Precious Moments

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For other uses, see Precious Moments (disambiguation).

Precious Moments is widely known as a series of collectible porcelain bisque figurines. The original artwork was created by the American illustrator Sam Butcher in the 1970s. The figurines depict young children with distinctive teardrop-shaped eyes, and are often accompanied by inspirational messages which are also found on the products.

Precious Moments is also the brand name for a series of giftware and collectibles licensed by Precious Moments, Inc (a.k.a. PMI) based on the artworks by Sam Butcher.

A Precious Moments clock face.
A Precious Moments clock face.

Contents

[edit] General

Precious Moments is a brand of products based on illustrations by artist Sam Butcher. His simple illustrations of children with teardrop shaped eyes include messages of heartfelt endurance and inspiration. Christian themes appear throughout his work, as Butcher is a born-again Christian.

The flagship product of the brand is the "Precious MomentsTM Porcelain Bisque Figurines" that has been in the market since 1977. At its peak, this product line saw forty times the sales of the next-best selling Precious Moments product line (Enesco).

Precious Moments, Inc. is also the name of the company that maintains and licenses copyrighted material pertaining to the designs by Sam Butcher. Precious Moments, Inc. a.k.a. PMI was incorporated in 1989. 80% of the royalties collected by the company was from its licensee Enesco Corp. for the porcelain figurine line.

Also, the same year, Sam Butcher used his profits from PMI to build his longtime dream - a chapel in Carthage, Missouri. Honored as the father of Precious Moments, he appears at some events in Carthage and occasionally at large scale collector club events, like those which took place in May of 2005 in Hawaii for the club's 25th anniversary. Sam Butcher currently resides in Aklan, Philippines and spends little time in the US.

[edit] Figurines

The story of how Precious Moments became porcelain figurines is familiar to many collectors. What is known to be the status quo story is that Gene Freedman, founding chairman of Enesco, Corp., found Sam Butcher and then convinced Sam to have sculptors, bring life to his "children" as three dimensional figurines.

A Precious Moments porcelain figurine.
A Precious Moments porcelain figurine.

[edit] The beginning

Precious Moments is well known for the porcelain figurines sold by Enesco Corp. since 1978. Sam Butcher originally started scribbling the now famous children with tear-drop shaped eyes on cards and letters to friends and families. Butcher and his friend Bill Biel started a small company under the name of Jonathan & David (J&D) to produce and sell his art on a line of cards and posters. J&D sold some greeting cards at flea markets but sales were meager and localized at first. The big break came at the Christian Booksellers Association Convention in Anaheim, California. Butcher remembers being so busy that they had to have neighboring vendors come over to help him and Biel fill orders. Soon after, his work was noticed by Eugene Freedman in 1975. Freedman searched for more than a year looking for a sculptors. In 1976, Freedman finally brought the artwork to Japan.

At first, the porcelain figurines were sold under the Jonathan & David name, but during the mid 1980s (J&D under stamps can be found up until 1986), due to differences in business policies, Butcher dissolved Jonathan & David. Enesco took over the distributorship world wide from then on. Also around the same time, Butcher set up the "Sam Butcher Foundation" and "Precious Moments, Inc.".

In 1977, the porcelain figurines were introduced to US retailers, and officially started its retail career in 1978.

Years passed and according to the trade magazine Gift Beat, Precious Moments became one of the top porcelain collectible brand in the United States during the mid 1980s to 1990s.

To encourage and promote these products Internationally, Enesco developed and marketed a series of "Exclusive" Precious Moments. These products would depict inspirational cultural themes of non-Western countries. For example, Enesco created many Japanese kimono-girl figurines.

[edit] Collectors and clubs

The Precious MomentsTM Collectors' Club was founded in 1980*, followed by the Precious MomentsTMFun Club in the 90s.

In a 2004 report by the club headquarters, the cumulative membership was 100,000 individuals. In January of 2005, PMI reported the running total to be 200,000. This number includes members from the Precious Moments Collectors' Club (PMCC), the Precious Moments Fan Club (PMFC), and unofficial members that are simply registered as direct mail recipients in PMI's database.

Club members have established local chapters to each of these clubs. One does not have to join a local chapter to be a member. Local chapter members benefit from local sponsorship that is otherwise unavailable from club headquarters. There are even chapters in Canada. Each chapter is usually sponsored by a local gift shop selling Precious Moments figurines.

Each local chapter may also distribute their own newsletters to its chapter members. Some chapters create their own club logos and pins.

During the Enesco years, the Precious Moments Community was approved as the only official online chapter for the Collectors' Club.

As Enesco lost its license with PMI in 2005, all local chapters and international clubs have been disavowed - although still active. Since then, PMI has decided to re-evaluate its club strategies. In February of 2006 PMI began accepting registration of local club chapters in an open letter in their quarterly newsletter, Moments.

*There was a big 25th anniversary celebration in Hawaii in 2005. So 1980 would be the charter year.

[edit] Precious Moments, Inc.

Old corporate logo still found on products
Old corporate logo still found on products
Precious Moments, Inc.
Type Corporation
Founded 1991
Headquarters Carthage, MO
Key people Jon Butcher (Chairman), Byron Norfleet (President/CEO), Scott Bryson (VP Sales), Frank Muci (VP Product Development), Jeff Biggos (VP Finance), Bret Moore (VP Marketing)
Industry Giftware
Products Porcelain figurines, other gift and collectibles
Website www.preciousmoments.com

Precious Moments, Inc. (A.k.a. PMI) was founded in 1991 by Samuel J. Butcher and his family. The company is currently owned by two of Butcher's sons - Don, who lives in Carthage, MO, and Jon, who lives in St. Charles, Illinois.

In 1998, PMI delegated its copyright licensing function to United Media (A.k.a. UM), a wholly owned subsidiary of E. W. Scripps. Because of this, between 1998 and 2005, PMI did not hold any rights to license its own intellectual property. With UM as its licensing agent, PMI licensed its property out to more than 150 manufacturers and vendors.

In July 2005, PMI became the distributor for the Precious Moments porcelain products in place of Enesco. In addition to its original licensing duties, the company's current functions are product design, marketing, warehousing, and distribution.

In January 2006, Jon Butcher stepped down as president and CEO and PMI welcomed Byron Norfleet (previously president of the Naturalizer division of Brown Shoe) as its new CEO and president.

Corporate charters and annual reports recovered Mar 20, 2006 from Missouri Secretary of State.

[edit] The Precious Moments Chapel

The Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage, Missouri, is a theme park run by PMI. The "Chapel" itself is a structure within the park and was completed in 1989[1]. The land it stands on is owned by the Sam Butcher Foundation - therefore is personally owned by Sam Butcher and his heirs.

The main attraction of the park is the "Fountain of Angels", designed by Sam Butcher himself. The indoor attraction can propel water up to 80 feet high in sync to music, lights, and visual effects. Two separate performances are held every day from March through December.

In January of 2007, Precious Moments Inc. announced that they would discontinue many of its attractions including the "Fountain of Angels" due to financial difficulties arising from diminished numbers in paid visitors due to higher gas prices and general decline of the brand. Other closures include the "Wedding Island", "The "RV Park", "The Gallery", and "Souper Sam’s". In Spring 2007, "The Gallery" was remodeled, renamed "The Samuel J. Butcher Museum" and reopened.[2]

[edit] See also

Precious Moments Boy
Precious Moments Boy

[edit] Sources

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Precious Moments, Inc.. Samuel J. Butcher Story. Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
  2. ^ Precious Moments, inc.. Precious Moments Park Changes. Retrieved on 2007-06-29.

[edit] External links

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