2026 Vaillancourt Catalog (Print Edition)

Rooted in Tradition. Elevated into Fine Art.

Each year, we return to the same beginning: a three-dimensional blank canvas, Judi’s paintbrush in hand, and the belief that a single piece can hold a story worth passing down.

Our roots run deep. Judi Vaillancourt envisioned hand-painted chalkware as a way to tell stories, interpreting the holiday customs of generations past through a historical lens. That vision took shape in moulds once used by Victorian confectioners, and it remains at the center of everything we create. This year, as the nation celebrates its Semiquincentennial, we honor that sense of history with the Limited Edition Liberty Bell Santa. He stands beside a richly gilded bell draped in red, white, and blue bunting and is joined by a companion hand-blown glass ornament. Both carry a quiet reverence and pride in our shared heritage. Judi’s legacy continues to grow through designs created with her son, Luke M. Vaillancourt, so our tradition stays rooted while it continues to evolve.

From those roots, the work rises. At the heart of the 2026 collection is Santa with Tree of Birds. In this piece, a tree spared from the axe becomes a living Christmas tree for nature. Bluebirds nestle in Santa’s sack and pockets, and red cardinals, long held as symbols of remembrance, rest among the snowy branches. The owl, a figure of protection, knowledge, and the mystery of the night, carries the theme further. In Santa on Snowy Owl, Santa rides atop a powerful snowy owl with two tiny owlets in knit caps tucked into his sack. In Owl Whisperer Santa, a gentle guardian pauses in the winter woods with a snowy owl at his shoulder, his robe painted with evergreen boughs, falling snow, and scattered stars that reward close viewing from every angle.

This year also brings two of our most ambitious works. The Statement Gold Santa with Marionette stands nearly twenty inches tall and is entirely gold-leafed. He is finished with delicate gold beading and carries a marionette and a Christmas book, showing old-world presence at its most ornamental. The one-of-a-kind Holly and Ivy Statement Santa took two years to complete. It was poured from one of Judi’s cherished antique moulds and painted leaf by leaf and berry by berry with extraordinary precision. These are heirlooms of consequence, created to anchor a collection for generations. Our tradition has always had room for delight too, and Santa on Chromed Motorcycle shows it as he takes to the open road, his silver-leafed chrome catching the light.

Some traditions are kept simply by keeping them. Our 37th annual Starlight Santa continues a collector tradition we have kept without interruption since the very first release. Since 1984, we have shared our work through this printed catalog, and each edition reflects our belief in the joy of Christmas and the lasting meaning of fine art made by hand. Whether you have collected our work for many years or are discovering it for the first time, we invite you to explore pieces that hold the spirit of history and the warmth of the season.

From our family to yours, may this year’s collection remind you that the most meaningful things grow from deep roots, and may it give you heirlooms to cherish for generations to come.