It’s that time of year again to light the fireplace, pour a cup of hot chocolate, and hang-up all of those sparkly holiday decorations that I so love. I’ve often wondered throughout the years who these mysterious merry makers are making the world around us transform into a jingling winter wonderland. So in celebration of, well celebration, I thought I’d try to shed some light on these festive peeps.

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Christopher Radko

Starting with the sad destruction of his family heirloom ornaments in the early 80’s when his Christmas tree fell over to the horror of the Radko family, Christopher Radko went on a quest to replace them. With no avail, Christopher decided to pull-up his sleeves and get the job done with the help of a European glassblower. Twenty years plus later, the Christopher Radko company has been designing and producing European glass ornaments that are extremely collectible. Who knew?! Ornament collectors I guess…

Each ornament goes through a week long process before coming to fruition. Although the artisans aren’t named individually, the Radko site does lovingly explain the delicate process in which each ornament is made and clearly respects the talent of its people.

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Celebrity Ornaments

Every holiday season, celebrities design some cheer for charity. The very city slick ornament pictured left was designed by none other than Sarah Jessica Parker. Her and a few of her fellow Hollywood peeps participated in the heART HSN 2010 designer ornament collection which benefits St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

You can take a peek at the other designs here.

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Mainly what I found in my quest to unveil these bringers of cheer was a big, fat nothing. Tons of distributors, retailers, and wholesalers surfaced but not the ones who design the actual decor. So if you know of anyone who dabbles in cheer, tell me about it. I’d love to learn the stories behind the rarely celebrated artists of the biggest celebration season of the year.

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Be sure to check back for more Peeps I Dig. Who inspires you?