Department 56 is a manufacturer of the US holiday collection, ornaments, and Christmas gifts, known for its collection of Christmas villages and the lively Snowbabies collection. It is owned by Enesco and is based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
Video Department 56
Histori
Department 56 was founded in 1976. Originally, it was part of Bachman, a retail florist based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Bachman uses a numbering system to identify each of his departments. The amount set for the wholesale gift import division is 56.
Founder Ed Bazinet (born 1943 or 1944) convinced the Bachman family to invest $ 50,000 in starting the division, and was named first president when Department 56 was separated as a $ 15 million subsidiary in 1984. He was a talented employee from Bachman who won the Designers Competition The Minnesota State Florist Association's 1964 Budget Year. Bazinet sold Department 56 in 1992 for $ 270 million, and remained in the leadership position until retirement in 1997. Bazinet was a recipient of the 1996 Prize for his support of research, education, prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. In 2000-2001, the 56 Department donated at least $ 25,000 to the Walker Art Center in honor of Bazinet (who also donated to the art center that year). A $ 20 million spending by Bazinet at a gift exhibition in New York in 2012, where he received the headlines, was reported as due to a bipolar episode. Bazinet died on November 20, 2017, leaving the property for $ 54 million.
In 1993, the company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "DFS". At its peak in the 1990s, shares traded at $ 40 per share. In 2005, after purchasing Lenox from Brown-Forman, the company changed its name to "Lenox Group Inc" and its ticker symbol became "LNX". After failing to meet the requirements of the exchange, trading is transferred to the OTC Bulletin Board under the ticker "LENX". Lenox filed for bankruptcy in 2009, and was acquired by private equity firm Clarion Capital Partners. Enesco acquired Department 56 from Lenox that year.
Department 56 has been headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota since June 25, 1991. In May 2015, the company has about 30 employees, and its sales have grown by seven to eleven percent annually over the previous four years. About two-thirds of the sales through smaller gifts and Christmas stores, but the most recent growth has gone through the national retail stores, with Amazon also among the largest customers.
Maps Department 56
Villages
This brand started with a collection of "Original Snow Village" from six homes in 1976. Each Department 56 item has a name at the bottom. The building is also dated, with years of copyright not the year it was published. The first Original Snow Village snippets are Mountain Lodge, Gable Cottage, Inn, Country Church, Steepled Church, and Small Chalet, and are made of ceramics. This collection consists of more than 225 pieces, including accessories.
A sub-series called "The Christmas Path" became a bestseller and included what one vendor described as "specially decorated homes located on American roads during the holiday season". In 2011, identical twin brothers Mark and Mac Sockwell won a national contest to get their homes and the decoration evolved into a new Christmas Christmas home.
The "Village Heritage" collection consists of several different villages and several sub-collections in each village. The first was Dickens Village porcelain in 1984 with houses depicting the time of Charles Dickens and associated with the stories he wrote. Pieces include The Cottage of Bob Cratchit & amp; Tiny Tim, The Old Curiosity Shop, Nicholas Nickleby, David Copperfield, and Oliver Twist.
The "New England Village" began in 1986 and depicts buildings and people in the New England region with many churches, such as the Old North Church in Boston, the lighthouse and the agricultural area.
The "Alpine Village" also began in 1986 and remains one of the smaller collections. It consists of buildings such as Josef Engel Farmhouse, Besson Bierkeller, Grist Mill and St. Nickolaus Kirche.
The "Christmas in the City" collection, made in the 1930s and 1940s, began in 1987 and consists of parts such as Palace Theater, Toy Shop & amp; Pet Shop, Ritz Hotel, Dorothy Dress Shop, Wong, and rare limited edition - Cathedral Church St. Mark.
The "North Pole Series" started in 1990 with the introduction of three homes, the Santa Workshop, Elf Bunkhouse, and Reindeer Barn. The collection celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2005 with the release of five special edition buildings which, when united, spell "SANTA".
The "Little Town of Bethlehem" was published in 1987 as a set of twelve fruit.
In May 2016, the 56 Department introduced two new villages of "First Frost" and "Holiday In The Woods".
Collector
In 1992, Jack Skeels (1930-2005) established the National Council of Fifty Six Clubs (NCC) as an umbrella organization for the Department 56 Collector Clubs in the United States and Canada. As of June 2017, the NCC recognizes 85 member clubs in ten areas. In addition to club promotions and information exchange, the NCC helps sponsor collectors' meetings that include seminars, screen contests, and fundraising for local charities.
Note
References
External links
- Official Department web page 56
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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