The Beans say that the economy and the way people shop has changed dramatically since they took over the Christmas Barn. They said that they find that people are looking for items of better quality and the majority of what they sell has great sentimental value for their shoppers.

Their premier line of ornaments is hand-made in Poland by Patricia Breen Designs. These ornaments are unrivaled in their detail and workmanship and are always made in extremely limited quantities. They are highly sought-after by collectors and are only sold by a dozen or so retailers in the United States. Americans Patricia and Eric Breen insist that their Krakow studio be environmentally conscious and free of harmful chemicals. Still packed in recycled cardboard boxes and hand-stamped with an original rubber stamp, these ornaments now range in price from $38 for the miniature eggs to approximately $220 for larger pieces. Most recently, Patricia’s styles have spanned every season in either enameled or glittered finishes. They are truly works of art.

Old World Christmas ornaments have always been part of The Historical Christmas Barn’s offerings. Founder Tim Merck (Bob Merck’s brother – see former owner) has created a huge variety of mouth blown glass ornaments designed to recall memories of Christmases past. They are affordable, nostalgic, quality glass ornaments and are wildly popular.

New for The Barn this year are Inge-glas – ornaments from Germany. The Historical Christmas Barn will be hosting Inge-glas’ own Thomas Ziesmer, Master Glass Blower, and 2^nd generation IG glass blower who followed in his father’s footsteps working for Inge-Glas, on Sunday, November 13th for a glass blowing demonstration and celebration of this old world art form. Gary and Jennifer were drawn to these ornaments for their exceptional rich colors and their beautiful faces! Their favorites are the angels, the children, the Santas, the traditional German-themed fairytale ornaments ie. Rapunzel, Cinderella, Snow White, etc. The fruit, birds and mushrooms are also wonderful!

Re-introduced to The Barn this season are Christopher Radko ornaments. This year, the Beans said that they could not resist the Radko fresh designs, particularly their new town building series which includes the Town Library a Toy Shoppe, an Inn, etc. They are going to celebrate their arrival to The Barn by hosting long-time Christopher Radko artist (25 years), Mario Tare, on October 1^st. Mario will be at The Barn to sign a special event ornament which features Santa and a classic sleigh full of beautiful gifts.

The inventory from the Egyptian Glass Museum has also been expanded. The 24-kt. gold trim makes this substantial, etched glass even more desirable and the owners can barely keep in stock their jumbo sized ornaments (14” to 22”) which their customers hang from their ceilings all year long. Surprisingly popular are the non-traditional Christmas colors: deep purple, blue, pink, light blue-green and pink.

The Historical Christmas Barn has a beautiful variety of Christina’s World delicate ornaments in the shape of teapots, flowers, dinosaurs and shellfish, as well as traditional Christmas orbs painted with beautiful, almost “poetic” scenes. Christina Mallouk is a lovely woman who lives in New York, where she creates her beautiful designs which are made in Poland and the Czech Republic. Her ornaments make very special, thoughtful gifts.

Patience Brewster is another Christmas Barn favorite. Prior to having established her own company, Patience designed colorful ornaments for Dept. 56 and many customers recognize the unique whimsical faces of her pieces. Her ornaments all begin as Patience’s original, beautiful, water-color drawings and are then sculpted in plaster, hand-painted and finished with feathers and/or ribbons to embellish them further. Her special collections include the Twelve Days of Christmas, all of Santa’s reindeer and a brightly colored but reverent Nativity.

Gary and Jennifer have brought in many new lines in the last two years but among their favorites are those that are made in the United States including Cape Cod Seashells, made by an artist on The Cape with shells from The Cape. Also, “Still Life Leaves” – leaf and botanical ornaments which are made from actual leaves coated in precious metals in a seven-step process. The perfectly chosen ribbon on each leaf makes them extraordinary, artful gifts that were crafted in northern California.

Worth mentioning, and new since the Bean’s ownership, are pewter and straw ornaments made in Sweden, Joy to the World cat and dog ornaments made in Poland and a small sampling of Glitterazzi Santas. Not many visitors leave without finding something special to bring home.

The Historical Christmas Barn is easy to get to but somewhat hidden. It is located on the corner of Route 7 and Route 33 in Wilton in one of the oldest barns in Connecticut. Once inside, it is impossible not to feel the spirit of Christmas surround you – at any time of the year. It is worth the trip.
Article and images used with permission from HistoricalChristmasBarn.com

By 2002, the demand for these products was so great that Jan opened up two more stores with his wife Grazyna in Northwest Chicago, and began importing more varieties of the finest Polish handmade products.  Now, Dom itp has expanded into a family run business with five retail stores and a warehouse in the Chicago area.  Their specialists seek out the most beautiful and unique handmade ornaments all over Europe, primarily from Poland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, France, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Portugal and Italy.

The ornaments found at Dom itp are all designed, manufactured, and licensed specifically for the company by their team of designers in Europe.  The ornaments are hand-blown and hand decorated by specialized artisans in Poland.  Although Krynski says that his favorite ornaments are the Chicago landmark ornaments , his inventory includes beautiful Faberge ornaments, Santa ornaments, and lovely figurines as well as very reasonably priced ornament sets. 

Typically schooled in the art of glass blowing from a very young age, the European artisans associated with Dom itp spend years going through a vigorous apprenticeship before they can become skilled glass blowers.  These artisans use time-honored glass ornament blowing techniques passed down for generations.  After the glass is created, the Dom itp artists painstakingly decorate each and every ornament with beautiful and unique results each time. 

In addition to being found online and in five Chicago stores, the unique ornaments are also sold during the world famous Christkindlmarket in Chicago every year.  This festive event draws more than a million visitors each year, and features some of the world’s finest ornaments.  The traditional German holiday market will be open in Chicago this year from November 23 – December 24 and if you are in the area, you don’t want to miss it.  Set up to resemble a European village at Christmas, the annual event is heavenly bliss for the ornament collector with vendor stalls for everything you dream of for Christmas.  Be sure to stop by the Domitp booth and pick up a Chicago souvenir ornament. 

 
Article and images used with permission from domitp.com

With over 18 years of experience as a successful ornament vendor, you would think that the owner of Ornaments & More would be tempted to “rest on her laurels” and just continue with what has worked in the past.  However, there is no evidence that owner/founder Ellen has a complacent bone in her body.  Ellen and the staff at Ornaments &  More keep up with the latest technology, and they are very active in social networking.   They are busy year round researching and making improvements, so their site always appears fresh and new.   There is a very welcoming atmosphere of customer appreciation and a willingness to listen to individual customers.  Ellen also diligently follows market trends in order to provide the best selection of ornaments possible.  

Not only is navigating Ornaments and More  easy and fun, it is set up in such an organized way that you will find exactly what you need in a very short time.  There are over 3,100 ornaments and at least 10,000 ideas on how to personalize them for just the right gift. You will find everything from hospice nurse volunteer angel ornaments to African safari ornaments and pretty much everything in between.  There are categories for just about every walk of life as well as sub categories to find the perfect keepsake ornament.  There is even a “Sale of the Season” category for discounted ornaments and you can register to receive discount offers by email. 

Their latest blog on Mother’s Day ornaments may just be what you are looking for to choose Mom’s gift this year.  Perfectly timed for Mother’s Day is a storewide moving sale with a coupon offer.  The business is growing in leaps and bounds and needs more space for the new 2011 line of ornaments.  Use code MOVE11 at checkout to receive 15% off of your order.  The code is valid until May 20, 2011.  With affordable pricing and this great discount, now is a good time to plan your gifts for the entire year.  Personalized ornaments are a wonderful way to celebrate graduations, engagements, birthdays, weddings, new jobs and so much more, so see what’s new in 2011 at OrnamentsandMore.com today.

Article and images used with permission from OrnamentsandMore.com

Aromatic ornaments are ideal wedding and party favors.

Butterfly ornaments make great spring and summer party favors.  When considering the theme for a fair weather event, thoughts of flowers and butterflies often top the list.  Natural flowers and butterfly releases are especially nice and many sources for live butterflies can be found on the internet.

But more and more party planners are choosing butterfly ornaments as a lasting remembrance of their special event. While live butterfly releases can be dramatic, some people are opposed to using live butterflies for a number of reasons.  An eco-friendly version is a good alternative to a release and a unique ornament can be a perfect companion gift to a live release.  And, while live butterflies may fly away, the ornaments will go home with the guests.

Imported offerings seem to be everywhere, but quality, hand crafted domestic alternatives can be found with a bit of searching.  Some can be personalized and other artists offer custom colors as well.  Still others offer all these options and gift boxes and more.

When searching for ornaments, be sure to try several different search engines for the best variety of choices. Choose a company that offers samples for sale, and try to plan well ahead.  Quality hand crafted ornaments may take time to produce and in some cases they are made to order and personalized.  Make sure you can speak with a real person if you have questions about ordering online. Share the prospects with your Facebook friends unless the choice is to be a surprise.

The Wedding Department has a very nice selection of butterfly ornaments.  They will add an aroma and personalized text to make your ornaments unique.  They also have many other popular shapes & sizes including hummingbirds, hearts, snowflakes and more, all reasonably priced to keep the hostess happy. 

Article & images used with permission from theweddingdept.com

Shopping for Christmas ornaments at GiftsForYouNow.com presents a delightful menu of choices for your family, teacher, minister, employees, business associates, or just anyone that you want to say a special “thank you” to during the holidays.   The folks at GiftForYouNow.com  have a large selection of meaningful Christmas ornaments that are suitable for any recipient, whether it be your children, spouse, friends, co-workers or teachers.  Christmas ornaments make the perfect gift ideas that are treasured year after year, and all of the ornaments at this well organized site can either be personalized with a single name or the names of your whole family.  At GiftsForYouNow.com, you will see many choices for Christmas ornaments that are engraved, painted or printed with unique designs and personalization.  Choose from a wide selection of Engraved Oval Glass Ornaments, Printed Round Ceramic Ornaments or Hand Painted Resin Ornaments to find the perfect custom ornament to meet your needs.

Personalized Christmas ornaments are also ideal gifts for grab bags, exchanges, stocking stuffers or any life changing event.  You might want to give personalized ornaments to a newlywed couple celebrating their first Christmas together, a mother expecting her first child, someone who has just graduated or to a baby for their first Christmas.  More and more, we see gift buyers using custom printed ornaments to mark special occasions and many people order a personalized ornament to celebrate a new baby.  Then they continue the tradition by personalizing an ornament for the child each year.  All of these unique ornaments are perfect to complement any event.   They give you a chance at the end of the year to look back at all of the good times, and the personalized ornaments will remind your gift recipients of these fond memories for years to come.  Christmas will take on a new meaning each and every single year when you give personalized Christmas ornaments.

The name Cajun is derived from les Acadiens, and usually refers to the French descendants of Canadian exiles who migrated south to the Gulf of Mexico area in the 19th century.  The Cajun culture is delightful, and makes up an important part of Louisiana’s customs and traditions.  The ornaments that you will find at CajunOrnaments.com are a colorful reflection of Cajun life.

In 2002, Jackie & a friend made the shellfish ornaments to raise extra money for Jackie’s son’s 8th grade school trip.  The Cajun Christmas ornaments were so popular that the fishermen/ornaments artists decided to continue making them as a business.  The ornaments are sold online and at Louisiana stores that offer traditional Cajun arts and food.   You will find the ornaments locally in Lafayette at Vermillionville, Prejean’s Restaurant, and Louisiana Hot Stuff.  If you happen to be in Henderson, Louisiana, you’ll see the ornaments at the Cajun Palette Art Gallery.  Another outlet is Crawfish Town USA in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana.  Don’t you just love the names? They pretty much guarantee a fun shopping experience. 

The artisans at Cajun Ornaments handcraft the ornaments from crawfish, garfish scales, redfish scales, and crabs, all of which they usually catch themselves, so all of the raw materials are part of Louisiana’s coastal life.    The materials are cleaned and then hand painted and tooled to match the original ornament design.  The owners of CajunOrnaments.com seem to have the design and production down to a joyful science. 

The website CajunOrnaments.com is fun and full to the brim with information about Louisiana and the surrounding area.  While you are shopping for ornaments made of crustacean shells,  you can also check on the latest news about the Gulf oil spill, get the current weather report for the Gulf area, and view several fishing trip videos.  They even tell you where to find the best Cajun seafood and the places you don’t want to miss if you visit Louisiana. If you want to learn to make your own Cajun garlic shrimp, they have a great recipe for you which includes a demonstration video.

By the way, if you look closely at the ornaments, you will see the unique shape of the garfish scales which were used as arrowheads for hundreds of years.  Garfish fossils have been collected in the Gulf area which give evidence that these still-living fish have remained unchanged for millions of years.  How wonderful to be able to enjoy a beautiful ornament resulting from man’s creativity and nature’s tenacious beauty.

Article and images used with permission from CajunOrnaments.com

When you think about decoration pieces for your home, there are a number of artistic items that may come into your mind. Some of these objets d’art might include flowers, birds, angels, or other ideas from nature or events.  Perhaps your ideas incorporate traditional hanging ornaments or maybe you have figurine ornaments in mind. 

Whatever inspires you, there are hundreds of ornament vendors offering figurines for almost every occasion and lifestyle.  Willow Tree figurine ornaments are becoming more recognized by collectors and decorators as unique works of art to use as accents for the home and office. These ornaments are not something that you would find lying around in every ordinary store, and you most likely will not see them in any of the large corporate chains. The ornament enthusiast with an artist’s eye will tell you that the clarity of detail that you can expect to find in such lovely keepsakes is remarkable, and that they are definitely worth seeking out.

One of the reasons why Willow Tree figures are becoming more and more popular is because collectors and gift buyers are looking for ornaments that have unique designs and superb workmanship.  Those who appreciate Willow Tree ornaments are looking for art and not trinkets. The work that goes into making a Willow Tree figure requires a lot of time and precision for the final product to look perfect. Most of the figures that are available are designed in such a way to represent a story or an event that has taken place in someone’s life. They are seen as thoughtful ideas that can be used for both gift and decorative purposes.

A lot of work and time is known to go into the making of Willow Tree angels and ornaments.  Since many people are unaware of the existence of Willow Tree figurines, you won’t expect to find much variety in many high street shops. Any store that does offer such items may be charging quite an expensive price for them as well. If you are planning to buy such an item, a great place to look would be online at the UK based BoutiqueToYou where you will find both a larger variety and better prices.

Article and images used with permission from BoutiqueToYou.

With spring training almost in sight for professionals as well as for little leaguers, you may be thinking about how to honor young athletes.   Everyone loves to see their name etched or painted on awards, and personalized sports ornaments are a wonderful and inexpensive medium for team gifts, or as a special thank you to the coaches who give so much of their time to junior athletic programs.  There are hundreds of ornament vendors online, and one of the largest online shops offers a staggering selection of 232 sports ornaments , all of which  can be personalized for free.   

From coaching staff to uniforms, most youth teams depend on volunteers and donations.  Personalized sports ornaments make a fun and easy fundraiser for your team.  Choose a simple ornament that reflects your team colors or activity, and the ornament vendor will personalize the ornament with your team name and the year.  Have the personalized ornament available to sell at games to create team spirit and earn extra funds.  Be sure to give one of the team ornaments to the local businesses who have donated uniforms and equipment. 

Sports ornaments are also popular as collectible ornaments for sports fans.  You can find virtually every major college team and pro team represented with a sports ornament at catalog stores like NFL.com and OnlineSports.com.   You can pick up an ornament tree to display the sports ornaments as the ornament collection grows. 

The racing enthusiast is not left out,  and the popularity of racing is evident at NASCAR.com, where you will find a nice assortment of NASCAR driver ornaments. There are sets of racing ornaments and figurines available depicting favorite drivers like Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.   Bookmark their ornaments page, because as the holidays approach later in the year, they usually offer even more racing ornaments. 

Sports fans who might not call themselves ornaments fans will be thrilled with sports ornaments to remind them of ballgames, races, or maybe their best day at the golf course. 

Whether you are introducing geography to a class of fifth graders, or you want to impress your boss with a unique desk ornament, you will enjoy visiting World Globe Universe and choosing a patented globe ornament in your favorite color.  The handblown ornaments are an appropriate gift for almost any age and occasion, and they reflect your interest in the world and education.  With dozens of hanging globe ornaments in a variety of colors and sizes, you may decide to do all of your birthday shopping for the year.  Having a generically wrapped World Globe Ornament on hand is a super idea for unexpected or forgotten occasions,  and buying an extra globe ornament might just save you a frantic rush to the mall someday.  Keep extra ornaments available to present to graduates, teachers, or for anyone that you want to say “thank you” to in a special way. 

 Designed and crafted in the USA, each Christmasphere™ ornament is hand silk-screened on the interior surface for long-lasting beauty. The  special process of blowing each sphere gives the colorful ornament the look of glass with the strength and durability of acrylic.  You can complete your gift with a  graceful display stand to show off the heirloom quality ornament. 

The Gemstone Christmas Globes™ are also earth themed ornaments and are available exclusively at World Globe Universe.  Each of these Magellan ornaments are meticulously handcrafted with semiprecious gemstones, and each stone is cut by the artisans to resemble the continent it represents. After the continent stones are affixed to the sphere, the resin based oceans, latitude, longitude and place names are added and the entire globe is sealed in a transparent, high gloss polymer coating. Presented in a beautiful gift box, the total effect is stunning, and there are more than a dozen colors and color combinations of gemstone globe ornaments from which to choose.

Article and images used with permission from WorldGlobeU.com.

No matter what the size of your family, TreasuredOrnaments.com has the perfect ornament for you.  They have ornaments for single parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, families of 12, and everything in between.  Ready to personalize, each polymer-resin ornament is carefully designed to suit every family’s needs, but some of the ornaments are so cute, that you may want to purchase them without personalization.  Their center for selling ornaments is at the Merced Mall in Merced, California.  Online for 6 years, they are set up to ship ornaments worldwide. 

 In addition to traditional family ornaments, they have a nice collection of licensed ornaments from Elvis to Betty Boop to Coca Cola, and these unique ornaments can all be personalized as well.   There are also plenty of children’s ornaments available, such as Hello Kitty, My Little Pony and many of the characters from Sesame Street. 

You won’t be disappointed in the customer service at TreasuredOrnaments.com either.  They are committed to their customers and want to make sure that you are 100% pleased with your personalized ornaments.  With free personalization and only 3 days lead time before shipment, this is a wonderful source for ornaments for every holiday.

Article and images used with permission from TreasuredOrnaments.com