Marilyn Horne Museum Bradford ornaments available

The Marilyn Horne Museum and Exhibit Center has unveiled a new series of Bradford Christmas ornaments. This year features six designs created by Beacon Design by ChemArt, the veteran-owned small business, which has been creating the official White House Christmas ornaments for over 40 years.

“This ornament program is the museum's annual Christmas gift to Bradford,” said museum manager Matthew Hileman. “Last year's ornaments were in high demand and the community really loved them. This year's ornaments are even more special.”

Five of the ornament designs include Santa Claus, an old-fashioned railroad, a woodland scene, a black bear, and a Victorian street reminiscent of Bradford's Main Street. Each has “Bradford, Pennsylvania” etched on the front. The sixth ornament is a snowflake featuring the name of the museum. Only 50 of each design of this Bradford series will be available. Shoppers are encouraged to purchase as early as possible.

“Because of the quality of these pieces, they take nearly a month to create. I expect to sell out of the Bradford ornaments before Christmas.” Hileman said. “These ornaments are very costly to have created, so I had to be conservative in how many we were able to purchase for sale.”

Beacon Design ornaments are etched and then assembled and polished by hand. Unlike some companies where the pieces are assembled in the U.S. using foreign parts, the entire ornament is fabricated in the United States.  The ornaments are made of layers of polished and enameled brass that make the designs sparkle. The 2018 Bradford ornaments are much larger than the ones created in 2017, Hileman added. The museum will also offer a selection of open-line ornaments from the company that include animals, bejeweled snowflakes, ocean themes, and a filigree heart among others.

The Beacon Design Bradford ornaments are only available for purchase at the Marilyn Horne Museum and Exhibit Center Gift Shop. The ornaments are $17.95 each and all proceeds from their sale go to support the museum's community engagement and outreach programming. Limited quantities are available and online sales are not available currently. The shop is open Monday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays. The shop will be open through December 23 and will be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. More information can be found at www.marilynhorne.org.