Announcement
Please note current production times before purchasing. Kissa Design is celebrating 12 years of Christmas on Etsy this year! Thank you for visiting www.etsy.com/shop/kissadesign and for your tremendous support of my small business throughout the years. You help me put my heart into my handmade. -Kathleen.
Kissa Design Handmade Star Urchins™ are an exclusive brand of modern paper Christmas ornaments and home décor, based on a traditional form of Polish folk art decoration, called jeżyk, meaning hedgehog, and also called Polish stars, porcupine balls, or starbursts, for entertaining, Christmas tree and holiday decorating, gift giving, and year-round decorative use. Each piece is independent-artisan handmade and signed by Kathleen in her Michigan, USA studio, and reflects, in a modern presentation, her family's heritage and many crafting traditions.
From the artist:
A heartfelt thank you for your interest in my craft! Star Urchins are my modern presentation of a cherished family holiday tradition that I first learned to make from my mother when I was a child. She learned to make them from a dear Polish friend as a teenager and, after recruiting a couple of her younger sisters into the production process, sold and gifted their creations to friends and family in the 1950s. This entrepreneurial spirit lives in in Kissa Design today.
Welcome to my vivid, one-of-a-kind collection of meticulously handmade three-dimensional paper ornaments, magnets, stemmed stars, wall urchins, tree toppers and more of my original creations, gallery-quality gifts for the holiday season and beyond.
I am proud to continue this traditional style of ornament making with a unique assortment materials, colors, forms and techniques, offering creations for everyday decorative use beyond the Christmas tree. Shop by ornament color by using my store's sections. Here you will see a variety of ornament and tree topper sizes, wall urchins, magnets, stemmed bouquets and more of my original ideas, transformed into modern creations based on this traditional Polish art form that has been a part of my family's crafting tradition for over sixty years!
Thank you for shopping Kissa Design on Etsy!
- Kathleen.
Kissa Design
Kissa Design Star Urchins have been featured here:
-HGTV Magazine (December 2019 issue, cover and page 14)
-Southern Living Special Collector's Edition 2019: Christmas at Home (Blue Christmas)
-BuzzFeed.com (28 Gifts For People Who Love Words)
-Coastal Living magazine (December 2016 issue)
-CoastalLiving.com (9 Dazzling Tree Toppers with Serious Wow-Factor)
-Food52.com
-Fox 2 Detroit (one of my magnets was on TV!)
-Country Living Christmas Joys (Hearst Books, "Deck Your Halls: Trees, Garlands, Wreaths & Mantels" section, page 41)
-The Wall Street Journal (The 14 Best Modern Christmas Ornaments, Vol. CCLXII No. 141)
-Book Riot (7 Literary Hostess Gifts for the Holidays)
-BUST Magazine (December/January 2014 issue, Good Stuff for the holiday season)
-Better Homes and Gardens Magazine (December 2013 issue, one of the 10 things to love about Christmas in the holiday decorating section)
-BHG Christmas Ideas Magazine (2014)
-HGTV's blog, Design Happens (Color of the Month: Copper; December 2013)
-Design*Sponge (gold, silver, copper ornament roundup 2013)
-Cool Mom Picks (Loveliest Handmade Ornaments, Holiday Gift Guide 2013)
-Outblush (top tree topper picks, 2013)
-Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Crafts Magazine (2012 issue)
-Country Living Magazine (December/January 2012 issue)
-Apartment Therapy ( http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/put-a-star-on-it-christmas-tree-toppers-180900 )
-Re-Nest (10 Holiday Ornaments To Keep Up After the Holidays)
-The Storque, Etsy's handmade blog
-The HGTV online marketplace
-Time Out New York
And more, including dozens of amazing blogs and Etsy treasuries!
(♥THANK YOU♥)
Please follow Kissa Design Facebook for all the latest and greatest information: http://www.facebook.com/KissaDesign
Back sometime down the road: fabulous vintage finds from my vast personal collection will be sold here, too!
Announcement
Please note current production times before purchasing. Kissa Design is celebrating 12 years of Christmas on Etsy this year! Thank you for visiting www.etsy.com/shop/kissadesign and for your tremendous support of my small business throughout the years. You help me put my heart into my handmade. -Kathleen.
Kissa Design Handmade Star Urchins™ are an exclusive brand of modern paper Christmas ornaments and home décor, based on a traditional form of Polish folk art decoration, called jeżyk, meaning hedgehog, and also called Polish stars, porcupine balls, or starbursts, for entertaining, Christmas tree and holiday decorating, gift giving, and year-round decorative use. Each piece is independent-artisan handmade and signed by Kathleen in her Michigan, USA studio, and reflects, in a modern presentation, her family's heritage and many crafting traditions.
From the artist:
A heartfelt thank you for your interest in my craft! Star Urchins are my modern presentation of a cherished family holiday tradition that I first learned to make from my mother when I was a child. She learned to make them from a dear Polish friend as a teenager and, after recruiting a couple of her younger sisters into the production process, sold and gifted their creations to friends and family in the 1950s. This entrepreneurial spirit lives in in Kissa Design today.
Welcome to my vivid, one-of-a-kind collection of meticulously handmade three-dimensional paper ornaments, magnets, stemmed stars, wall urchins, tree toppers and more of my original creations, gallery-quality gifts for the holiday season and beyond.
I am proud to continue this traditional style of ornament making with a unique assortment materials, colors, forms and techniques, offering creations for everyday decorative use beyond the Christmas tree. Shop by ornament color by using my store's sections. Here you will see a variety of ornament and tree topper sizes, wall urchins, magnets, stemmed bouquets and more of my original ideas, transformed into modern creations based on this traditional Polish art form that has been a part of my family's crafting tradition for over sixty years!
Thank you for shopping Kissa Design on Etsy!
- Kathleen.
Kissa Design
Kissa Design Star Urchins have been featured here:
-HGTV Magazine (December 2019 issue, cover and page 14)
-Southern Living Special Collector's Edition 2019: Christmas at Home (Blue Christmas)
-BuzzFeed.com (28 Gifts For People Who Love Words)
-Coastal Living magazine (December 2016 issue)
-CoastalLiving.com (9 Dazzling Tree Toppers with Serious Wow-Factor)
-Food52.com
-Fox 2 Detroit (one of my magnets was on TV!)
-Country Living Christmas Joys (Hearst Books, "Deck Your Halls: Trees, Garlands, Wreaths & Mantels" section, page 41)
-The Wall Street Journal (The 14 Best Modern Christmas Ornaments, Vol. CCLXII No. 141)
-Book Riot (7 Literary Hostess Gifts for the Holidays)
-BUST Magazine (December/January 2014 issue, Good Stuff for the holiday season)
-Better Homes and Gardens Magazine (December 2013 issue, one of the 10 things to love about Christmas in the holiday decorating section)
-BHG Christmas Ideas Magazine (2014)
-HGTV's blog, Design Happens (Color of the Month: Copper; December 2013)
-Design*Sponge (gold, silver, copper ornament roundup 2013)
-Cool Mom Picks (Loveliest Handmade Ornaments, Holiday Gift Guide 2013)
-Outblush (top tree topper picks, 2013)
-Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Crafts Magazine (2012 issue)
-Country Living Magazine (December/January 2012 issue)
-Apartment Therapy ( http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/put-a-star-on-it-christmas-tree-toppers-180900 )
-Re-Nest (10 Holiday Ornaments To Keep Up After the Holidays)
-The Storque, Etsy's handmade blog
-The HGTV online marketplace
-Time Out New York
And more, including dozens of amazing blogs and Etsy treasuries!
(♥THANK YOU♥)
Please follow Kissa Design Facebook for all the latest and greatest information: http://www.facebook.com/KissaDesign
Back sometime down the road: fabulous vintage finds from my vast personal collection will be sold here, too!
Items
All Items
Reviews
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AD on Mar 28, 2022
5 out of 5 starsStar arrived quickly and very well packaged. It’s beautiful, can’t wait to use it this coming holiday. Very happy with purchase!
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Kristi on Mar 7, 2022
5 out of 5 starsFast shipping, beautiful ornament. High quality, very well made.
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imagnatn on Feb 28, 2022
5 out of 5 starsbeautiful and so perfect. love these nestled in with my ornaments on the Christmas tree
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adela on Dec 17, 2021
5 out of 5 starsLove it! I was debating between the 8” or 10” for my 8’ tree and wish I would’ve went with the larger size but it was beautiful nonetheless.
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Sara on Dec 14, 2021
5 out of 5 starsThe ornament is well constructed and looks beautiful on our tree.
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About kissadesign
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Kathleen's work has appeared in many print publications, a few of which are show here. -
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Her ornaments were chosen as one of "The 14 Best Modern Christmas Ornaments" by The Wall Street Journal. -
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Her work helped move jeżyk from the Christmas tree into the realm of year-round decorative use. -
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Upcycled magazines, newspapers and books became some of her most memorable works. -
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All the items in this shop are handmade and photographed by this independent artisan in her Michigan USA studio.
Hundreds of Thousands of Points: About Kissa Design and her "Star Urchins," from the Artist
Jeżyk or "hedgehog" ornaments are a traditional form of Polish folk art, a paper craft that dates back beyond 100 years. This style of ornament making became popular on and off during the last century in the United States, where they became known as porcupine ball ornaments, perhaps through a twist of translation to reflect our own resident spiky animal (there are no wild hedgehogs here).
To me, in a more modern context, they looked like stars or sea urchins, so I called them Star Urchins™, which became my unique product brand name. I have been making them for most of my life. My mother learned to make them nearly six decades ago, and she, in turn, taught me how to make them during the Christmas holiday season when I was a child, as a way to connect me to my Polish heritage. I reintroduced them to a new generation of artists and crafters on a larger scale via the internet when I began selling them here beginning in 2009. The interest has been astounding.
As the popularity of my creations grew, a new meme caught on, and these ornaments are now most commonly referred to as "Polish stars"; various forms can be found across the web. (I do not yet offer a tutorial for my ornaments, and please note that any tutorials or derivative works currently online do not reflect or represent my work, nor my techniques.)
My work has appeared in numerous magazines, newspapers and blogs, and has found happy homes with scores of collectors. I've sold thousands of pieces, shipping them across the globe. And by now, I have made in the hundreds of thousands of points, all by hand! My expansive line has included ornaments (including my signature hand-glittered Sparklers, and recycled newspaper, book and magazine ornaments), tree toppers, place card holders, magnets, stemmed flower bouquets and more, to be enjoyed as modern folk art, on or off the Christmas tree, any time of year. Each is handmade by me, in my Michigan USA studio, to keep the heart and soul and beauty within this traditional family craft. Please help spread the word about independent-artisan handmade and original modern exploration of traditional art forms. Thank you, sincerely, for your support.
Enjoy, from my home to yours,
Kathleen.
Kissa Design
www.kissadesign.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/kissadesign
Shop members
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Kathleen
Owner, Maker, Designer, Artisan
This shop is the result of my experimentation with a cherished family tradition, a handmade paper Polish folk art ornament called a jeżyk, or hedgehog, due to its spiky form.
Shop policies
Welcome! I'm Kathleen. Kissa Design is dedicated to creating well-made and thoughtfully designed handcrafted goods inspired by my hands-on connection to the earth through gardening and my family's many crafting traditions. All items in my shop are handmade by me in my Michigan USA studio.
Continue shopping in my handmade shop: www.etsy.com/shop/kissadesign
Please check the Kissa Design Facebook page for additional shop updates: http://www.facebook.com/KissaDesign
My paper Star Urchin ornaments are based on a traditional Polish star ornament, often called a porcupine ball (from the Polish word jeżyk for hedgehog), that I first learned to make from my mother when I was a child and that my family has been making for more than sixty years. I began offering them online over a decade ago, under my unique brand name, Star Urchins™, with the goal of reviving an interest in them and expanding their use to a functional and decorative realm beyond the Christmas tree.
It has been so meaningful for me to see the recent resurgence happening around this long-established folk art craft. I hope to inspire those of you who wish to explore this art form and that my passion for my craft is apparent in each piece that I create. Please note that any online tutorials do no represent my methods or techniques, which I have perfected over many years. Any of my images attached to such tutorials or DIY pages have been used without my permission.
Learn more about me and my work at www.kissadesign.com
Accepted payment methods
Returns and exchanges
I don't accept returns, exchanges, or cancellations
Returns and exchange details
I value your feedback. Please contact me if you have any issues, and I will do my best to make things right.
RETURNS: Please note that I do not allow returns, but if you are unhappy for your purchase for any reason, please contact me. Due to the seasonal nature of many of my products, absolutely no returns after Christmas. If you would prefer to cancel your order, please contact me immediately (within 24 hours) after purchase.
Payment
International buyers are responsible for all customs charges, duties and fees (VAT, etc.); UPS and FedEx (if requested) may also charge additional brokerage fees on international shipments, to be paid by the buyer.
Payment is due at time of purchase and must be cleared before items are shipped. If you are having issues while checking out, please contact me immediately and I will try to assist you. Delays in payment will result in delays in shipping. I reserve the right to cancel any order if a problem with payment has occurred and cannot be resolved in a timely manner, generally within 48 hours.
Shipping
Please allow additional shipping time for your purchase due to current USPS shipping practices that may affect delivery times. All items in my shop are independent-artisan handmade by me and will be ready to ship in:
3- and 4-inch ornaments and magnets: 3 to 5 business days /// larger sizes (tree toppers), place card holders and stemmed Star Urchins: 3 to 5 business days /// larger-quantity orders or custom orders: at least 7 to 10 business days.
DOMESTIC (USA) ORDERS
I ship using USPS. You will receive a shipping notification with a USPS tracking number when your order has been shipped. Please allow around 3 to 7 days transit time for your order (with standard post) after receiving this notification.
INTERNATIONAL ORDERS
Please allow as many as 4 to 6 weeks transit time for USPS First Class Post once your order has been shipped. Express or Priority shipping times are as were discussed prior to purchase. ***International buyers are responsible for all customs charges, duties and fees.***
Please check the Kissa Design Facebook page for additional shop updates: http://www.facebook.com/KissaDesign
Certain items in an order, such as tree toppers, may be shipped separately, as noted. Insurance and signature confirmation upon arrival may also be required for larger orders; price will be included in shipping for the custom order listing. Because international orders can take several weeks to arrive, please purchase far ahead of any deadline, and by early November for the Christmas holiday.
International buyers are responsible for all customs duties and fees (VAT, etc.); UPS and FedEx (if requested) may also charge additional brokerage fees on international shipments, to be paid by the buyer.
Additional policies and FAQs
CONSIGNMENT: I am not considering consignment requests at this time.
WHOLESALE: If you are interested in carrying my ornaments, please contact me to be placed on my mailing list. Orders must be placed during the summer before the Christmas season. Each ornament is very labor-intensive and handmade solely by me, to the highest standards. Thank you for your support of an independent artisan!
TRADE requests: I do not trade.
Photos: With the exception of my OOAK (One Of A Kind) Star Urchins, the photos of items for sale in my shop are representational of the work you will receive. Photos of OOAK items are of the exact item you will receive. Please note that the colors you see may vary slightly due to your computer monitor. I retain all rights to all photos. I appreciate being notified for permission ahead of blog postings when my photos will be used. Any online tutorials do no represent my methods or techniques, which I have perfected over many years. Any of my images attached to such tutorials or DIY pages have been used without my permission.
Lots and lots of points: Each and every item in my shop is handmade by me (yes, it is a lot of work!). Expect a quality product. Please help spread the word about genuine independent-artisan handmade.
All creative materials (including photographs) ©2007-2022 Kissa Design. Trademark. Copyright. All Rights Reserved. Star Urchins are a Kissa Design brand name, handmade by me (Kathleen), aka Kissa Design.