Get a Behind-the-Scenes Look at Stephen Brown's Glitterville Studios

Every day is a holiday in Stephen Brown’s Glitterville Studios, a brand specializing in home and holiday decor including sparkling ornaments, tableware and everything in between. See how Stephen turns his original art and handmade creations into products for the holiday masses, plus shop product collections and get craft projects to bring a little Glitterville home.

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By: Rachael Jones and Stephen Brown

Show: HGTV Handmade

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Photo By: Tomas Espinoza

Photo By: Emilee Ramsier

Photo By: Tomas Espinoza

Photo By: Emilee Ramsier

Photo By: Tomas Espinoza

Photo By: Emilee Ramsier

Photo By: Tomas Espinoza

Photo By: Emilee Ramsier

Photo By: Tomas Espinoza

Year-round Yuletide

From a dreamer to a doer, Stephen Brown creates a unique handmade aesthetic in his studio called Glitterville, where he takes designs dreamed up on walks and brings them to life on the studio floor. As former actor, costume designer and 5th Avenue window display artist, Stephen's creative streak runs deep. “I always loved holidays," Stephen says. "My Nana would always craft with me, and we would start crafting for Christmas in June. All the other kids were getting really excited that Christmas Day was coming, but the closer Christmas came, the sadder I got. Because the minute people unwrap their gifts on Christmas Day, it’s pretty much over. So I remember one Christmas my nana saying to me, ‘Well, we have to get up tomorrow and we have to make something else because we have to make every day a holiday.’"

Watch the Video: Tour Glitterville Studios

Unicorn Fantasy

"I was always sort of a dreamer kid," Stephen says. "I have a report card where the teacher said, ‘He’s always daydreaming. And that’s going to cause him trouble.' And while that’s probably true, the flip side of that is when you’re a creative person and you have an imagination, unless somebody else tells you that you can’t do these things, then everything is possible."

Watch the Video: Tour Glitterville Studios

From 5th Ave to Glitterville

"After I graduated high school, I went to study costume design for television and film," Stephen says. "I immediately moved to New York, started working lots of crazy jobs and doing things that people said you can’t do, like designing windows on 5th Avenue."

Watch the Video: Tour Glitterville Studios

Humble Beginnings to Worldwide

While in NYC, Stephen started making ornaments for people while he was working as a costume designer. One day someone mentioned he should start trying to sell them. He took the chance, traveled to AmericasMart in Atlanta and was able to successfully sell the ornaments, accepting a deal with holiday collectible Department 56. He worked with them for a few years before moving on to found Glitterville with Bryan Wilkerson, head of the art department at a local college, in 2003. Bryan eventually returned to his teaching position after the birth of his son, leaving Stephen to continue developing the Glitterville brand. What originally started as a small studio operation has now grown into a glittery, multi-city operation with trade showrooms in several states. You can also visit and shop the Glitterville Studio Store in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Watch the Video: Tour Glitterville Studios

Confection Marie Sweet

Stephen creates colorful collections based on all the things he loves. "Now it wouldn’t be a Glitterville if I didn’t at least acknowledge my love of cake and frosting and all things yummy," Stephen says. "Like the mother of all things, Confection Marie Sweet, who even has cotton candy hair."

Watch the Video: Tour Glitterville Studios

Not a Nutcracker

This larger-than-life non-nutcracker is actually called Colonel Cupcake, with peppermint buttons, a cotton candy staff and, of course, a cupcake hat. The seven-foot-tall resin figure invokes a playful nostalgia and whimsical wonder. "Glitterville is really based on living in my own mind and creating a place that I feel happy, comfortable and magical."

Watch the Video: Tour Glitterville Studios

Sugar Plum Palette

Stephen's signature color palette is a color story itself: The original Glitterville palette was a small set of colors, including lime green, sky blue, orange and hot pink. "It was a very basic set of colors," Stephen says. "It was really beautiful and it almost looked like a cartoon. But when people would come in, they would say it was so lovely but they could never have it in [their] home or store [because] it was so out there."

Watch the Video: Tour Glitterville Studios

Muted Yet Magical

It wasn't until a friendly stranger at a trade show mentioned to Stephen that he should mute the colors a tiny bit, and the rest is Glitterville history. "We changed the colors to a completely different color palette, and at the very next show, it was like the world just opened up," Stephen says.

Watch the Video: Tour Glitterville Studios

The Nice List

Glitterville's colorful collection caught the attention of Oprah, who loved the look so much that she placed Stephen's products on her list of favorite things. And that spot on the list eventually lead to Stephen serving as a set stylist for O, The Oprah Magazine.

Oprah Approved: Papa Noel

"When I was little, I had a tiny little mug with a little Santa face," Stephen recalls. "I think that somewhere in my mind I’ve thought about it all these years, and I came up with Papa Noel. [He] has a funny little mustache, a little curl of hair and, of course, a cute little mouth at the bottom." And Papa Noel's cuteness earned Glitterville a spot on Oprah's Favorite Things List of 2022.

Buy It: Papa Noel Cookie Jar: Amazon, $118.40

But Make It Bigger

If tiny Santa mug is just too small, think bigger. Papa Noel also comes in a 6-foot-tall version donned with gold leafing, glitter and made of paper mache. These life-size figures are hand-painted in the Glitterville studio and displayed for sale, of course.

Buy It: Papa Noel Cookie Jar: Amazon, $118.40

Most Wanted: Handblown Sugar Plum Ball

Another extremely sought-after Glitterville piece is both simple and elegant, and you'll soon want one, too. "You never know what the item that’s going to have huge popularity may be," Stephen says. "In this case, it’s a solid color ball. It may not be the most interesting thing in the room, but this set of Sugar Plum Pixie [glass ornaments] is one of the most popular things in the collection."

Watch the Video: Tour Glitterville Studios

Next Year's Wish List

But Stephen says creating a successful product isn't as easy as decorating for Christmas. "Making product is an interesting thing," Stephen explains. "Because if you’re just making things for yourself ,you can make [it] any time and there’s a casualness to that. But when you have a line like Glitterville, there is a schedule that must be kept. Stores all around the world shop for their products in January, and you have to have next Christmas ready by this Christmas. And to do that, you have to start a year in advance."

Watch the Video: Tour Glitterville Studios

Life-sized Paper Mache

Something small can triple in size with the right amount of interest. "Sometimes an item starts as an ornament, like Calowishus the Camel," Stephen says. "And then, he’s so popular that we make him into a big display version."

Watch the Video: Tour Glitterville Studios

Seasonal Snowman

Or the reverse could happen. A five-foot, studio display snowman with a fun top hat and pink embroidered vest could spark the idea for a smaller, seasonal figurine made from paper clay, wire and dowels.

Watch the Video: Tour Glitterville Studios

Frosty Folly Snowman

A mini version of the popular Frosty Folly Snowman seen in Glitterville studios is a fun and easy holiday piece to craft. Stephen uses wooden dowels, wire, paper clay and a ball to make a very merry, skinny snowman.

Watch the Video: Make a Frosty Folly Snowman Figure With Glitterville's Stephen Brown

Stephen's Snowman Secret

The secret for creating sharp dressed characters is to use paper clay. "This is my favorite kind of clay for this project because it's very forgiving," Stephen says. "And the end quality looks like paper mache."

Watch the Video: Make a Frosty Folly Snowman Figure With Glitterville's Stephen Brown

Sprinkled With Spontaneity

Stephen's inspiration for frosty figurines or life-sized sugar plum pixies can strike at any time — but he doesn't see his work as a planned out project. "I may see a bumblebee on my way to lunch, [feel inspired] and come back and start drawing a bumblebee," Stephen shares. "And instead of thinking of [my art] as a collection that’s been well thought-out, it’s usually just, 'Oh! That sounds fun!'"

Watch the Video: Make a Frosty Folly Snowman Figure With Glitterville's Stephen Brown

DIY: Pretty-in-Pink Chenille-stem Tree

Create a whimsical, handmade chenille-stem tree display that you can use throughout your home with Stephen's pink mini tree DIY. Decorate your tree with colorful ornaments made from a variety of craft beads and display it year-round or during the holidays on table tops and mantels.

Get The How-To: How to Make a Chenille-Stem Tabletop Christmas Tree

Chenille-stem Color Secrets

"I like to use two to three shades of chenille-stems for each tree," Stephen says. "For this one, because it's a pink pine, I'm going to use two shades of pink." Read more about holiday crafting in Stephen's book, Glitterville's Handmade Christmas: A Glittered Guide for Whimsical Crafting.

Get The How-To: How to Make a Chenille-Stem Tabletop Christmas Tree

Perfect for Collecting Candy

It wouldn't be a holiday every day in Stephen's Glitterville without a heaping dose of Halloween. And these adorably named Big Boogey Buckets are made using two of his favorite crafting supplies: paper mache and gold-leafing.

Watch the Video: Tour Glitterville Studios

DIY: Mr. Treats Candy Favor Box

Although some people see Halloween as a scary holiday, Stephen sees it as a way to celebrate costumes, candy and glitter. Mr. Treats Candy Favor Box is a DIY that's sure to impress guests with a painted, striped glitter box and jolly pumpkin character.

Watch the Video: Mr. Treats Halloween Party Favor Candy Box

Go-to Glitter Trick

Stephen's secret for this happy pumpkin DIY is to use sewing tape and a pencil to create perfect, vertical lines that can be painted, glued and dashed with glitter. But Stephen says you can't just use basic orange glitter. "I think of it almost as a recipe — no simple orange will do," he says. "I use orange, hot pink, gold and light pink to create a multidimensional color palette for Mr. Treats' signature look."

Watch the Video: Mr. Treats Halloween Party Favor Candy Box

Candice, Kettle and Carl Candy Corn

Everyone loves candy corn, even if you don't love to eat it. There's just something about the shape, the color and the nostalgia of the sweet treat. At Glitterville, Stephen's vision of candy corn comes with a hand-painted look, quirky grins and gold leafed accents.

Watch the Video: Tour Glitterville Studios

DIY: Wacky Webber Spider Hand Puppet

Stephen's love of Halloween also dives into the world of plush with this adorable, no-sew, spider hand puppet, appropriately named Wacky Webber. Delight kids and kids-at-heart with this fuzzy DIY.

Watch the Video: DIY Halloween Spider Hand Puppet

Spider's Tell-tale

The Glitterville creator's trick for the no-sew spider puppet is to trace your hand onto a piece of card stock and outline it oversized. Then, take a piece of black fur with an extra shaggy look and pin your pattern down to the fur with a few straight pins. Use sharp fabric scissors to trim out the shape and you're halfway there.

Watch the Video: DIY Halloween Spider Hand Puppet

Floral Cráne

In addition to cute, kid-friendly spider hand puppets, Stephen's studio store also carries handmade items like these resin and crepe paper flower, hand-painted skulls to celebrate Día de los Muertos.

Watch the Video: Tour Glitterville Studios

Hop to It

This isn't your standard shopping mall Easter Bunny. Stephen revels in all things holiday, especially ones that fall easily into a bright, spring color aesthetic. "I’ve always believed that craft supplies should be really simple," he says. "What you turn them into can be extravagant, but I don’t ever want to have to depend on a particular product or something that I can’t obtain."

Watch the Video: Tour Glitterville Studios

DIY: Paper Mache Easter Bunny Baskets

Make an adorable paper mache Easter Basket using two of Stephen's favorite craft supply hacks: bathroom tissue and uncooked rice. Newspaper and a balloon isn't the only way.

Watch the Video: Paper Mache Easter Basket

Pro Tip: The Perfect Paste

"Create clay-like paper mache with bathroom tissue," Stephen says. "Just take several wads of the bathroom tissue and put it into a bowl of hot water — you'll need about 2-1/2 cups of wet bathroom tissue. Then, slowly tear the tissue up until its no longer paper. Use a strainer to remove the mixture from the water. Add 1-1/2 cups of school glue and 2 cups of joint compound and mix until a smooth paste is formed. Add a little flour to create a little texture and then cover with plastic until use."

Watch the Video: Paper Mache Easter Basket

DIY: Fuzzy Easter Bunny Hat

Make a fuzzy bunny bonnet to go with the Easter baskets next. Stephen guarantees the kids (and adults) will want to wear this DIY party hat long after the big bunny's visit.

Get The How-To: How to Make an Easter Bunny Ear Party Hat

Party Hat Trick

"Use cardboard to make your hat sturdier and add a coat of gesso — a thinner paint that has plaster in it," Stephen shares. "This will not only create a more durable hat but allow it to hold the ears, fluff and, of course, glitter!"

Follow the Glitter Brick Road

Stephen's jack-of-all-trades mentality has allowed for great success and helped to craft an attainable outlook for creative careers. "My advice is always: Do everything," Stephen says. "I never limited myself into one particular path. And Glitterville Studios has given me a platform to do everything I want. It doesn’t matter what it is, I can do it all under the guise of this whimsical place."

Watch the Video: Tour Glitterville Studios

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