Nutcracker Ballet

As I searched for a new product theme, Nutcracker came naturally. I took ballet as a girl but lost interest. Then when I moved to Utah, I started taking community education ballet classes. I loved being able to have the mind-body connection. At the end of class, I’d think, “well that wasn’t so tiring”, the next two days I’d be sore confirming that it was in fact a tough work out. It is more of a strengthening than cardio workout.

Anyway, I love ballet and wanted to express the dynamic movements of dance in this piece. I also wanted to portray the story that captures our imaginations so vividly. I’m very happy with the results. Nutcracker will be in the Smithsonian Catalog this Christmas season as well as the Kennedy Center (DC), Disney Center (LA), and the Boston Ballet gift shops among many other high-end gift shops around the country. The piece shown here is the 9.75” 24-Carat Gold plated piece.

Bright Lights Big City

The New York Gift fair was very good to me. I received many orders to round out a successful show year. I got orders for Nativity, new Nutcracker, and Santa lines from small high-end gift stores across the nation to large retail outlets. You will see these lines in the Deseret Book catalog, the Smithsonian catalog, the LA Philharmonic, the Kennedy Center, and Boston Ballet as well as over 100 gift stores, jewelry shops and museum stores across the nation. More details on the new lines, where you can buy and this year’s friends and family sale coming very soon! www.valeriedesign.com

Hidden Nativity

“Southern Lady” magazine included my 24-carat gold nativity in one of there feature photos. It looks really nice. Take a look! It is small, so don’t miss it!

The cover of the magazine is below.

Shop Local for Nativity

For those of you who are shopping local this season, I’ve compiled a guide to the stores across the nation who are carrying Nativity. These stores are all locally owned and mom and pop businesses. Also noted are Magi Gifts catalog and Signals catalog.

Amangani Hotel Gift Shop	Jackson Hole, WY
Arcadia	New York, NY
ATYS Contemporary Design Objects	San Francisco, CA
Chruch of St. Paul the Apostle Gift Shop	New York, NY
Chumash Casino	Santa Ynez, CA
Cummer Museum of Art	Jacksonville, FL
Deseret Book, Flagship Store	Salt Lake City, UT
Designs de Jour	Iwansea, SC
Eagle Drug	Rochester, MN
Eklektik Interiors	Spring, TX
Farmacia San Miguel	Utuado, PR
Flora & Foglia Inc.	South Dartmouth, MA
Good News	Charlette, NC
Hanson Galleries	Houston, TX
Heartland Gifts	Anna, IL
Historic Hopewell Foundation Inc.	Hopewell, VA
Horsley’s Nursery & Florist	Midland, MI
Interior Objects	Lafayette, IN
Interiors & Designs by Ursula	Ridgefield, CT
Interiors & Designs by Ursula	Winter Park, FL
Jacqueline Bed & Bath	Bronxville, NY
Jan Hough Interiors	Atlanta, GA
John Wolf Florist	Savannah, GA
Koehn Sculptors & Designers Ltd	South Euclid, OH
Magi Gifts Catalog	Alpharetta, GA
Mole Hole	Carmel, CA
OOO!	Tuscon, AZ
Rocky Mountain Christmas	Park City, UT
Royal Poinciana Chapel	Palm Beach, FL
Signals Gift Catalog	Hudson, OH
Something Specia	Vincentes, IN
Sonata	Lincoln, NE
Special Request	Jackson, MS
Sterling Cut Glass	Cincinnati, OH
Teresa’s on Main	Durham, NC
The Menagerie	Austin, TX
The Mercantile	Atlanta, GA
The Museum of Russian Art	Minneapolis, MN
Tom Carr Collectables	McDonough, GA
Trillium	Lexinton, KY
Tucker Pecan Co.	Montgomery, AL
Verbena Floral Design	Austin, TX

Editorial in Gift Magazine

Nativity was featured in Gifts and Decorative Accessories this month. It is a trade magazine for retailers across the country. Beautiful, don’t you think!

Tomorrow is the last day for the 2011 Friends & Family Sale for my new nativities. Coupon code at check out (remember to click “apply”) “FandF2011”

A Big Thank You

A big thank you from Nativity winner, James Moore: “Hi, Valerie! I have received the package. I had my family wait to open it (usually they open my mail for me) and I opened it in front of them. It was even better looking than I thought it would be and they were all very impressed with how it looks, feels, and how easily it fit together. Thank you very much!”

My First Customer

Anne Josephine Peterson Maughan was my first customer. She was born October 25^th, 1906 and she happens to be my grandmother. She is turning 105 this month and is thrilled about my nativities. It is one of her favorite topics of conversation. She asks how they are selling and is convinced that I’m going to be a millionaire. “They are so beautiful” often escapes her lips at random times. What a cheerleader! She told me that she wanted to be my first customer so as soon as I could sell her one, I did. She bought the satin nickel nativity. She likes the gold and rhodium ones but she thought they were too flashy for the Savior. I’m so lucky to have such support from my family!

Friends and Family Sale 2011

Friends and Family Sale 2011 at www.valeriedesign.com
Last year's was a huge success. I excited to announce today is the first day of the Friends & Family Sale for Nativity items. This year it is going to work differently: 
1. This is an order, meaning you will purchase it now, but the nativity will be delivered in a month.
2. The sale is only on my new products: 16" Nativity, Mantel Nativity, and Ornaments
3. The sale is for 40% off retail price.
4. This sale is only for 8 days. Sale ends October 12th!
5. The coupon code is "FandF2011"
This sale is to help promote my nativities by word of mouth. So when you get your nativities, please display prominently in your home.

Thanks! And have a great time shopping!

Congratulations James Moore!

Congratulations James More! You are the winner of the Stainless Steel Nativity! Thank you everyone who has liked my page. Please keep sharing! Friends & Family sale is coming soon for my new products. www.valeriedesign.com