decorated for the holidays. It was magical site. The lights were glowing and sparkled in the freshly fallen snow. All evening, the conversation was full of Christmas memories and the visions the tiny town had visited. This is where the idea for a lighted Christmas village was born. That spark of an idea became a reality when, in 1976, Department 56 introduced a series of six hand-painted, ceramic buildings. The rest is history.
Over thirty years ago, Department 56 began as part of Bachman's, a premiere retail florist in Minneapolis. Bachman's used a numbering system to identify each of its departments. The number assigned to wholesale gift imports division was, you guessed it, 56.
Now headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Department 56 has become a true leader in the giftware, collectibles and holiday decorating industry and is best known for our hand-crafted lighted villages, Snowbabies™ figurines and extensive lines of holiday and home decorative products and ideas.
The building of a village:
The foundation of Department 56 took shape with the introduction of six charming, lighted, ceramic buildings. These six building were the beginnings of The Original Snow Village®.
The Original Snow Village designs were retired in order to accommodate 12 new introductions as well as the appearance of the first Village accessories.
The Heritage Village Collection® was developed next. The first release was The Dickens' Village Series®, a collection of seven nostalgic shops and a church. All designed to capture the spirit of Christmas in Victorian England.
The New England Village Series and The Alpine Village Series® were added to The Heritage Village Collection. That same year, the world of Snowbabies™ bisque figurines was also introduced.
The Heritage Village collection continued to grow with the addition of the hustle and bustle of Christmas in the City® .
The legend of Santa became a part of the Department 56 tradition with the addition of The North Pole Series™ to The Heritage Village Collection.
It was June 25th that the company opened their new corporate headquarters at One Village Place in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
This year brought the introduction of The Disney Parks Village Series™ and Snowbunnies®.
Our first successful marketing program, "Homes for the Holidays", encouraged new collectors to start a tradition for themselves. With the growing popularity of coffee drinks, Department 56 was pleased to introduce an "Starbucks" Coffee Shop into The Original Snow Village.
They introduced a website which still serves as a definitive source for product and retailer information.
Later Department 56 introduced Disney Village, Peanuts Village, and Alpine Village.
In 2005 they introduced a new mid-tier Village series, “A Christmas Story”. A humorous tale of a young boy named Ralphie with one thing on his Christmas list, a BB gun. Department 56 created “Higbee’s Department Store”, “Ralphie’s House” and the famous “Leg Lamp” for the series which was sold exclusively through Sears Department stores.
The popular Clothtique Possible Dream collection was added to an already strong line-up of outstanding giftware. Every figure is handmade by a team of skilled artisans. It has become the No. 1 Santa brand.
Appealing to the young and young at heart, “Tickle”, a line of luxurious collection of fashion and home accessories was introduced. This artistic inspired collection was the combined effort of many licensed and house designers. The offerings were as varied as the appeal. The Original Snow Village celebrated 30 years as the “gold standard” of lighted Villages and continues to attract new collectors, many are young families hoping to establish their own holiday traditions.
New York City may be the largest city in the United States but “Christmas In The City” is still our favorite. This metropolitan inspired collection of lighted buildings, porcelain accessories and animated pieces celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2007.
Did you know that Halloween is the second most celebrated holiday in the United States? This year we celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Snow Village Halloween with a “Haunted Train Station” and an ongoing series of a train starting with “Haunted Rails Engine & Coal Car”.
A new licensing agreement with "Peanuts" is added with a variety of seasonal giftware and animated pieces. They are welcome additions to the Department 56 line of specialty giftware. "Peanuts" appeals to every generation and enduring icons like Charlie Brown and Snoopy have made an indelible mark on popular culture.
Department 56 becomes part of the ENESCO family of giftware brands. Enesco's International Headquarters is located in Itasca, Ill. ENESCO was founded in 1958 as the import division of N. Shure Company, one of the largest and oldest general merchandise catalog companies. Following N. Shure's sale to Butler Brothers, the import division reorganized as Enesco Corporation, formed from the phonic spellings of the prior parent company's name initials - N.S.Co. Enesco was sold four times, culminating in 2007 when substantially all of Enesco's assets were sold to Tinicum Capital Partners II, LLP, a private investment partnership. Enesco then became a privately-held company and changed its legal name to Enesco, LLC.
A new Disney licensed Village, "Mickey's Merry Christmas Village" joined Their Classic Brands line and has proven to be quite popular. All of the major characters are there enjoying the holidays in brightly colored ceramic pieces.
Department 56 moves its offices to a newly renovated facility in Eden Prairie, MN, where the creative team continues to design the Villages, Snowbabies and other beautiful giftware products.
A licensing agreement with contemporary artist Travis Louie, creator of mythical and unusual portraits of people with sometimes larger than life additions of insects, pets and accessories produced the first Snow Village Halloween lit piece featuring two of his characters is "Walter & Larry's Crypt".
The royal wedding of Prince William and Katherine Middleton inspired the addition of "Anglesey Cottage" with coordinating accessory, "A Fairytale Romance" for Dickens' Village.
"The Grinch" by Dr. Seuss became a new Village in the Classic Brands series and featured Cindy-Lou Who and all the Whos down in Whoville!
2013 is an exciting year for Department 56. They were pleased to introduce several and highly desired licensed lit buildings into our collections. Christmas In The City series introduces The Chrysler Building. Designed by Village artist Tom Bates. This highly detailed New York building is destined to become a favorite.
Christmas Vacation is featuring the over-decorated Griswold House and Cousin Eddie's famous RV all decked out and ready for the season. A sure fire hit for fans of the 1980s classic Christmas movie.
Snowbabies artist, Kristi Jensen Pierro continues to thrill collectors with her new addition to Snowbabies "Christmas Memories". Inspired by wintertime and the holidays when we reflect on love, family and home, this series brings home memories of vintage holiday cards and Currier & Ives sentimental scenes and incorporates the traditional colors of red and green with the classic bisque porcelain of the Snowbabies.
They just had to “Let It Go!” in 2015 with the addition of the immensely popular Disney animated movie, “Frozen” with two special Village pieces, “Elsa’s Ice Castle” and “Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post”. There were also several key accessories offered to complete the display – Olaf, Sven, Kristoff, Oaken and Anna!
Elf on a Shelf® and Peanuts® led the way in “Classic Brands” in 2015 with additional new introductions and clever giftware products featuring the mischievous Elf and members of the Peanuts gang. Other strong name brands included Harley-Davidson®, Coca-Cola®, Disney, Fisher Price™, the Grinch™, Hasbro, Dairy Queen® and Dr. Seuss™ in both giftware and Village categories.
Snowbabies® artist Kristi Jensen Pierro designed several pieces for the new Snowbabies Family Collection celebrating many families orientated occasions – new babies, first love and family ties! She also continued creating the very popular Snowpinions® which expanded this line in one of the most sought- after giftware lines offered by Department 56.
The classic Santa figurines of Possible Dreams® joined the licensing trend with special pieces that included Harley-Davidson, Coca-Cola, Dairy Queen, A Christmas Story, The Elf on a Shelf, Hasbro, and Fisher Price. Classic designs are among the most popular in this line as we remember the stories of Santa’s visits on Christmas Eve.
The artists of Department 56 continue to look at industry trends and seek out new ideas to create the most innovative giftware items in the industry and as we enter our 40th anniversary year, plan to strive to be the leader we have always been.
The artists of Department 56 continue to look at industry trends and seek out new ideas to create the most innovative giftware items in the industry and as we enter our 40th anniversary year, plan to strive to be the leader we have always been. To celebrate this milestone anniversary, our creative team has designed a number of special pieces that represent the most iconic designs for each collection. These include our Villages, Snowbabies, Possible Dreams’ Santas and Snowpinions, along with several commemorative ornaments for all to enjoy.
Licensed merchandise continues to be strong for Department 56 with the most recognized companies appearing with high quality and sought after products – Harley-Davidson, Disney, Fisher Price, Hasbro, Peanuts, Grinch, Dairy Queen and the newest, Girl Scouts.
Licensed products continue to play a major role in the popularity of Department 56 products. The company saw “Candy Crush”, “Pete the Cat”, “Pusheen”, “Disney”, the “Grinch”, “Dr. Seuss”, “Rudolph”, Jack Daniel”, “Margaritaville”, and “Elf on the Shelf” lead the way in our seasonal and everyday giftware lines.
They continue to offer the classic Snowbabies by artist Kristi Jensen Pierro as well her irreverent and just plain sassy “Snowpinions” collection that include gifts for girlfriends and best buddies. And a whole group of seasonal Santas continue to delight collectors of the "Possible Dreams."
Setting up a Village has become a tradition that is passed down by many families. They were proud to introduce a new boxed set series in 2018 called the “Silver Series” to help families in a more economical way to begin this tradition. They have introduced boxed sets that include a lit building made of highly detailed resin, an appropriately sized, coordinating accessory, a bag of snow and a tree.
“National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” continues to be one of our most popular licensed groupings and the collectors seem to thoroughly enjoy each new introduction to this growing series. Other licensed favorite include Disney, The Grinch, “A Christmas Story”, Peanuts and our newest licenses, “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, “The Addams Family” and “Harry Potter.”
2018 also saw the reappearance of the Easter/Spring Village pieces with the introduction of the “Easter Sweets House”, a boxed set.
Inspired by a famous painting, “Peaceable Kingdom” by Edward Hicks, the Snowbabies’ artist Kristi Jensen Pierro introduced us to some of her favorite animals this year in her new sub-series, “Peaceable Kingdom.” The Snowbabies are joined by a gentle bear, the majestic lion, a llama, a kangaroo and a lamb.
The “Possible Dreams” Santas are each designed with a nod to the original Santa Claus who is a very busy man. Each figurine is hand sculpted with unique facial expressions and poses, personality and sometimes, humor – no two Santas are the same!
2019 also saw the retirement of one of our favorite Village artists, Barbara Lund, who together with her father, Neilan Lund designed the Dickens’ Village since its inception in 1984.
Collectors have embraced many new pieces for their Villages this year, including the popular licensed series and standard classics. Our “Silver Series” of more economically priced boxed sets continue to be popular among longtime collectors and folks who have just discovered us.
Snow Village artist Scott Enter continues to create over-decorated Christmas scenes with the popular “Christmas Lane” series. And Village artist, Tom Bates took over the duties of designing the Dickens’ Village, a task he is thoroughly enjoying especially with all the architectural features that Tom is so good at capturing.