Precious Moment Inspiration II
Precious Moments is a lifestyle brand created by artist Sam Butcher. His simple illustrations of children with teardrop shaped eyes include messages of heartfelt endurance and inspiration. Products derived from these illustrations (by license) are called "Precious Moments". 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 is being sold since 1977. At its peak, this world-famous product line has seen forty times the sales of the next-best selling Precious Moments product line (Enesco). In the 21st century, Precious Moments is known as one of the few brands that mainly deal in porcelain figurines besides Lladro and Hummel.
It (Precious Moments, Inc. a.k.a. PMI) is also the name of the company that maintains and licenses copyrighted material pertaining to the designs by Sam Butcher. The company was incorporated in 1989 to answer to the increased demands of the Precious Moments characters and themes - yet 80% of the royalties collected was from its licensee Enesco Corp. for their porcelain products.
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 the Philippines and spends little time in the US.
Collectors and clubs
The Precious MomentsTM Collectors' Club was founded in 1980*, followed by the Precious MomentsTMFan Club in the 90s.
In a 2004 report, 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. The most notable chapters are the You Have Touched So Many Hearts (YHTSMH) sponsored by European Imports (Niles, Illinois) and the Alohalani Precious Moments Club sponsored by the Cathedral Gift Shop (Honolulu, HI). The two stores would also join large scale events, such as the Gifts & Collectibles Show at Rosemont, Illinois and the Precious Moments Hawaiian Adventure respectively.
Each local chapter may also distribute their own newsletters to its chapter members. The YHTSMH publishes its Heart Felt News and the Alohalani distributes its NuPePa quarterly. Some chapters create their own club logos and pins to match.
During the Enesco years, the Precious Moments Community was approved as the only official online chapter for the Collectors' Club.
Around the world, the PMCC and its members were supported by their local distributors; Precious Memory in Japan, Best Gate in Hong Kong, Precious Thots in Thailand and so on. But the English version of the Good News Letter, the official newsletter of PMCC, was not well accepted - and in many cases, the local distributors would publish their own native language leaflets. With almost no support from US headquarters, customers also had to rely on the local distributor to answer their complaints against Enesco. Many of the distributors would eventually set up their own membership programs to take care of their customers.
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 newletter, Moments.
*There was a big 25th anniversary celebration in Hawaii in 2005. So 1980 would be the charter year.
The flagship product of the brand is the "Precious MomentsTM Porcelain Bisque Figurines" that is being sold since 1977. At its peak, this world-famous product line has seen forty times the sales of the next-best selling Precious Moments product line (Enesco). In the 21st century, Precious Moments is known as one of the few brands that mainly deal in porcelain figurines besides Lladro and Hummel.
It (Precious Moments, Inc. a.k.a. PMI) is also the name of the company that maintains and licenses copyrighted material pertaining to the designs by Sam Butcher. The company was incorporated in 1989 to answer to the increased demands of the Precious Moments characters and themes - yet 80% of the royalties collected was from its licensee Enesco Corp. for their porcelain products.
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 the Philippines and spends little time in the US.
Collectors and clubs
The Precious MomentsTM Collectors' Club was founded in 1980*, followed by the Precious MomentsTMFan Club in the 90s.
In a 2004 report, 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. The most notable chapters are the You Have Touched So Many Hearts (YHTSMH) sponsored by European Imports (Niles, Illinois) and the Alohalani Precious Moments Club sponsored by the Cathedral Gift Shop (Honolulu, HI). The two stores would also join large scale events, such as the Gifts & Collectibles Show at Rosemont, Illinois and the Precious Moments Hawaiian Adventure respectively.
Each local chapter may also distribute their own newsletters to its chapter members. The YHTSMH publishes its Heart Felt News and the Alohalani distributes its NuPePa quarterly. Some chapters create their own club logos and pins to match.
During the Enesco years, the Precious Moments Community was approved as the only official online chapter for the Collectors' Club.
Around the world, the PMCC and its members were supported by their local distributors; Precious Memory in Japan, Best Gate in Hong Kong, Precious Thots in Thailand and so on. But the English version of the Good News Letter, the official newsletter of PMCC, was not well accepted - and in many cases, the local distributors would publish their own native language leaflets. With almost no support from US headquarters, customers also had to rely on the local distributor to answer their complaints against Enesco. Many of the distributors would eventually set up their own membership programs to take care of their customers.
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 newletter, Moments.
*There was a big 25th anniversary celebration in Hawaii in 2005. So 1980 would be the charter year.
posted by Peace at 12:11 AM
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